FY2026 Road Plan - Q4 Update
During the summer, we held a series of meetings with a grading and construction contractor, after which they submitted a comprehensive proposal to the POA Board. This proposal is outlined in the following pages. For reference, PDF documents of this plan and the previous Q2 plan are posted at the end of this page.
Strategic Road Plan
Background:
Access to our community passes through what once was a logging road we now call Big Ben Road. The roadway is located on private land and winds its way via an easement from Boardtown Rd to the bottom of Gobbler Knob Rd and then continues to the northeast section of our mountain community. Inquiries have been made to Gilmer County for assistance from the County Road Department to maintain the POA section of Big Ben Road. Unfortunately, the County has declined to provide maintenance assistance since they say Big Ben Rd is located on private land.
For the past 25 years, the POA has maintained the road beyond grading and rock distribution by replacing culverts, clearing drainage ditches, cutting brush overgrowth, and ensuring trees are removed when storms occur along the POA roadways. Double Knob POA Directors have engaged with numerous grading contractors to make our community access roads as accessible as possible – we’ve utilized the same process of grading and distributing gravel, repeatedly with both successful and unsuccessful results based on weather.
NOTE: For newer residents, it may also be helpful to note that only 1.5 miles of Big Ben Rd and Gobbler Knob Rd are included in the POA roads. All other roads to properties are the responsibility of the homeowners and landowners on these private roads. There are road signs marking the ending of POA responsibility. The POA is ONLY responsible for the roads and doing their best to maintain them with funds available through donations.
Our POA records go back to 2011 and track yearly contributions to the Road Fund and the number of houses in the DoubleKnob community. All 256 properties use Big Ben Road to reach the mailboxes at Boardtown Rd. Of the 256, 143 properties (61%) use Big Ben and Gobbler Knob and 93 (39%) properties but only Big Ben. Yearly contribution amounts and homeowner participation go from a low of $17,100 and 39% in 2013 to a high of $52,900 and 72% in 2025.
Longer term property owners will remember how severely the roadbed on Gobbler Knob Rd deteriorated after heavy rain, heavy traffic, and cold weather. The grading contractor used some time ago had a difficult time keeping up with the deterioration, so the decision was made to hard-coat Gobbler with a tar-and-gravel solution and then later topcoat with asphalt. Fortunately, at the time, expenses were lower and POA finances were such that funding was available to hard coat the only access to 60+% of the property on DoubleKnob. From that time to today, most of the contributions to the Road Fund have been used to maintain Big Ben Rd which is used to access all the DoubleKnob community.
With improved communications through email and social media, we all have had the ability to express our opinions and proposed solutions to our neighbors with both positive and negative impact. Nonetheless, new ideas are always something that need exploration. The question remains: Do we continue our course of ‘Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results?’ OR should we look at different alternative solutions and understand there’s a cost associated with each? The POA’s current budgetary constraints are the reason many underlying issues (e.g., added drainage culverts) have not been addressed.
The current POA’s exploration has resulted in this strategic overview offering the same old actions with expected results and alternative new actions with potentially different results AND added expense to be shared amongst all owners
Considerations
Several things to consider while reviewing this document and deciding the course of action are:
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Funding limitations and emergency reserve requirements significantly affect action plans.
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Contractors willing to propose reasonable cost solutions to our project have been extremely difficult to find.
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The funding requirements for the options available in this proposal are nearly impossible given current contribution participation percentages.
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Contributions to the Road Fund are voluntary, and participation in the POA is not mandatory for property owners associated with ownership.
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Development of sections of Double Knob did not require membership and financial payments to any subdivision association.
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An attorney was hired by the POA to investigate how to make membership in the POA mandatory. The result of the investigation was that if even one property owner votes “no,” it prevents a mandatory membership requirement.
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The first mile of Big Ben Rd passes via easement through private property. Undertaking significant roadbed enhancements on property not owned by anyone involved on Double Knob may be problematic for property owners.
Whatever decision is made will be based on a majority agreement based on the property owners’ input and willingness to share in the costs associated with the proposal.
Project Proposal
The POA Board has solicited and obtained a Job Work Estimate and Proposal from Colwell Construction Company of Blairsville, GA. Colwell has been associated with grading, rock quarry management and asphalt services since 1950.
Colwell’s estimate includes adding drainage culvert installations, grading, gravel base installation and asphalt paving options for 4100 linear feet of Big Ben Road. Colwell has provided estimates for four sections of Big Ben from the Boardtown Road apron at the mailboxes to the top of the third hill. The grand total of their estimate is $277,120 and includes asphalt, gravel, culvert materials and labor.
Given our current financial situation, the DoubleKnob POA cannot afford to proceed with this comprehensive plan. It is possible to break this comprehensive project into phases. In addition to implementing phases, consideration can be given to using asphalt where absolutely needed and using compacted crusher run gravel as a less costly method eliminating some costs. The overall project can be divided into three phases:
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Section 1 – Boardtown Road to the top of the first hill on Big Ben. Work consists of installing 3 additional drainage culverts, grading and distribution, and compacting the gravel base and asphalt pave. Costs are $146,950 for the entire section and $41,200 without asphalt.
