We are experiencing spring conditions a bit early this
year. Hopefully, there’s plenty of
winter left, but, in the meantime the road is going through the diurnal
freeze/thaw cycle that can produce both slushy and icy conditions. The other thing I noticed is that ruts
produced by tires can leave channels that will collect water, which will deepen
the ruts, particularly on hills where the water can flow. Fortunately Paul Nell, a plowing professional,
has strategies to deal with these conditions.
The road was very slushy and rutty on Thursday. He groomed it Thursday night and I‘m happy to
report, as of 11AM on Friday morning, the roads are excellent with few ruts and
holes, and little ice. Still, for foot
traffic, spikes/grips are recommended/required because there are some icy
patches.
I took some pictures of the road on the front side. The back side is pretty much unaffected by
the freeze/thaw. The Forest Glen and
Wildflower roads are in good condition.
One concern on Skyline is that there are four snow mobiles and trailers
parked in the two turn-outs by the gate.
One is blocking the fire hydrant.
These snowmobiles prevent plowing the turn-outs and prevent turn-out by
vehicles. The next place to pass after
Guardsman is all the way down the hill in Wheeler’s driveway. I haven’t had a problem with this situation,
but I don’t know if others have. Perhaps
the four can fit in one turn-out leaving the other for vehicles.
Other news.
The Harvey's received an Occupancy Permit....Yea!
After years of being on the market, two more B/C cabins were
recently put “under agreement”, thanks in no small part to the plowed roads. Apparently there’s not much left on the
market. We received a cold call from a Realtor yesterday asking if we’d be interested in selling our cabin.
With regard to the Sewer survey that was recently mailed out
to homeowners, I thought the “facts” were one sided, bordering on scare
tactics: “Banks and mortgage companies have started to refuse mortgages on homes
not connected to the sewer, making it difficult to sell a home or refinance”. We and others have had no problem refinancing. With respect to the watershed, I would argue
that our septic systems are friendlier than a sewer. First of all, we are a long way from the
creek with a highway in between. Our “greywater”
leaching fields return “irrigation quality” water to the aquifer. Most of us limit flushes of blackwater to
preserve our holding tanks. Connected to
a sewer, the greywater would be lost, we’d use more water for flushing, and
produce ten times as much waste…..just my opinion. On the flip side, marginally buildable lots
would be buildable; there would be little or no restriction on the number of
bedrooms (we were limited to two); and cabins with marginal or failing systems would
have a choice between repair and connection.
From an individual perspective I am not in favor of the sewer project, because
there’s a huge cost with no practical or hypothetical benefit. From a neighborhood perspective, I’m less
sure.
Don Pickard 12325 Skyline View Lane
