Spur Ranch Road Update 10_31_2015

Dear Neighbors,

 

With yesterday's 0.63 inches of rain, the year-to-date total rainfall on the road is now 13.21 inches, about thirty percent more than last year's total. The road west of the RR tracks survived the recent rain in reasonably sound shape, with good drainage along the bar ditches. Some of the ditches will require cleaning of silt and debris, but nothing major.  Avenida des Compadres, as of this afternoon, is passable only with 4WD vehicles, with two deep muddy stretches along the unimproved dirt road segment. Until it dries out, we encourage residents to avoid Compadres.

 

The area east of the RR tracks to Rte 285 has segments where potholes have formed and washboards are beginning to develop. At this point, the road is still drivable, and we plan to wait until later in the year before regrading it. The base of the road still seems solid, so we don't expect the potholes deepen significantly.

 

I know I sound like a broken record, but speeding continues to be a problem. Driving in excess of 30 mph greatly accelerates the pothole and washboard problem, so please take your time. We have received reports of delivery trucks, especially FedEx, significantly exceeding the posted speed limit.

 

Our budget for the remainder of the year is about $4000. If we don't have unexpected heavy snowfalls, we'll try and grade the road one last time before the first of the year.  The SRRA directors will be meeting soon to prepare a budget for 2016 to present to the entire membership at our annual meeting. The meeting will be in early December, and we'll notify you as soon as we have a date.

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Regards,

Jim Garland, president

Spur Ranch Road Association.

 

Spur Ranch Road Update 10/22/2015

Dear Neighbors,

 

My fellow SRRA director, Al Webster, and I checked the road condition this morning, following yesterday's 1.25 inches of rain, and found the road west of the RR tracks to Compadres to be generally in good condition, with minor washboarding and undercutting, and some partly filled in bar ditches on the north side of the road.

 

The east side of the road, between SR 285 and the RR tracks did not fare so well. Although the washboarding has not significantly worsened, many potholes have developed, some of them relatively deep.

 

We had planned initially to grade the east portion of the road late last week, but postponed the work because of the imminent rain. As it turned out, that was a fortuitous move, and we're now planning to grade the east part of the road as soon as the road dries out sufficiently, most likely in the next day or two. The moisture is good, since it means we can save money by not having to water (and possibly roll) the road. We hope the savings will enable us to grade the west portion of the road as well and, pending negotiations with the grader, perhaps clean out and deepen some of the bar ditches.

 

Grading the road several times a year will be a continuing expense for the Association. We don't have enough budget to build up a solid base for the road bed, much less pave it with asphalt or concrete, so we'll make do as best as possible. However, every time we grade the road, it shortens its remaining life expectancy. This is a particular problem for the road west of the RR tracks, where flooding has washed out the base course foundation in several areas.

 

Some of may be using Avenida Compadres.The most worrisome section of Compadres is the 1/4 mile segment that lacks any foundation at all. We checked that segment this morning, and was pleased to find it was not as bad as we expected. It will be muddy but should be passable with a 4WD vehicle, though we don't recommend it.

 

Regards,

Jim Garland, president

Spur Ranch Road Association

 

 

 

Spur Ranch Road Update

Hola Neighbours,,

 

There will be a road grader working on Spur Ranch Road either this Wednesday or Thursday (14 or 15 October) from NM 285 to the railroad tracks.  This will be a minor grading to remove most of the washboarding and to prepare the road for the upcoming winter season and the forecasted active ‘El Nino’.  Please watch out for the grader, recalling that it weighs about 13 tons and that the driver, concentrating on the road ahead,  may not see you approach. 

 

Thanks, Happy Halloween, and don't forget to preserve our road and yourself by driving slowly and carefully.

 

Jim Garland, president

(for the Spur Ranch Road Directors)

 

 

Prepare for emergencies

We promise we won’t overwhelm you with emails nor advertisements but we think this is very worthwhile for all members of Spur Ranch Road Association:

 

http://www.fema.gov/news-release/2015/09/14/september-national-preparedness-month-dont-wait-communicate-make-your-1

 

Be safe and drive slowly,

 

Al

Treasurer,

Spur Ranch Road Association

Spur Ranch Road Mid-Summer Update

Dear Neighbor,

Here’s a mid-summer report on Spur Ranch Road and your road association activities.

 

A. Thank-You

            We are extremely grateful for the financial support of the SRR community during the past year. Our overall contribution rate is about 90%, which is remarkable, given that contributions to the road association are voluntary. I’d like particularly to acknowledge the support from the residents who live and own property west of the RR tracks. This past year, we achieved a 100% participation rate from those residences and lot owners. Given the maintenance needs of the west part of the road, this support has been extraordinarily helpful. So thanks everybody!

            Further, following our message to the community urging drivers to drive slowly, we’ve noticed subjectively that speeding along the road has decreased. Driving at or below the posted 30 mph speed limit greatly minimizes washboarding and excessive dust. We still need to stay on top of this issue, but we’re very appreciative of the positive community cooperation.

 

B. Road Condition

            East of the RR tracks: Several weeks after grading and rolling the road in late May, the road condition is generally satisfactory. Our plan is to add basecourse to the worst parts of the road, as our budget allows, and this strategy appears to have help stabilize the road against rapid deterioration. Our impression is that the Bionic Soil treatment, although not as impressive as we expected, has helped stabilize the road against the large amount of rainfall we’ve experienced during the past two months. Shallow washboards are developing, but the spacing between washboard crests is short, suggesting that the base under the road is still quite hard and has not been degraded by rain. Our current plans call for one further grading at the conclusion of the monsoon season.

