Blue Mountain Newsletter
Our Thirty -Fifth Year of Publication
Blue Mountain Property Owners’ Association------Spring 2009
President’s Corner
I have three subjects to discuss with you in this newsletter. All are subsets of our roads and issues of maintenance and snow removal. I would suggest that it be required reading for anyone wishing to live here full time so that you will know what can be done and what can’t be done without massive infusions of funds that, at this point, are not available to BMPOA.
It is no secret that some of our roads are challenging to transit but if you drive slowly, you can make your trip without incident. If you don’t, you will probably hurt your car or yourself and not get any sympathy from the veteran Blue Mountaineers. Further, a four wheel drive vehicle with chains is required at times in the snow. Blue Mountain is not Loudoun or Fairfax and never will be. Our original developer made that abundantly clear when he platted roads that supported his lot plan with very little thought given to steepness, width and winter trafficability (something that can’t be done under today’s laws) because he envisioned the development as a three season recreation area and no one was supposed to be up here in winter anyway. These are the cards we were dealt and it is virtually impossible to change the situation now even though the demography has changed from recreation to year round households. The residents have to conform to the subdivision because there is not much that can be done to make the subdivision conform to something it was never meant to be.
We have a budget which has evolved over the years from the developer maintaining the roads to the roads and recreation areas being deeded to the property owners and our setting up a funding scheme which originally did not work. We finally settled upon creating a Sanitary District to generate funds for roads, rec areas, lodge, insurance, and general admin. The Sanitary District funds are collected by Warren County, for which we pay them a 4.3% admin fee. This now assures us of getting most of our money since non-payers are treated as tax defaulters. The budget for this fiscal year is about $105,000 with the roads absorbing about 50% of the total. This allows for grading and graveling the roads during the time when they are not frozen and for repair of potholes at other times. Thus far we have been using volunteer oversight and have paid property owners with tractors, a bulldozer and other equipment to accomplish this. Both the volunteer supervisor and the paid workers have regular day jobs which limits the time that they have for road work. The difference in price from contracting it to companies outside of Blue Mountain that specialize in this is about fourfold or more depending on the work to be done and is prohibitive with the budget with which we now operate. We have tried that. The work is no better and the price is unsupportable.
We have tried paving selected roads based on a groundswell of property owners’ opinions for that option several years ago. It was very expensive. We had to borrow money to do it, and the payback seriously impacted our gravel road repair work. While paving worked well until the snows came, the paved roads iced up in the snows and became very dangerous because we do not have the heavy equipment necessary to get the road bare. We have to gravel them after plowing to make them passable, and we do that, but our gravel contractor is contracted to the state and they have first call on his services. Besides, our paved Blue Mountain roads lie on the northwest side of the mountain and do not get the sun like the paved parts of Route-638.
In winter Route-638 can be dry blacktop while our paved Blue Mountain roads are a sheet of ice. The most serious situation of all is that we have what amounts to zero capability to plow snow over about 20 inches. Only bulldozers will do it. All of the people we contracted to do that in the past have died and I can find no one to do it now. We have had three of these 30 to 40 inch snows since 1983 and there is no reason to think that the dice won’t roll that way again. Nothing moves during these times. We have had National Guard armored personnel carriers up here evacuating a woman in labor. That type of vehicle has been superseded and I don’t think that the new one has that capability, nor can you get it here from Iraq where they are now deployed. I don’t mean to frighten you but what this means to you is that you have to take steps to have the basic survival skills and equipment when you live here because they have been required in the past and may well be again and we are less prepared to deal with this type of thing now than we were in the past. On that happy note I’ll leave you.
Spring is here and all of the minor travails we had this winter are over but much work needs to be done. Thoughts about how to do it and people wishing to put those thoughts into action are most welcome.
Jim McManaway President
Current Executive Board
President Jim McManaway 635-7630 1st VP Nynette Rourke 635-6381
Treasurer Pete Plourd 636-3657Secretary Greg Young 703-625-4241 Directors Chuck Campbell 635-3848 Jack Davis 622-2642
Jon Morrison 540-454-1326 Jeff Rash 703-989-9478
Tim Winfield 540-878-1375
Email the board at:
Board meetings are held at the Lodge the 2nd Monday of each month at 6 p.m. All property owners are welcome and encouraged to attend. Check for updates or cancellations at:
bmpoaboard/messages
Recreation Passes
Look for your 2009 recreation passes inside the envelope delivering this Newsletter.
