& Landowners Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 237 - Idaho Springs, CO 80452
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GCCHLA Board Meeting
January 23, 2001
The regular GCCHLA Board meeting was held January 23 at 7 p.m. at the home of Lynne Butler and John Hicks. The following GCCHLA members were present:
|
Jim Avramidis Don Waggoner Marci Bowman / Bill Sanders Dave & Judy Gallaher Yvonne & Larry Kramer Ryan & Karen McHale Brian Oppenheimer Darrell & Heather Huntoon Tim Wheeler Scott Schaeffer |
Laurie Beckel Otto Van Geet Kathleen Krebs John Hicks / Lynne Butler Laura Karner Wayne & Judy Hayes Caro& Bob Doane Damon Ardourel John Ewers Arlan Crane. |
Business Meeting
Meeting was called to order by GCCHLA President Dave Gallaher.Minutes were presented from the October 24, 2000 Board Meeting. They were approved as published.
Yvonne Kramer gave the Treasurer's report:
GCCHLA checking/savings: $7,711.26
Fire Dept.: $7,879.59
Yvonne reported Renaud's bill for annual grading of the roads was $2550. The Forest Service road permits cost $614. We earned interest of $183.14. We prepaid taxes of $27.47.
Old Business
York Gulch Fire DepartmentKathleen Krebs, still more or less Fire Chief, requested a simple floor plan from every homeowner to have on file at the firehouse. Especially important is the location of the batteries. Fire suppression is based on battery location. Send the plans to:
York Gulch Fire Department
PO Box 844
Idaho Springs CO 80452
Kathleen reported that electricity will be brought to the firehouse very soon. She also told everyone that we desperately need volunteer fire persons. She reminded everyone that the need is not only for actual firefighters, but also for various administrative and auxiliary duties necessary to a well run department.
Peters Loop Road
A brief discussion was held about the possibility of naming a road in the Gulch in honor of the late Steve Peters in recognition of his many contributions to GCCHLA. Don Waggoner suggested a loop road located off Pisgah Road near Steve's house. The road is presently a numbered Forest Service Road. A motion was made, and passed unanimously.
Small Parcel
Dave reported that we are making headway with our small parcel request. He said it may be acted on as early as some time this year.
Web Site
Bill Sanders reported that the Web Site has been revised and expanded. He described a possible community page including items such as: things for sale, or trade, introductions of new members, and links to member Web pages.
A discussion was held on additional things that might be included in the Web site, including:
County takeover of Association Roads
Larry Krammer, Road committee, reported that nothing new has happened in the county's bid to take over USFS roads. The Forest Service claims they know nothing of any negotiations. We are still concerned about the status of our driveway permits if the county takes over the roads.
Consolidated Ditch Road
Dave reported we are still waiting to hear from Craig Wandry about the results of the commissioner's hearing.
Central City Update
Dave reported the Bond issue was approved for the Central City Southern Access Road. Final construction is still being held up by a court case. Latest word is that construction may start in early spring.
New Business
Free GreenhouseDon Waganer reported he has received a grant to build a pit style greenhouse as a model for year round vegetable growing.
Road Committee Report
Larry reported that Tim Allen is revisiting the idea of the county creating Class 4 roads (not maintained). He was talking about associations continuing to pay a fee similar to the USFS fee for the right to maintain the roads.
The problem is finding a source of enough money to maintain the roads. An alternative to maintaining all the roads in the Gulch might be to create two loops, York Gulch to Alpine to Old Stage, and another York Gulch to Red Tail to Chinook. These would be Class 1 roads maintained by the county. The remaining roads would continue to be maintained by the Association.
Some problems with this solution include:
Larry said Tim Allen estimated the taxes would be about $50 a year per claim as a special taxing district.
Kathleen pointed out that the more of York Gulch Road that is county maintained, the less control we have over the road, and the less bad road between us and Central City.
Election
The following people were elected as officers:
President: Dave Gallaher
Vice President: Don Waggoner
Secretary: Marci Bowman / Bill Sanders
Treasurer: Yvonne Kramer
County Zoning M-1, M-2
Dave Gallaher reported that the county is offering to exchange M-2 land for M-1 land as designated in the new county zoning maps. This is something we need to watch.
Fall River Association
Dave said he has been contacted by the Lower Fall River Homeowners Association about possibly joining the town of Solar. The area is comprised of about 15 homes in the area along Fall River Road on both sides of York Gulch Road. Their main interest is also in stopping the Central City pipeline.
A discussion was held about pros and cons of including Fall River in Solar. Some of the points included:
Pro:
Con:
A motion was made to continue discussion with Fall River about joining the town of Solar. The motion passed.
Pipeline Rumors
Karen McHale works for an engineering company, and she had an opportunity to discuss the pipeline with several state water engineers. They said they have not seen a feasibility study, but doubted that such a pipeline would be approved or would be cost effective. They said the estimated cost ($10 million) would be prohibitive since Central won't need the water for some time. (Unless they are able to develop Eureka Valley Ranch.) The engineers pointed out there is an elevation gain of over 1800' between Fall River and Central City.
Officials in Central are again claiming they are not actively interested in the pipeline. Marci and Kathleen described the long history of events over the last six years with Central alternatively claiming to have no interest in the pipeline, and then telling Dave they were going to "cram it us our ass". They both advised watchful scepticism since the good officials of Central are not known for their forthrightness, nor their honesty, nor their good sense about spending money.
Telecommunications in the Gulch
Bill Sanders attended a meeting of the Clear Creek County Development Council, and gave a report on the current status of telecommunications in Clear Creek.
A high speed transmission line is currently being laid along I-70. The main purpose is to connect Denver and Salt Lake City with a state-of-the-art fiber trunk, but two laws (one state, one federal?) will help Clear Creek County and, indirectly, YG:
| A fiber line will go to schools and county government offices; A connection to the trunk must be available at each interchange (e.g., Exit 238, Fall River). |
These provisions make the county attractive economically, and at least two companies (Qwest and REAnet) are interested in what might develop here. To spur the interest of other phone companies, the CCC Development Council and the I.S. Chamber of Commerce are compiling an inventory of citizen desires.
Fall River Road already has fiber, but realistically the Gulch won't get upgraded past the new copper that was laid about 1994, and we're too far from the I.S. office for DSL; satellite is the only foreseeable means of increasing bandwidth. However adding our choices to the "wish-list" being compiled might help spur interest in wireless, including strategically placed repeaters. Bill promised to set up a page on the GCCHLA Website to keep members informed. (Note: The page has been posted and is available from the home page.)
Satellite transmission is already being offered locally by Starband. Several people have the service or are considering it. A brief discussion followed.
Claim Access Committee Report
Damon Ardourel had created a map showing possible roads to most claims in the Gulch. He had driven or hiked over most of the roads. There was a discussion about the various roads, and their feasibility.
During the discussion, it was again suggested that possibly part of Consolidated Ditch Road past the Idaho Extension, and the portion of Spring Gulch Road between the Wyoming claim and York Gulch Road could be vacated, if not by the county then by the town of Solar.
The reason for mapping the roads is to try to provide legal access for as many claims as possible using the shortest section of historic road. We want to avoid reopening entire stretches of road that access nothing but claims at one end, such as the current Spring Gulch Rd, and new Consolidated Ditch Rd.
Dave will approach Susan Pacek, from county planning, about a moratorium on new roads if we can show that we will cooperate in opening the historic roads that are necessary.
Next Meeting
The next regular meeting will be held March 27, 2001 at 7 p.m. The meeting was postponed for a week due to Spring break. The meeting will be held at the home of Darrell and Heather Huntoon on Chinook Road.
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