Announcement from the County on PID Applications:

Sharing the letter sent my the county for  PID applications.. 

Our PID has 3 Positions up for renewal.  Please apply if you have interest in serving on the Board.   The selection of applicants is NOT by the PID board, but completed by the County Commissioners. 

Good morning, 

Just a quick reminder that all applications for Larimer County Improvement Districts are open! 

If your Improvement District has an opening please encourage property owners within your district to apply.  If you have any questions please let me know and I appreciate all of your help in getting the word out. 

If your term is ending in November of this year, YOU WILL NEED TO REAPPLY.  You only need to reapply if you wish to continue and serve on your board.

To identify if your Improvement District has an opening, please visit:  https://www.larimer.gov/boards/gids-and-pids/list

Kind regards, 

	Katie Beilby  Business Operations Manager
	Engineering 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80521 | 3rd  Floor W: (970) 498-5726 | M: (970) 219-4992 beilbykm@larimer.org | www.larimer.gov/engineering

New Dates for chip seal work announced - ON HOLD

Update:  Due to mechanical issues chip-seal work is ON-HOLD until repairs are completed 

The County has informed us that A1 Chip Seal will provide updated dates once equipment repairs are complete

Per the County, the greatest risk of travel delays will be on the first day of work,  but they could happen through out the 3 day estimated project duration   

Delays should be around 5 minutes typically, but could extend longer if deemed necessary for worker safety.   Please drive with care,  this will help ensure of the safety of everyone, and hopeful avoid any extended closures . 

As previously stated, its recommended we limit our trips for the first 24 hours,  this will extend the life of the chip seal.  

Thank you, 

Storm Mountain PID

Accepting Applications for Board Members - Apply by Sept 29th

 The Storm Mountain PID is now accepting applications for board members.  Applications are due by Sept 29th 2023. 

Each board member is appointed by the County Commissioners to a 4 year term. This year we have 3 positions reaching the end of their 4 year appointment.

If you own property within the boundaries of the PID, and are a full time resident of Larimer county, you are a potential candidate.  We encourage anyone with interest to apply.  Existing board members are no longer automatically renewed into their positions on the board but may re-apply.  The role is volunteer based with no stipend. 

The application and selection process is run by the County Commissioners, not the PID Board. 

Please visit the County PID website if you are interested in applying:  https://www.larimer.gov/boards/storm-mountain

For more information on PID's and their role in the community please visit: https://www.larimer.gov/engineering/improvement-districts

Please also feel free to reach out to any of the existing board members if you have questions. 

Upcoming Chipseal Work

 

**UPDATE** 

The chipseal work has been postponed due to rain in the forecast next week.  An alternate date has not been scheduled yet.  We will keep the community updated.  Thank you.

Hello Storm Mountain,

We have upcoming work on the Access Road: a new layer of chip seal will be applied. Date TBD. The work will take 2-3 days to complete, with the majority of the work completed on the first day. 

The first day of chip seal work will impact our commutes as portions of the road will be down to one lane. Where the Access Road is narrow, the road may be temporarily closed for safety while crews work the narrow areas. The contractor is authorized by the county to only permit local residents to travel on the Access Road during the first day of work.  

We have asked the contractor to avoid closing the Access Road during major commute times, specifically school bus pick up and drop off times. Wait times could be 15 – 60 minutes. 

VERY IMPORTANT: The chip seal requires nearly 24 hours to fully cure. While we will be allowed to drive on the chip seal before it has fully cured, it is not advised. If possible, please avoid unnecessary travel on the Access Road on the first day of work. Not only is the freshly applied chip seal not great for your vehicle, it is also not great for the surface of the road.  The chip seal will last longer if we all try to avoid unnecessary travel on it during the first 24 hours of curing. 

We realize the Access Road is our only path on and off the mountain, and we all have commitments off the mountain, so the Access Road will not be closed during the cure time, but we ask that you plan accordingly and avoid unnecessary trips on the Access Road if possible. The road will be open for any emergency services if they are required. 

We will send additional information regarding the exact date and times as soon as we have confirmation from the county.

Sincerely,
Connie Garrett
Secretary
Storm Mountain PID #55
Email: stormmountainpid@gmail.com
Website: https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/
Voicemail: 970-429-5350

 July Road Work    

Foster Dirt will be starting significant work on the Access Road this week.    Please use caution while traveling.  Expect intermittent lane closures, heavy equipment and haul trucks.  

