Meridian Lake Park, Meadows & Pristine Point Newsletter #21 www.MeridianLake.com January 2006 ___________________________________________________________________________________________
It's winter in the Rockies!
The seasonal migration is well underway. The bald eagles and elk have returned to Almont and many of our members are back for the holidays and skiing season.
The skiing is off to a great start. There was abundant early snow enabling the Headwall to open for skiing on December 7th one of the earliest openings ever. The slopes are well groomed as are many of the Nordic trails.
The Mt. Crested Butte town center is bustling with construction activity making parking and slope access a bit more challenging than usual. And, avalanche danger is ever present in the back country as well as some of the posted areas within Mt. Crested Butte.
Winter use of Washington Gulch
The winter use of the Washington Gulch drainage has drawn considerable attention over the past year as the Forest Service has tried to steer usage closer to original intents. What follows is some background on Washington Gulch winter usage and a description of some changes that will affect all of us.
A management plan for winter recreation in the Crested Butte area originated with the "Gang of Nine" stakeholders group in January 1992. The Forest Service released an Environmental Assessment for public comment in April 1995.
In November 1995, the GMUG Forest Supervisor signed the Winter Travel Decision for the CB area, which stated that the management emphasis for winter recreation in Washington Gulch was cross-country recreational skiing. Snowmobiling was "discouraged". The drainage was closed to snowcat skiing, commercial dog sledding, and commercial snowshoeing.
Since the 1995 decision, changes in snowmobile technology have allowed riders to utilize terrain that was never previously available. The popularity of backcountry alpine and telemark skiing has also increased. The use of snowmobiles for access to backcountry areas for skiing and boarding has seen rapid growth.
Private snowmobile activity is perceived to have substantially increased in Washington Gulch since the 1995 Decision, prompting citizen and agency response to the problem and the eventual creation of the Washington Gulch Working Group, a local citizens' approach to resolve differences between users. MLPC was represented on the Working Group.
The Working Group, representing a variety of volunteer citizen stakeholders, convened six meetings and a field-visit during the past year.
Four commercial businesses currently operate in Washington Gulch (WG). Three of these entities are oriented toward non-motorized recreation, one provides motorized recreation:
a) Crested Butte Mountain Guides--backcountry ski tours and avalanche courses. (USFS permit since 1993)
b) Crested Butte Nordic Council--guided Nordic ski tours. (USFS permit since 1989)
c) Elkton Cabins--overnight hut opportunities for skiers.
d) Action Adventures--guided snowmobile tours. (USFS permit since 1984)
Existing USFS permitted services will not be affected or modified by the proposal at this time.
Private landowners in Washington Gulch have expressed concern with the high level of motorized and non-motorized trespass across private lands. The wishes of private landowners in Washington Gulch are that all winter users respect private property boundaries.
The Washington Gulch trailhead parking area is located within Gunnison County Right-of-Way and private land (Allen Ranch). The trailhead is plowed by Gunnison County. The US Forest Service maintains trailhead information annually.
On busy days, private vehicles and snowmobile trailers sometimes spill onto the road in the direction of the adjacent subdivision from the Washington Gulch Trailhead. Overnight parking of vehicles sometimes interferes with County efforts to plow the trailhead after a snowfall.
Gunnison County holds jurisdiction for the Washington Gulch Road #811 to the National Forest boundary.
The Proposal
The proposal represents an interim solution to the differences between users in Washington Gulch, and is an attempt to refine the existing 1995 Forest Service decision on winter travel management. The Washington Gulch Group supports the Forest Service on a timely re- examination of all winter recreation management in the Crested Butte area.
1. To protect the interests of private landowners (Allen Ranch), all winter users without permission will be required to stay on the Washington Gulch road (Gunnison County/USFS # 811) from the trailhead to the boundary with National Forest. Winter non-motorized access to Long Lake will be allowed to continue. Private land will be posted and no-trespassing will be enforced. The Working Group supports landowners' efforts in working with local law enforcement agencies to ensure success at preventing trespassing.
2. Snowmobiles will be allowed on the Washington Gulch Road #811 on the east side (Gothic) of the road. The west side of the road (Coneys/Anthracite Mesa) will be managed as skier domain where snowmobile use is prohibited.
3. An area on the east side of the Washington Gulch road; the "Elkton Hills" located northeast to the Elkton town site, will be managed as skier domain where snowmobiling is prohibited. This is proposed to protect the backcountry skiing experience for visitors to the Elkton hut system.