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Section 2 – Big Ben Rd from the top of the first hill up to the water break at the top of the third hill. Work consists of grading and distribution and compaction of gravel base. Costs are $66,000 without asphalt.
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Section 3 – Big Ben Rd from Boardtown Rd approximately 500 feet to water break. Work consists of grade and distribute and compact gravel base and asphalt pave. Costs are $47,250 plus $16,920 if additional asphalt is laid at the mailbox apron for a total of $64,170.
Breaking the project into phases will still present financial obstacles for Double Knob owners that must be addressed, as we will still need to maintain repairs needed on other areas of POA roads.
Financial Impact of Strategic Improvements
As of August 21st, we have collected $39,316 in FY26 and spent $24,164 on Road Maintenance.
The chart below indicates amounts contributed to the Road Fund and the amounts spent on Big Ben Road maintenance.
FY26 YTD FY25 FY24 FY23 Average
Road Fund Contributions $39,316 $52,900 $40,400 $30,575 $40,798
Big Ben Maintenance $24,164 $29,340 $36,170 $25,252 $28,732
Difference $15,152 $23,560 $4,230 $5,323 $12,066
Since 2020, the POA has collected an average of $31,090 in Road Fund contributions and spent an average of $28,730 on road maintenance, not counting strategic upgrades on Gobbler Knob Rd. 60% of the cost of maintenance of Big Ben roadways is spent on the first three hills up from Boardtown Road. That averages $17,240 per year for the first 3 hills on Big Ben.
The next three scenarios identify projected expenses and funding required to:
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Continue current maintenance strategy of grading, rock distribution, and ditch clearing on an as-needed basis.
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Implement all sections of Colwell’s proposal at one time. Requiring us to collect $2,000 from ALL 140 homeowners to cover the $277,120 for all asphalt proposal, OR $1,250 from ALL 140 homeowners to cover the minimum asphalt proposal.
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Implement the proposal in phases and collect additional funds in each of three years based on implementing individual sections of the proposal.
NOTE: Scenario #1 estimates that 60% of property owners will continue to contribute at the current fee structure levels. Scenarios #2 and #3 will require ALL 140 homeowners to provide additional funding beyond the annual contribution request.
Scenario 1 – Continue Current Road Maintenance Strategy
POA 7-year Averages
Contributions $31,090
Big Ben Hills Maintenance $17,240
Other Maintenance $11,490
Total Road Maintenance $28,730
Other Expenses $1,815
Total Expense $30,545
Difference $545
Scenario 2 – One-Time Funding from Homeowners to Implement Entire Proposal
POA 7-year All Sections All Sections
Averages w/Asphalt w/o Asphalt
Contributions $31,090 $31,090 $31,090
Big Ben Hills
Maintenance $17,240 $0 $0
Other Maintenance $11,490 $11,490 $11,490
Total Road
Maintenance $28,730 $11,490 $11,490
Other Expenses $1,815 $1,815 $1,815
Total Expense $30,545 $13,305 $13,305
Difference $545 $17,785 $17,785
Project Implementation
Cost Requirements $277,120 $171,370
Per Homeowner Cost $1,979 $1,224
Scenario 3 – Three-Time Funding from Homeowners to Phase Implement 3 Sections
POA 7-year Section 1 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3
Averages w/Asphalt w/o Asphalt w/o Asphalt w/Asphalt
Contributions $31,090 $31,090 $31,090 $31,090 $31,090
Big Ben Hills
Maintenance $17,240 $8,620 $8,620 $4,310 $0
Other
Maintenance $11,490 $11,490 $11,490 $11,490 $11,490
Total Road
Maintenance $28,730 $20,110 $20,110 $15,800 $11,490
Other Expenses $1,815 $1,815 $1,815 $1,815 $1,815
Total Expense $30,545 $21,925 $21,925 $17,615 $13,305
Difference $545 $9,165 $9,165 $13,475 $17,785
Project Implementation
Cost Requirements $146,950 $41,200 $66,000 $64,170
Per Homeowner Cost $1,050 $294 $471 $458
Summary Recommendations
The POA Board of Directors recommends pursuing the following solutions:
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Continue using Marek Bass as the contractor for grading and rock distribution on an as-needed basis for POA roadways.
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Negotiate a modification to the Colwell proposal identifying the scope of work on Big Ben Rd without full asphalt application. Specifically, request an updated proposal for the first hill on Big Ben Rd (approximately 2700 linear feet) to include installation of 3 drainage culverts, Crush and Run gravel distribution, compacting for the entire hill, and 300 feet of asphalt paving up to the first water break near the utility pole on the left uphill.
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Pursue and encourage efforts to increase current Lot and Homeowner participation in annual giving.
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Create a Standing Road Committee with specific duties to monitor conditions of POA-responsible roadways; to investigate alternative solutions to roadway issues and to make appropriate recommendations.
PDF Documents