PIKE TRAILS RANCHES IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
PTRIA – PO BOX 45 – GUFFEY, CO 80820
Spring has sprung again in Pike Trails Ranches! The leaves on the Aspen are emerging, and as usual, the Hummingbirds are here, hungry as ever. Although this year, they came 3 days early at our house on April 28th. Several folks have seen Pasque flowers already….for those of you who are new to the area, they are similar to Crocus, mostly white, sometimes blue, and appear in early Spring.
For those of you who missed the annual meeting last August, the membership in attendance voted to elect the following to the PTRIA Board of Directors:
President – Bernie Mann
1st Vice President – Mike Bandera
2nd Vice President – Jay Mulholland
Treasurer – Jon Klima
Secretary – Laurie Bratten
Laurie’s complete minutes are posted on our website, PIKETRAILS.ORG. And if you were not there, I’ll tell you, you missed some really tasty fried chicken that I ordered and picked up Saturday morning from City Market in Canon City (courtesy of PTRIA), plus lots of delicious side dishes brought by many of the attendees. We plan on doing this again this year on August 25th, so mark your calendars!
As usual, the landowner address for this Newsletter is based on Park Co. Assessor’s data as of May 25th, so if it is not correct, please notify them (cc: me too, please).
TREASURERS REPORT– We have $15,026.62 in our Treasury as of 5/25/18. Details are available upon request to Jon Klima and at our annual meeting in August. This does not include the $12,761.02 in our CD. We had 91 landowners pay dues so far during our fiscal year of 6/1/2017 thru 5/25/2018 in the amount of $13,305. Thanks to all of you who have helped make Pike Trails a better place to live.
PTRIA WEBSITE – Have you visited our PIKETRAILS.ORG’ website recently? Jon Klima and Tim Bratten have totally redesigned the format, and included more information……check it out!!! 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”. Plus, if you don’t check frequently, you’ll miss out on important events, such as when the pond was stocked with trout.
FISH/PONDS – On June 10th 2017, we put the new Trout Lane upper pond solar aeration system into operation. We’ve placed two air stones in the pond, one near the middle, and the other about 50 feet from the NW corner. When the sun is shining on the solar panel, you will see the two air columns bubbling up to the pond’s surface. This air will oxygenate the water which, in turn, will help to keep the water clear, the weeds down, and provide the much needed oxygen for the fish during the winter when the ponds are frozen over.
Both ponds are full and overflowing….hope they stay that way all summer! We stocked them with approximately 80 fish each on 4/23/18, plus both ponds have lots of fish that survived the winter. We’ve also noticed some minnows, which means that some of the fish we’ve stocked are not hybrids (which can’t reproduce).
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 34.5 inches, and the prompt action of our volunteer snow plowers. We appreciate these volunteers – Jon Klima, 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 to sub-contract 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 33 loads of gravel (approximately 15 tons per load) on our roads @ $280/load ($9240). Please let me know if there are spots that need attention. Just a call to give me a heads up and we’ll do our best to take care of it. And if you see a pot hole near you on “ranch” roads, there’s a pile of gravel on Stream Drive, about 100 yards from Antelope Lane for that purpose….help yourself!
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.
“TAZ”, our PTRIA grader is running good…. I graded most of the roads in early May, and then again a couple of weeks later after it had rained and the roads had some moisture in them. On the second pass, the “drag link” broke and left me stranded just north of the Deer/Antelope “Y”. FYI, the drag link is a 6 ft. piece of solid steel, about 3 inches in diameter, which extends from the knuckle on one front tire to the other front tire. When it came loose from the left front, the left front tire went one way, and the right front tire when the other! Bummer!!! I managed to steer it into the ditch, and with the help of Jon Klima and Mike Chew, put a temporary fix on it to get it home. Tim Bratten and I took off the drag link, and I took it to a machine shop in Florence to have it fixed. It’s back on now, and ready to go. I know that the “washboard bumps” are a problem, and I’ll do my best to keep them from getting too bad. You can help by not driving too fast and/or spinning your tires.
MISC. –We’re starting to have a problem with cows getting into Pike Trails Ranches. Colorado State law states that it is the landowner’s responsibility to keep cattle out, NOT the rancher to keep them in. There are several sections on the west and north side of Pike Trails Ranches that need re-fencing to accomplish this. I have some fencing and T-Posts, and I will be contacting many of you to help locate and repair these fences within the next few months. Please let me know if you can help
On a sad note, we lost Bill Harper last fall to lung disease. Bill spent 2 terms as President of PTRIA and served as Chaplain for the Guffey Fire Dept. He was always “there” when any neighbor needed a helping hand. I can’t count the times I called on him for help. He was a kind and gentle man that will be sorely missed….
Also, long time resident Vince McGinn passed away last fall. Vince was one of the original landowners when Pike Trails was developed.
WORK DAY- A work day was held in early September. Thanks to all who helped mend existing snow fences.
ANNUAL DUES – We’ve managed to keep our Dues as shown below since 2009. If everyone chips in, we can maintain these rates for the foreseeable future.
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.
2018 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 25th (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 – bernmann001@gmail.com