We met...

On Sunday, July 28th 2013 there was a meeting of some Hawks Bluff home and property owners. There were about 30 people in attendance; most signed in an attendance sheet while others refused to sign in (???).

Hosts opened the meeting by thanking all and establishing some rules of engagement (i.e. don’t interrupt, cell phones off, bathroom location, etc.) and turned the meeting over to Deborah Short (property owner and local Real Estate Agent) with Mary Newman (property owner and home owner) taking notes…

The general gist for the meeting was for Deborah to share her efforts to date, doors she has knocked on, and progress she’s made. The main general issues are:

• Status of disrepair of the roads and all other common areas;
• The county will not take over the roads because they:
• Were not built up to code (even though they were built by, at the time County Commissioner, Darren Lance)
• Are in poor state of disrepair
• The impact the status of the roads has on the current value of the property and the possibility of re-sales.
• VA and VHA would not consider loans for anybody to buy in Hawks Bluff.
• Impossibility of emergency vehicles to access some home home sites due to the status of the roads.
• Liability we all have regarding these being our own roads (private) in case of accidents
• Promises, explicit or implied, made during the sales cycle which were not, as of yet, fulfilled:
• Lake on Phase I
• Electricity to all lots
• Other amenities
• Implications of these portrayals having also being made in an infomercial by the Van Buren County Mayor at the time.
• Not getting the services our taxes are expected to pay for:
• It was reported that Hawks Bluff contributes $37M out of the total $161M in property revenue the county reports (~23% of the total tax base).
• Police patrol is virtually non-existent
• Vandalism – in some phases – is rampant (street signs being ripped off, mail boxes vandalized, fires being set, etc.) with little or no response/action from the county Law Enforcement agencies.

Note1: Somebody made mention of the name Rita Thomson and her association with the State of Tennessee (Soil Erosion???)… Can whoever brought that name up elaborate by sending Deborah an e-mail with what you know, heard and how to contact Ms. Thompson?

Note2: it was said that the works that were being done in Phase IV by mandate of the EPA were suspended because a home owner complained that the trucks were damaging the roads. Second version of the same fiasco says that the works were suspended because Rocco Toscano had not paid the company doing he works. Neither version makes any sense to me. Does anybody know anything about this?

CALLS TO ACTION: 

FIRST: what is needed from each and every one of us is to give Deborah (an email to DEBMSHORT@GMAIL.COM with attachments - if applicable - will suffice) information on:

1. Why you bought here, promises made left unfulfilled, along with your name, address, phone number.
2. Any example of issues misrepresented in the sales cycle.
3. Pictures of how the property was supposed to look like (from the brochures) versus what it looks like today
4. Any old letter, e-mail or any other correspondence where things were promised but have not been fulfilled (roads maintenance, lake construction, mowing of swales, etc).
5. Whatever you may have, please make it available to her by, if possible, the end of this week as she is having another round of meetings with state and federal agencies next week.

SECOND and last, but not least, please send an email to the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) specifically to Jeffrey.bolden@cfpb.gov with the subject of filing a complaint. Your complaint centers around the fact that you were not delivered the goods and services promised by International Land Consultants and its owner Rocco Toscano when you bought the land here in Hawks Bluff. If you are willing to speak to one of their agents, please state so in your email and include your contact information.

Do your part and stay tuned...

Property Owners Meeting - 7/28/2013 - 4:00 PM - 262 Coyote Trail

Deborah Short, a fellow property owner in Hawks Bluff and local Real Estate agent, has recently had meetings with some TN State officials to bring attention (and eventually find solutions) to the problems left behind unresolved in Hawks Bluff by International Land Consultants - the outfit who sold us the land - and Rocco Toscano, the president of that company.

Deborah has called for a meeting with all interested and able-to-attend property owners to talk about information she needs to further her conversations with the TN State officials (more details in meeting agenda). The meeting is scheduled for Sunday, July 28th, 2013 @ 4:00 PM at 262 Coyote Trail, Spencer.

