GOLDSTREAM MOOSE CREEK SERVICE AREA MEETING

Ken Kunkel Community Center

 

MAY 19, 2005

 

The meeting was called to order by Chair Clint Meyer at 7:13 p.m., at the Ken Kunkel Community Center.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT            Clint Meyer, Mario Gho, Doreen Fitzgerald, Ed Herrgard, Diane Herrmann (Alternate), Pete Simpson, and Alfred Sturmann

 

CONTRACTOR PRESENT    Joan S. O’Leary, Alaska Forget-Me-Not Word Processing Service

 

Quorum was established.

 

GUESTS PRESENT

            Randy Goodwin

            Brandy Jacobsen

            Pete Simpson

            Gretchen Kerndt

            Jake Sprankle

            Louann Rank

                        (List attached to original minutes)

 

Clint Meyer welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

Approve Minutes of January 27, 2005 Meeting

Motion made and seconded (M.Gho/C.Meyer) to approve the minutes of January 27, 2005 as amended. Minutes are posted on the Website. No further discussion or objection. Motion passes.

 

Budget for GMC (Goldstream Moose Creek) Service Area

Clint gave an update on the budget. There is $7,000 left outside of the purchase order and then $14,000 left in the reserve. When the new fiscal year starts July 1st a reserve will be put on according to the $32,000, so we will get some of that reserve money back out into the available balance. We will have roughly $16,000 that is available between now and July 1st.

 

Chair position terminates June 30, 2005 (Any nominees?)

a. Commissioner position (Mario Gho) terminates. (Need nominee)

Clint’s chair position and commissioner term terminates on June 30, 2005 and Mario’s does also. Clint is willing to do it another cycle and asked for any other nominations. Clint pointed out there are a lot of things happening in our area and with the borough itself so it is a busy position and wants everyone to be alert for things. Clint asked for a couple of volunteers on Friday as Trent Mackey from Rural Services will be coming out. We are going to survey that new chunk of road in so this is on the borough map so it is part of the service area. This is where we would like to move the crossing on Moose Creek up and have a flatter acceleration and solve a culvert problem.

 

Motion made and seconded (M.Gho/D.Fitzgerald) to nominate Clint Meyer as the Chair for the next cycle. No further discussion. No objection. Motion passes.

 

Mario Gho will sign up for another cycle as a commissioner, but may have to resign in a year or so as he will be moving.

 

Unfinished projects to be completed

a. Culverts that former contractor King bee destroyed and needed to be fixed in Spinach Creek area and Ben LaRue on east Monteverde Road.

Clint met with Pat McGlinchy of M&M and talked about the culverts and the funds that were held back from King Bee when they damaged the culverts of $850 or so. When the new contractor fixed the culverts whatever the cost was less than $800 or whatever we were going to reimburse King Bee for his $200 and send him a check for $200. Clint will flag the areas and M&M will fix them.

 

On Monteverde Road the grader clipped the culvert and a deal was worked out that we would put a 10-foot piece in if Ben would fix his road at the same time and he agreed to do that. That will be done this summer. He will buy the 20-foot and we will buy the 10-foot.

 

            b. Old culverts need to be hauled away

                        1. Community Effort

                        2. Present contractor will be paid to haul away old culverts

There are old culverts left over on the Spinach Creek area. The question was if we want to do this as a community effort or do we just want to get M&M to pick those up when they come up to do some work. Ed Herrgard proposed that in the future a contract be worded that if someone replaces the culvert that they dispose of the old one. Clint pointed out the culverts belong to the homeowners and not to the road service. Mario added that this was not made clear. Mario Gho proposed that in this instance we have M&M dispose of the culverts and everyone agreed.

 

            c. Final upgrades to Keystone Road

There are a few upgrades to do on Keystone. Doreen commented on where she slid in this winter, as it is just too steep. Keystone was a one-lane road this winter. Doreen made a pencil mark on the big map so that Clint can relate this to M&M.

 

The other work to be done is right past where Doreen and Felix live and just past Louann’s place the next driveway down the road goes down and then the A-frame sits up on the side there. We never did anything in front of his driveway. This spring his driveway still comes down and the crown has kind of dissipated there so Clint felt this was a good time to put two belly dump loads in there and re-crown that right there. We should be in good shape then. Clint showed where this area was on the map. Mario said this spring was just great and the roads dried up very nicely. Pete agreed that it was an easy breakup compared to last year.

 

Motion made and seconded (M.Gho/P.Simpson) to fix the above-mentioned work. No further discussion. No objection. Motion passes.

