Happy Summer to all the ILE folks!!
Did you know that Transylvania County was named based on two Latin words? “Trans” meaning across and “sylvan” meaning woods. Well, once you spend time up here as the land transforms from winter to a lush summer, you truly understand how beautifully wooded our little paradise is. Where at one time you could see into and across the mountains, that same area has become thick with greenery and the beauty of nature. I love the diversity that our four seasons provide!
- Since traffic in our community is always a topic, let me start by thanking most everyone that I have encountered for being mindful of each other and maintaining a safe speed. There have been a limited number of incidences of unsafe speeds, so thank you all. For those of you that rent your homes, please remind your tenants of the need for safe speeds.
- I want to be sure to thank (once again) all the members of the community that have volunteered to assist with the multitude of tasks that need to be done around here. A special thank you to all our Board members for serving the community. Remember that we are all volunteers and many of us are still working our full-time jobs, as well as maintaining our personal lives, and without those volunteers much would go undone.
- In that same regard, I want to thank Tony Micocci for volunteering to serve on the Canoe Rack subcommittee. I would still like to ask for more folks to get involved to be a part of these subcommittees as well as:
- A Welcome Wagon Subcommittee to welcome new folks to our neighborhood.
- A Social Subcommittee to come up with some fun ideas for us to do as a neighborhood.
- A Community Involvement Subcommittee to allow us to be more involved outside of our neighborhood and give back to the community surrounding us.
- A Communication Subcommittee to ensure that all our news, events, and updates are effectively communicated to all members of the community.
Nothing brings people together more than being mutually involved and, as I mentioned, we cannot do it all alone. Besides, who doesn’t want to have more fun!
- This year so far, we have four new homeowners:
- Colin and Aymie Castner from Charlotte, NC purchased the home at 50 Glen Ryalls Dr.
- Gina Brown from Charlotte, NC and Ken Johnson from Wilmington, NC have purchased 716 Indian Lake Rd.
- Matthew Pickett from Asheville, NC purchased the property at 58 Rainbow’s End.
- Tony Micocci and Martha Savitzky from Asheville, NC have purchased the home at 68 Qualla Trace.
Please welcome them all to our community.
- For those of you that are interested, we have a resource in a platform called “Nextdoor.” It is a great platform for sharing and for finding service providers and other information in the surrounding area. I would encourage folks to sign up. Consider it a form of Facebook for neighborhoods.
- One item of note is that at this time of year you may encounter various animals out there in nature, especially babies that may seem as though they have been abandoned. Please do not attempt to “rescue” these animals on your own. In many cases, they have been placed there by their parents and are quite safe as the mother will return. However, if you feel that the animal may be injured or abandoned, please call Animal Control, or check www.ncwrc.maps.arcgis.com for a list of nearby independent but licensed wildlife rehabilitators on the provided map.
- We have identified a possible issue with our emails where they may not be getting to some folks. Please reach out to your friends and neighbors to see if they are getting the communications and let us know of anyone who is not. See?! A Communications Subcommittee might not be a bad idea!
- The Board of Directors of ILE recently discussed our situation with seven lots that have gone into arrears on their Assessments over the past few years. These lots are vacant, and the owners have allowed them to default on the taxes owed as well. The Board has decided that it would not be in the best interest of our community for ILE Inc. to take ownership of them. There are seven lots that are indicated on the attached map with red borders around them. The families that own them had indicated to ILE at one time that they would be willing to do a “quit claim” deed to ILE for the taxes owed, and while that would not be a huge sum of money, it was decided that we are not in the real estate business and therefore as an organization would not pursue acquiring them. Should anyone in our community have an interest in these lots, we are happy to provide the contact information that we have and allow individuals to pursue them on their own. In addition, there are a few other lots for sale as indicated in green borders. The lot outlined in blue is the lot we have listed on our website as for sale by ILE.
- Lastly, we will be holding elections for new Board Members! This is your opportunity to be a part of shaping our community! There are two seats coming open and at this point we have one person that has stepped up to serve. If you would like to be a part of this, please let our secretary know by emailing her at ilcsec@comporium.net.
Thank you again for your patience with me as I navigate this new role. Juggling a full-time job where my travel is picking back up on top of this can be a challenge, but I am excited to be a part of this community and look forward to continuing to serve everyone and do my best to continue to take care of our environment.
Hedgie Bartol
President ILE