The problems ILC must resolve (and TN State Officials must be made aware of) are many and various and, among them are these, although this list is non-exhaustive:

1. All common roads are “maintained by the developer until they are dedicated to, and accepted by, Van Buren County, TN” (from page 8 of 20 of the 11/2/2004 Property Report). Many stretches of road are in poor condition, deteriorating increasingly as time goes due to the absence of maintenance, and there been no published plans to turn them over to the county. We need the roads maintained and a date by when they will be turned to the county. 
2. We need full documentation of the reasons why the lake was not built in Phase I as represented during the sales cycle.
3. We need full documentation of exceptions made to allow owners to violate/break represented covenants, such as: (a) Trailers and structures under the minimum 1,200 sf. in some lots, in violation of Point 2 (Size of Dwelling) of the Declaration of Restrictive Covenants; and (b) Physical and visible commercial enterprises operating out of some residential lots in violation of Point 1 (Residential Use) of the Declaration of Restrictive Covenants.
4. “Over ground [electricity] lines have been extended in front of or adjacent to all lots” as stated in page 9 of 20 of the 11/2/2004 Property Report. This has not been accomplished, nor has a date been given by when it will be done; we need a date.
5. Full release of any present or future POA or HOA organization from any and all of these responsibilities/liabilities, should they be left unfulfilled by ILC.

Please plan to attend!

Sunday, the 7th day of April, 2013

This entry was stalled in the hopper since late February… Nothing really new; just still important to me…

Local happenings… A lot happening… The county Sheriff, Grayson Beasley, died of a heart attack on the morning of February 20th; he was 59 and a picture of health (on the outside); condolences to the family. Now there is the issue of succession; according to some county documents, the county commission is to appoint the sheriff replacement to complete the term, which ends in August of 2014; here it goes:

“(b) (1) Vacancies in county offices required by the Constitution of Tennessee or by any statutory provision to be filled by the people shall be filled by the county legislative body, and any person so appointed shall serve until a successor is elected at the next general election, as defined in § 2-1-104, in the county and is qualified; provided, that the candidates have sufficient time to qualify for the office, as provided for in § 2-14-106. The county legislative body shall be required to make an appointment to fill a vacancy within one hundred twenty (120) days of receiving notice of the vacancy unless during that time period there is a general election scheduled in the county and there is sufficient time for the vacancy to be placed on the ballot in accordance with this section. Any appointment to fill a vacancy by the county legislative body shall be made in accordance with chapter 5, part 1 of this title. This subdivision (b)(1) shall not apply to any county that has a metropolitan form of government and a population in excess of five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census….”

So, throw your hat in the ring, my friends… Go present yourself to the county commission as a qualified candidate and good luck!

Later we have learned that there are seven (7) candidates being considered for the job (and two more who would like to be considered buck lack qualifications; one of them is suing the county) and that the commission will hear presentations from, and ask questions to, all seven. The commission will make a decision by June (have no idea why it would take so long…)

By the way, on the comment above about throwing your hat in the ring, do not bother if you are not local (several generations) and, if you happen to have a Latin surname, pfff, forget about it! (This is not my opinion; it is something I was told by a commissioner - who will remain anonymous - in a meeting were the topic was being discussed…)

Personal
My third daughter, Alex, turned 23 years old this past February 24th… As luck will have it, Jan was in Atlanta as lecturer in an AKY Business Fraternity conference; I was escorting Jan (as a driver, baggage handler, etc. you know, my usual chores...) and Leah happens to be member of the AKY Business fraternity an was attending the conference. So, when the conference was over, we all gathered at Alex's place and celebrated with a very special birthday girl!

Food for thought:
“The first to apologize is the bravest; the first to forgive is the strongest; the first to forget is the happiest”

- Anonymous

Tuesday, the 12th day of February, 2013

My grandson at 10 weeks old

My grand niece at 2 years old

Personal…
My grandson at 10 weeks old and my grand niece at 2 years old…

Local happenings… Not much happening… Went out fishing a couple of times; the first time I got skunked: not even one nibble! The second time was much better and I caught more fish than I’ve caught in the last five years altogether! Good stuff! Also, while looking for bait to go fishing with (minnows), I finally got to visit the Rock Island State Park: what a beauty! It has cabins for rent, fishing, boating, hiking, swimming. And the river (Rocky River) is just impressive… They built a dam and created a lake; very pretty. However, once you pass the dam, the natural river takes over and the rock formations are impressive; the water rapids are outstanding… Eventually, downstream the river eases up and one can launch boats and go fishing… Worth visiting!

