Dissolution of River Ridge

[RR_man]

Anne & any board member -

I was wondering since the last vote on increasing dues did not pass, has the board considered dissolution of River Ridge? I ask this seriously as I am beginning to wonder if the time has come for us to wrap things up as an HOA. I had never thought I would suggest this but I am thinking based on talking to people and what I am reading on discussion sites like this if this wouldn't be a viable approach.

If the board is considering getting outside counsel about options, I am curious as to what would dissolution look like?
1) if this were to happen could we turn the streets over to Mecklenburg County?
2) If I am not mistaken, all the HOA-owned assets could be auctioned off (pool, golf-course, etc.) and the funds distributed (after the settling of accounts) to the remaining HOA-members (based on lot ownership). This would be a pretty hefty dividend based on the cash inside the accounts now (~$800+/per lot if my math is correct).
3) I think this would make it easier for the Mecklenburg police to get inside RR. Right now, I believe policing is a cooperative effort between RR security and the Sheriff's office. Personally, I think it would be best to let the Sheriff patrol RR. I appreciate the volunteers on security but I think at this point we need professionals.
4) Lots could be worth more as you would not be restricted by RR's building codes. Right now you pay for RR's building codes twice, you pay for the HOA to enforce the rules and RR for permits, and your property isn't worth what it would be without the HOA-restrictions.

The more and more I look at this, I am thinking we could eliminate all the back and forth and just cut the dues to $0, plus have a one-time dividend after the settling of RR's debts/current accounts.

By the way, who is RR seeking legal counsel from concerning options after the recent vote?

I appreciate your time in advance in considering this option and in responding to my questions.

[AnneSingleton]

Hello,

You have posed some interesting questions that I cannot answer, maybe another board member can provide more insight. As far as Mecklenburg is concerned, that would have to be their decision. We do not qualify for residential zoning because our lots are too small, so what designated zoning would we receive besides a campground? For the county to take over Ridge Ridge I would imagine it would be a tremendous expense, keeping in mind almost 19% of the county population lives at poverty level.

To even explore these options it would take a vote of the membership. For the part timers that make up a majority of River Ridge, why would they even want to own property in a community that is just like any other and has no amenities? I know I wouldn't!

Sorry I could not be of more help.

Thanks,

Anne

[erikawildrick1]

As a property owner in the camping section, who was not addressed for an opinion, I will chime in anyway, as this is the only forum not on Dragnet( aka Facebook). Hearing this idea as just a whisper in the wind has already put me into Warrior mode. You'll have one helluva fight on your hands to dissolve our CAMPGROUND into oblivion and sell it off to the next group of Developers. I suggest all Campground property owners unite to preserve and fund what we have. River Ridge GOLF and CAMPING CLUB. Golf is built into the deal, and so is CAMPING. I will fight to preserve every last piece of forested common property, because without trees we have nothing but a hot ugly parking lot. You can bet your last dollar that developers would love to come in and develop this into another plain old neighborhood. Look into the future. We are sitting on property right next to the incoming high speed rail system, and the land will be slashed and developed along this entire corridor from Richmond to Raleigh. Hold on to a small section of BEAUTIFUL, and pass it on to your kids and grandkids. Once this forest is gone it is not coming back. There IS value in living forest. Treasure it, respect it, embrace it, and fund an operation to continue RR as a GOLF and CAMPING club. I'm sure it CAN be done. I hope there are like minded property owners in here who love the trees and forest as much as I do. That is the only reason I am here. We CAN preserve it. We CAN fund it. We CAN run it. Its not free, and its not possible at a 1970 rate. Know that it will take a reasonable dues increase and forward thinking minds to keep it running. Dont vote NO on every dues increase, because you'll be cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's valuable in here. Believe it. Plenty of people are looking at this place with fat $$$ signs in their eyeballs and they care nothing about it being a Campground with trees, water, and wildlife.They look to stuff their pockets right now........and you see where the value of a dollar is headed. HOLD TIGHT. The value is in the land, the trees, and access to the Lake. We are LUCKY to be here. Lets come together and keep this place going.

[DeanandDiane]

I am going to have to reread the covenants in regards to this but if I am not mistaken, They cant be just dissolved into anything. I think it would have t be an entity that would take over the Association and run it similar. Either way why would anyone want to lose this. It is time to move forward and pay the dues that we need to pay to make sure we protect our property and future. There is no dividend worth what I currently have right here. Y'all have a good one! I am going to reread the covenants.

