2005 Newsletter

PIKE TRAILS RANCHES IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

PTRIA – PO BOX 45 – GUFFEY, CO 80820

May 31, 2005

Hi everyone….another year has passed since my 2004 newsletter, and it hardly seems possible that it’s spring already! We had a fairly mild winter….no major snowfalls, but quite a few in the 6” to 12” range. I’m not sure how much liquid moisture that converts to, but as always, we could use more. I always judge how wet it is by the Pasque (wildflowers like Crocus), and they are about average. Some parts of the state had quite a bit of rain in early May, but for the most part, it skipped us. I was out grading last week, and the roads were pretty dry. We had our Deer Lane “lake” again this year, right at the intersection of CR88 when the culvert froze up. Larry LePage and I borrowed the “pond pump” from the Fire Dept and pumped the ditch out on the west side a couple of times, which helped some. Thanks to everyone who plowed snow this past season… .we rely on you to keep our private roads clear. I know when I grade, I can tell by the ruts which roads have not been plowed much.

As usual, the landowner name and address for this NEWSLETTER is based on Park Co. Assessor’s data, so if it is not correct, please notify them.

2004 ANNUAL MEETING

The 2004 Annual Meeting was held August 29, 2004 at Fire Station #3 on County Road 88 near Cougar Lane . Twenty-six members attended, eight of who were board members and their spouses, who sorta had to come! Lynn (Gartland suggested that we replenish our CD with $5000 this year and the remainder as dues income permits. This was done on September 20 th Fire Chief Dave Hudak gave an overview of the status of the additions to the lire stations and the repeater on Dicks Peak as well as information on what homeowners can do if their home is threatened by a wildfire. Mark your calendars for this year…it’s Sunday, August 28 th , 2005. It’s the weekend before Labor Day. This year is an election year, so we need a good turnout Anyone who would like to throw their name in the hat for a position on the very prestigious and highly paid PTRIA Board of Directors is encouraged to do so! As far as I know, the current board members (shown below) are willing to serve their community for another 2 year term.

President – Bernie Mann
1st Vice President – Ann Erickson
2nd Vice President – Ron Oliver
3rd Vice President – Larry LePage
Sec’y/Treasurer – Mary Maxson

2004 WORK DAY

A Work Day was held on September 11th, which 10 people attended. We put up some more snow fences, repaired others, picked up trash, and, as usual, Doris & Nancy provided a great lunch for us, with several others bringing goodies to munch on! Also, a special thanks to Wayne & Pat Heffelman for allowing us to use their backhoe all fall, winter and spring. We not only used it to help maintain our roads, but excavated for the addition to Fire Station #2, which we finished in early fall. We’ll schedule this years Work-day at our annual meeting.

FISH/PONDS

Cline Trout Farms in Boulder finally delivered our fish in late June last year. We stocked about 300 11 — 14 inch Rainbows at a cost of $815 (including $115 delivery charge), of which Martin Sloan paid $200… .Thanks, Martin! Cline’s said I needed to call earlier if I wanted the pond stocked by Memorial Day, so I called them in early April this year and they promised delivery by May 28th The price went up to $3.40/lb this year plus the $115 delivery. The good news is that the fish are almost all 13 — 14 inches, with a few 15 — 17 thrown in. At our Annual Meeting last year, it was suggested that I remind everyone that the fish in the ponds are for dues paying Pike Trails homeowners and their guests only (no license is required), and that we should be considerate in the catching of fish in other words, “catch & release” is encouraged so that everyone can enjoy this activity, but it’s OK to keep a few for supper!

PTRIA ROADS

I put in 64 hours of grading time last year, and 20 hours so far this spring. The grader’s running good, and I’ve now used up all of our fuel in the 300 gallon tank. I haven’t ordered more Diesel fuel yet… .figured I’d wait until it came back down to around $1.00/gallon… .(Ha Ha!). I’ve had several residents offer to learn how to run the grader, so I’ll be calling them this year. . .1 really appreciate their offers! You’ll know when you see the PTRIA grader coming down the road… .1 put a big picture of the Tazmanian Devil on the front! Doug Mayotte’s friend and neighbor, Ken Stewart, up in Denver donated another set of edges, which Doug will bring down to the ranch soon. . . we still have a little blade left on the last ones Ken gave us. Thanks Ken, and thanks to Doug for bringing them down to Pike Trails! I graded some private driveways plus Beaver Springs has asked me to grade the roads over there, adding some money back into our treasury.

