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Road
Update
August
5, 2005
Greetings
- Gate Combo
Change
- Regular
Road use Reminder
- Road
Cost Analysis
- Proposed
Dues Increase
- Road Association
Election
Gate
Combinations
The gate
combinations will change on Sunday August 19, 2005. The new combinations
will be as follows:
Front Gate:
****
Big Iron Gate: **** call for combos
Please make
a note.
Regular
Road Use Reminder
The Front
gate continues to experience minor abuse. It has been found unlocked on
several occasions.
Additionally
I found the lock on the second gate discarded on one occasion and replaced
the lock myself.
It continues
to puzzle me as to how, in such a small community as ours, vandalism can
occur. It is unfortunate and makes the task of dealing with the road that
much less desirable.
For all of
us who use the gates properly, thanks and please remind your neighbors
and guests that these rules are not negotiable.
When we cross
the lands of others, those owners have every right to ask us to keep gates
locked. Both the front gate and the second gate are located on lands that
are not part of the Road Association. Each of these owners has requested
that the gates remain locked at all times. This is not a matter for debate
among the Road Association; it is a simple fact of life out here in the
country.
Additionally,
many members of the road association prefer to have both the gates locked
as a means to further ensure that strangers do not inadvertently (or otherwise)
wander back into the ranch. The following is the regular reminder about
use of the Road. Please share this with all guests and vendors.
- Always
lock the gate; regardless whether it was unlocked when you got there.
- Make sure
the combo is NOT left on the lock or the lock will not lock. Spin the
numbers before locking and test the lock to make sure it is locked.
- Please
advise all of your guests regarding the importance of locking the gate.
- If you
wish to leave the gate open for a car that may be following, please
wait at the gate while it is open.
- Please
advise your guests regarding Road Etiquette including basic driving
methods for rural roads and basic courtesies such as saying Hello and
identifying who they are and whom they are visiting.
- Please
advise guests not to litter the area around the gates. (I pick up trash
there almost every time I enter. This is not road trash but it came
from people using the gate.)
- Please
pick up litter and debris that does not belong on the road.
- Please
remove rocks or trees that have fallen onto the road. (If you remove
a large tree or perform other substantial work in keeping the road open,
please advise the Committee so we can say thanks.)
- Please
advise guests that they are traveling over private property and that
they should respect the privilege to do so. It is not appropriate to
stop for sightseeing or personal relief on other's property.
- Please
get permission from the owners of the front ranch to park cars inside
the front gate.
- Contact:
Dean and Kelly Falkenberg (707) 431-1517 dktfalken@aol.com
For those who do keep the gate locked, the road clean and always have
a smile when passing, thanks from the Committee and from the owners
at the front ranches.
Road
Cost Analysis
We have prepared
a review of current road costs for your review that reflect not only actual
costs but the value of services rendered on a volunteer basis by the Road
Committee.
This information
is provided to make clear the potential costs to the association should
the annual road maintenance be fully funded and managed as an expense
to the Association. We are NOT proposing this, it is provided for clarity
only. It is the intention of the Road Committee and , we assume, the association,
to run manage the road on a volunteer basis as this is the most effective
way to ensure that the interests of the Owners are being addressed.
Projected
Road Maintenance costs are shown to reflect the two primary needs that
have been addressed over the last several years:
- Adequate
Annual Maintenance
- Adequate
Long Term Maintenance (Capital Improvements)
Current
resources do not adequately cover a full compliment of regular tasks as
well as a reasonable long-term strategy to maintain the structural integrity
of the road. As always our goals for the road include the following:
- Maintenance
of the road for easy access to properties while retaining the roads
(and the ranches) rustic character. We are not trying to build a super
highway out here.
- Availability
of the road at all times of year commensurate with the increasing demand
to use the road in the wintertime by owners, farming interest and residents.
- Protection
of the adjacent habitats from severe erosion, siltation and physical
degradation. This includes management of runoff, reduction of silt producing
conditions on the road and stabilization of watercourse crossings.
To help clarify
the magnitude of Road Maintenance costs we have prepared several supporting
documents for your review. Some of these items are provided to each parcel
and sent to the Primary owner only. If your packet did not include these
please contact the primary owner of your parcel, as we do not have resources
to publish maps for each owner. Enclosed please find the following:
- Updated
Map of the Wickersham Ranch Road (primary owner only)
- Overview
of Current Annual Road Expenses " Overview of current dues status for
each parcel.
Past
Due Amounts
We have provided
an overview of current resources by Parcel indicating past due amounts
which are affecting our ability to complete adequate maintenance on the
road.
