Date & Time: June 8th 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Location: Fire Station #9, 100 Palisade Mountain Dr
Audio Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jLxEw0drwXfyvr708Vkwimbanyu1EaMF/view?usp=sharing
Andy Hitch, Chairperson
James Toland, Treasurer
Connie Garrett, Secretary
The meeting commenced with foregoing Robert’s Rules and board members introductions.
2023 Final Budget
James reviewed the final budget for 2023. $226k was spent, and there was a $69 carry over. Part of the carry over was $12k in additional taxes received which was more than forecasted. There was not a lot of snow last season, so there were funds left over from the snow plowing budget. We went over on chipseal by $5k, and there was a $10k retainage for work that needs to be done to county standard. The contractor, A1, will be returning this month to complete that work. The $10k that was already deducted from the 2023 budget and will not come out of the 2024 budget. Those funds are held by the county until the contractor completes the work.
2024 Proposed Budget
The 2024 budget increased by $55k due to property tax increases. Most of the additional funds will be added to summer road maintenance, while the snow plowing budget will only be slightly increased. See below for break down of proposed budget. All budget materials and reports are available on the county website: https://www.larimer.gov/engineering/improvement-districts/more-info#storm-mountain
PID Scope
Andy reviewed the scope of the PID. The PID mindset is that we are one community, not separated into upper and lower filings, and the budget reflects the one-community mindset. Repairs and maintenance should lower future costs, and we aim to accomplish as much as possible with the limited budget. There are three priorities in summer road maintenance which follow the established snow plow priorities:
- Access Road
- Main thoroughfares\high traffic roads
- Side Roads
Completed and Upcoming Work
The Access Road was graded and mag chloride was applied. The contractor, Foster Dirt, advises doing multiple gradings and mag chloride applications as the road holds up longer when it is consistently maintained, and saves the community money in the long run as it quicker to repair when we consistently grade and apply mag chloride. A natural spring continues to cause an issue in the Access Road: this area continues to be filled in with materials as available. Last year, recycled asphalt was added to the Access Road, which has held up well, and because of that less money is spent on repairs, and more can be spent to extend the recycled asphalt up the Access Road. The contractor graded Storm Mountain Drive up to the hi-lo. Exhausted road base will be scraped and redistributed around the mountain where roads are still native dirt. This saves on the cost of disposing of the exhausted material while simultaneously improving the lower priority roads. The board will work with the contractor to be less aggressive in grading areas that result in cobble and try to rake cobble off the road, and also not grade roads that do not require grading.
Culverts that cross the road are within the scope of the PID and will be cleaned out as needed. Culverts that cross a private driveway are the responsibility of the property owner, however, the PID may consider cleaning these culverts when they cause deterioration on the public road. In previous years, the board has focused on improving ditches and culvert to prevent water damage to the road.
The contractor, A-1, will be back up to chipseal this month (tentatively June 25th) to re-fog, re-chip, and re-seal the switchbacks down. The plan is to bring in more recycled asphalt to connect last year’s recycled asphalt from center turn around (Pee Rock) up towards Berg’s Hill. There was discussion about the pros and cons of recycled asphalt vs roadbase: the county recommends recycled asphalt as it binds better. There was discussion around the use of mag chloride. The county has approved the use of mag chloride for use on the road. There was discussion on a busting up bedrock to improve areas of the road where it is exposed bedrock. The contractor has done this in the past, and the board welcomes feedback on problem areas that could be improved. For high traffic areas: recycled asphalt holds up well, there is some breakdown which can be fixed with cold patch. Recycled asphalt extends the life of the road by 5-6 years, which then frees up money to work up the mountain to bring in new material. Palisade and Lakeview are future projects that community members expressed desire for the use of recycled asphalt.
The board welcomes community input on areas in need of improvement of the 25 miles of road and 50-70 miles of ditches in the PID district. The board works with 2-3 county engineers to consult and guide the board on road work. The county also comes up to inspect work completed.
Snow Plowing
Community members stepped up to open roads in March blizzard. The current contractor, Over the Rainbow Ranch, is shutting down. The county will open up the snow plowing bid. There are a few community members that have expressed interest in plowing upper filings, however, the contract is open to anyone interested in bidding on it. There is a significant desire to have a contractor based on the mountain. The county can put specifications on performance and equipment but cannot require that the contractor be based on the mountain. County cannot use county equipment to plow mountain roads. There was a suggestion to search for a grant to help with the equipment cost, however this is a difficult process. Those interested in snow plowing are encouraged to apply, and the board welcomes community members to spread the word to anyone who might have an interest in snow plowing.
PID Openings
There are currently 3 open positions on the PID board. Community members are encouraged to apply on the county website: https://www.larimer.gov/boards#/board/storm-mountain/?tab=overview . Applicants must own property within the PID district.
Additional Comments
There was some discussion about the use of the lake water. The previous HOA board charged $10 per truck load of water, which was cheaper than hauling water from town (estimated to be $300 per truck load from town). The current HOA board has stopped charging for lake water and donates the water to use on road maintenance. A suggestion to water the main thoroughfares that access the lake to keep down dust from heavy trucks on those routes.
The meeting was adjourned.
