Recently the community has been the object of series of sensational newspaper stories concerning a most regrettable incident that occurred at our stables. An apparent knife-wielding misfit maliciously wounded three horses. Hopefully, this crime will be solved in short order. Is this unbelievable act reason for concern? Yes. But does this mean the Harbour is suddenly a dangerous crime ridden neighborhood. Certainly not! Let?s look at the facts. We are middle to upper middle class neighborhood of approximately 7,000 residents. To a great extent we mirror a small American city. However, we have several distinct advantages with our gate, fenced perimeter areas and a dedicated police force. Nearly every case of wrongdoing has been resident-to-resident, domestic, drunk driving or teen vandalism/misbehavior and done by residents or invited guests. For the past five years nearly every significant crime has been solved and individuals punished. Outside professional criminals avoid our community. They know the odds of being caught are too great.

The question comes down to can we do better? The answer is clearly yes. Because of terrain and size of the community a formal neighborhood watch program is difficult to effectively establish and maintain. However, if every resident would be observant and notify the police of any suspicious activity as well as monitoring and being involved in their children?s activities incidents would drop significantly. Turning the other way or just not willing to be involved only encourages improper acts. All the gates, fences and police are little good if the community isn?t involved. It?s frustrating to watch the gate let known lawbreakers in because someone calls, gives them a guest card or accompanies them. We will never eliminate crime entirely but with resident involvement can make it a very minor thing. Please think about this and act accordingly.

On the brighter side the budget should be approved as you read this and we will continue with improving our facilities. Some of the major goals are to rebuild the first green at the golf course, start marina improvements, initiate action to get our own dredging permit, do more work on the parks/fields along with many more routine things. Work on the Harbour Inn warming kithchen/storage room is to start any day. The wetlands trade off project should be complete within days and plantings started. This summer we are outsourcing the management of our pools to a professional pool management company. Negotiations continue with the Rescue Squad to allow us to participate in their future expansion. The big question is how to accommodate their plans and our police station. The latest word from Stafford County is that the Government Island project should be underway this summer. This will have little direct on the community, as the plan is to have an entrance from Coal Landing Road with the access trail on the far side of Austin Run.

Keep in mind the Business Office is dedicated to serving you. If you have trouble getting here during normal business hours please call. We can probably work something by mail, Fax, E-mail or drop box.