 

Maintenance projects to be addressed.

a. Ditches pulled and shoulder work

      Clint spoke with Pat from M&M last night and drove around for about an hour and looked at pretty much all of Moose Mountain roads on the north side. The first driveway is the Sweet’s driveway on the main road. M&M said there should be no problem in getting that ditch work done. Clint explained starting from about Paine’s and working basically Moose Mountain Road on the north side all the way down to the cross culvert at the T and getting all those ditches pulled out, shoulder work done on that side and getting a re-established ditch line. Pete thought it should be started at the very top, but Clint said it is not bad by his house. Pete said it should not take that much time, as there is no material to move up there.

 

They also looked at Monteverde and Portillo. There is a camper on Portillo, which will be moved in the next week. We talked about fixing that whole road and re-cutting the whole north side of that ditch so the water does not go down in everybody’s house on the lower side.

 

Then we talked about the area two years ago where we stopped with King Bee and going back up and catching LaRue’s ditch, going up to their driveway and fixing that, and then that big belly where the big saddle is and putting some material in there. Pat’s ballpark figure last night was about $10,000 for the whole thing using a 450, grader, and loader. Pat said you don’t want that on your road and he will pull it out of the ditch, get the brush over on the south side, get it off with the loader and then redo the shoulder. We all know there is no material left there. Then at the bottom where he dug out last year and just taking his loader while he is there and cleaning that whole ditch. Clint told him to dig that thing like you’re digging a basement.

 

Someone asked about a driveway culvert. Pat and Clint looked at this last night and the culvert is far enough back and this is not a problem. If we put some loads of material in front of that driveway, which would be Lot 73, and we build up the crown up like we did over on Spinach Creek and re-cut that ditch, it should be fine. There is no sense in replacing a good culvert. Clint has spoken with that homeowner several times and he is willing to do whatever it takes, even if he has to buy a new culvert.

 

Clint stated there are some spots on Tekapo Court that need to be cleaned. Clint had spoken to a lady named Witt who has the driveway that is now out in the road. Clint gave her his number and told her to pass it on to her contractor. This is the one Ed and Clint measured. That was last week and he hasn’t heard anything so Clint will contact the contractor tomorrow to find out how he is going to fix it. Pete explained this is on Tekapo and she just redid her driveway to make it nicer and went out into the road about six feet. The contractor should know better, but Alfred stated it is still the homeowner’s responsibility.

 

Mario stated the $10,000 includes Moose Mountain, Portillo, Tekapo, and Monteverde. Clint said that is not gravel, so Clint’s proposal was to get the ditches cut, see what we got, and then we can talk and see where we need the gravel. There are some places we need to have gravel, as we have no choice. Everyone agreed that the ditches should be done and then do the gravel, as we need it to see what we can afford this year.

 

b. Brush cutting

1. Community effort

2. Contractor will be paid to do brush cutting

Ed was going to cut the brush in front of his place, which is about 200 some feet in front of his property. Independent Rental has a half price sale where you rent a brush cutter for $22.50 for a 24-hour period. Pete would like to see a community effort because a lot of people don’t like the big hog running down the sides. Diane felt you needed options for people who aren’t capable of doing their own brushwork. Clint felt we need to set a standard. Where there are edges you could say from the edge of the road out 15 feet which gets the ditch clear and everything. Doreen uses the trees and brush as a snow break on her driveway so she doesn’t slide off. Clint will call Doreen tomorrow so she can furnish him with a measurement from her first tree to the edge of the road. Clint will call M&M and ask Pat what he needs the brush cut back to come along and fix our road without pulling brush up on the road. If Pat says five feet, then we will put that as a standard. We will let him decide that.

 

It was decided that in FY 2007 brush will be cut on all the roads and residents have until June of 2006 to cut their own brush. That information can be posted on the Website. Clint will call a couple other contractors to see how far they would recommend cutting the brush back.

 

c. Culvert on Moose Mountain road at Sweet’s driveway needs to be fixed so it dumps water into ditch, not on Moose Mountain Road

This was discussed previously.

 

d. Some tailings dumped on Moose Mountain road to crown road to prevent driveway runoff onto main road.

This was also discussed previously.

 

Long-term road projects

a. Moose Creek crossing

Clint would like this set at an eight-year project, as he did not feel there would be anyone assisting with any money on this and we do a little bit each year. Mario stated we have tried all the alternatives but nothing seemed to work. Pete said we are open to any ideas if anyone hears of anything. Clint would be open to an open work meeting to work out a plan like one year we do this and so forth. Mario suggested forming a committee to establish some kind of an eight-year project and then present that to the full service area. Next Friday morning at eight a.m. Trent Mackey from Rural Services will be out to survey the area, so anyone is welcome to meet there.

 

Motion made and seconded (D.Fitzgerald/M.Gho) to form a committee to study the general long-term plan (eight years or less), which will consist of Clint, Mario, Pete, Ed, Randy Goodwin, and Jake Sprankle. No further discussion. No objection. Motion passes.

