Status Report - Thursday,
September 29, 2011

This is our final update concerning travel to Sunrise Mountain Village. A lot of progress on the roads and the Killington Resort has been made. The foliage season is upon us and the weather will turn to more “seasonable autumn temperatures” this coming weekend. Below is updated information for the roads; please check with the Vermont transportation web site to get the most updated information about the state roads www.511vt.com.

• Route 4:  The progress along Route 4 continues with paving and ongoing side repairs. Please expect road delays.
• East Mountain Road: Access East Mountain Rd via the Killington Access Road, by taking the left to the Killington Grand; it becomes East Mountain Road. Be aware of single-lane traffic and heavy equipment operation, especially above the ski bridge and continuing to Bear Mountain Rd. Access to East Mountain Rd via Route 4 and Skyeship Base is closed. The road took a real hit and it is still very treacherous, especially at night. All in all, driving East Mountain Rd at night is NOT ENDORSED OR RECOMMENDED by the staff at Sunrise.
• Bear Mountain Road: Progress is being made. The shoulders and some lanes are still “soft”. The road is filled in most places, but paving the road has not commenced yet.
• Routes 100: Route 100 from Ludlow to Route 4 is now open. Please check the Vermont Agency of Transportation for road work conditions.
• Sunrise Mountain Village: We will be open 9am to 5pm this weekend. The sports center, indoor hot tub and pool are open. The outdoor hot tub will be open until 8pm.

If you would like to make a donation to assist with area towns affected by Tropical Storm Irene, your board of directors suggest visiting the Town of Killington’s web site and consider their listed organization. Please click on the following web address:

www.killingtontown.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={833E17A1-75D3-4628-946B-A2E3B6A4E2C6}

Or if you prefer better-known organizations, we suggest the Vermont Red Cross www.redcross.org  or the Vermont Relief Fund (United Way) www.uwrutlandcounty.org Donating locally will help insure that your contribution stays in Vermont.

Also, check the online Mountain Times to receive up-to-date information in the Killington region. www.mountaintimes.info.

For updates on Killington and their revised fall schedule and reconstruction updates, please go to their web site www.killington.com.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

kate

Status Report - Thursday,
September 22, 2011

Progress continues at Killington. The gondola is running again; and the golf course is open. With that said, this weekend will not be “picture-perfect autumn” weather with rain in the forecast. There is a blush of color in the mountains, and the warm tropical air is keeping the leaves green.

• Route 4:  The progress along Route 4 is remarkable. Still, paving and ongoing side repairs continue, so road delays can be expected. Also, many guard rails are not yet in place.
• East Mountain Road: Please access East Mountain Rd via the Killington Access Road, by taking the left to the Killington Grand, as becomes East Mountain Road. Be aware of single-lane traffic, especially around the ski bridge and continuing to Bear Mountain Rd. Access to East Mountain Rd via Route 4 and Skyship Base is closed. The road took a real hit and it is still very treacherous, especially at night. All in all, driving East Mountain Rd at night is NOT ENDORSED OR RECOMMENDED by the staff at Sunrise.
• Bear Mountain Road: Progress is being made. The shoulders and some lanes are still “soft”. The road is filled in most places, but paving the road has not commenced yet.
• Routes 100: Please check the Vermont Agency of Transportation to see if the road is open for regular traffic. www.511vt.com
• Sunrise Mountain Village: We will be open 9am to 5pm this weekend. The indoor hot tub and pool are open. The outdoor hot tub will be open, as well as the fitness center.

As mentioned in the previous update, we have received inquiries from homeowners asking how they can help with local towns which were affected by Tropical Storm Irene. If you would like to make a donation to assist with this urgent need, your board of directors suggest visiting the Town of Killington’s web site and consider their listed organization. Please click on the following web address:

www.killingtontown.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={833E17A1-75D3-4628-946B-A2E3B6A4E2C6}

Or if you prefer better-known organizations, we suggest the Vermont Red Cross at www.redcross.org or the Vermont Relief Fund (United Way) at www.uwrutlandcounty.org. Donating locally will help insure that your contribution stays in Vermont.

Also, check the online Mountain Times to receive up-to-date information in the Killington region. www.mountaintimes.info.