Questions about the rec passes? Call Pete Plourd at 974-2189 or email
Roads Committee Report
Jim’s column summarized well the challenges we all face every year. Work has already begun on repairing road damage done over the winter. As mentioned in the last newsletter, we will be putting more emphasis on repairing potholes year round within the limits of our budget and the weather. Members voted for a modest increase in the budget last year and roads will get roughly half of it in the coming fiscal year. We realized last fall that we do not have a map identifying the location of all of our culverts but hope to make one this spring. Pete Plourd and Tim Winfield have already begun work on digging out culverts that have become blocked. We are looking for a volunteer to map all culverts in May and June. Jeff Rash, Chairman
Covenants Enforcement Warren County informed us recently that a "criminal citation" had been served by the Sheriff to a second Blue Mountain property owner for ignoring official notices from the county for failure to comply with county ordinances which are also in violation of our covenants. This is the second criminal citation served to a member in the last year. Failure to comply can result in serious consequences including fines and even jail time. Over the coming summer unresolved issues will be followed up with Warren County’s Zoning and Planning and Building Inspections Departments. The Covenants Enforcement Committee will conduct another annual survey in October. Please continue to help us protect property values and to keep our community an attractive and safe place to live.
Jack Davis, Chairman
Exciting Internet Development!
Chuck Campbell, Greg Young and Tom Lally have been working to find a company to bring high-speed Internet service to Blue Mt. A company representative is scheduled to lay out details at our annual meeting in August. If 100+ residents sign up for DSL service, the company will invest the money to set up the capability for the entire community. Look for more information in the summer newsletter. To sign up or for more details now see:
Blue Mountain Property Owner’s Association Blue Mountain Sanitary District
Budget For Period September 2009 – August 2010
EXPECTED REVENUE:
686 Lots x $65.00 per lot: $44,590.00
Improvement Value of $47,545,200 x .17: $80,826.84
Total expected revenue: $125,416.84
EXPECTED EXPENSES:
County tax collection fee: (4.3%) $ 5,392.92
Total other expenses: $ 5,392.92 Total available for prorating: $120,023.92
Roads: 50% $60,011.96 Administrative: 24% $28,805.74 Maintenance: 10% $12,002.39 Snow Removal: 10% $12,002.39 Security: 6% $ 7,201.44
Totals Prorated Expenses: $121,023.92 Total Expenses: $125,416.84
FIREWORKS DISPLAY TO CELEBRATE JULY 4TH!
Following a long tradition, and because shooting of most fireworks is now illegal in the county, we have tried to provide for our members a more than respectable fireworks display each July 4th at Deer Lake. A volunteer who is licensed to conduct the display is in charge.
We cannot purchase fireworks from Sanitary District funds and have to depend on member contributions. Last year the fireworks cost $566.92 and fewer than a dozen members covered all of these expenses. Please come and enjoy the show and please contribute something to keep this tradition going. Thanks in advance.
FROM THE LODGE
Bookings by property owners to use the BMPOA Lodge on Cliff Road for weddings, parties, etc., have picked up steadily since Jon Morrison and Emily Ford and many of their friends fixed it up for their wedding. Even though the lodge is already booked for three events this season, there are still plenty of dates available for property owners to host social events (family reunions, professional gatherings, weddings, etc.) in a beautiful setting and at a very modest fee.
For years, the rental fee has been $150.00 of which $100.00 is a refundable cleaning deposit. However, this cleaning deposit seems to have been too low to ensure that the lodge was always returned to usable condition in time for the next event. The $100.00 deposit clearly is not enough to pay a professional crew if we end up having to pay to have it done.
To resolve this concern, the Executive Board at its March meeting voted to increase the Lodge Use Fees to $250 of which $200 is a refundable cleaning deposit. The board also voted to amend several of the Lodge Use, ABC, and contract documents. The new documentation can be viewed and downloaded from then go to 'Recreation' then 'Lodge'. (Be sure your pop-up blocker is set to allow pop-ups from BMPOA.)