 

b. Moose Mountain upgrades

This has been covered previously. Once we get Keystone and the old Spinach Creek kind of fixed up this year we ought to try every year to start getting a little more serious about Moose Mountain Road as to more gravel and as much as we can do. Grading was discussed and the cost of grading. Pete suggested it would be nice to have a grading after a rain. Ed suggested grading all of the roads, even the side roads, at least once in the summer. Clint stated the reason for grading is keeping the crown because as soon as it flattens out the potholes appear. Pete stated all roads should be graded either spring or fall and main Moose Mountain Road in the spring and fall at a minimum. All side roads should be fine for one grading a year. Pete suggested a call to M&M or next time Clint talks to Pat and say we need a grading next time it rains on the main road anyway. Clint suggested budgeting $4,000 for Moose Mountain Road a year for grading, which would be about three times a year - spring, maybe July, and just before snowfall. Mario stated Hardluck got into trouble because we did not do any grading for a long time and we lost the entire top and so forth. Mario believes in maintenance and in the long run it works out better.

 

Motion made and seconded (C.Meyer/M.Gho) to do the grading on Moose Mountain three times a year and the other roads once a year at least. No further discussion. No objection. Motion passes.

 

c. Others

Discussion was held on putting money away for the long-term project and also the importance of doing maintenance. Ed asked about the liability insurance. Clint stated it is in the budget as the administration fee went from $1,900 to $5,000. All service areas will have to pay this. Clint has a copy of the insurance plan if anyone wants to stop by his house and see it.

 

Community bulletin board needs to be put up. Date? Time? Leader?

Clint would like to put the bulletin board back up some Saturday and would like some help. Clint stated he would donate two 6 x 6’s and bury them four feet. Clint said in July would be fine. Pete suggested sending an e-mail when Clint wants to do this. Clint will leave a message on Pete’s answering service with at least a week’s notice.

 

Mailboxes

a. Thefts

There is not much legally that can be done about this. Felix had mail stolen out of his rural mailbox, along with several other people. Doreen feels hers has been stolen also and heard about this happening on Gilmore Trail. Clint stated as a road service we cannot get tied into this, but maybe in the long-term plan we can work out some kind of deal with the contractor to put a light in. If anyone comes up with any ideas, please let Clint know. A locked box costs $150.00 forever.

 

Clint asked Mario to formalize a letter regarding the criteria on the locked mailboxes. Mario stated there are four boxes left, so we are basically finished. Mario felt we should order another box, especially in view of the mail thefts. Mario stated when you get enough people to buy a box, then the box will be bought and it will stay out of the road service business. There is actually room for one more there. Pete pointed out in one year everything is almost full, but it is an ordeal managing the financial part of it. Pete feels it was a nice approach the commission took.

 

Motion made and seconded (P.Simpson/C.Meyer) that if eight people approach for a new box and we don’t have another to get the 12 required, the road service area will front the difference in order to obtain the box, put it in, have a community deal like we did before to put it in. No further discussion. No objection. Motion passes.

 

b. Posts planted for buffer zone to prevent cars running into mailbox frames.

1. Date/time/leader is needed to dig holes and plant posts

This will be worked on along with the bulletin board.

 

Working meeting to discuss and plan long-term five year project plan

a. Early August. Commissioners will be contacted ahead of time

This was discussed previously. Pete will send an e-mail sometime this summer and the five of us will get together. Clint suggested that at the next road service meeting we would make it a working meeting. Public is invited and this is where we are at and present the details.

 

Next Meeting date

The next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., Thursday, August 25, 2005 at the Ken Kunkel Community Center.

 

Community Website address:

            http://home.gci.net/~moosemt/spinach/index.htm

Diane Herrmann, Alternate Commissioner, offered to do a synopsis of the minutes to e-mail or mail to residents. Clint stated the minutes are posted on the Website and Deb has a lot of the e-mail addresses. Mario and Clint liked this idea. Diane felt 70 percent of it would be via e-mail so mailing charges should be minimum.

 

Mario suggested that Diane does this synopsis but limit it to the e-mail. Diane said when the bulletin board is back up, we could have a pocket containing a few copies of the minute summary to pick up if they didn’t receive it by e-mail. Pete suggested saying on the summary if you did not want to receive this, please furnish us with your e-mail. Diane would be happy to do something like this. Diane will coordinate with Joan on how to receive the minutes.

 

Mario noticed the Frenchman sign is gone. It is sheared off the ground. Clint has the post and will order a new Frenchman Road sign.

 

Alfred stated the next service area District Council meeting is the 1st week of July on a Thursday. Phil Schad did not know the exact day so Alfred will call him.

 

The commissioners thanked everyone for attending. Clint expressed appreciation for everyone’s help.

 

Adjournment

With no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

 

 

            DRAFT

 

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May 19, 2005              GOLDSTREAM MOOSE CREEK SERVICE AREA MEETING                Page 6 of 6

 




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