For updates on Killington and their revised fall schedule and reconstruction updates, please go to their web site www.killington.com.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Rich

Status Report - Thursday,
September 15, 2011

We know that many of you are anxious to return to Vermont as soon as possible, so we are posting this update today to assist in your planning. Travel to the Killington region is still not recommended for the upcoming weekend (Sept.17, 18), however great progress has been made this week, and it’s still early Thursday. Unless you absolutely must, please delay your visit for one more week.

The photos you see were taken on Tuesday, September 13 to show some of the more local difficulties we’re confronting. And, you can also see, foliage is still in the very early stages.

• Route 4:  It looks as though the Governors pledge to have Route 4 open the entire width of the State by this weekend will be met. The progress has been stunning, with paving now in progress. Because of paving and ongoing side repairs, road delays can be expected. Also, many guard rails are not yet in place.

East Mountain Road

• East Mountain Road: Most of East Mountain Rd is still one-way with many deep craggy curves, buckled asphalt, and is littered with piles of fill and boulders for eventual reconstruction. For these reasons, the road is still legally closed. This week, repair efforts have been concentrated on the upper part (west towards Killington) of the road from the Bear Mt. Road junction. Any traffic along these roads will impede road construction. Driving at night is NOT ENDORSED OR RECOMMENDED by the staff at Sunrise. Please refer to the picture of East Mountain Rd.

Bear Mountain Road

• Bear Mountain Road: Wednesday, the repair equipment/crew from Killington arrived and began reconstructing the damaged portions of the road. It’s doubtful, but we’re hopeful, that these repairs will be completed by the weekend. Please refer to the picture of Bear Mountain Rd.
• Routes 100 and 107: These roads remain closed to all but emergency vehicles.
• Sunrise Mountain Village: Remains closed, but we will be staffed this Saturday from 8am-4pm. If repairs on the East Mountain Road continue at the current pace, we should have safe passage to our community via the main Killington Access Road next weekend. Beginning Saturday, September 24th, our normal fall schedule of hours and amenities will be available.

The reconstruction of Route 4 and some the local roads within Killington restored most of our little corner of Vermont. However, many surrounding communities and neighbors’ homes were destroyed, and the prospect of winter arriving in a few months is of paramount concern to the displaced residents. Reconstruction of homes and business will take years and many, many dollars to correct.

Local fund raising has begun in earnest for this long term need. This past Tuesday, Vermont Public Radio did what they do best, and hosted an all-day fund drive for long-term Vermont Relief. Last night, Vermont’s own jam band, Phish, performed a benefit concert in Burlington with all proceeds going to the relief fund. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters recently made a $250,000 donation. We have received inquiries from homeowners who are also concerned about the devastation and asking how they can help. If you would like to make a donation to assist with this urgent need, your board of directors suggest visiting the Town of Killington’s web site and consider their listed organization. Please click on the following web address:

www.killingtontown.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={833E17A1-75D3-4628-946B-A2E3B6A4E2C6}

Or if you prefer better-known organizations, we suggest the Vermont Red Cross www.redcross.org or the Vermont Relief Fund (United Way) www.uwrutlandcounty.org Donating locally will help insure that your contribution stays in Vermont.

Royal Barnard, the owner of the Mountain Times, sent us an email to pass on to Sunrise homeowners to review their online newspaper to receive up-to-date information in the Killington region. www.mountaintimes.info.

For updates on Killington and their revised fall schedule and reconstruction updates, please go to their web site www.killington.com.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Rich

Status Report – Friday, September 9, 2011

We’ve weathered the week’s rain fine and while repair efforts have been slowed in some instances, great improvements region wide continue to be made. Our hearts go out to our neighbors and community members in western New York and Pennsylvania who appear to have just sustained flooding worse than Vermont’s.

We are trying to re-establish a sense of normalcy and routine within our operations as we resume our daily tasks and duties. Donna surprised us this morning with her presence as the last returning staff member. The roads to her remote residence in the backwoods of Bridgewater was particularly hard hit. Access within the region has greatly improved but we recommend that owners do not yet return.