Local Politics. So, I've received no responses to date regarding the duplicity of political entities in the county (Double mayor, double commission and double police force)… I thought this could be a really active point of discussion… I still hope…

Sports. I believe that, in its current form, American Football days are counted…! Here is why: “Brain scans performed on five former NFL players revealed images of the protein that causes football-related brain damage Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy -- the first time researchers have identified signs of the crippling disease in living players” (from an article in The Atlantic this past Feb 4th). And here is the rationale: if they really learn how to diagnose CTE, they will be able to say exactly how common it is for football players to develop it. This is when you start thinking about football and an existential crisis. You tell a parent that their kid has, say, a five percent chance of developing crippling brain damage through playing football, and you will see the end of pee-wee leagues and probably the end of high school football. Colleges would likely follow. Unless they change the sport and make it helmet-less (the helmet is currently used more as a weapon than a protection device), it is bye-bye football… Don’t think so? How common are college boxing teams these days?

Food for Thoughts…
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

- H. L. Mencken

So, keep your mind and eyes open, my friends…

Thursday, the 31st day of January, 2013

Weather. The unusual times started the night of Tuesday, January 29th, at about 7 to 8 PM; watching TV we could hear the wind outside and, since we had been paying attention to the forecast, we were expecting it… The howling got us up at about 2:30 the morning of Wednesday the 30th... We lost power at about 4:30 AM so we went into powerless mode (torches, flashlights, lanterns, candles, etc); I even made coffee the old fashioned way by boiling water on the grill and pouring it directly over the coffee grinds; came out pretty good! At about 7 AM we found out we seemed to have been the only ones in the area not to have power, so we went out to investigate… It turned out that the wind (with gusts of wind up to about 60 MPH) brought down a big tree between our house and DeSalvo’s house; the tree brought down a power line and two posts near DeSalvo’s house. After seven hours, Caney Fork Co-op had two posts replaced, cables re-installed  and power restored. Not bad! We also had a threat of tornadoes in the whole middle Tennessee area including our county; but they did not materialize up here in the Plateau (we are high enough for tornadoes not to like it here…) We have also had a swing of -35°in the last 24 hours… Went from shorts and light sweater to heavy sweats…

Sports. I think they should do away with the NFL Pro-bowl… What a joke… 62-35 was the score of what seems to be more like a full pad practice than a game… Not even an exhibition game… The players have nothing to play for… I believe they get a ‘bonus’ of about $50K to appear in the Pro-Bowl… How can they be expected to play hard to make $50K and risk a contract for $5M? Makes no sense. Do away with it!

Local Politics. Van Buren County has a population of about 5,800 residents; it has a mayor, a county commission, a police force; it levies and collects property taxes and business licensing. Spencer is the only incorporated municipality within Van Buren County and has a population of about 1,800 residents; it has a mayor, a city commission and a police force. It has a utilities department but has no taxing jurisdiction. When one overlaps the two sets (remember Venn diagrams?), there is an intersection data: mayor, commission, police force. These are entities that are duplicated for the benefit of no one. There is nothing available to the resident to the City of Spencer which is not available to those outside city limits; in other words, there is 100% overlap of benefits and obligations… So, there is a set of questions begging to be asked… Why do we need two identical political entities? Can we consolidate and provide better services? What needs to happen to consolidate? Anybody out there in Bluffland would like to take a shot at them?

Food for Thoughts…
“The trouble is, you think you have time…”

- Buddha

So, stay busy, my friends…

Monday, the 3rd day of December, 2012

Hawks Bluff… There have been two reports about things happening around Hawks Bluff… First, it’s been reported that work began in Phase IV regarding the environmental issues cause by poor or inadequate drainage when roads were built… Folks have seen the pouring or rocks alongside some roads… Will encourage anyone to take pictures and post them here… Second, there is a report of intentional fires being set to brushes in Phases I to IV of Hawks Bluff; when contacted, the Piney PD confirmed up to eight fires in the four phases. A friend checked with VBC Sheriff Dept. and they had no knowledge of the fired being happening nor do they have any investigation going; they may – emphasis on ‘may’ – investigate if they have resources available when they receive the report from the State Fire Marshall… I called and was told there was nobody there to talk to me about the fires and, kindly, passed me on to the sheriff’s messaging service where I left a very unambiguous message. I suggest that everyone who can, place a call to any of the following numbers, and inquire about the Hawks Bluff fires to see if we can get any traction on this…
VBC Police Dispatch 931-946-4000
VBC Sheriff: Grayson Beasley 931-946-2118
County Commissioner representing the area: David Sullivan 931-946-2628

