Swains Creek Pines Newsletter 

October 2004

  Calendar of Events

x    The next Board of Directors Meeting is October 9th at 10 am, Utah time, at the Barn.  Everyone is welcome. There will be coffee provided.

x    Last water deliveries made Oct. 31st.  Be sure to get your orders in early – not everyone can get a delivery on the last day!!

Labor Day Weekend a Success!

Our annual Labor Day picnic and Camp Golden Eagle events have been a lot of fun and a lot of work. Many thanks go out to all who volunteered to make this year’s events successful. THANK YOU to the oak gatherers: Bill Rodreick, Paul Hicks, Karl Briggs, Donn Covert, Tom Wells, Norm Case, Dennis Case, and Bob Runkle.  A very special THANK YOU to Mark Jacobs for allowing the crew to gather the oak on his property.  Without the oak, there would not have been a delicious Bar-B-Que! Nine roasts were prepared for our annual pot luck dinner. THANK YOU to those who watched over the fire: Karl Briggs, Gary Decker, Bob Runkle, Frank Keyser, Spike Fuson, Jack Ewing, Paul Hicks, Damir Dupin, and Bob Storie. THANK YOU to those who coordinated our feast: Darlene & Bob Storie, Paul & Diane Hicks, Heidi & Damir Dupin, Dave Alcorn, and Al Roberts.

Saturday morning there were 109 kids who signed up for Camp Golden Eagle this year.

 THANK YOU to Clint Malburg, Drew Forsstrom, and Keith & Donna Maris for teaching the kids Archery.

THANK YOU to Vince Gardner and his group who hosted frisbee golf, and CONGRATULATIONS to Chris Wiesen, who was the only person to get a hole-in-one!

THANK YOU to the volunteers at the obstacle course: Bette Madden, Eric Ingalls, Shirley Burke, Gary Smith, Dee Ewing, John Mathues, Dennis Case, Julie Morlacci, Ryan Tourvell, and Norm Case. CONGRATULATIONS to Matt Maris, who ran the course in under one minute!

THANK YOU to Carol Ingalls and Lorine Murtagh, for hosting the ball toss.

THANK YOU to Beth Spritzer for overseeing the horseshoes.

THANK YOU to Kathleen & Harlo Birkholz for the GREAT CRAFT – the kids enjoyed making the windsocks.

THANK YOU to Amber Cox and Diana Wyson, who helped out in many areas over the weekend...the "clothes race" was truly entertaining!

THANK YOU to the Forsstrom brothers (Eric and Mark), who led us on a night hike which included a beautiful view of the stars and a satellite, plus stories. Kelsey liked the "Witches’ Playground" the best.

THANK YOU to Scott Johnson and his crew, who presented a humorous play, Pirates of the Carryn’ Bean, …watch out for those "ugh" beans!

THANK YOU to Vi Hughes, and her team who tallied up the votes of the election: Bette Madden, Jan & Jim Hammer, Sharon Decker, Teresa Zellhoefer, Doug Statlander, and Norm Case.

THANK YOU to Teresa Zellhoefer’s dad, Ernie, for photos of the pavilion!

THANK YOU to Vi Hughes for taking care of the plaques and memorial name plates.

As you can see, there are many people who contribute to the success of this fun weekend. Our final THANK YOU’s go to the two who organized the activities of the weekend.

THANK YOU to Bob Runkle, who was in charge of Labor Day festivities and THANK YOU to Irene Briggs, who was in charge of Camp Golden Eagle.

 Election of New Board Members

At the Annual meeting the following persons were elected to 2 year terms on the Board of Directors for the Swains Creek pines Lot Owners Association:   Irene Briggs, Robert Storie, Gayle Cromer and John Ewing.    Congratulations to all who were elected and “Thank You for running” to those that were not elected this time around.

Piped Water System Main Topic at Annual Meeting!

The Swain’s Creek project is estimated at $6.6 to $7 million, with a projected completion date in 2006. Grants will be requested.  Lot owner would pay 20-28% of the cost.  They would request a ½ million gallon water tank, would drill another well which would be a protected aquifer system, and would bring a 4” line over from Strawberry for back-up access to water.  A letter, affidavit, and map will be sent to all lot owners this fall or winter to explain the costs; 70-80% approval by lot owners is needed to proceed with the project.  They will seek a subsequent vote from the lot owners to turn over water rights and assets to the District.   If we retain our water rights, the District would purchase other water rights and pass the cost on to us.  Roads would be improved pursuant to the request of the county commissioners; this includes gravel, crown, culverts, 6” base, and type 2 or crushed road base.  The roads would be plowed in the winter and lot owners would be assessed for the cost.  The utility companies, the District, and the County will split the cost of moving utilities that are in the wrong place.  The District would put in a well 600-800 feet deep. Ariel photographs of the area have been taken, it is a year-round system, pipes are at least 6’ down, 8” distribution pipes are used, and the proposed tank site has been submitted for Forest Service analysis.  There are over 800 lots and one pressure zone; there would be 40 pounds at highest elevations, and 140 pounds at lowest lots. Some lot owners may need a pressure reducing valve. A 10” minimum line trunk is used from the tank.  There would be a minimum 1,000 gpm available for fire.  Fire hydrants would be 250’ apart, or at every property line. Every connection would have a meter barrel for cold weather, meter, service saddle, plus a stop and waste valve on lot.  Lot owners not coming in the winter can drain water from their system.  Radio-read meters are used, the fee is $15.00 per month plus water used at a cost of $2.00 per thousand gallons; this is the cost for all subdivisions.  The Certified Operator is Jeff Hoyt.  A representative from each subdivision would form a committee which would make recommendations to the District. There would be a $3,000 impact fee, plus a $1,000 connection fee. Financing would be available. If lot owners choose to connect after the system is installed, the fees would be higher.  There would be over 70,000 feet of pipeline in the development. The system would be a complete loop with electronically controlled valves at every intersection.  A Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system would be used.  Lot owners with multiple lots may choose to connect to only one lot and pay one connection fee.  Lot owners would connect from the meter installed by the District.  350-400 people need to sign up for the District to proceed.  Bill Rodreick stated there are approximately 300 cabins, plus 40-50 tanks on lots without cabins.  Irene Briggs stated there are 840 lots, which have 522 lot owners.  Jayne Alcorn stated we have 200 water rights, which provide ¼ acre foot to each lot, and we are currently an approved non-transient water system.  Barbara Christensen, of J.B. Investments, has stated she supports the Water District system and would provide a letter to be included with the letter from the District.

 

Chairman’s Chat

Another summer has come and gone. The Labor Day festivities went very well thanks to the effort of Irene Briggs, Bob Runkle and so many others we would need 2 pages to list them.  Thanks to all who helped. Many rumors are floating around about the water system. Come to a meeting of the board and get the correct answers. Don't rely on a "friend of a friend" who got the answer from a GOOD source. We are looking forward to a new year on the mountain. Hopefully we will have a full pond. We will see you at the winter meeting on January 8, 2005.  It will be held at the Crystal Inn, 1450 S Hilton Drive, St. George, UT at 10 am (Utah time). Have a great winter.

 See you on the mountain,  

 Paul Hicks, Chairman