Thanks,  

James Toland  

PID Treasurer 

Storm Mountain PID #55

Email: stormmountainpid@gmail.com

Website: https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/

Voicemail: 970-429-5350

PID Annual Owners and Advisory Board Meeting - 2023-06-10

Storm Mountain PID #55 Annual Owners and Advisory Board Meeting
June 10, 2023
 
Recording – the recorded meeting is available via the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DtTLCaXqTLR6zzuz_PC4cAIYKsJiEvW-/view?usp=drive_link

Board Members Present
Andy Hitch, Chairperson

James Toland, Treasurer
Connie Garrett, Secretary 
John Lodico, Advisory Board Member

The meeting was started by suspending Robert’s Rules.  The Annual Owners meeting and Advisory Board meeting will be blended into one meeting. Board members were introduced, and officer roles were re-confirmed.

2022 Budget – The 2022 budget was reviewed. The slide from the 2022 budget review is provided below. No funds were spent from the chipseal or emergency reserve in 2022.  There was less snow in 2022 which only used about 60% of the allocated funds for the snow removal.  We exceeded our summer maintenance budget, and this was mainly due to a miscommunication between the county, contractor and advisory board, specifically because the county does not take into account the chip seal funds that the board reserves for future use.  This miscommunication will be remediated in 2023 by ensuring the county’s PO aligns with the board approved budget.

Note: If you’re having trouble viewing 2022 Budget, the PDF can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a88quF6YZqj-nu6J_llPm-CxkuYQwcES/view?usp=drive_link

2023 Budget – The proposed budget for 2023 was reviewed and approved.  The slide for the 2023 budget is provided below. The carryover from 2022 is higher than last year and is mainly comprised of chip seal reserve and the snow removal funds not used. The 2023 tax revenue remains consistent with 2022 and is anticipated to see an increase in 2024 from the property tax increase that property owners are seeing this year.  The county engineers recommend that all the chip seal be resurfaced. We estimate that the amount budgeted, or chip seal will cover the cost. The PO Box was cancelled last year, reducing the budget for communications & mail. The budget for snow removal was reduced due to less snow fall this last season.  More funds were allocated to the summer maintenance.  The funds allocated for tree services were also reduced as we have not been using all the funds allocated.

Note: If you’re having trouble viewing 2023 Budget, the PDF can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dahZ5rUVfT4u8Yq7r2Lph7FsGKSNRkTO/view?usp=drive_link

Road Maintenance – Foster Dirt has done initial grading to the Access Road and main thoroughfares to remove major potholes and some initial ditch repair. The Access Road will be re-graded and mag chloride applied in June.  A final grade and mag chloride application will be planned for September.

Four county engineers met with James this week to evaluate the condition of the Access Road. The county engineers had recommendations for the chip seal and pavement, wash out areas, road base and grading.  The county engineers felt the chip seal is due for a new layer from the stop sign to above the switch backs, and then from Bergs Hill to the T.  Failing areas will need to be patched by Foster Dirt and then a new layer will be applied by A1 Chip Seal.  The county puts this out to bid, and it usually is completed by a contractor, A1 Chip Seal, based out of Fort Collins.  Ed Ostransky will reach out to a contractor in Estes Park to encourage him to also bid on the work to ensure we are getting a competitive bid.  James is currently working with the county to determine estimates and scope for resurfacing the chip seal. Current cost for chip seal is about $5.50 per square yard (price is subject to change).  With our current chip seal budget, we estimate we can afford one mile of chip seal, and we have just under one mile of chip seal on the Access Road.  Once official estimates are in from the county, we will confirm how much chip seal we can afford this year. It was noted that the chip seal is only about a half inch thick as compared to asphalt pavement which is 3 inches thick. The county advises against chip seal because our roads are not to the specifications recommended for chip seal, however the board must maintain the existing chip seal.

Regarding road base on the Access Road, both the county engineers and the contractor have advised that much of the material on the access road is exhausted with mostly silt and sand in the base. Both the county and contractor advise that road base is replaced on the Access Road with recycled asphalt.  The exhausted (or spoiled) materials will be reused on the mountain either to fill in areas of washout on the Access Road or to firm up areas that are prone to get muddy where it is only native dirt with no road base. 

