Snow - We Got Plenty
One of the joy of living in the mountains is the snow. One of the biggest challenges in town is the snow.
Current Snow Removal Status
As a reminder, we currently have no support. We have good people that are trying to help out their friends and neighbors, but we have no official support. We should be thankful for their help, but we also have to realize that they all have been doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
The grader, which was the primary solution, is not available to us for a few reaons:
- It is not trustworthy. In the past, the transmission has failed, causing it to roll out of control, backwards, down hills on the Bar D. We are lucky that nobody was hurt, or killed, when this happened.
- It is not covered by our insurance. While there isn’t a board, there is nobody, officially, looking into this. However, there are a few people that continue to volunteer and continue to research these issues trying to find a solution. This is one area that is being researched.
- There isn’t a reliable driver. We were blessed to have Dan here on the Bar D taking on this need. Dan had two very reliable 4WD vehicles that could, generally, get him to the grader barn and allow him to use it. There were times when Dan had to hike/walk to the grader barn. He was a blessing.
Snow Plow Service was contracted. We paid for service on a per trip basis. However, the same people that caused our board to resign also caused our snow plow service to terminate the contract for cause. These same individuals harassed the driver to the point that he will not return.
The Future
We have the Emergency Meeting coming up on March 17th. We strongly encourage everyone to attend if it is possible. If you can’t make it, please assign a proxy so that we can get a majority of owners to vote in a new board.
As stated earlier, even though there isn’t a board, a few people have been continuing, behind the scenes, to evaluate and plan. The plan, before the board disbanded, was to try to fight our way through this Winter, which was always going to be a challenge, and to take some steps this year to prepare for the next several Winters.
The plan, which may change, is to:
- Fully evaluate the grader and get estimates on its repair. Because of its size and complexity, it is probably not the best solution for the Bar D.
- Identify a vehicle, whether it is a plow truck or something along those lines, that can handle small storms. This vehicle must be easy to operate, and be reliable and safe. It must be something that we can insure.
- Identify a vehicle, yet to be determined, that can also handle larger storms and drifts. Maybe this is the same vehicle that can handle smaller storms and be easy to operate.
Of course, everything depends on a new board being elected, and some changes to the behaviors of individuals on the ranch. We can’t continue to have the horrible behaviors that we have had from a few people impact others in such a negative manner that we can’t get people to volunteer and keep the BDOA operating.
Our options, when it comes to the board are pretty clear. We have a couple of obvious ones:
- Stop the bad behavior, help the board where possible, and support the community.
- Pay increased dues and outsource all of the day to day, including snow removal and road maintenance to a third party company. The costs will be shared by all owners.
Summary
Please show for the Emergency Meeting, and help our community now and in the future.