Nothing
can start a fiery discussion among neighbors quicker than discussing the
Campgrounds in Coosawattee River Resort.
I am certainly not here to start a fiery discussion, but to make some
general observations that continue to encourage me to think that CRR is making
headway at revitalizing this wonderful community resource.
First,
I would like to say that I think CRR has done a great job at marketing not only
the Campground properties, but also the residential properties within our
community. The sales figures released in
the monthly newsletters show that we are moving property quickly and it is
primarily in the Campground area. I
firmly believe as the economy continues to slowly improve we will see more development
in the Campground.
Why,
you ask? Well, it is simply
economics. It’s fair to say that people
are certainly doing better than they were four years ago. It’s also fair to say that most people are
not riding the high tide of the falsely elevated stock markets and bloated
housing industry. That leaves us
somewhere in the middle. I would say
that most people looking to invest in CRR and seeking a weekend getaway or
vacation spot are doing ‘okay’ but not getting rich. I don’t know if you have taken a look at the
local real estate listings lately, but there isn’t much in our neck of woods
below $100K anymore. It was only a
handful of years ago when prime real estate in CRR could be purchased between
$40K and $100K, and this bought you a fairly nice home. The market is changing and the sun has set on
those days.
So,
where would a retiree or young family be able to secure a piece of mountain
paradise at a reasonable price? Now,
you’re starting to see my point….
A
lot of families and retirees still can’t afford to delve into a $100K mortgage
for a weekend getaway. And, I personally
don’t believe they should. It was this
uninformed spending that landed us in a bit of a pickle before. But, there is great value in setting up camp
in the Campgrounds without emptying the bank account. I have also noticed a lot of quality
development in the campgrounds. Not only
are more roof-overs being constructed, but also roof over and screen room
combos/enclosures. I have to say, these
look great and give such a polished, clean appearance to the area. These roof-overs and enclosures not only
provide attractive aesthetics, but also protect the RV’s and keeps them cleaner
and in better overall condition. The Campgrounds are
(hold your breath!) beginning to look like a high end RV Community! The key to full revitalization is to continue
investing in the Campgrounds and keep pushing the property values north. It’s my opinion that young professional
families seeking an affordable weekend ‘cottage’ or retirees looking to live
the RV lifestyle will be the demographics that rebuild this once beautiful and
bustling area of CRR. We will all do
better once we achieve a level of quality that makes the Campground property
sought after. Just the notion that
people are investing a great deal of money into these high-end campground
properties should provoke all CRR residents to think what they can do to continue
this trend. I would also think that as
these developments continue to rise that the residents and owners of the
campground properties will gain a new sense of pride in ownership.
We
are on a path to positive change. I hope
that the CRR Board and General Manager continue to put a concerted effort into
the continued growth and development within the Campgrounds. I’m thinking it’s going to be a great summer
along the Coosawattee River.
Till
next time,
Chris
9 comments:
Things seem to be improving in the campgrounds, but it's hard to say unless you live in them -- and off of Ogden Drive. That's where most of the *real* ugliness and other problems are.
I think the most revealing event that makes a statement about the conditions in the campground is the annual "Campground Cleanup" that the POA solicits volunteers for once per year. (...And they solicit them from the *entire* community -- not just among the campground owners.) This annual task was done just last weekend.
First of all, why do the campground lots get so messy that it takes volunteers from all over the community to help clean it up once a years?
Second of all, shouldn't this task be funded by our budget -- or at the very least, from the budget of the campground owners themselves? I don't see the campground owners being solicited to volunteer to help pick up all the trash that people throw on *my* lot (not a small amount) ....or anywhere else in the community for that matter.
This event clearly makes a statement about the kind of people who live in the campgrounds -- mostly full-time -- and the kind problems they create for themselves and each other. I used to frequently drive down Ogden to the Legion Road gate. I finally stopped and instead drive the slightly longer distance down Newport Rd, simply because it got too depressing looking at all the trash and run-down "trailer-shanties" along Ogden Rd. (And also because of the on-going drug problems there....)
This is something that families in particular need to be aware of before buying a "campsite". Some small progress appears to be occurring -- but the campgrounds are still a long way from being a "great vacation alternative"....
An afterthought:
After the crash, a number of RV manufacturers went belly-up -- including the one that made my trailer.
Have you checked to see how well RV sales are recovering from the crash? This would be a key element to anticipated increased sales in campground lots.
If RV sales (and camping in general) aren't on the increase, then there is no reason to expect campsite sales to increase for the type of buyers you (and CRRA) want to appeal to...
Actually, from what I see as I travel between homes that camping is still a very healthy industry/hobby. There are lots of RV's on the road and the large RV dealers seem to be doing fine. No way of telling what sales are in that industry unless they told you and I don't see them handing over sales figures!