[RR_man]

I just wanted to close the loop on this post.

Anne - thanks for your reply on this.
Erika - thanks for your thoughts on the matter too. I really appreciate your opinion even though we may not agree on the best path forward.

I suppose my view on this is that dissolution should be evaluated by the board. We should see what this option looks like. The fact that all the questions I laid out can't be answered tells me it really hasn't been run through the wringer as an option. I am not even saying that I would like the outcome brought by dissolution, but I think it should be explored as a possibility. If the board is evaluating options, i.e. $250 dues with barebones operations, $500 dues with a pool, $750 dues with pool and golf course updates and new roads, etc. -- I believe we should keep $0 dues and dissolution/no services on the table. As we understand what that looks like, it may not be the most palatable option but I think its worth keeping as an option. We owe it to ourselves to at least do some due diligence on this.

As a separate but similar matter, why is the River Ridge Association attorney going to be present on the July 9th board meeting? What is going to be discussed? Is there an agenda/powerpoint we can see beforehand? I am out of the loop on this and was wondering what was going on.

[lgastonlover]

I also would like to know what the attorney will be speaking about. I would also like a BOD member to report on this platform what is discussed on the 9th. Thank you

[AnneSingleton]

Hello,

Yes there will be a PowerPoint presentation but it is not available to be posted before the July 9th meeting. Our Association attorney will be present to discuss the future of River Ridge.

As far as dissolution of River Ridge, I don't think it's anything the BOD will consider at this time. This may be something to consider after all other options have been exhausted.

Thank you,

Anne

[lgastonlover]

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have out of town company coming so will not be able to attend. After the attorney's presentation I would like to know what is said by him/her. Thanks!

[Jua&mike21]

Hi, we are new to the community. Im
Wondering why if most of the community lives there part time… why aren’t the the meetings being held on zoom so that a lot more property owners can be involved. There would have to be time restrictions put in place if someone on the zoom forum wants to say something but I feel this would be beneficial for all involved. Just a thought!

[RR_man]

Jua&mike21 -

I'll chime in here too.  I think Zoom is a phenomenal idea!  

If you think about it; it would make the meetings accessible to more folks and it would make the meetings more streamlined.  With Zoom, you can easily shut off a speaker, should someone get carried away and go over the allotted time or use inappropriate language, etc.  With Zoom, you can also set it up so that the panel (BOD) receives questions.  So, you could consolidate questions, etc.  There is even a way to do polling of people on the Zoom meeting if you wanted to know how Zoom attendees felt about an idea.  Additionally, you get to have transcripts automatically made from the calls (voice to text) and you can even record the meetings themselves for future reference.  

I think this is a great idea and one the board should think about as well. It would work well for a meeting like this one if someone was willing to set it up.  If someone is willing, you could just post the Zoom link to this thread and folks could join in on Saturday.  

Thanks

[AnneSingleton]

Hello,

The newly formed Communications Committee will be looking at ways to stream our meetings, currently we do not have wifi in our buildings that host the BOD meetings.

Thank you,

Anne

[Jua&mike21]

Thank you for putting into words what I neglected to say. With zoom every resident or the majority of them can join in and even vote. I understand that funds are tight right now because of the Hoa fee increase being voted down but I really think getting wi-fi should be a priority. We live in New York and zoom would be an excellent way to let ALL residents have a say and even participate. I think in the long run it would pay for itself.

[RR_man]

Anne -

Can you post the notes from the July 9th meeting? Or can you post whatever presentation it is that the attorney gave on July 9th?

Also, can you provide the web address of the new website for River Ridge?

Thanks

[RR_man]

I would also like to say thank you to the owner/proprietor of the Grapevine.  I don't know you or the details of what is happening (besides what you posted to your site) but thanks for setting this site up and also setting up a forum for us to talk about issues at River Ridge.  I thank you also for being impartial and not censoring things you don't agree with or things that are unpopular.  A post even mentioning dissolving an HOA would probably be banned from being posted on an HOA-owned site.  However it is a real possibility and an idea I think we should evaluate even if it isn't popular at the moment.  So thanks for allowing posts to things you may not even agree with.  I appreciate also your willingness to fund this site and even more so, I imagine the time it took to set something like this up (you did a really professional job).  Sometime I'd like to hear how you made it (Wordpress, Publisher, etc.).  Either way, thanks again -- your efforts are very much appreciated!!

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