Storm Mountain PID #55 Quarterly Advisory Board Meeting November 5, 2022
Board Members
Andy Hitch, Chairperson
James Toland, Treasurer
Connie Garrett, Secretary
Joe Leo, Advisory Board Member
John Lodico, Advisory Board Member, not present
The meeting was started by suspending Robert’s Rules.
Summer Work: Grading on areas of the mountain was discussed that need end of season grading: Storm Mountain Drive and Snow Top to Spruce Mountain. Foster Dirt will grade frequently areas around the mountain but will only grade the Access Road twice each season due to the high volume of traffic. The areas that require re-work need to be communicated with Foster Dirt as the season wraps up and budget is exhausted.
Plowing and Sanding: For large storms where more than 12” of snow is forecasted in a 24 hour period, OTRR has suggested a change in the plowing process. In the current process, green roads are plowed ditch to ditch first, and then red roads are plowed ditch to ditch. This creates a challenge because snow builds up on the red roads, making them difficult to plow. OTRR suggests that a single lane be plowed on red roads as they are passed on the green road route; a two-car width will be plowed (where possible) on green roads to maintain maximum traffic flow. After this, OTRR will follow up on all roads and plow ditch to ditch. Plowing ditch to ditch is required to prepare for future snow events as the roads tend to narrow as snowbanks build through the season. The board approved this change for large storms where more than 12” of snow is forecasted. It should be noted that this is only likely to happen a few times per season. For storms where the snow forecast is below 12”, the regular plowing guidelines will be followed.
OTRR requested to change Spruce Mountain Drive past Green Ridge to a red road. The board discussed this change and opted to keep this section of road as green. Bandit Rock Road should be plowed as any other red road and not passed over.
James will create a plowing and sanding policy to share with the community which will include the following information:
- Windrows in front of private driveways
- Vehicles and trailers should NOT be parked on the side of the road
- The board will determine if plowing/sanding is necessary when forecast has sun that will melt snow & ice accumulation within a reasonable timeframe
- Sanding will only happen after a snow event, and only on hard surface areas of the Access Road
- Requests for plowing and sanding need to be directed to the PID
- Tire chains and/or studded snow tires advised
Results of the Sanding Survey: We had 70 responses from the community regarding the sanding survey. The results are shown below. Sanding will be scaled back when there is only a dusting of snow and when the sun will melt snow and ice on the Access Road, otherwise sanding will remain the same as previous season. The board also discussed the salt content of the sand mixture. The current sand mix has a 5% salt content. There is some concern regarding the impact salt has on the road and environment. Also, the salt only melts down to 15 degrees; once the surface melts, it refreezes and causes a slick surface once again. James will check with the county engineer to get input on using a non-salted sand mix. Salted sand mix is also more costly. The sand barrels are full and ready for the winter season. Areas of the PID district that are not on the Access Road will no longer be sanded. These areas were identified in previous years (Snow Top\Palisade intersection, Spruce Mountain Dr, Lakeview, Cedar Park switch backs); the board decided sand was not useful in these zones.
: The board and OTRR have reached out to designated spotters to request the depth of snow on the road in various locations on the mountain. This input will be used to determine when snow plowing operation begins.
Communications: PID contact with OTRR will be in this order: James, Andy, Joe, Connie. PID will continue to send emails to community when snow is in the forecast. PID will send email when Access Road has been plowed or sanded.
2022 Budget: The 2022 budget was reviewed with most recent expenses included except for the invoice for the voicemail from Segway Communications for $89. The budget is shown below. Summer road work went over by $25K, this was primarily due to the county communicating the purchase order amount to Foster Dirt. The county does not take into consideration funds that are reserved for emergency and chip seal. James will work with the county to ensure that this miscommunication does not occur in the future. The PID will also request more frequent invoices from Foster Dirt to monitor expenses. The PID will also change the workflow by only giving approved projects to the contractor as opposed to the comprehensive list of identified work. The comprehensive list far exceeds the annual budget for summer road work. The PID will also reserve funds for end of season work for touch up grading in high traffic areas.
After the budget was reviewed, the meeting was adjourned.
Thank you,
Connie Garrett
Secretary
Storm Mountain PID #55
Email: stormmountainpid@gmail.com
Website: https://stormmountainpid.blogspot.com/
Voicemail: 970-429-5350
