Thank you to all who attended the Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening! It was wonderful to see another great turnout for this annual event. Thank you to Six Productions for their assistance with audio visual portion of the meeting.

If you missed the meeting, the slide show and video recording are linked below.

*There were some audio difficulties during the Q&A portion of the meeting. Please feel free to reach out should you need clarity on any of the items discussed at governance@rvrma.org.

This week's featured photo shows a baby racoon nestled in a bush in front of the RVR Ranch House.

A couple of weeks ago RVR staff spotted the cute critter in one of our garden beds. The baby racoon was observed from afar in the hopes that his mother would return to collect him. After consulting with a local wildlife center it was decided to send the little guy off to the rescue center. Thanks to Tricia Pionzio for taking the picture and for helping to coordinate his rescue! 

If you're interested in having your photo highlighted in the weekly news, please submit images to: jessica.hennessy@rvrma.org.

Click here for more Town of Carbondale Meetings and events

An international study conducted by the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research was recently published in the news journal Science Advances. The study took place from 2018-2022 and over 1.8 million pieces of plastic waste were collected and reviewed globally. The two largest soft drink companies in the world, PepsiCo and Coca Cola, produced over 16% of the world's plastic pollution in this study. Shocking, isn't it? Although both companies have programs in place to phase out single-use plastic packaging, it will take years to reach their goals. You can help to reduce plastic waste from soft drink containers by choosing cans or glass bottles over plastic ones if you are going to buy one of their products. If you do buy a plastic bottle, please check the label and make sure it is recyclable.

Please mark your calendars for the following adjustments to the Ranch House pool operations:

Saturday, July 27

Indulge in an evening of exploring 6 unique white wines, and expand your palate. Join us for an evening of wine tasting and education.

5 - 6:30 p.m.

The Ranch House

$25/person, space is limited, RSVP is necessary.

Saturday, July 27

You are invited to the Annual Summer Celebration at the Old Thompson Barn at 6 p.m. following a community-wide open house from 3 - 5 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 3

Heather Becker, owner of Nordic Gardens will do a garden presentation at Orchard Park from 9:30 - 10 a.m.

Gardens will be open to tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Register to share your garden with RVR Neighbors and friends before Saturday, July 27 with Ali Royer at ali.royer@rvrma.org.

Saturday, Aug 17

Please join us for a local author - Dottie Lamm for her latest book reading and signing.

Tuesday, August 20

Come and meet the Tanzanian Tooth Fairy at the Ranch House.

Tuesday, August 27

Come and hear Don Marlin talk about the geology of Carbondale and the Roaring Fork Valley.

Wednesday's
Oct. 2 - Dec. 18

This fall we will have another beginning ballet class for boys and girls ages 5 - 8.

The vote on the proposed special assessment has concluded and the majority of the community has voted in favor of the initiative.

Vote results:

In order to pass, we needed a simple majority of “Yes” votes, with at least 60% of all properties participating (to meet a quorum).  We have exceeded the quorum threshold with 69% of all properties participating in the vote. 66% of voters authorized the special assessment, representing a majority. As a result, the special assessment is hereby authorized.

The approved special assessment amount is $5,500 per lot or unit. Please note that the collection of this assessment is being carried out through a separate invoice, which has been sent to your email on record with the HOA. The invoice will come to you directly from RVR's QuickBooks account. The invoice has information regarding payment details inclusive of auto-pay options. You have the option to make either a partial payment (1/2 of the assessment) or a full payment on or before October 1, 2024. If you are splitting up the payment, the second half of the amount owed is due on or before August 1, 2025. However, we want to emphasize that you are free to make the payment at any time that is convenient for you before the due date.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the special assessment or the payment process, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here to assist you and provide any necessary clarifications.

Please stop by the Ranch House to view our artist of the month, Lauren Graves photography. The picture and description below go into more detail about one of the images featured. 

Click here to view her bio.

The Dogs of Cuba

I had the opportunity to travel to Cuba for the month of January 2002 as part of a black and white documentary photography workshop. It was a last minute decision for me to go. I had no idea what my documentary project would be, but I knew it couldn’t be too intensive because I don’t speak Spanish. But I do speak Dog!! 

On my first day in Havana as I was walking around, I noticed that most of the dogs were small, and many of them wore clothes!  They simply seemed to be part of the larger Cuban community. Throughout the day, it was not unusual to see them unleashed, walking right along with the ‘human’ pedestrian traffic, clearly on their way to somewhere. 

This particular dog image was my first shot of anything in Cuba that felt like a direction for a documentary project, and I shot it on that first day. When I developed the film and saw it, I knew I was on to something - as did my fellow photographers. It’s still one of my favorite images. I hope you enjoy this one as well as a few others from my series, ‘The Dogs of Cuba’. 

Many thanks to everyone at RVR for the wonderful reception I’ve had here!

Best wishes,

Lauren Graves  

Qigong Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9492574662?pwd=YTZ3Mkc5Z3FrdllEdjVyZ3R0TXFadz09

Passcode: 400427

970.963.6300  •  www.rvrma.org