This is a
very small community and every parcel counts. Each parcel has full access
to the road on an ongoing basis. Failure to pay maintenance dues is unfair
to the other Owners, as Road Maintenance must occur over the whole road.
We would
appreciate any help the membership can provide in reminding their neighbors
that unpaid amounts only hurt the neighbors and reduce our ability to
maintain the road.
For those
who pay their dues regularly, thank you. If you have questions please
contact: Martin Dreiling 650 696 1200 md@cssanf.com
Proposed
Dues Increase
As mentioned
back in March, we are seeking approval of the Association for an increase
in annual road dues.
This increase
is proposed for the following reasons:
Maintenance
Strategy Shortfall
Annual income
from current dues covers EITHER Annual Maintenance OR annual portions
of Long Term Improvements. We have been favoring Long Term Improvements
over Annual Maintenance for several years now in order to realize long-term
gains rather than simply expending each year's income on repetitive expenses.
It has been
our position that Long Term Improvements would slowly decrease growth
in Annual Maint costs and this has been the case. The out sloping and
rocking that we have done have relieved several areas of the need to grade
annually.
There are
still many sections of the road that need Long Term Improvements. We can
easily spend $15,000 per year in changing grades, removing berms and rocking
for the next 5 years.
Maintenance
Demands
Additionally,
we have been getting more calls for regular grading to improve the comfort
of the road. This suggests that the membership would like to see expenditures
both for Regular Maintenance and Long Term Improvements.
If this is
the case, the current annual income of approximately $10,000 cannot cover
both strategies.
Projected
Increases In Costs
As mentioned
in March, we should expect Maintenance requirements to increase with increased
regulation of water quality and related environmental impacts over the
coming years with the real possibility that we may be required to perform
substantial improvements to the overall road system on a one-time basis.
This could represent a capital expense of up to $250,000 based on my estimates.
(Obviously such an occurrence would cause us to seek supplemental funding
via grants.) Regular costs continue to increase as local vendors raise
their rates. Based on our stricter review of vendor qualifications, fewer
vendors are available for roadwork than were previously available. This
has the potential to increase costs as competition is removed.
The Road
Committee is recommending that we increase the annual dues to $500 starting
with a retroactive assessment for 2005 of an additional $200.
This will
allow us to continue with the current strategy while providing increased
annual "comfort grading". Additionally this will better allow us to prepare
for emergency expenditures in the event that severe winter storms cause
substantial damage to portions of the road.
Under current
funding we rarely have emergency funds available and have been very fortunate
to have avoided emergency situations that would require funds. We can't
expect that situation to remain indefinitely.
Reprinted
From March 2005:
"The recent
Road Work cost approximately $12, 000. This represented retained resources
from 2003 as well as deficit spending for 2005 (funded by a short term,
no interest loan from CSS Architecture.)
The expenses
of this project alone exceed the annual resource income of the Road Association,
which is approximately $10,000. As we have additional sections of road
that need this kind of work next year, we will not have adequate resources
to perform work of this quality or durability.
Alternately
we will have to delay further Long Term work until 2006.
This circumstance
also assumes that we will have little or no retention of resources for
emergencies and that any emergencies will have to be mitigated through
emergency funding and deficit spending.
Meanwhile,
out Annual Road Dues remain comparatively low not only for the length
of road we maintain (approximately 14 miles) but also in comparison to
the surrounding ranches. Currently annual dues represent a cost to each
parcel of $21.43 per mile of road. Even for the first owners who use only
the Front Ranch road, this represents less than $55.00 per mile.
Since these
small amounts are not currently covering the real costs of maintaining
the road even at the minimum levels we experience, we are recommending
an increase in annual Road Dues to $500 per year."
Ballot
Based on
this information and the consensus of the Road Committee, we have prepared
the enclosed ballot for your consideration:
- Ballot
describing proposals before the membership (including pre-paid return
envelope.) ... (One per parcel)
Road
Committee Elections 2005 / 2006
Committee Elections
There were
no nominations for new members of the road committee for the 2005 - 2006
period. Since each of the incumbent members had expressed interest on
remaining on the committee, and no other members of the Association have
expressed interest, the Road Committee will remain unchanged until the
end of 2006. We have not included a ballot item for Committee membership
election.
The Road
Committee thus includes the current members:
- Martin
Dreiling, Parcel 8, 9 (current member)
- Dave Schaefer,
Parcel 5 (current member)
- Gary Martinez,
Parcel 6 (current member)
Resources
Ranch
Mailbox wranch@cssanf.com
Ranch
Website "http://www.wickershamranch.com"
Thanks to
Tami Bobb for her efforts in sharing space on her personal ranch site
for our benefit.
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