Welcome to Pinnacle Mountain!

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Some current homeowners have existing mailboxes at the foot of the mountain. However, at the current time, there is no further capacity at that location for new mailboxes. The PMPOA Board is working to find another solution that doesn’t require mailboxes located on Nannytown Road. Until an alternative is determined, new onsite homeowners will need to open a P.O. Box at the USPS limited-service satellite office located at 3733 US 221 Hwy N, Union Mills, NC, near the entrance to Nannytown Road. There is also a full-service USPS office in downtown Rutherfordton at 130 E Court St, Rutherfordton, NC. 

UPS and Fed Ex cannot deliver to your home directly. If you have a stand mailbox, they will leave your package either on top of the boxes or directly underneath. Although we usually don’t have a problem with theft, as our mailboxes are located a distance from the main road, it’s recommended that you retrieve your packages at your earliest opportunity.

There are a handful of Fed Ex Onsite and UPS locations in and around Rutherfordton, Spindale, and Forest City.   

As the mountain is a private community with unpaved terrain, onsite trash pick-up services are not available. Residents transport their materials to local facilities. The full-service Rutherford County Landfill is located at 656 Laurel Hill Drive in Rutherfordton and accepts a wide variety of trash, recycling, bulk, and certain hazardous waste materials. 

Most residents find the Gilkey Convenience Center at 2489 Hwy 221 N Rutherfordton a great, closer alternative for both trash and recycling services. Check the County web site for hours at https://rutherfordcountync.gov/departments/solid_waste/index.php

It’s recommended that you keep your trash and recycling containers inside your home, garage, or shed until you can transport it to the Center. Wildlife in the area will be attracted to trash left outside your home. 

Information on the full-service and all convenience center offerings, pricing on certain articles, and hours is available on the web site:  https://rutherfordcountync.gov/departments/solid_waste/index.php.

The Pinnacle Mountain community is comprised of two neighborhoods, referred to as Pinnacle Mountain Property Owners Association (PMPOA) covering properties after the security gate, and Pinnacle Ridge South Property Owners Association (PRSPOA) covering properties from Nannytown Rd. to the security gate.  Additionally, there are other properties that are simply private lands, which are not incorporated in either association. You’ve purchased a property in the PMPOA association that is accessible only through our security gate, which is monitored 24/7 by a security camera. 

A Gate Committee oversees the maintenance of this area and is responsible for setting up your account at the gate’s callbox. Property owners can activate the gate by manually entering “#” and then their account number code on the callbox. Owners can also opt for in-car transmitters available for a fee, that when pressed, will open the gate. 

The callbox will also assist with allowing your guests and service providers access. First, you’ll need to provide the Gate Committee with your cell phone number so they can program it into the callbox. Your guests and service providers will select your name on the callbox, and a call will automatically go through to your cell phone. You’ll hear a tone when you answer. Press “9” on your cell phone during this call and the gate will open remotely. Most residents program the gate’s phone number (828-980-5086) into their phones so they recognize when a visitor call is incoming.

PROVIDING YOUR PERSONAL GATE CODE OR IN-CAR TRANSMITTER TO ANYONE ELSE IS PROHIBITED. These are for your use only and help keep our neighborhood secure. If you have a regular visitor to your property, such as a house cleaner, lawn service, or exterminator, you can obtain a code specific to that individual from the Gate Committee. Some local professional service providers already have a dedicated code. So inquire of them prior to requesting a code.

Assistance with establishing your gate access can be obtained by emailing pinnaclemountainpoa@gmail.com. 

As this is a private community, the annual dues collected from members are primarily used to maintain the roadways. PMPOA has a Road Commissioner, who is a property owner with substantial experience in such maintenance. Roadways and drainage channels are attended to throughout the year, with typically two significant maintenance updates, interspersed with smaller trouble-shooting efforts. 

Roadways will always be maintained with gravel and a base substrate, as none of them are paved. Irresponsible driving will impose greater wear and tear on the roads, which will make driving them over time less than pleasant, and require additional money from all property owners to maintain or repair. Weather and improper vehicles are the greatest detriments to the quality of the roads, and owners are strongly urged to follow a few common-sense rules to help keep the conditions acceptable. 

1. Adhere to the speed limits of 15 mph on the PRSPOA roadways and 20 mph on the PMPOA roadways. Going faster is not prudent, as many of the curves are blind, which significantly impedes your vision and ability to react to animals, obstacles, other vehicles, and most importantly, people walking the roadway with pets and children. Trying to stop if driving at higher speeds greatly increases your risk of an accident or going off the road.

2. Although two-wheel drive vehicles are not prohibited, they are strongly discouraged, as they’re generally incapable of handling the switchbacks and sharp inclines without causing deep ruts from spinning tires. Four-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles are recommended for the safety of residents and the preservation of our roadways. 

3. Please show consideration to your neighbors when driving past homes that are closer to the roadway and always be on the lookout for children and pets. During prolonged periods of no rain, the roadways get dusty, so slowing down helps with reducing dust. Your neighbors will appreciate you for it. 

