ECHOES
of DEER VALLEY
_________________________________
A Publication of Deer Valley Property Owners Association
June, 2005
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
It’s all about the roads. As I write this article, we are just a few days from beginning roadwork in Deer
Valley. With volunteer owners, we have taken down 17 trees along the roads that all bidding
contractors told us needed to be removed to allow more economical road maintenance and snow
removal. We should take a few more out in future years. Larry Phelps and Steve Rumore (both brand
new residents!) used their heavy equipment to ensure the trees did not fall on power lines and to dig out
stumps. Tom Ware, Paul Duggan and I cut and piled limbs and cut up the trees for firewood. Bob
Anderson, Paul Duggan, Mark & Maureen Hawkinson, Greg Guanci, Bill Swapp and the Beebes spent
much of their Saturday chipping the limb piles so roadwork can begin. This volunteer work saved the
Association significant money!
Unfortunately, money is always associated with our roads. The Board has voted to spend $35,000 for
roadwork this year or $10,000 more than the 2005 budget. Due to better managing our snow removal
costs this past winter and as a result of moneys approved by the owners to be moved from capital
improvement reserves, we presently have a cash surplus of roughly $18,000. However, our roads are in
desperate need of gravel resulting from several years of not adding enough due to limited funds. (Recall
that we spent $10,000 less than budget on the roads last year.) We have numerous potholes and there
are many places where the 3” road base (rock) is showing through the road surface. Without adequate
gravel it is impossible to properly crown the roads to shed water resulting in more potholes.
The lowest bid for our basic roadwork (recovery of gravel from the ditches, grading, watering,
compacting and applying mag. chloride) this year is $18,800 – excluding any gravel. Within the
$25,000 budget, this would only allow us to apply 20 belly dump loads of gravel to our 3.6 miles of
roads. With the additional $10,000, we will be applying a total of 54 belly dump loads of gravel. While
this sounds like a lot of gravel, we are not sure that 54 loads will be adequate to properly crown all roads
without disturbing the road base. Following the roadwork, we will be projecting our gravel needs for
next year with our contractor. If significantly more gravel is needed, we may be looking at a special
assessment to get our roads back to optimum condition.
We want all owners to fully understand the high cost of our road maintenance. We will be presenting a
paving alternative at the annual meeting, but preliminary numbers are disappointing in providing any
significant savings long term; and paving requires a lot of up front money. Please know that the Board
is doing all it can to manage the high cost of road maintenance – by far the Association’s biggest budget
item.
WELCOME
We wish to welcome our new property owners who have joined us since the last newsletter was
published.
HOMES
Shawn and Danielle Lorrigan- the McCullough home on Lot 28
Rick and Ginger Conner- the Williams home on Lots 55 and 56
We also welcome Larry and Kathy Phelps who have just moved into their new home on Lot 76.
NEW GATE TRANSMITTERS
The new receiver which was recently installed on the gate requires new transmitters. Those residents
who have purchased them are pleased with the improved range. The gate can be opened from the
dumpster on the way out and from Highway 160 on the way in. These new transmitters can be
purchased through the Association from Debbie Guanci, Treasurer. The first order is already gone but a
second order has been placed for ten transmitters at $25.80 each. The old radio transmitters will
continue to work through the old receiver, but the operating range is still sporadic. Owners are again
reminded that the code for guests, contractors, and realtors has changed to #1980. The old code of
#2121 will no longer work. The owner’s code remains at #4242 for the entrance gate as well as the
National Forest gates.
LAGOON PELLETS
Residents with lagoons are again reminded that mosquito pellets are available from the Association. A
one-time cost of $14.55 will provide enough pellets for the summer. With the increase in West Nile
Virus and other diseases caused by mosquitoes, please protect both yourself and your neighbors by
keeping your lagoon mosquito free. Please contact Debbie Guanci at 884-0526 or codebbie@frontier.net
to purchase pellets.
DUMPSTER
We now have two dumpsters at the entrance to Deer Valley. One is emptied twice per week while the
other is emptied only once per week. Now that bear season is here it is even more important to be sure
that the lids can close completely. Do not leave items next to the dumpster since only trash placed
inside the dumpsters will be collected. Construction debris is not allowed. Neither are pine needles, tree
branches and other slash from property cleanups. Scheduled pick up days are Tuesday and Friday. If
you have large items to dispose of, please check the night before to see if there is room for these items.
If you do not recycle your cardboard boxes, please collapse them so as to take up less room in the
dumpster. Recycling facilities for cans, paper, glass, cardboard and plastic exist in Durango and
Farmington with collections for newspaper and aluminum cans in Bayfield.
NATIONAL FOREST ACCESS
As of June 1 the National Forest is again opened for motorized vehicle traffic. ATVs must be registered
with the Colorado State Parks Off-Highway Vehicle Program. Access to the forest for ATVs,
motorcycles, horses and foot traffic is available from the end of all gated roads in Deer Valley. None of
our roads leading into the Forest are accessible to cars, trucks or other licensed vehicles. The forest
gates are locked, but will open with the same owner’s code as the gate, 4242. Go out and explore this
wonderful resource that surrounds Deer Valley!
CONTROLLED BURNS
If you wish to burn slash and debris on your lot, please remember to call Durango dispatch at 385-2900
to advise them of your plan. This is where all 911 calls are monitored. Calling in your controlled burn
will prevent the fire department from showing up at your door for a false alarm. If a fire ban is put into
effect for the summer by La Plata County, no fires will be permitted. Several volunteers for the fire
department live in Deer Valley and are willing to assist anyone with their controlled burn. They can
bring the brush truck from the Bayfield fire station to stand by if needed.
ANNUAL MEETING
The annual meeting for all lot owners will be held on Saturday, August 6, 2005 at the Church of Christ
on 160B in Bayfield. The 1:15PM business meeting will again be preceded by a potluck luncheon at
noon. This will be organized by the Welcome Committee, chaired by Terry Beebe. This is always a
wonderful opportunity to meet new residents and welcome them to Deer Valley. For some of the out of
town lot owners, this is their only chance to visit and meet their future neighbors. Please plan to join us.
MINUTES OF BOARD MEETINGS
We have instituted a policy of emailing the minutes of monthly meetings of the Deer Valley Board of
Directors to all those lot owners who have provided us with their email addresses. Several are returned
each month. If you are not receiving the minutes and would like to, please contact Sue Ann Gaherty,
Secretary, at kengaherty@frontier.net or 970-884-2054 and we will update our list.