We hope to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) this year so it can be rented by non-property owners at a much higher fee in coming years and the funds used to pay for more of the upkeep and maintenance of our recreational facilities including almost 90 acres of land around the Lodge and Lake.
The lodge is available from about the middle of May until late October. A property owner who anticipates booking the facility should contact Missy McManaway to make an appointment to visit the lodge and actually see what is available. As mentioned in the Winter newsletter Missy McManaway recently joined the Recreation Committee and volunteered to manage lodge reservations. Missy can be reached at: Mon-Thu (703) 532-4481, Fri-Sun (540) 635-7630, Cell (540) 622-4966 or, email her at: .
Missy is interested in compiling information to assist those hosting events at the lodge. If you are a licensed caterer, event planner, etc., feel free to send her information about the services you offer and she will provide it to potential lodge renters as appropriate.
Missy McManaway
LODGE CLEAN UP DAY SAT. 9 MAY
The Lodge has been sitting all winter and needs sprucing up inside as well as outside. Please join us on Saturday, May 9 beginning at 9 A.M. We need some help with paint touch up, light maintenance, floors swept and mopped, kitchen and some windows cleaned, etc. The ice storms left a lot of dead limbs around the Lodge that need to be piled up in anticipation of chipping them. When you arrive, contact Jon Morrison who coordinates work on the Lodge. Please give us a hand.
RECREATION AREA USE GUIDELINES
All property owners, renters and guests in possession of a current Recreation Area Pass have access to all recreation areas conditional to the following.
· There are no life guards. Swimming and use of dock, beach, and swim platform is at your own risk.
· No alcoholic beverages are permitted on the dock.
· Loud operation of audio devices is prohibited.
· Boisterous activity is not permitted on the dock.
· Life preservers are for emergency use only.
· Users must remove their own trash.
· Due to repeated vandalism, Port-A-Jons are no longer available at Deer Lake.
· Dogs are not permitted in the beach area including on the grassy slope leading to the beach. Dogs are allowed on the dam and may swim in the lake but are not allowed on the dock. Dogs are permitted in recreation areas as long as they are on a leash or under the owner’s control. Dog owners are required to scoop their dog’s poop.
Wildfire Mitigation Program
Pete Plourd attended a meeting with County officials and the Va. Dept of Forestry (VDOF). It appears that money will be available again for the Firewise program from the stimulus bill. We anticipate applying for grants to create an evacuation plan, fuel reduction plan, reflecting address signs, and to enlarge turnarounds on dead-end roads for emergency vehicles. We can start piling up deadfall again but don’t forget to report the number of hours. The more hours you document the more state money I can get for BMPOA. Email me your hours at or Call Pete at 636-3657. After 8 June call me at 622-2642. Jack Davis, BMPOA Firewise Coordinator
VDOF is offering FREE Individual Firewise Home Assessments. To schedule one call Gena Williams, our VA Wildfire Mitigation Officer at 540-810-7732.
Original Appalachian Trail Ran Through Blue Mountain Subdivision
When the Appalachian Trail was being blazed from Maine to Georgia it originally ran through what is now Blue Mountain Subdivision.
Eighty two years ago, the “AT” ran north from near Linden to the highest point on Blue Mountain, about 2,200 feet. It then crossed over what is now called Freezeland Road and followed what is now our Allegheny Road downhill to where it intersects Hideway, It then went north crossing Trillium Trail near its halfway point before crossing Blue Mt. Road about 100 feet uphill of Pee Wee Path. From there the AT continued a little east of north.
The original track likely became what we know as Rocky Boulder. From a point about where Rocky Boulder and Rocky Spring Roads meet the AT continued north about 3/4 mile to a spring now on private property which was called, you guessed it, Rock Spring.
If you look carefully, at certain times of the year sections of the original trail can be identified. In the early 1970s using an old 1939 map I was able to find and hike this original route of the AT. To my delight, I found one of the original galvanized metal trail markers on a fallen tree and still have it. On one hike I met a young man who was writing a book about the original route of the AT. He wanted an interview with the developer Henry DeLongfief. I approached Henry and tried to talk him into doing the interview but he made it clear that he would not talk to the man and did not like hikers because “They smell.” I suspect Henry had the original trail moved to the eastern side of the mountain in the late 1950s and so had other reasons for refusing the interview.
Jack Davis