• Route 4: The ambitious word from the state is that they hope to have both the east and west sections open by next weekend with 2 lane traffic.
• East Mountain Road: Very little progress this week but limited access exists, apparently there are other priorities within the town.
• Bear Mountain Road: No further damages or deterioration to report but no improvements either.
• Sunrise Mountain Village: Remains closed, we will not be staffed this weekend but have tentative plans to resume regular hours and amenity offerings for next weekend (9/17 – 18). This obviously depends on safe and accessible roads.
• Community Residences: We’ve completed a second round of inspections and are again pleased to report how well all of our properties did through this event. No new issues were discovered. Detector batteries are being replaced and alarm systems double checked. Topridge owners should be aware that prior to the storm we tied down some of the units lighter deck furniture as a precautionary measure. These have not been undone.

Please remain patient with your desire to return. It’s only been two weeks since the storm and while things are much better, the region is not yet ready for an influx of traffic despite what you may read or hear. If all goes well, you should have the chance to visit soon to survey the situation and support the local economy. All of our businesses will certainly need this and hopefully in time for everyone to enjoy the foliage.

Rich

September 6, 2011

A quick update since our last report.

Weather and rain in particular continues to challenge our region. Fortunately, everything received since Sunday night has been absorbed and we have not experienced any of the forecasted flash flooding yet. To my knowledge none of the temporary road repairs have been compromised, more rain is in the immediate forecast but at least hurricane Katia is not coming our way.

• Route 4 East: A concentrated effort has produced significant improvements to this vital corridor. It is now the major supply route for the whole region including towns to the north on Route 100. Weather permitting, 2 way traffic should be recreated by the end of the week - an amazing effort there.
• Route 4 West: The road itself is a mess and traffic will not be restored for a very long time. Emergency travel is possible but its only one way and strictly controlled. There is general passage that requires a short hike along a trail near the "Journey's End" in Mendon to a spur road off of Sherwood Lane. This is above Sugar & Spice but it does require vehicle availability on either side. We attempted to bring our western staff in via this route this morning.
• East Mountain Road: Limited progress here, it's getting better but no one was working on it this weekend.
• Bear Mt Road: Our eastern crew is taking great pride in this project; it's still passable and holding against the rain. We worked on this thru the better part of Sunday concentrating on Trail View Drive (the road above) which has not been stabilized yet. This roads failure made the damage to the Bear Mt Road much worse and redirecting drainage from it was imperative. Unfortunately, we've used all of our available fill material and must wait for truck access on East Mountain road to resupply but access remains.
• Access: All of the major routes are still technically closed. Route 4 East will undoubtedly open first, possibly Route 100 from the south next. Not sure when but we'll keep you posted. Thanks to everyone for not coming this past weekend it really does help. I'd plan on no access again this week but look for our updates.

Rich

September 2, 2011

Hi All:

Thanks for all the kind messages of concern and support, it’s greatly appreciated. I’m happy to say that as of last night all of our staff has been safely accounted for and all of the community’s utilities (electric, telephone and cable) have been restored.

As you know from Alan Desino’s earlier message and web site postings, our community has been spared virtually any damage. We really are in great shape and can report the following:

Unit Checks:

All units that we have access to have been thoroughly inspected. If we found any problems we will be in direct contact with you. We’ve been inundated with individual owner requests for information about this but we will not respond unless we’ve found something to report. Please don’t think we’re ignoring you.

Refrigerators/Freezers:

During our inspections we removed all perishable food items and either threw them out or if possible (and there were great quantities) donated them to those in need including hungry staff members trapped here and the greater Killington community. Please be advised that when you return you should make your own determination on remaining food stuffs. We concentrated on removing items that would smell or ruin the appliance if left unattended for long, there are items that were left that really should be thrown – mayo for instance.

Alarms & Timers:

Due to the duration of the power outage all detector batteries will need to be replaced. Many are beeping now, as time and battery inventory allows we will work through this. The monitored alarms are again activated. Timers will be reset once we’re sure the power interruptions are finished.

Access:

The area road system was the hardest hit infrastructure. All of the major highways are still technically closed. Washouts were extreme and travel is still treacherous and limited to emergency vehicles only, except for some limited and controlled times to allow regional exit or local resupply.