            West of the RR tracks: In May, we performed significant maintenance to the road between the RR Tracks and Compadres, adding short segments of basecourse to the sections most badly damaged by last year’s flooding. During the past two months, there have been times when Compadres (the alternate entrance to the residences at the west end of the road) became impassible, so in the interests of safety, the SRRA directors felt it was important to keep SRR open and drivable. It is important to understand that the road, though passable, is still very vulnerable to flooding and washout. The drainage problems and general lack of structural integrity along lengths are a continuing worry. So far this season, we’ve been lucky that the rains have not washed out the road, as they did last year.

 

C. Budget Report:

            Our current balance at the end of July is about $4800. We have budgeted $2500 for one more routine grading after the monsoon season, and $500 for snow removal and miscellaneous expenses during the winter months, leaving us with a hoped-for year end balance of $1800. I say “hoped-for,” because we don’t have money for any substantial unplanned expenses. For example, last year’s late autumn flooding west of the RR tracks required about $7500 of emergency repairs in order to keep the road open. Should we experience comparable problems this year, we’ll have no choice but to ask for additional contributions from residents. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that won’t be necessary. (Good budget practice suggests we should build up a reserve fund to handle contingencies and long-term road improvements, and our initial goal was to budget $4000 a year for this purpose. Unfortunately, our revenues and expenses haven’t allowed us to do that, so at the present time we have no reserve fund.)

 

D. Miscellaneous

            Road Spraying: As in the past few years, we have targeted invasive Russian Thistle plants along the roadside with herbicide. This spraying has been done on a plant-by-plant basis, using a diluted mix (roughly 5 tablespoons of concentrate to a gallon of water) of Roundup, an herbicide whose main component is glyphosate. The toxicity of glyphosate has been extensively studied for several decades, and by far the large majority of rigorous studies have concluded it to be very safe. (Hundreds of people have tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide by drinking the chemical. A 200 lb person would have to drink about two pounds of the concentrate to have a 50% chance of dying, which places it roughly in the same toxicity category as table salt or sugar.) The half life of the chemical is about 45 days.

            Despite such findings, many people still worry about unrecognized toxicity, or the long term impact of the chemical on human health. Other people worry about allergies and chemical sensitivity to the herbicide. Other things being equal, therefore, many conclude that a “better safe than sorry” approach to glyphosate or any other herbicide is obviously desirable.

The SRRA directors are sympathetic to these concerns and have weighed the pluses and minuses of using the chemical. The problem is that Russian Thistle (aka “tumbleweed”) is a highly invasive weed that thrives in disturbed soils, such as the regularly graded soils alongside our road. If allowed to grow, the weeds develop into large unattractive plants which eventually die, break off, and spread seeds throughout the area. They also represent a substantial fire hazard during the late summer and autumn fire season. The SRRA directors voted to spray the Russian Thistle this past Spring, but to revisit the issue before next year’s weed season. We would very much welcome informed comments and opinions from residents on this issue.

Speed Bumps: The directors have discussed the pros and cons of installing speed bumps along the road as a way to slow down traffic. While speed bumps (or speed humps) can be effective, they are also a nuisance, can pose liability issues, require periodic maintenance, interfere with road grading and snow removal, and can be expensive to install. Nevertheless, we are continuing to look into the possibility, one option being to install one or two speed bumps as a pilot program. We would appreciate your thoughts on this issue. Thanks very much.

Regards,

Jim Garland

President, Spur Ranch Road Association

SRRA Board of Directors Minutes July 20, 2015

SRRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

July 20, 2015

Directors Present:         Jim Garland, Jake Greene, Henry McCormick, Al Webster

Director Absent:          Mary Anne Stickler

Guests:                         Roberta Armstrong, Carole Garland

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.

The first order of business was a discussion of the current road conditions.  Up to Junipero, conditions are good.  West of Junipero, recent rains have impacted the road.  The ditches are filling with silt, road gravel, and tumbleweed.  The culvert pipe is about half full of silt on the downstream side and there is some minor undercutting of the road surface on the north side of the road.

We then reviewed the Treasurer’s Report.  After discussion, Jake moved that the report be accepted, Henry seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.

The current balance is $6,462.71.  We need to reserve funds for the following expenses (amounts are approximate) in this budget year:

                        Commercial liability insurance:                          $1600

                        One more grading of road                                  2500

                        Snowplowing                                                      600

Thus, we have approximately $1700 left should additional expenses arise. 

The topic of slowing traffic was then discussed.  Several residents have asked whether speed bumps could be installed.  Various options for traffic calming were discussed but no decisions were made. Al will seek information on the optimal width and depth of rolling dips (a traffic calming device) and how such dips need to be marked. At some point we may survey the community to determine the level of support for some means of slowing traffic.

We will implement a few ideas to encourage people to drive more slowly:

            A sign in English and Spanish, asking people to slow down

            A set of humorous signs (to be paid for privately)

            A letter to residents, reminding them to drive slowly and to ask delivery people, workmen, etc. 

                 to slow down as well.

Jim will send an email to the SRRA members with a general update. We also need to contact residents on the west end of the road so that they are aware that the $1700 remaining in our budget would not be enough to repair the road if a flash flood washes it out again.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Spur Ranch Road Ass'n open letter