4. Without expressed permission from the landowners, all winter users will be required to stay on the road through the Elkton town site to access National Forest. The road is the only legal public access through the private lands at Elkton. Private land will be posted and no-trespassing will be enforced. The Group supports landowners' efforts in working with local law enforcement agencies to ensure success at preventing trespassing.
5. All private, non-guided snowmobile users in Washington Gulch will be required to obtain a mandatory permit (required registration) to ride in Washington Gulch. The number of permits issued will not be limited. The purpose of a required registration system is to achieve mandatory educational goals and strengthen possible enforcement actions.
6. The Working Group recommends continued monitoring of parking congestion and its' impact to adjacent subdivisions at the winter trailhead. The Group supports both ongoing and future discussions with Gunnison County on parking management based upon the results of additional monitoring.
The agreed upon Washington Gulch recreational boundary area map is available on the MLPC web site.
Subsequent Events
Gunnison County The County is requiring commercial operators to obtain a permit to park on Washington Gulch Road. This action is an attempt to manage the parking impact on this busy road. If the results of this parking management are favorable, similar restrictions may be placed on other drainages.
The Allens MLPC received a letter from Ralph R. Allen and Sons, Inc. making three specific requests:
1. They asked that "all unauthorized use of their property, including snowmobiling (except for licensees), skiing and snow shoeing by the public, including our residents, must cease."
2. They asked that MLPC communicate to our members the closure of the Snodgrass Trail when given notice by the Allen's.
3. They asked that we better manage trash blowing onto their lands from our sub-division.
The MLPC Response to the Allen's As background please visit the Meridian Lake Park website at www.meridianlake.com. From the home page, click on Construction and you will find a map of our community. You will notice that the National Forest is adjacent to our community on our northern boundary.
The Allen land borders us on the west and their land also borders the National Forest on a line drawn directly north of our western boundary lines. Their land also borders the eastern side of our community, ending at our northern boundary line.
The National Forest therefore borders us to the north and runs from our western boundary east to the Gothic corridor. The Snodgrass Trail is partially located on Allen land on the southeast side of Snodgrass as well as on the west side of Snodgrass. Much of the Snodgrass Trail however, is located in the National Forest.
Our formal response to the Allen's included the following points:
1. There is a public access easement to the National Forest between lots 50 and 51 in Meridian Lake Meadows.If you wish to access the National Forest, please use this path only. There is a post marking the entry point from the road. Walk straight back to the stile to cross the fence, respecting and avoiding the private property on either side of the path.
2. In the past, Allen land was occasionally accessed, with permission of the owners, by our residents via lots 42 and 43 in Meridian Lake Meadows. These accesses are now closed and posted with No Trespassing signs. Please honor the signs.
3. We have agreed to post a "Snodgrass Trail Closed" sign on the post marking the public access easement to the National Forest when notified to do so by the Allen's. You may still access the National Forest and the portion of the Snodgrass Trail located on there. However, please respect the closure of the trail on the Allen lands.
4. We feel that most of our residents follow two simple rules regarding trash. The first is to only use bear and dog proof containers, i.e. containers with locking lids. The second is to put the trash out on the morning of collection, not the night before. Based on observation, we do not feel that the source of trash blowing onto Allen land comes from household trash collection. Rather, we feel the major source comes from construction dumpsters that are not covered. Therefore, as part of our Design and Construction Guidelines, we will make covered dumpsters a requirement for approval.
Senate Bill 05-100
The Colorado General Assembly recently revised the law governing Homeowners Common Interest Communities. The bill is quite lengthy and many of its provisions are consistent with our current covenants. However, there are several changes that do impact us.
Our bookkeeping rules will be amended slightly to comply with the new law and formal audits may be required. Under normal circumstances, our operating budget is too small to trigger an audit. However, due to the size of the Capital Improvement Project, if a third of our members request an audit, one will have to be performed.
The minutes of association meetings must be made available for members to read. MLPC has decided to post these minutes on our web site for your convenience. The minutes can be found in the section called "Downloads".
A number of policy statements are required. You will find the following policy statements posted in the "Downloads" section of our web site:
1. Welcoming New Owners Policy
2. Delinquent Dues Collection Policy
3. Conflicts of Interest Policy
4. Conduct of Meetings Policy
5. Enforcement of Covenants and Rules Policy
6. Inspection and Copying of Association Records Policy
7. Procedure for Adopting and Amending Policies
8. Investment of Reserve Funds Policy
If you have any questions regarding the provisions of the Senate bill or the policies outlined above, please contact any member of the Board of Managers.
