Dear Neighbors,

This message is a follow-up to my message I sent yesterday regarding the Resort Sewer Treatment Plant.  I have heard from some of our owners who are in the Resort and feel they should not have to leave the Resort even though there is no electricity or sewer.  

First, I want to emphasis that DCMR has a “Sewer Treatment Plant” and not a septic system.  The difference is DCMR must treat all wastewater through a multistage process that requires the use of six (6) electric pumps. The system only works when all pumps are online working together. 

This past Saturday, we were able to wire in a generator to run just two (2) of the pumps to move sewage from one tank to another and make room for a one-time dumping of our owners motorcoach holding tanks. This was a temporary solution to get us by for a few extra days.  The manner in which the generator was wired up is not safe for continued use. A permanent backup power solution would require properly installed generator(s), plugs, switches, wiring and installation of a fuel source to operate the generator. A professional installation estimate would cost between $8,000 - $12,000.  I will be asking for estimates in the future and owners can vote on whether we go down this road.

There simply is not enough room in the tanks to do this over and over again and doing so would cause a Hazmat situation from overflow into the Resort.  Continued use in this manner also violates the parameters of our sewer treatment permit with the State of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  I had to prepare an emergency plan for DEQ a few months ago on how DCMR would handle an extended power outage. The plan gave us a five (5) day maximum before we had to evacuate the resort.  We are now 5 days into this outage.  Please understand that I am trying to honor and protect the integrity of our sewer permit and avoid potentially expensive fines for not complying.  I think it goes without saying that if our permit was revoked we would all be in trouble.

I do have one more option left which is to have septic trucks respond and remove waste from the tank so we could do another dump.  Again, a temporary fix and an additional expense to the owners. How many times and how much do owners want to pay for this expense?

Another option, I spoke with Robert Sells who is the owner of Cool Breeze RV Park and he confirmed that our owners can go next door to Cool Breeze and dump their tanks at a cost of $20.00 each time.

My advice yesterday was intended to give owners at DCMR enough time to consider alternatives and make other arrangements in the event power is not restored this week.

Again, please do not send wastewater from your cabin or your motorhome unless and until instructed to do so by the Board.  We don’t want to create a bigger problem and expense for our owners.  Currently, there is no problem with our sewer system but it needs to be properly powered to operate correctly and so we don’t end up sending untreated waste into our pond or into the streams and rivers.

I know that many are frustrated with the situation we find ourselves in currently.  This has been an unprecedented weather event at DCMR and throughout the southeast region of the United States and I want to assure you that your Board of Directors is working to accommodate every owner as best we can at this time. 

Sincerely,

Christopher D. Darker, President

DCMR HOA Board of Directors

Dear Neighbors,

I believe we have experienced the worst storm we have ever seen at DCMR.  There are about 8-10 trees down on the perimeter and golf course areas. I hear we had somewhere around 15 inches of rain that fell and experienced wind gusts of 60-70 mph. There is minor damage to some lots such as broken awnings, portable heaters and some metal flashing. Highway 18 is closed due to a landslide. The tree hanging over Edmonds Road has been removed so access by motorhomes is not an issue. Many stores in Galax cannot take credit cards only cash. 

Our biggest issue is that our electric, internet and cell service has been impacted at the Resort.  Power was originally projected to return yesterday but is now projected to be back on at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night but there is no guarantee of that either. We did hook up a portable generator to some of our sewer pumps so our owners could drain their tanks on Saturday. Unfortunately, as it stands right now we will not be able to allow another dumping of tanks.

If the power is not returned by Thursday October 3rd, the Board will have to close the resort under a Mandatory Evacuation until such power is returned and we can run our sewer system properly. I am asking our DCMR Rental Reservationist's to notify all renters today that their scheduled stay at DCMR may have to be canceled or rescheduled.

I strongly suggest that our owners start making their contingency plans to move out of the resort not later than noon on Friday, October 4th. We understand that The Oaks RV Park in Meadows of Dan has electricity and full hookups should our owners like to go there. There number is 276-222-2333. There are other RV parks in the area that may have power as well.  If the power is restored this week, we anticipate that we can get the sewer system back on line within 24 hours after power is restored.

We have also attempted to get a roll-off dumpster but they are all being used for storm cleanup at this time. It may 1 -2 weeks before we can get one delivered.

On top of all this there is another storm predicted on Friday.

We appreciate the help and support of our owners during this event and hope we can get things back to normal here soon.

Christopher D. Darker, President

Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort HOA