4. Roadways can be narrow and at times are only wide enough for a single vehicle. If you encounter another car in these tight areas, it may be necessary for one of you to back-up until you reach a safe place to pull to the side and allow the other car to safely pass. 

Yes, that parking area is available to both PRSPOA and PMPOA members, but should only be used by residents and visitors for short periods of time (typically several hours up to a couple of days). It can’t be used for personal long term or storage parking. There are no security officers on the mountain, so parking is at your own risk. It’s best to lock valuables in your trunk or take them with you. If you have visitors for the holiday and they don’t have 4-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles, they are allowed to park for a longer period of time in the lot, but we recommend that you email pinnaclemountainpoa@gmail.com in advance to provide the vehicle’s make, color, and license plate number, as well as the duration of their stay. This will ensure that the car is not mistaken as trespassing or abandoned, and potentially towed.  

 Yes, the community obtains its water from underground water sources that feed wells accessed via pump houses. There are a number of wells and pump houses throughout the community. The pump houses are the small, single-door enclosures that you’ll commonly see next to the roadways. While most homes here have shared wells, others have their own private wells. 

For shared wells, the original developers specified the number of homes that could be assigned to each pump house. Your Deed will specify the location of the well that you will access, and if it’s shared or private. Your previous home owner or builder should be able to tell you which pump house is allocated to your property, as the closest pump house may not actually be yours.

Although the water is free, the pumps do require electricity, and members pay towards this expense equally or as agreed to by your fellow pump house members. Typically, one member agrees to pay the REMC electric bill and collects the funds from the other members on a pre-determined basis. Members are also responsible to share equally in the cost for the maintenance of the pump, as well as the pump house (including painting, replacement materials, breakers, control boxes, and maintenance of the grounds). 

Although well water is typically hard, and has a higher pH, it is refreshingly crisp and clear. Existing residences may have a whole house filtering system that removes harmful metals and sediment, and potentially bacteriological components. Other residents have additionally installed a water softening system in their homes as well. 

Some well-sharing home owner groups choose to test their water once a year. You can buy a water testing kit at local home improvement stores, contact a local plumbing company to run a test for you, or provide a water sample to the Foothills Health District at http://www.foothillshd.org/environmental/environmental-health-forms/. 

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for the Union Mills area  (zip 28167) is 7.4 (10=best), which means it is more comfortable than most places in North Carolina.

Summer High: the July high is around 89 degrees
Winter Low: the January low is 26
Rain: averages 51 inches of rain a year, with July being the rainiest
Snow: averages 3 inches of snow a year, with January being the snowiest

                    High     Low 

January        51°       26°

February      55°       29°

March           63°       35°

April             72°       43°

May              79°       52°

June             86°       61°

July              89°       65°

August         87°       64°

September   81°       57°

October        72°       44°

November    63°       35°

December    53°       28°

Depending upon where you live on the mountain, you may also experience intense fog or mist on some occasions (that frequently dissipates once you get closer to the bottom of the mountain). Winds can also be fairly strong. On the other hand, the intense blue of sun-filled days, along with a light, cooling breeze are more the norm, and a refreshing change from the high humidity typically experienced every day in nearby cities.  

A word of advice…if you are a part-time resident with a home here, ensure you take precautions to protect your home from water pipe breaks, especially in the winter. If you’ll be absent for an extended time, turn off the water supply to your house to avoid breaks inside your home. In the winter, disconnect all exterior hoses and use faucet protectors (available for a few dollars each at Walmart, Target, and home improvement stores). 

As you can imagine from living on a mountain, there is a wide variety of wildlife. Sightings of bears, chipmunks, raccoons, deer, turkeys, coyotes, and bobcats are not uncommon, although they tend to shy away from noise and humankind. Eagles, hawks, and other raptor species are normally sighted daily, lazily circling over the gaps. Caution is urged when moving brush, sticking your hands in places you can’t clearly see, or foraging through the woods, as snakes may be present, which could include copperheads or rattlesnakes, but more frequently just black snakes, and other beneficial snake species. Regardless, its best to just retreat from all. 

Pinnacle Mountain is no exception to the warnings given throughout North Carolina for the existence of chiggers and ticks. If you have a dog or cat that will frequently be outside, their safety warrants maintenance flea, tick, and heartworm control. Pets should also be vaccinated for rabies, and spayed or neutered to reduce roaming habits and unwanted litters.  

Yes, controlling the possibility of fire on the mountain is a high priority, as all the houses here are surrounded by a forest, which of course, is very flammable. Additionally, it is difficult for large emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, to navigate our roads. For detailed information, please go to the PMPOA website/Rules & Regulations tab, and open the Policy - Burning Regulation. But here are the brief highlights:

· Onsite outdoor fire pits: Wood burning firepits are allowed, but homeowners must contact the PMPOA Architectural Committee to receive a fire pit review and approval. 

· Onsite open burning: No open burning is permitted on the mountain.

· Wildfire warnings: When the Forestry service posts a high alert for forest fires, PMPOA will post a metal notice on the signpost located next to the light at the entrance. When such a notice is posted, please refrain from using even your approved fire pits until conditions are less favorable to wildfires.