Hello Storm Mountain,
Please be advised we have a winter storm warning starting tonight:
Please be prepared for winter driving conditions.
Send snow depth reports to stormmountainpid@gmail.com so that we can communicate with the contractor. Roads are plowed where snow depth exceeds 6" on the road. We appreciate everyone's patience and preparedness.
Good News Everyone,
The road contractor hopes to have all the loose ends tied up with the county by the end of next week. If that happens, the plan is to start work on the 2 mile portion of Storm Mountain Road between May 11th and May 15th. Once that is completed they will begin work on the interior roads.
Please be patient and drive cautiously around the heavy equipment as you come and go. Safety is the number one priority.
Also as a reminder, the property at the "T" is private property and not available at this time to drop off slash, tree trunks, etc. The road contractor will be parking equipment and supplies there. The SWAG group previously had permission to drop slash and tree trunks there, but please do not assume it is ok to drop off slash/tree trunks because this is private property and you need permission to do so.
2026 PID Annual Owner Meeting
Board Members
The meeting was called to order and commenced by suspending Robert’s Rules. Board members introduced themselves. Community members present at the meeting: Barb Carlsen, Dick Spitler, Gail Hoffman, Carolyn Ostransky, Amanda Carian, Donovan & Laura Colegrove, Jim Burrell, Tyler & Sarah Peterson, Carol Whipple, Michael Knight, Louise Tang, Esben Retboell, and Jason Illeman.
Officers
James Toland was reaffirmed as
board chairperson. David Hoffman was reaffirmed as board treasurer. Ed Ostransky was appointed as board
secretary. The county no longer allows long-term
appointments and made an exception for James’ reappointment to the board last
fall. James and Connie will be serving out their final term, after which there
will be three open board positions. Applications
for board members can be submitted on the Larimer County website in the fall: https://www.larimer.gov/boards/storm-mountain-public-improvement-district#/board. Reach out to David Hoffman if you have
questions about serving on the PID board.
Board Mission and General
Discussion
The mission of the board is to maintain the roads in the Storm Mountain PID district and improve roads as the budget allows. The PID advises the county and works with contractors, who are hired by the county, to maintain and improve roads. The county is responsible for the contracts and payments to contractors. The PID is not a HOA and does not perform any work related to private property. The scope of the PID is limited to the public roadways, which generally have a 25-foot easement from the center of the road. Private driveways are not a part of the public roads and are not included in the scope of the PID. The PID cannot own property. The PID may not change tax rates. The PID board members are volunteers.
The PID was established in 2014 by community vote. The budget is funded by property taxes and managed by Larimer County. The Forest Service does not contribute to any road maintenance as their portion of the road is considered a 4WD trail. The unpaved section of the Access Road is owned by the forest service.
Financial Review – 2025 Spend
The beginning balance in 2025 was about $125k. This was a carry-over from 2024 for chip seal reserve and emergency\contingency expenses.
2025 Revenue
2025 Expenses
2025 Carry Over for 2026
· $131k of unspent funds will be carried into 2026 and will be reserved for chipseal. The last chipseal work was done in 2023. Chipseal needs to be reapplied about every 5-7 years, and costs about $100k each time. The board is targeting 2027 for the next chipseal application. It is noteworthy that the Access Road is a combination of chipseal, asphalt, and recycled asphalt. Each has their own life expectancy and maintenance techniques.
The county financial report is updated monthly and available on the
Larimer County Website:
https://www.larimer.gov/engineering/improvement-districts/more-info#storm-mountain
2026 Proposed Budget
The 2026 budget was reviewed and approved with no changes. 2026 goals are to continue patching, ditching, and adding materials where existing road base has been exhausted. Total revenue is down slightly from last year. The decrease is likely due to fire damaged homes where property value went down. Lake water access is a new expenditure this year; the amount is yet to be confirmed but estimated at $5k. This cost is still more affordable than hauling water up the mountain. Locally sourced water also alleviates additional road trips saving both contractor hours and wear and tear on the Access Road.
The current snowplow contractor has a minimum guarantee to cover insurance and on-call costs. The board has leveraged the minimum guarantee to deploy plow operations when forecasts are on the line to meet the plowing threshold. Quotes for sand barrels came in at $1500 per barrel. This quote is high, and the board would like to see a community effort to build and install sand barrels. Reach out to the PID board for sand barrel building plans if you can help in this effort. There are a variety of sand\salt mixtures available: the county recommends the low salt version. Community should be mindful not to over-apply salt which gets into the watershed.
Trees need to be cut back where they are encroaching in the road and
obstructing visibility. The board hopes
to acquire new contractor to assist in tree maintenance. In prior years snowplow contractors have
helped with tree removal, but the current snowplow contractor does not include
tree removal in their services.
Summer and Winter Work Review and Community Feedback
Summer road work is targeted to begin in May. The board discussed county timing for bid process: county publishes bids in April, contractors submit for bids, the county confirms that the bid is market competitive. Once the contract with the county is signed then the contractor can mobilize and commence work. Because of the complexity and unique work required in the Storm Mountain PID district, there is often only one contractor to bid on summer and winter work.
The board has reviewed the roads with the summer contractor, Foster Dirt, for upcoming work. Foster Dirt is very knowledgeable regarding the Storm Mountain roads and are ready to start work once county bid\contract process is completed. The priority will be the Access Road: to bring in material where road base is exhausted, patching recycled asphalt areas, and ditching for water erosion control. Work will then begin on community roads for grading, ditching, and bringing in road base material where needed and as budget allows.
Trees need to be cut back where they are encroaching into the roadway.
With the mild winter, there was little discussion on snow plowing other than to note that the contractor continues to learn the roads and consequently side roads have been missed. Community feedback is needed to let board and contractor know when roads are missed. The consensus is that the community and board value a local snow removal contractor both for mobilization expediency and knowledge of the roads.
The Access Road was blocked again by a trailer stuck on the switchbacks. The county installed the sign that was
proposed last year regarding a maximum trailer length. The county recommends community members to
call if the Access Road is blocked.
Another sign request was discussed to recommend 4WD and chains. This sign would be placed at the bottom and
top of the Access Road.
There was discussion regarding Storm Mountain Drive above the high low needing material especially the portion of the road owned by the forest service. Foster Dirt recommends upcycling exhausted materials that are pulled from other parts of the mountain to use for this area. The community also discussed areas where grading may not be needed as it pulls up extra rocks. The board will discuss this with Foster Dirt.
Reminder: there will be open positions at the end of the year. Board members must own property within the PID district. Board officers must be full-time residents. Applications can be submitted on Larimer County website: https://www.larimer.gov/boards/storm-mountain-public-improvement-district#/board
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned.
Community,