Weather… Jan and I moved up here in early 2009. Our first winter was the one of that year and it was rough; it was like being received with all honors. We had our first snow the week before Thanksgivings and – altogether - had about 27 inches of snow, many ice-outs and I remember saying: “Hmmm, they told us we would not get more six to eight inches of snow a year…” Time passed and 2010 came about. It turned out to be yet a stronger winter than the previous one; it snowed before Thanksgivings again; Jan and I ended up buying two snow shovels (one in a store in Cookeville - last one they had, and the other at Sears, on-line). We used them that year often and, had it not been for Danny and his tractor – which he does not own anymore, we would have been snowed bound several times. Ended up with almost four feet of snow that year! Then 2011 came about and not only we did not get any snow before Thanksgivings, we ended up with less than four inches of total snow fall; we did not get to use the snow shovels; we only needed to sweep the front entrance – with a normal brush – once! It was quite disappointing… Now comes 2012; Thanksgivings came and went and no snow yet; we have had, thought, a couple of frosts, but that’s it… Now, I am here hoping very sincerely I am wrong and that we have snow this year back to normal levels. However, I am afraid that things are changing permanently in front of our very eyes and that this winter will be warmer that last year’s… It may be too early to call it but, can you say Global Warming? No? Can’t bring yourself to swallow that one? Too much credit to Al Gore? OK; how about a Climatologically Unstable Environment? Does that sound more politically neutral or correct?

Sports… As the college football season winds down, I will be rooting for Notre Dame against Nick ‘Satan’ and the ‘Tide… I consider the season a successful one for the top Florida teams (Florida (5) & Florida State (13) – and always in that order!) and with a lot of work to do for the top Michigan teams (Michigan (19) & Michigan State (NR)). I notice the decline of top California teams (Stanford (8), UCLA (15) & USC (NR)), and admire the resurgence of Notre Dame. I see, with much chagrin, that ‘Satan’ continues to achieve success in Alabama and wonder, sometimes, is he getting ready to leave the in the lurch, as he has to so many others? On the Pros side, I believe the Lions (4-7) are cooked; they’ve lost their last three games and seem to have no answer for any team they face. The Giants are sitting pretty (7-4) on top of their division and the world is theirs to lose. The Bucs (6-6) are an enigma to me; they show greatness one week and then come unhinged the next; I’ll wait a couple of more weeks to either declare them cooked or put my hopes up. And then there are the Dolphins; they got beat by the Patriots this past week-end and I think they are done, cooked, if not numerically at least psychologically; they’ll also have to wait ‘til next year!

Reading several books at the same time… As I finish them, I will let you know the ones I like…

Food for thought…
“We have never stopped sin by passing laws; and in the same way, we are not going to take a great moral ideal and achieve it merely by law.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

So, stay lawful (as long as it makes sense), my friends…

Tuesday, the 6th day of November, 2012

Sports… Mixed weekend… On College Football the Gators won again and that makes the world better; the Hurricanes also on and that was good… On the pros side it was a mixed bag… The Dolphins and Giants managed to lose their games; the Bucs and Lions won their games outright. Good show!

Local… My hunting season is here… Muzzleloader season for deer started this past Saturday and, although I have not been out there yet, I will be going hunting sometime this week… Jan and I decided that, even though as a licensed hunter I am entitled to take 14 deer (11 does and 3 bucks), and we usually consume three deer a year, this season I will try to take four since we’ve found ourselves liking it more and more…

Politics… We’ll be just fine! I am a firm believer that either one of these two gentlemen who may become President will do just fine; I’m convinced they both have the same goal: to make this country better; they only may differ on some details on how to achieve that goal, that’s all… You see, when all is said and done, we have a strong political system with enough checks and balances that would allow not one branch of government to overpower the other two and send the country into mayhem. And if things go really wrong, there are enough tools and mechanisms to change the rules of the game (we’ve changed it twenty seven times in the last 236 years, as needed). What I’d like to see is that, whoever wins, has the support of all 300 Million American to ensure that their policies and ways to govern got the very best of tries; if it works, there will be lots of happy people in this country; if it doesn’t work, we will wait another four years and start all over, as we’ve done it now close to 50 times…

Some trivia for you… The word ‘mayday’ used by air and sea vessels to broadcast imminent disaster comes from the French expression m’aidez – meaning help me – and it is pronounced, approximately, mayday.

Food for thought… “There's never been a problem Americans couldn't solve. We are the world's leaders, and leaders don't fear change.”

 - John McCain, US Navy Officer, War Hero and US Senator

So, stay confident on our future, my friends…