Ranch roads stayed in pretty good shape… .a few washboards and a couple of mud-puddles, plus the “lake” I mentioned earlier, but overall, nothing major. We spread 37 loads of 3/4 road base (approx. 610 tons) last year in late June & July. We’ll start having gravel hauled in again this year as soon as some of the dues money starts rolling in, putting most of it in areas of highest traffic.

And once again, I’d like to remind everyone, especially the “newcomers” to Pike Trails, that PTRIA owns the private roads within Pike Trails Ranches. This 17 miles of deeded roads include 30 feet on each side of the center of the roads. So if you’re putting in a new driveway or fence, keep that in mind. We don’t want to create an erosion problem when new driveways are put in without the necessary culverts, which are the landowners responsibility. Please let me know of any special needs on ranch roads near your property… we’ll do our best to take care of them.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

We were saddened by the death of Chris Diehl last January … our sympathies to Barb.

John & Trish Mans moved to Canon City due to health problems, and Duke & Ruthie Davis bought their home. Dave & Shirley Neal are renting Debbie Enriquez’s home on Cougar Lane while building a new home in Aspen Meadows. Other new landowners include: Alfred & Dawn Brown on Buck Dr; Jerry Morris and Thomas Halfast also on Buck Dr; Robert & Mary Curtis on Chipmunk Circle; Marvin & Marilynn Monroe, also on Chipmunk Circle; Roland Handschuh on Hawk Lane; George & Julie Winninghani, also on Hawk Lane; Kevin Kirk & Shelley Orlando-Kirk on Deer Circle; Steve & Cynthia Richardson on Antelope Lane; Christopher & Dona White, also on Antelope Lane; Gary & Maureen Shoe on Hwy 9. We welcome all you folks to Pike Trails Ranches. Please don’t hesitate to call me or any Board member, as well as your neighbors to get acquainted….none of us bite! (as far as I know ). Several other parcels changed hands, and were purchased by existing landowners ….which brings me to my next subject. When I first became President of PTRIA, I sent out 179 newsletters/dues requests to landowners. This year there are only 139 letters. The reason???? Many of us have purchased additional parcels (including me). Since we have previously assessed dues based on landowner name rather than by parcel, our potential dues receipts have decreased by 40, times $100, or $4,000. The PTRIA board is proposing the following change:

——$ 100 for the first parcel, $25 for each additional parcel owned by the same person/persons.

We’ll discuss this at our annual meeting, but we’ll likely implement this change in 2006. In the meantime, if you own more than one parcel, feel free to contribute more many of you are already doing this. Our expenses continue to increase, such as taxes, insurance, gravel, fuel, fish, etc., and I hate to increase dues, so this might help offset our increasing expenses.

TREASURERS REPORT

The summary is shown below-details are available upon request to Mary Maxson, and also at our annual meeting in August.

(Note – we still need to buy another $5,000 CD which we cashed out to purchase the grader.)

ANNUAL DUES

As I just mentioned, annual dues are still $100, except for property owners whose driveways connect to public roads (non-PTRIA ranch roads) who will continue to be assessed $25. We received zero feedback on our question in last years newsletter regarding suggestions as to why many landowners have stopped paying their voluntary dues. I know that some folks who don’t live here “year around” feel that they don’t benefit from the dues like us “full timers” do, but all the realtors tell me that if/when property is sold, the condition of the roads is a key factor. In fact, many lenders call me throughout the year, asking me to provide a statement stating that we will continue to maintain the roads in their present condition. Plus, if we need to get Emergency Vehicles (Fire Trucks and Ambulances) to our residents, the roads have to be in good shape. We’d sure like to know if there is something we can do better to encourage more people to pay. Please let us know your thoughts. And, like last year, if you can’t afford the dues, please let me know…at least I’ll know you care, and we’ll work something out.

2005 ANNUAL MEETING

Did I mention that our Annual Meeting is August 28 th , 2005???? And that it’s an Election Year???? Tell you what! We won’t make you run for office even if you have a complaint or suggestion! How can you beat a deal like that?? Remember this is your meeting!!! It will be held at 2:00 PM in the Fire Station on Co Rd 88 near Cougar Lane (SPCFPD Station#3). As usual, I’ll put up reminder notices near all the mailboxes in Pike Trails. And I’m sure some folks will bring coffee, pop, and munchies.

See you in August,
Bernie Mann President
Pike Trails Ranches Improvement Assoc.
(719) 479-2253