One of the biggest problems in the Campground is the outlet for garbage. My take is that a lot of garbage gets left or dumped because there are no dumpsters in the area. This may possibly be from renters in the Ogden RV sites as well is inconsiderate/undermotivated owners of the campground AND residential areas. I know there really isn't a good solution to this because putting dumpsters in would invite everyone to fill them up! The only way to do this would be to have keyed access to dumpsters for the owners and everyone with a key would have to pay additional dues for removal. However, I'm sure the keys would get passed to friends and cause more problems.
Another issue we are still dealing with is the after effects of the building moratorium from several years ago. This is a multi prong issue. 1.) The moratorium pushed away some high end buyers that wanted to build roof overs and storage sheds. Not too many RV owners that I know leave their RV's out in the weather - especially not the high end coaches. 2.) The moratorium also left more people inclined to move older RV units onto their lots since they couldn't build roof overs to protect an expensive investment. 3.) The moratorium limited storage for most owners and with no storage comes clutter.
Yes, there are some old properties that don't look good. This problem, too, came from lack of building controls and people doing what they legally could do to protect their RV. Their are some 'shanties' that look that way (from what I am guessing) because they needed to add tin roofs, etc. to stop leakage. Not that that is an excuse, but an effect.
It occurs to me that another issue with garbage would be that CRRA no longer provides free garbage dumpsters at the Courtesy area. They now charge $1 per bag. While that may not seem like much for most of us, it is a larger burden on the average campground resident -- and it's a long drive.
The cost for an average household is about the same as having garbage picked up at your house -- which is what I do now.)
Actually, there are plenty of statistics on RV sales available. Here are some from the RVIA:
http://www.rvia.org/UniPop.cfm?v=2&OID=1132&CC=4128
They indicate that in 2013, total wholesale activity is approaching what it was before the crash -- so maybe there will be a market for buying campsites again.
Personally, I don't understand why someone would buy a campsite any more than I understand why they would buy a timeshare. I don't like to go to the same place every year. For me, the whole purpose of vacation is to get away from the "routine"... But that's just a personal preference...
Just yesterday, my wife told me about reading on NextDoor that three offenders on the Georgia Sex Offenders Registry list their homes in the CRR Campgrounds.
I checked and found this to be true. To be sure, I checked the County Assessor database, and found that two of the addresses were indeed owned by the offenders.
The third address did not show up in the database (4 7th Street), and nobody with a name matching the sex offender owns any lots on 7th Street. This could mean that either he gave a false address to the GBI, or he is living in a rental site.
Considering the importance, I thought that families should know about this before purchasing lots in the campgrounds...
My perception (and I am a proud full-time campground resident) on the things you mention are as follows:
First, is that the campground clean-up once a year is organized by the Campground Committee. It is advertised to campground residents asking for volunteers and if others see it and volunteer as well, that's awesome. It's all funded out of a separate budget and the dumpsters provided are supposed to only be for campground residents, but if others show up with things, they are not turned away.
Now, someone asked why this isn't done all over CRRA...as I said, the Campground Committee organizes this each year. Maybe the other areas of Coosawattee should get together and form committees for their housing Ares and then organize cleanup days for each area of CRRA?
2-3 Sex offenders registered as living in the campground area? How about 8 registered with addresses in the housing area? Including the husband of one of the best friends of a board member? No one knows how these people ended up on that list. Personally, I know someone who is on the list for having sex with his 16 year old girlfriend (he had just rurned19 and she was almost 17 at the time). Her parents freaked out and pressed charges. That was almost 30 years ago. Guess what? They got married and three kids and six grandkids later they are STILL married! But he's still on the registry.
What about the murder that happened in housing? Or the gang rape of a young teenage girl? And let's not forget the two meth houses that got busted or the one that had to be fumigated before it could be sold by a realtor. My point is that this stuff happens EVERYWHERE and it's getting really old having the campground put down by people FOR things that they hide in the housing area!
As for trying to make improvements to campers...LACK of improvements can be blamed on CRRA and their discrimanatory enforcement of the "setback variances" that even the County Commissioners Office has said were never meant to be applied to lots as small as the lots in the campground. According to CRRA rules, even to build a small doghouse on a campground lot, by the time you pay all the fees for the variances and survey and letters to be mailed, that small doghouse can end up costing you over $300 just in County fees and then CRRA wants a cut, too! The only way a campground lot owner can just about avoid having to apply for all the setback variances is to place everything right in front of their door! However, most homeowners have lots big enough to build things almost ANYWHERE on their lot and still fall within the setback variances so they don't have to apply for exceptions.
Amie, not sure if you will see this as it is after the fact. However, I think you may have missed the intention of my post. I was not pointing fingers as to 'why' issues have existed in the campground - simply that it is important that we continue to move on the right path. It is safe to say that all housing developments have their issues and CRR residential is no exception. However, I think it can be agreed that known issues have persisted in the campground and we are seeing improvements. Also, remember that setbacks typically apply to permanent structures. I'm not convinced a dog house would be considered permanent and require a variance. This usually applies to roof-overs, decks, permanently anchored sheds, etc. I haven't read the revised guidelines in some time, but it may be good revisit them.
Thanks, and best wishes - Chris
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