The county engineers also evaluated areas that have washed out on the Access Road.  For these wash out areas, the county recommends that we rebuild the areas by cutting the area back, filling in with exhausted\spoiled materials to rebuild slope and then fill with rip-rap. We are waiting for cost estimates on rip-rap.  Washout areas will be an on-going problem for gravel and dirt roads.

Guardrail is highly desired on the Access Road in the Forest Service section.  The Forest Service will not officially grant permission to install guardrail.  However, Foster Dirt does install guardrail, and James purchased guardrail from the Cedar Springs HOA last year.  While it is not likely that we can get official approval to install the guardrail on the Access Road Forest Service section, the board will continue to look for a favorable time to install the guardrail.

Other road maintenance topics discussed:

• Palisade from the T to the Bears needs new material. The existing material is exhausted and will not hold its shape even with mag chloride.
• Storm Mountain from the Y to the hi-lo needs new material. Bed rock is exposed and the S curves get very rough and difficult to travel.
• Wren and Spruce Mountain intersection needs trees removed to widen the area, and a new culvert needs to be installed.
•  Common areas that see washout, rutting, or culvert blockage each year: Snow Top Drive, Spruce Mountain, Bobcat, Cedar Park, Palisade, Meadows, Elk Way, Bowser, Jug, Possum, Wild Turkey.  Many of these areas have been identified and documented. Foster Dirt will improve these areas as the budget allows with grading, re-shaping, re-establishing ditches or cut outs to ditches, and cleaning culverts.
• The advisory board will reach out to private property owners to request culverts on private driveways be cleared. If a private driveway is causing significant damage to public roadway, the board will evaluate possible solutions within the PID scope.

Additional Comments – There was some discussion about fire mitigation on the Access Road.  The PID may only clear trees in the Forest Service section once the trees are on the road.  The PID may not thin trees from Forest Service land. LFRA, the Ember Alliance, and the Forest Service have multiple projects in Colorado to protect forest lands from wildfires.  More information was shared by Deb Green to the Storm Mountain Groups.io email forum for the community to participate in those projects.

The previously scheduled quarterly meetings will be cancelled as they have not been necessary. If a meeting is required outside of the annual meeting, the board will schedule as needed and provide notice to the community as required per the by-laws.

 
Thank you,
Connie Garrett
Secretary
Storm Mountain PID # 55

PID Annual Meeting - June 10th

Storm Mountain PID #55 will be holding our annual meeting on Jun 10, at 10am @ fire station 9. 

Meeting will be available in person or remote.  

• Remote:  Toll free number: (701) 802-5166 pin number: 2272894#
• Please bring your own chair if you attend in person  

We will publish the agenda as we get closer to the date, but the agenda typically includes the following: 

• Budget review and formal approval 
• Appointment of PID officers 
• Planned Summer Activity 
• Community Input 

James Toland

PID #55 Treasurer

Email: stormmountainpid@gmail.com
Website: https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/

Voicemail: 970-429-535 

Summer Road Work 2023

Community, 

The county has renewed the contract with Foster Dirt to complete the summer road work within our PID. 

Foster Dirt will being staging their equipment and starting initial touch up work on the access road and main thoroughfares. 

Please keep and eye out for crew and equipment; travel with extra caution and plan a few extra minutes to complete your trip. 

Regards,

James Toland

PID #55 Treasurer 

  

Possible Snow 2023-04-03

Hello Storm Mountain, a cold front is bringing in some possible snow on Monday night and Tuesday morning.  The forecasts are varying on the amount of snow, so check your forecast and drive safe.

Have a wonderful week!

Connie Garrett
​Storm Mountain PID #55
Email: stormmountainpid@gmail.com
Website: https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/
Voicemail: 970-429-5350

Hazardous Weather Outlook 2023-03-03

Hello Storm Mountain, the forecast starting tonight through Thursday is calling for snow with temps above freezing during the daytime and below freezing at night.  This pattern of thawing and re-freezing can cause extremely slick icy conditions with the ice below fresh fallen snow. Please plan ahead:

• Carry and use chains before you get stuck
• Plan for extra travel time
• Report to the community conditions
• Do not leave vehicles\trailers on road where they impede plowing operations
• Email specific requests or concerns to StormMountainPID@gmail.com

The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook.  Details can be read here.

The PID has been in communication with OTRR to request sand during the commute times. Thank you and have a safe week,

Connie Garrett
Storm Mountain PID #55
Email: stormmountainpid@gmail.com
Website: https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/
Voicemail: 970-429-5350