Everyone:

Many of you experienced Ed's Moat (Ed didn't cause it, but he named it) last week at the gate that was caused by the construction that is underway. Yesterday afternoon (3/8), the BOD met to address this, and snow melt issues at Willot-Thomas hill and the section of road behind Bill Hale's.

During the gate rebuild a trench was dug across the road to get electric and sensor cables across Autumn Creek Drive. This trench was back filled with the material removed when digging it, but that fill contained dirt along with road base. When snow melt got into it during the warm temperatures last week this area sunk creating the moat, which from personal experience I can tell you was a jaw jacker. Because this was due to the gate work we called the contractor and had him come over and fill/grade the area. This was only a temporary fix, as we were in a general spring meltdown and there was still work to be done along the side of the road for the sensors.
 
The plan from the beginning was to continue the same type gravel rehab done last year at starting ~70' from Hwy 2 up the hill at the entrance. We had purposely not done this ~70' area knowing the gate work would be disrupting the road surface. The BOD decided yesterday to ask the gate contractor to complete this last portion of the entrance, as part of that rebuild, vs. doing it as a separate project once the gate work was completed. This should speed up the completion of the entrance work.
 
In looking at the gate it also became obvious that during the work the ditch on the west side of the road had been blocked cause snow melt water to be directed on to the road surface and the "moat".
 
After discussion on the BOD and consultation with the contractor, he will be putting some road base into the moat and re-grading as needed in that area until the gate work is completed. The final road recovery will not be done until the snow melt season and the sensor work is completed along the road, which cannot happen until the ground completely thaws, due to the proximity of the sensor work to the underground electrical lines. If the weather will cooperate we should be completed by May.
 
A moment on another point. The gate was not re-located the 50', we initially intended to move it, due to the underground electrical and telephone lines that were identified when the cable locating service marked the area. The gate was moved approximately 15', which significantly put it out of the area where it was getting damaged by large vehicles turning too tight, when entering ACD. This change was made by Bart and myself in consultation with the contractor and Virgil Burke, on who's property the gate is located, at the time work was starting and not at a formal BOD meeting. This will mean that the objective of keeping vehicles from driving around the gate will need to be address by increasing the length of the fencing on the interior side of the gate.
 
Personally, it is hard to get people to undertake responsibility for these types of projects. It seems everyone wants a say, but few want to do the actual work and because of that I give folks doing the work considerable leeway, and try not to second guess their decisions. 70 some parcels and owners means we will always have differences in opinon and not everyone will be please with every decision.
 
The area has experienced significant snow melt recently and the resulting mud, especially in the shaded areas on the Wellot-Thomas hill and behind Bill Hale's. These areas traditionally experience low melt off during the winter between snow events and over time build up a compacted snow base, increasing the amount of water when it does begin to melt. Last week these areas melted down and the areas became slippery during the mid-day hours. It should be noted that as a common practice snow plows are not to dropped on to the roads gravel surface to reduce gravel displacement and the reconstruction needed after the winter season. If you would like to know more on this subject see the library on the ACPOA website.
 
The BOD has decided to modify the current snow plowing policy (plow at 4" of snow) to say that these areas can be plowed, depending on the conditions, at the discretion of the "Snow Boss" at snow amounts of less then 4". The consensus of the BOD was that this was an issue this year (snow policy has been in placed for years) because over the last few week we have had a number of 2"-2 1/2" snow falls which under the existing policy would not normally be plowed. Herb Zimmerman has volunteered to develop an update snow removal policy/guideline that will be presented to the BOD in April, and the Annual meeting in July.
 
Finally, a mountain lion took down a small elk in front of Thomas' on Saturday morning, as observed by Joe Scranton. The cat took off when Joe approached it in his vehicle. It is my understanding that this was reported to the proper authorities, but please be aware there are, and always have been cats (Cougars and Bobcats) along with bears and other animals in this area. Keep this in mind as you walk, ride, hike and let your pets roam.
 
I retired last week from Qwest after 32 years. Marlys and I are now full time residents of AC. I can be reached by phone or through the Contact Us link on the Main Menu.

 

Pat Caulfield