Water
As mentioned in the April, 2005 MLPC Newsletter, the Mt. Crested Butte Water & Sanitation District has been working on a new project to add a pump station to the outlet of the Meridian Lake Reservoir. This pump station will deliver fresh water to our water treatment plant to supplement the production of the Jaklich Ditch.
The pipelines for this project have already been installed but the District has run into an obstacle with the State agency that oversees dams. The State requires that borings be taken below the existing outlet to ensure the ground is firm enough to take the additional weight of a concrete pump station on top of the outlet structure. Since the outlet must be dry during this work, the borings must be taken during a low stream flow condition in Washington Gulch.
Attempts to complete this work during the past fall were unsuccessful. The District is looking at other options, but the geo tech project might be delayed until next fall which would delay the completion of the new pump station until 2007.
The Board has reviewed MLPC water use and agrees with the District that this delay should not impact water availability in MLPC. The water production from the Jaklich Ditch should be adequate for several more years. The new pump station will be required as we approach full build out.
Being a Good Neighbor
Our community is changing, of necessity, as build out continues. Neighbors are closer than they used to be and as a result, new challenges arise. For the most part, the community is making a smooth transition but occasional problems come to the attention of the Board.
Snow Storage The basic rule is that your snow needs to be stored on your property, not pushed across the street onto someone else's property. A new snowblowing service is being used by a number of our members. This type of service seems to better manage the snow storage within property boundaries compared with the older form of plowing.
County Roads Our subdivision roads are county roads. We benefit from county maintenance but we must comply with county regulations. These regulations prohibit overnight parking (for obvious snowplowing reasons). They also prohibit snowmobile operations.
Wildlife Being a good neighbor means that we don't feed ANY of the wildlife. Period!
Dogs Many of our resident members enjoy the presence of a dog in their household. Being a good neighbor means keeping your dog (including poop) on your property. Clearly, you are free to walk your dog on our roads so long as it responds to your voice commands (the County's interpretation of "leash") and so long as you pick up after yourself. Being a good neighbor also means respecting the silence of our very special location. Leaving a dog outside to bark may result in a visit from law enforcement accompanied by a sizable fine.
A Road Update
The final approved Gunnison County budget for 2006 includes the cost of paving our interior roads. At this time, it appears as though our originally budgeted expense for materials will be adequate to cover our share of the expenses, in spite of the run up in oil costs.MLPC Details
Our e-mail address is: managers@meridianlake.comOur phone number is: 970 349-2002
Our mailing address is:
Meridian Lake Park Corp.
P.O. Box 504,
Crested Butte, CO 81224.The MLPC Board meets every other month on the third Thursday of month beginning with January.
MLPC Board of Managers
President Ron Baker
Vice President Gabi Prochaska
Secretary/Treasurer Curt Wilker
Chuck McGinnis
Lara Moscateli
Bill Ronai
Andrew ShoupArchitectural Control Committee
Chair Chuck McGinnis
ACC Member Andrew Shoup
ACC Member Lara MoscatelliPPOA Board of Managers
President Marty Evans
Secretary/Treasurer Parry Mothershead
Kurt Giesselman
Henson MooreArchitectural Control Committee
Chair Marty Evans
ACC Member Parry Mothershead
ACC Member Kurt Giesselman
MLM Board of Managers
President Bill Ronai
Vice President Curt Wilker
Secretary/ Treasurer Tammy Lawrence
Sam Ganz
Gary RainwaterAll MLM Board members participate in ACC matters.
The Board meets the third Thursday of every second month starting from September 2005
Web Site
Gordon Reeves continues to make improvements to our Web Site. It can be located at http://www.meridianlake.com/. It is a great way to find the latest information on our area. This includes benefits like obtaining discount ski lift and lodging packages.
RECENT NEWSLETTERS Just click on a title below to see other past articles of interest
How do Filing 1, 2, 3 & 4 Relate?
Cattle in the Park Call 349-2002
How to Handle Dog Problems
Need a Hidden Dog Fence?
Speeding on Meridian Lake Drive
Recycling for Meridian Lake Park
Bright Lights At Night
Need More Delineators on Washington Gulch Road
Private "Limo" Service
No More Shiny Roofs
Who can use the Courts?
Parking for the Tennis Courts
Black Marks on Tennis Courts
Short Term RV Parking
Dumpster for Part-timers
Snowmobiles in Meridian Lake Park
Bears Some Interesting Facts