April 2023 Update — Standing Stone Village

Rain, snow, rain, followed by more rain. That has been the ongoing forecast over the last few months, with some drying out and sun in between. Unfortunately, like many other areas affected by these storms, the Standing Stone Village project has also experienced delays as a result and this has pushed back the original timeline for completion.

Standing Stone Village 40,000 gallon Water Tank

Despite the delays, there have been some significant achievements in the project thus far:

The water system including the water tank and water mains, is close to completion and is now waiting for inspection of the flow rate at the fire hydrants and connection of the uranium treatment system.
The septic tanks and main sewer lines have also been installed, and work has started on the leach fields.
Trenching and installation of conduit for the electrical service under Road 225 has been completed.

After completion of the leach lines for the septic system, the construction crew will focus on the trenching and conduit needed for the electrical service.

These critical components of the infrastructure represent a significant portion of the work required to finalize this phase of the project, laying the groundwork for the eventual construction of the residences. We are targeting to have these finished by the end of May. The first set of comments has been received for three of the models, and a fourth is pending. The plans for Model 2.0 have been updated and resubmitted, the other two models are being worked on.

Now that construction is closer to starting, the subcontractors and suppliers are being contacted to update their bids and quotes. These will be used to update the estimated cost of each residence. Once this is complete and the county has approved the construction of the underground utilities, and construction financing is available, then we will start construction of the first set of units.

There was some good news this week on the solar front. Starting in April, new rates will apply to the excess energy produced by solar systems. This system is called Net Metering (NEM). Under the current NEM 2.0 rules, customers get credit for the excess electricity at the same retail rate that customers pay for the electricity. For systems that are applied for after April 14, excess energy will be credited at the wholesale rate. This significantly reduces the payback period for the upfront cost of solar panels. The good news is that, any units that are constructed by April 2026, will be grandfathered under the current NEM 2.0 rates.

Another positive note is that there continues to be interest in the project. We currently have seven households committed for units in the first phase, and with the addition of another new member this spring and one last fall, we now have four LLC members interested in units in the second phase. Please continue letting your friends and other old students know about the project. They can fill out the contact form to get more info on the project.

Delays and setbacks are part of the construction process, and we are working hard to keep moving the project forward. With this perseverance and better weather ahead, the construction of the first phase of the residences will be started this summer and the village will start to take shape.