Bear Mountain Road:

Fortunately, our internal community network did not experience damage except for the Bear Mountain Road. Sections of this are in bad shape, and since this a private road, help from others will not occur. As shared users with Killington, the burden of repair falls upon us. Our limited available maintenance crew (most can’t make it in from Rutland) have been working hard with our under sized equipment to try and preserve the damaged sections from additional water erosion and vehicular induced collapse. Yesterday was particularly successful in that we cleared the problematic culvert that created the washout and restored proper drainage. We are co-coordinating more permanent repairs with Killington.

Communications:

We’ve certainly learned quite a bit on how to improve our communications better the next time around for both you the member base on the general local region. The easiest to update and most accessible option for all is our website. We will provide information updates on this as we work through Irene’s aftermath.

Community:

Please consider our Village closed. Through our updates we will let you know when return visits are safe and warranted. I understand the desire for personal inspection and general curiosity of these recent events. Additional traffic will only impede reconstruction efforts and tax available resources.

Administrative Coverage:

We will maintain a community presence but not sure what the next few days schedule will be. We’re hoping to get back some semblance of normal staffing levels next week but it depends on road improvements.

In closing, PLEASE DO NOT COME HERE until further notice. More rain is forecasted for Sunday/Monday and the temporary road repairs may wash again or make what’s left very unstable. Winter is fast approaching and everyone’s priority must be insuring that the road network gets restored.

Thanks again,
Rich

September 1, 2011

Electric power has been restored to Sunrise. Community access, however, is limited to emergency vehicles and personnel only. Please do not plan to visit the area until alerted. Visitors and curiosity seekers are being turned away by authorities.

The salvageable foods found in the units have been donated to the Town of Killington. They have been preparing meals at the school for those stranded and working in the area. The donations have been greatly appreciated.

We will have further updates later in the day.

Sunrise

Sunrise Mountain Village Property
Status Report: Post Irene

I am pleased to report that Sunrise staff is on site and will be inspecting all properties. Rich Kolb and some of his staff were able to enter Sunrise on Tuesday and based on their initial observations and inspections it appears that we faired very well compared to other parts of Killington. All of our buildings, the roads exclusively serving Sunrise as well as our amenities appear to have suffered little to no damage.

The Sunrise staff will be inspecting individual properties that we have keys and access to and will determine if any interior damage occurred due to flooding. We will be in communication with those owners if damage occurred and we will work to correct the problems. This inspection process will take longer than normal until we are able to safely bring more Sunrise staff up into Sunrise. As there still is no power at Sunrise we will remove perishables from the refrigerators and freezers and if salvageable we will offer it to Sunrise staff and Sunrise occupants that are still in the community.

We have 250,000 gallons of fresh water in our storage tank and over the next few days we will ascertain any damage to our waste water facilities and spray fields. We can provide no information regarding electric power, telephone or cable restoration of services at this time.

Roads and bridges are the primary victims of Irene in the Killington area. Repairs are under way but many roads will remain closed for the near term.  Bear Mountain Road which is co-maintained by Sunrise and Killington Resort is closed. Bear Mountain Road was damaged and has areas that are difficult to pass through due to wash outs. Sunrise will begin work immediatey to begin to restore damaged areas of the road so that when we due bring in contractors to finish the repairs the work will be done more quickly.

Please do not try to visit the community as access to the mountain is nearly impossible for the moment.. Please access our our website for additional updates. www.sunrisemtnvillage.com

Our thanks go out to many of you who have shown compassion and understanding regarding our efforts to protect your property as well to assist those residents who remain in the community until it is safer to leave the area.

Special thanks go to Chris Masce and Greg Labelle who stayed up at Sunrise during the storm to protect the community's assets.

Finally a couple of Sunrise residents have offered to create a Sunrise Community sponsered chairity drive.  Additional details will follow on this program as they are developed over the next few days.

We appologize that this update went out a day later than we wanted to but we needed to retrieve the Sunrise computers on Tuesday and relocate them to an area with power so that we could access everyone's email address.

Thank you for your understanding and additional details will follow as we learn more information.

Alan Desino, President