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Wickersham Road Newsletter Greetings Greetings
from the New Road Committee In
December 2000, Wickersham owners appointed a new road committee as part of its
biennial rotation. The committee has been in place since Jan 2001. As you are
aware little has been done regarding the road since that time. Fortunately,
little has been required as the road is in relatively good condition. At this time we would like to introduce the new committee to the Ranch Owners and spell out some of our goals for the upcoming term. We are also requesting comments from any interested Owners regarding information or practices that may be of interest. 2001 / 2002 Committee Members Martin
Dreiling Dianne
Porter Dave
Schafer Communications Feedback I
think we were all pleased at the interest in the Ranch Owners meetings held last
year. It was clear that all owners at the ranch were very interested in the
continued quality of the ranch environment and protection of the natural
character of the ranch. As
an extension of those meetings we are inviting extended communication regarding
ranch issues. We have set up an e-mail account to be used for ranch
communication that will be monitored by the Road Committee: Please
feel free to submit opinions, ideas, suggestions for research, articles, stories
and any other items you might like to share. We will try to respond to all
signed submittals personally or in upcoming newsletters as appropriate. Additionally, Tami Bobb maintains a ranch website at: Mailing
address for all communications will be Preferred Methods The newsletter will be sent by USPS to all listed
Owners. We would like to make a transition to e-mail distribution in order to
save paper and speed delivery. Notices Current Logging As
most everyone now knows, logging is underway on Parcel 12. This will affect the
entire ranch road through mid- to late august: Please
use caution when driving the ranch road. Log trucks may be present at any time
during the work week. Typically, there are three trips a day involving two
trucks. This may vary at any time. The
Timber Plan requires the following work on the Ranch Road: Preliminary grading for use by logging equipment Ongoing watering to reduce dust and consolidate fines. Installation
of water control devices We
are requesting that the operator post the road when log trucks are present.
Additionally, we have clarified that the gates must be locked at all times. If
you observe any irregularities regarding the operations, please notify the Road
Committee. Front Gate Combination Change On
August 10, 2001, the combination to the front gate will change to the following: 4369 Road Dues If you have a dues notification included in your newsletter, that means you have outstanding dues. Please forward payment in the enclosed stamped envelope.If
you disagree with the notice, please contact Martin Dreiling at: 650
696 1200 Gate Issues Front Gate The
front gate has been left unlocked or opened on numerous occasions. The owners of
the front ranch have discovered this condition as well as owners at the
Wickersham. The front ranch owners are very concerned about this problem as it
affects the security of their land directly. We
would appreciate any information regarding misuse of the front gate so that we
can discuss the matter with the offending parties. Please send e-mails to the
address provided above. We
have clarified our policy to the logging operator on Parcel 12 regarding Front
Gate locking. The owner of 12 assures us he will have a chat with the operator. Regarding
operation of the Front Gate, Dean Falkenburg graciously coordinated repair of
the gate with the installer. Big Iron Gate At
the end of last year the Ranch Owners voted to keep the Big Iron Gate closed and
locked. Since that time the lock has been removed on several occasions and the
gate has been left open. We
have heard numerous comments regarding the necessity of locking this gate.
Additionally, we have had a change of ownership on the Front Ranch and now have
two very friendly neighbors who share many of our interests regarding road
security. At
this time the policy of locking the Big Iron Gate stands as voted. We will have
a new lock installed soon. We will also return to the old policy of installing a
combination lock when the key lock is vandalized. The combination lock will
always be the reverse of the front gate combination We
have scheduled an inspection of the gate by the builder of the Front Gate to
assess installation of a new lock and reconfiguration of the locking mechanism
so that it is easier to use. We will have the lock replaced immediately.
Depending on the extent of modifications to the locking mechanism, we may wait
until winter to avoid fire risks from site welding. Goals for 2001 / 2002 Over the next year and a half, we have identified the following goals for the committee beyond regular maintenance duties. These may be modified by a consensus of the owners at any time. Please forward any suggestions. Clarify Road
Policies We
would like to clarify the existing road policies in a concise memorandum for use
by all Ranch Owners. We will attempt to describe current and applicable past
policies regarding dues, road use and access practices. These will be presented
in an upcoming Road News for comment by interested Owners. Hopefully,
by the end of the year we can have a single source of information regarding
these policies. This should be helpful to all owners and to future Road
Committees. Clarify
Road Maintenance Practices We
would also like to begin compiling a memorandum of road maintenance practices.
This should serve as an Owners Manual for the road. It will include the following categories of information: General outline of recommended maintenance practices for rural roads. General outline of regular road maintenance items based on an annual schedule. Outline of regularly scheduled road inspections and maintenance efforts to be funded by the Road Association. Outline of Road Hot Spots requiring special attention and monitoring Outline of voluntary maintenance practices that can be performed on an incidental basis by Ranch Owners to help reduce road maintenance costs. These outlines will be offered for comment by the Ranch Owners. They are intended to assist in establishing consistent road maintenance and use practices for the long term. Long Term Planning DFG / Water
Quality Compliance Over
the next few years we will be faced with a number of issues relating to Water
Quality. The State of California considers rural roads to be a primary source of
siltation affecting watercourses. Various state and local agencies will become
increasingly interested in minimizing watercourse siltation resulting from
poorly designed or poorly maintained rural roads. While
we certainly do not want to invite excess regulation and bureaucracy,
we are well advised to get ahead of the game in ensuring that our roads
meet current standards. Additionally,
it is important to understand that the various state and local agencies have
specific interests in helping land owners comply with the Clean Water Act.
First, these agencies have been placed in the middle by the federal court
system. Required to enforce a federal law, they understand that there are
thousands of land owners who either cannot afford to bring their roads into
compliance or who simply refuse to comply with outside regulation. As
an incentive to owners, and as a means for political survival, there are a
number of funding mechanisms available to assist owners in bringing their lands
into compliance. Over
the next year we will look carefully at the various mechanisms available and
keep the Ranch Owners apprised of policies and resources. The Road Committee
will continue to research not only the applicable laws, but the various grant
programs available and present those to the Owners. We
will conduct our research with a wary eye toward excessive regulation and with
concern for letting the camels nose under the tent. It
is our belief that participation in early compliance programs will result in
reduced impact of future regulation as well as reduced maintenance costs for our
roads. Formalization
of Road Association Resources The following resources are available to assist land owners in various aspects of long term planning. In future issues we will continue to present any resources that we discover which may be of interest to the Ranch Owners. If there are resources that you think may be interesting to others, please forward them to the committee. California Forest Stewardship
Program / CDF Land Trust Alliance |