July 9, 2022
Recording – the recorded meeting is available via the following links:
Board Members
Andy Hitch, Chairperson
James Toland, Treasurer
Connie Garrett, Secretary
Joe Leo, Advisory Board Member
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 introduced themselves and officer roles were re-confirmed.
Grant Status – The board applied for a federal grant to improve materials on the Access Road through the Community Project Funding. The project was not awarded a grant; however, we will continue to look for grant opportunities and will reach out to community members that have experience in obtaining federal grants. There was some discussion on doing a GoFundMe to raise money for a specific road project.
2022 Budget – The 2022 budget was reviewed and approved. The slides from the budget review are provided below. While the 2022 budget is more than 2021, there is concern that inflation will impact the budget. The board will discontinue allocating the budget by zones on the mountain, and instead will focus on main routes and roads that require the most work based on traffic and condition of the road. An analysis of traffic counts was performed by the county in 2021; the results of that traffic count are included below the budget slides. The PO Box will be discontinued to save money; the board will request a free eBox.
Traffic Count Results from 2021 Analysis
- Access Road: 800 trips/day
- Palisade from T to Snow Top: 420 trips/day
- Storm Mtn from T to Lakeview: 470 trips/day
- Snow Top past Galena Ct: 260 trips/day
- Lakeview: 220 trips/day
- Storm Mtn from Y to hi-lo: 256 trips/day
- Strom Mt from hi-lo: 160 trips/day
- Cedar Park from hi-lo: less than 100 trips/day
Winter Sanding – There was discussion on the cost of plowing. Storm Mountain pays a premium for services in part due to the insurance that contractors are required to have with the county, and due to the high-cost equipment required to perform work on Storm Mountain. Sanding was a contributing factor for the overall cost of plowing. 60 tons of sand was applied to the Access Road this last winter season. Too much sand has a negative impact on chip seal and road base and is also considered ineffective during an active snow event. The residents present at the meeting supported less sanding due to cost and negative impact on chip seal/road base; however, a poll will be sent to the community to get more feedback.
Summer Projects – the board drove all 27 miles within the district to identify areas that required work. Projects were identified; cost estimates and priorities were assigned. Drainage is a high priority for 2022: culverts and ditches help prevent erosion and extend the life of road base. Culverts that cross the public right of way are within the PID district. The PID will not purchase culverts for private driveways, but this may be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the impact to the public right of way. Foster Dirt will patch some areas of the chip seal this season; most of the chip seal budget will be reserved for 2023. The Access Road received a mag chloride treatment in the early summer. An additional mag chloride treatment will be applied in the fall.
PID Website – a new website for the PID is available and was created at no cost. The address is https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/ Documents and information will be available on the web site. Questions and concerns can be submitted via the web site. The board will transition into using this site as the primary source of information. Future PID communications via email and social platforms will point to this website. Note: the county also stores public PID information on the Larimer County website. Monthly statements will be available on the county website after August 10th. The Larimer County PID website address is here: https://www.larimer.gov/engineering/improvement-districts/more-info
Additional Comments – There were no additional comments for discussion.
Thank you,
Connie Garrett
Secretary
Storm Mountain PID # 55
