Mountain
Folk News
February
2004
Jim White, our Resident Manager
Our
manager Jim White has been really busy this fall and winter! Many of you have
seen Jim out checking our water system for leaks. He has fixed at least nine valve
leaks before the snows fell. This has actually had a positive effect on our wells.
We’re using a lot less water now!
Aside from keeping an eye on
the subdivision and making regular tours of the neighborhood, Jim’s duties
have included cutting down dead trees and hauling them away, arranging to get
the “Mulcher” to the subdivision, getting rid of stumps along the road,
learning about water quality. He's even helped pull about four cars out of the
ditch, which really isn't one of his assigned duties!
In short, Jim’s
been a great help to lots of folks since he’s come on board as our manager.
He’s always willing to help, although he does want folks to know that he
expects people to contact Board members, not him, for Board related matters.
Jim also wants to acknowledge the help of his “able assistant” Don Willis. Don is always willing to help, whether it’s shoveling mud out of a waist-deep hole to repair a water line, or replacing the gate board on a blustery day. The residents of Duquette Pines are very fortunate to have both Jim and Don taking care of our subdivision.
History
of the Duquette Pines System of Wells
Quite a lot of work has been done on wells in our subdivision this past year
and the Board thought it might be helpful to provide a history and current status
of our five wells.
Loyal and Barbara Willis settled in Duquette Pines in 1970 and had well #1
drilled in October of that year. This well is located near the home at 101 Meadow
Drive. Its original depth was 297 ft. and the pump was placed at 247 ft. The
original pump was replaced in 1990 by a new 3 hp pump. In December of 2002 this
well was deepened to 550 ft. and the pump was again replaced.
This first well provided enough water for the first homes until 1976, when wells
#2, #3 and #4 were drilled. All three of these wells are located on the hill
above the meadow.
Well #2 was originally drilled to 445 feet. It was deepened to 600 feet
in September 2003, but unfortunately caved in. In November 2003 this well was
re-opened and put back on line November 27, 2003.
Well #3 was originally drilled to 296 feet and the pump was placed at
290 feet. This well produced very well until 2003, when low water levels began
causing the pump to run for 45 minutes or so every 6 to 7 hours.
The third well drilled in 1976 was well #4. It was originally drilled
to 250 feet. In 1990 this well was in the process of being deepened when it
caved in. The pump was raised and the well continued to produce until 1994,
when it became contaminated.
Well #5 was drilled to 489 feet in 1994. It is located near well #1 off
Meadow Drive. The pump was installed at 295 feet. In November 2002 a new 3 hp
pump was installed on this well. It is the best producer of the five wells,
putting out 20 to 25 gallons per minute.
Between December 2002 and the present, $35,278.20 has been spent on the improvements
to existing wells #1, #2, and #5.
Hopefully this brief overview will provide some insight into the history of
our wells and the upgrades that have been done over the past years. As our water
system continues to age and as more homes are constructed in our subdivision,
more work will be required on these wells. It is also entirely possible that
one or two new wells will need to be drilled in future years.
Vehicle
Storage
The Board has received requests for information from some property owners asking whether a community “storage area” for vehicles would be available. For a period of time in the past, Loyal Willis had generously offered the use of a portion of his property for temporary parking of residents’ “excess” vehicles.
That
property, along with other property owned by Duquette Pines, Inc. (owners, Willis
and Reinhart), including the “Meadow” property, was sold to Western
Land Company and became a part of Duquette Pines Sub. #4. There currently is no
“common property” available to owners of Duquette Pines Subdivisions
#1, 2 and 3 for use as a storage area. Storage of vehicles on individual lots
is addressed in the CCRs for each respective division.
Road
Maintenance
With
so much snow already this winter, our roads are certainly foremost in our thoughts
and concerns. Our road contractor has been working long, hard hours to keep our
roads not only passable, but also wide enough to allow two-lane traffic in most
areas.
Our snowplow/grader operator had some incidents with drivers recently that need to be brought to everyone's attention. On more than one occasion when the operator was moving snow, a vehicle came up behind the grader and passed on the left before the operator was able to create enough room to get out of the way. In at least one case this caused the vehicle to nearly hit the grader and nearly go into the ditch. When a vehicle comes up behind the grader, the operator will move over to let it pass as soon as he is able. In some cases this means the operator must move snow out of the way, back up, then move more snow before pulling over to the right.
It
is important that drivers leave plenty of room behind the grader and wait for
the operator to signal that it is safe to pass. He will move out of the way as
soon as it is possible for him to do so safely. If we do not follow this safety
procedure we not only risk an accident, but we also risk losing our contractor
for road maintenance. Please be patient and safe.
Costs
of Road Maintenance
In response to questions from some of you,
here is information on our road maintenance expenditures.
In
the July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003 budget year, disbursement to our road contractor
was in the amount $11,881.81.
In the current fiscal year to date, our
road contract expenditure for maintenance has been $6,806.77, with just less than
six months remaining in the 2003-2004 budget year. An additional expenditure of
$5,600.00 for new road construction was necessary to create safe, year-round road
access, and less costly road maintenance to property that previously received
only minimal winter road access.
Additional road expenses, not included
in the above amounts, would include portions of manager and employee wages as
well as supplies and gate repairs.
Snowmobile
Courtesy
In our summer newsletters we often remind residents of road safety topics that
apply to autos, trucks and motorbikes. These same cautions apply to snowmobiles
in the winter. Here are some courtesies to remember:
Not everyone enjoys the fun and excitement of snowmobiles. But for those of us who like this form of recreation, the more courteous we are when enjoying the snow, the more pleasant it will be for everyone.
duquettepines.com
We now have our own web site, www.duquettepines.com. The site is the
repository of important Duquette Pines business and timely updates. In fact, it
seems something new is added just about every week or so.
Right now,
you can find residents’ comments regarding the Board letter sent out regarding
CCR violations. And immediately after each Board meeting, we put up the Minutes
from our Board meetings.
You’ll also find complete Covenants for
our three divisions, the Bylaws, past Newsletters, a History of the subdivision,
and much more.
We have tried to make the site easy to access, with all
the latest updates on the front page, and with a minimum of pictures for fast
downloading.