Dear neighbors,
A reminder that the SRRA Annual Meeting is today (Sunday) at 3:00 pm at my house, 102 Spur Ranch Road. At the meeting, the community will be asked to vote on the 2017 road budget, on two board vacancies. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and hear a report on the road condition and maintenance plans. The meeting will last about an hour. Hope you can make it.
Jim Garland, president
Spur Ranch Road Association
102 Spur Ranch Road
466-8833
Spur Ranch Road (SRR) will be graded, watered and rolled on Monday or Tuesday, 7 or 8 November, 2016. The grading will take place from US 285 west to the junction with the Santa Fe Southern railroad tracks. The warm dry weather and the level of traffic driving both at and above the posted speed limits has taken its usual toll on the road’s surface, causing the surface to ‘wash board’. This will likely be the last grade of SRR prior to the winter snow and freeze/thaw cycle usually starting in mid-to-late November. We have arranged with our neighbor, Tim, to plow the road from Compadres to 285 whenever here is a 6-inch or more snowfall.
Please give the grader, weighing in at some 13 tons, the roller and the water truck lots of room to operate and, please…….. drive slowly and courteously, we’re all neighbours.
Please remember the annual general meeting of the Spur Ranch Road Association coming up the end of November – you’ll receive a notice and an agenda from Jim Garland, your President of the Board.
Sincerely,
Al
Al Webster
Treasurer,
SRRA Board of Directors
Dear Neighbors,
The Spur Ranch Road Association (SRRA) annual meeting this year will be on Sunday, November 27, at 3:00 pm at my home (102 Spur Ranch Road). At the meeting, association members will be asked to approve both a 2017 budget and the annual SRRA dues request. There are two expiring director positions to fill this year. Please let me know if you wish to volunteer for one of the vacant slots, or to nominate someone for the position. Our annual meeting also provides an opportunity for members to learn more about the road's maintenance and improvement needs, and to ask questions.
The meeting is open to all interested parties, although voting is restricted to members whose dues have been fully paid during 2016. If your dues are paid by your HOA, it is important that an HOA representative be present at the meeting to vote on your behalf. If you'd prefer to cast your own ballot, that can be arranged at the meeting.
I'll send out a more detailed reminder notice as the date approaches. Beverages will be provided, and members are encouraged to bring a light appetizer or snack to share. Hope to see you then.
Regards,
Jim Garland, President
Spur Ranch Road Association
(505) 466-8833
Dear Neighbors,
Please be advised that this coming week we will be making repairs to Spur Ranch Road between Rte 285 and the railroad tracks. As you have surely noticed, the condition of the road worsened rapidly after the last grading, with washboards and potholes developing within a few weeks. The washboarding is caused primarily by vehicles driving too quickly (over 30 mph), with heavy vehicles (delivery vans, construction machinery, etc.) especially to blame. The potholes result mostly from inadequate crowning, which allows water to pool after a rain. We do not have the budget to make long-lasting repairs to the road. However, in the hope of making repairs that hold up longer than before we are taking the following steps.
1. Our maintenance contractor will rip the top few inches of the road surface to break up the potholes and washboards.
2. The road will be graded to a uniform width of 21 ft, clearing out the bar ditches and scraping gravel back onto the road surface.
3. The road will be crowned to a four percent slope (about a five inch drop from the centerline to the edge).
This work will likely take several days, so be careful when driving near road machinery. Once the grading is completed, please stay in your lane and do not drive down the center of the road. Doing so quickly destroys the road crown and creates ruts which aggravate potholes. Also, be on the lookout for speeders. If you notice commercial vehicles speeding, please feel free to phone the company and complain.
Thanks,
Jim Garland
President, Spur Ranch Road Association
Russian thistle control on Spur Ranch Road, 2016
On Monday, 1 August, spraying to control Russian thistle will occur on Spur Ranch Road. A couple of volunteers in a John Deere ‘Gator’ will start spraying east of the railroad tracks early in the morning and spray only while there is very light wind to ensure there is no wind drift. Spraying west of the tracks will occur later in the day or early in the morning on Tuesday, 2 August. Spraying will be done, as in the past, using ‘spot’ spraying - targeting only Russian thistle. All spraying will be done with a coarse spray designed to control spread to native plants; there will be no generalized ‘fogging’ or ‘boom’ spraying.
Please drive slowly and carefully around this spray operation as the Gator will be traveling slowly and stopping often.
Thank you,
Al Webster
Board Member,
Spur Ranch Road Association
Spur Ranch Road will be watered, graded and rolled starting Monday or Tuesday (9 or 10 May) from US 285 to the Railroad Tracks. This process will remove most of the current ‘wash boarding’ for a period of time. Without paving the road there is, however, no process that will remove the wash boarding permanently. Low humidity/dry weather increases the speed at which wash boarding returns. Please continue to drive the posted speed limit and encourage visitors and guests to do the same – heavy vehicles driving at excessive speeds on the road speed up the development of wash boarding.
Please drive slowly and carefully during this grading operation – the grader and roller operator can’t always see you and the grader itself weighs in at some 13 tons.
Al Webster
Spur Ranch Road Association
Board Member
SPUR RANCH ROAD
EARTH DAY CLEAN UP!
Its time to clean up the fall and winter’s collection of debris and interesting artefacts from on and beside Spur Ranch Road. This is to invite you to participate in the 5th Annual Cleanup of Spur Ranch Road on Earth Day; 22 April, 2016. We’ll need Spur Ranch Road residents to collect from these sections:
Section 1: Far West (west of Ave de Compadres) to the end of the road.
Section 2: Ave de Compadres to Calleja Junipero.
Section 3: Calleja Junipero to the Railroad Tracks
Section 4: Railroad Tracks to Silver Saddle.
Section 5: Silver Saddle to US 285 (Roberta and I will do this section)
Please collect debris from the road itself, from the ditches on either side of the road and up to 10 feet beyond the ditches on either side of the road but…..no trespassing please! Please collect any nails, screws, etc. that might puncture tires as well as cans, bottles, plastic bags, in, fact, everything that isn’t ‘natural’ or fencing, signage, etc. Wear high visibility clothing if you have it. Please recycle what you can.
Let me know which section you and any neighbours and/or friends might like to take on by responding to this email. Please let me know when you have finished collecting on your section.
Many thanks, neighbours!!
Al Webster,
Treasurer,
Spur Ranch Road Association
