PIKE TRAILS RANCHES IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
PTRIA – PO BOX 45 – GUFFEY, CO 80820
Hi Folks,
“I’m Back In The Saddle Again”!!! After 4 years of simply being a PTRIA Board member, I am again president of the PTRIA Board of Directors. Both Bill and Nancy Harper declined to run for office at our 2015 Annual Meeting on August 22 nd , so I threw my name in the hat and was elected in a close race—-actually, no one else “ran”, so I was elected by default!! Many thanks to Bill for 4 years of presiding over the PTRIA Board, and to Nancy for being Secretary. So, as of 8/22/15, your PTRIA Board of Directors is as follows:
President – Bernie Mann
1 St Vice President – Bob Erickson
2 nd Vice President – Sally Peterson
Treasurer – Jon Klima
Secretary – Laurie Bratten
In case you missed the 2015 Annual Meeting on August 22 nd , Nancy ‘s complete minutes are posted on our website, PIKETRAILS.ORG. I will tell you that if you didn’t come, you missed a tasty pork barbecue provided by PTRIA, plus lots of delicious side dishes provided by many of the attendees. We plan on doing this again this year on August 27 th , so mark your calendars!
As usual, the landowner address for this Newsletter is based on Park Co. Assessor’s data as of May 18th, so if it is not correct, please notify them (and me too, please).
PTRIA WEBSITE – Have you visited our PIKETRAILS.ORG ‘ website? It is nothing short of fantastic thanks to Jon Klima! I’ve surfed other websites that are rarely updated and contain “old news”. Jon updates this baby daily! Folks can see Pike Trails weather almost REAL TIME ! Jon encourages everyone in Pike Trails to contribute photos, news, temperatures, and especially snowfall amounts to the website, because as strange as it may seem, precipitation varies greatly throughout the “ranch”. And there’s even a “Classified” section where dues paying members can list items for sale! Plus, if you don’t check frequently, you’ll miss out on important events, such as when the pond was stocked with trout (more on that later).
TREASURERS REPORT – The summary is shown below–details are available upon request to Jon Klima and at our annual meeting in August.
Balance as of 5/10/16 $13,374.03
This does not include the $12,646.39 in our CD. We had 93 landowners pay dues so far during our fiscal year of 6/1/2015 thru 5/31/2016 in the amount of $13,603.54 Thanks to all of you who have helped make Pike Trails a better place to live.
FISH/PONDS – The upper pond is full and overflowing, thanks to all the moisture from a year ago, and the lower pond is full also, so Jon & I will not hook up the solar pump, but instead, use the PV’s to run the two aerators in the lower pond. Both ponds have lots of fish that survived the winter, including some really nice Golden Trout. A few days after we stocked last year, a beautiful Bald Eagle was seen several times over the next few weeks, sitting on the picnic table at the upper pond, watching these Golden Trout, which were very visible. Hmmm…. do you suppose the Eagle had some for supper????
We are currently working on stocking both ponds, hopefully by the end of May. We’re also considering adding a few “grass carp” to help control the weeds. A note of caution: last fall, a member reported going down to fish, and found several bobbers floating in the upper pond with lines attached to stakes in the ground, but no one was around. He pulled in the lines, one of which had a fish on it…..no telling how long it had been there. This practice is un-sportsman-like and really TACKY. If you see anyone doing this, please call Jon or me. Remember, these PTRIA owned ponds are open to fishing (without a license) to all dues-paying Pike Trails landowners and their guests. Please be considerate when catching 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! And you can help keep these pond areas clean by picking up your trash and “packing it out”.
PTRIA ROADS – Our roads stayed in pretty good shape over the winter, mostly due to our moderate snowfall accumulation of 60 inches, and the prompt action of our volunteer snow plowers. We appreciate these volunteers – Larry LePage, Barry Anderson, Jon Klima, Peggy Larson, Eric Kellogg, Leslie Thomas, Bob Erickson and me…..(please holler if I missed anyone). For the benefit of the “newcomers”, winter maintenance is not included in your dues….we simply do not get enough dues-paying landowners to afford winter maintenance! There are some of us volunteers who may be available to plow private driveways. We will continue to do our best to keep the PTRIA roads cleared on a volunteer basis. FYI, last year we spread 30 loads (approximately 15 tons per load) of gravel on our roads. Please let me know if there are spots that need attention. Just a call to give me a heads up and if we’ve got the money in the Treasury, we’ll do our best to take care of it.
I’d like to remind everyone that PTRIA owns the private roads within Pike Trails Ranches. These 17 miles of deeded roads include 30 feet on each side of the center of the roads. So if you’re putting up a new fence, please keep it back 30 feet from the center of the road. Also, we have several driveways that really should have culverts under them as they enter Pike Trails roads. Without them, erosion occurs across our roads. These culverts are your responsibility. At least a 12 inch diameter culvert is required, and depending on the run-off, maybe even a 16 inch.
Our PTRIA grader (it’s name is “TAZ” for Tasmanian Devil) is running, but needs some brake system repairs which I will get busy on within the next couple of weeks. FYI, we have been notified by our liability insurance agent that grading private driveways is NOT covered by our existing policy, nor can it be added, so we are working on some sort of “waiver”, signed by each landowner requesting grading, releasing the grader and it’s operator of any liability issues. If we can design such a waiver that will pass the legal “litmus test”, grading private driveways could be available for dues paying members at a rate of $70/hr.
ANNUAL DUES – Dues will remain the same as last year, and are assessed as follows:
Single lot with driveway on PTRIA road $125.00
Single lot with driveway off of CR 88 or Hwy 9 $50.00
Second (or more) unimproved lot (each) $50.00
Second lot with home on PTRIA road $125.00
If you can’t afford to pay the dues, please let me know…at least I’ll know you care. As in the past, we have provided a return envelope. Many thanks to all of you who have paid extra….it helps make up for those that don’t pay.
MISC. – As most of you know, a temporary cell tower was erected on 31 Mile Mountain last fall. At a recent “commish with a dish” meeting held in Guffey, Park County Commissioner Mike Brazell informed us that this tower will be replaced in the near future with a permanent tower. This is great news for Pike Trails residents who wish to use their cell phones. Jon Klima and I also reminded Mike that we are still awaiting a permanent solution to the rough condition of CR88 from Hwy 9 to the top of Chumway Hill and the cleaning out of county owned culverts from Deer Lane to Elk Lane that was previously promised. Mike attributed the delays to personnel turnover at Road & Bridge, funding issues, and unexpected road repairs to county roads last summer. We will continue to follow up on these issues.
Did you know???? At latest count, there are 61 full-time residents of Pike Trails Ranches, and 27 part-time residents. We continue to grow, which indicates what a special place Pike Trails is!!!
WORK DAY– A work day was held on September 12 th . Thanks to all who helped mend existing snow fences and erect new ones on Antelope Lane and Doe Drive as well as those who re-lettered street signs and picked up trash along CR88.
2016 ANNUAL MEETING – Remember……this is your meeting!!! It’s your chance to put in your 2 cents about things you would like to see done (or done differently) where you live. Even if you haven’t paid your dues, you can still be heard! Mark your calendars…. Saturday, August 27 th (the weekend before Labor Day). Meeting at 11:00 AM, chow to follow!!! 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. I especially encourage new residents to come and meet their neighbors.
See you in August,
Bernie Mann – President
Pike Trails Ranches Improvement Assoc.
(719) 479-2253
email – berndmann1@peoplepc.com
Pike Trails Ranches Improvement Association PO BOX 45 Guffey, CO 80820