In the early 1980s the Raskarity property, 38 acres with a 6 acre lake, was purchased by Bob Estill, founder of Air Products and president of the company. His vision was a conservation subdivsion around a private lake. The 6 acre lake hosts the 3 springs that feed Johns Creek.

Raskarity, a community in south Forsyth County, Georgia, surrounding Vaughn Lake, presents several challenges and concerns related to conservation, land use, and community development. Here are the key points :

1. Background of Raskarity:
• The Raskarity property, consisting of 38 acres with a 6-acre lake, was purchased in the early 1980s by Bob Estill, the founder of Air Products.
• His vision was to create a conservation subdivision around a private lake.
• The lake hosts four springs that feed Johns Creek.
• Since the 1980s, several houses have been built around the lake, all on private gravel roads with lake frontage.
2. Community and Maintenance:
• The community members contribute to the maintenance of the gravel road, with one resident using a tractor for spreading gravel.
• About 20 acres were reserved for conservation.
• Three houses require driving across the dam to enter and exit the neighborhood. According to Bob dam maintenance was supposed to be handled by the owners of the easement, with road maintenance being a collective effort by residents.
3. Changes and Challenges:
• Bob Estill, passed away about 15 years ago. The heirs of the property have not maintained the dam, lake or easement road. Now sthey aimsto add more houses and an asphalt road which will increase stormwater runoff and pressure on the dam. Increasing the possibility of dam collaspe.
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  New development plans to stop the paved road before reaching the dam and forcing the repairs and maintenance onto the residents on the west side of the lake who rely on the road on top of the dam for access to Brookwood Rod and the rest of the world. And they plan to make the road public and allow non residents access to the properties around the lake.
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• The continuation of Bob's vision is in constant jeopardy and residents became worried about house value dropping, dam collaspe, life safety, the expense of dam maintenance pushed off on them and other details of living in the 43 year old conservation community.
• This development could transform the lake into a retention pond, negatively impacting groundwater and wildlife. There are already signs of decrasing wildlife, fish, birds and more due to dropping water quality.
4. Environmental and Safety Concerns:
• There are concerns about the dam's stability, with a life safety issue already identified where fire trucks refused to cross the dam due to the risk of collapse.
• A dam failure could affect the Plantation at Brookwood, Bridle Ridge and Deer Lake subdivisions. Impacting property values and home equity.
• Concerns have been raised about the lack of action from the former and current property owners regarding the dam's safety.
  
  
5. Conservation vs. Development:
• The community has functioned well as a conservation area, relying on wells, septic tanks, and natural groundwater recharge.
• Proposed development plans are seen as potentially detrimental to the community's conservation ethos.
• There is a call for the county to address these issues in a way that future development remains conservation-based.

It's important for the residents in Raskarity to engage with local government, environmental agencies, and legal counsel to address these concerns. Ensuring the safety of the dam, especially the road on top of the dam, preserving the natural environment, and maintaining the community's character are crucial.

Collaboration between residents, conservation style developers, and local authorities can help find a balanced approach that respects both development goals and conservation priorities.

Most importantly a dam engineering survey was commissioned by residents in 1998. The Vaughn Lake dam was inspected by a nationaly respected engineering firm in 1998 . The report is on this site.

The repairs sugested by the engineering report of 1998 have NOT been done. The dam continues to deteriorate.

https://raskarity.com/dam-repairs-needed-at-raskaritys-vaughn-lake

The location: Raskarity Road, Cumming Georgia 30041.

This story is compiled by residents of Raskarity who were part of the initial development. They knew and were good neighbors with the founder Bob Estill and his wife Kitty. They are reachable at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.