The water outage notice for Park Place has been lifted. The work has been completed, and shut-offs were not necessary after all. You may resume water use as usual.
Thank you.
Author PaulaBerg
Temporary Water Outage for Park Place on Wednesday
NOTICE OF WATER OUTAGE
A possible water leak has been discovered on Park Place. On Wednesday, 8/2/2023 shortly after 10:00 AM, CMCC will shut off water service to lots on Park Place to repair the water leak. Those water meters will be shut off until the repair is complete.
Affected lots will be notified when water service has been restored, and then they will be under a BOIL WATER NOTICE. The notice will be lifted once we receive notification that the water is safe to drink.
To prepare for this outage, it’s recommended that you set some water aside to drink and cook with.
Firewise Meeting Postponed
The Firewise Meeting (previously scheduled for this Saturday, July 29) has been postponed. More information will be shared with you about the new date soon.
In the meantime, please remember that a modified burn ban for all residential and land clearing fires in unincorporated Skagit County is still in effect. Learn more at: https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/FireMarshal.
Save the date: CMCC Annual Meeting, Sept 9
The 2023 Colony Mountain Community Club Annual Meeting for all lot owners will be held:
Saturday, September 9,2023 at 10:00 AM
at the North end of Colony Mountain Drive
(at the end of road, in the cul-de-sac)
More details and a full agenda will be shared via email, on the website, and on the community reader board as the date approaches. Save the date for now.
Reminder: This will be your opportunity to raise questions, concerns, or ideas and discuss these things with your community. & Your attendance is very important! A quorum (participation of at least 25% of shareholders) is required in order for the meeting to proceed successfully.
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s annual meeting!
Water Meter Readings this Weekend
CMCC volunteers will be reading water meters over the weekend of July 1, 2023. Please make sure the area around your meter is clear, and manage any aggressive pets so that the meter can easily be read within the meter box.
Bills will be sent in July and are due upon receipt. As a reminder:
A meter clearing fee of $50 will be charged if your meter is not accessible and clear of brush for meter readings.
Fireworks Limitations & Modified Burn Ban in Effect
Independence Day is a wonderful time for celebratory gatherings. But as a reminder, there are limitations regarding outdoor burning and fireworks in our community.
Per the CMCC Consolidated Policies and Procedures:
To reduce the risk of fire within the CMCC properties, the Colony Mountain Community Club Covenants, Restrictions and Agreements do not allow unattended outdoor burning. They also do not allow either storage or use of explosives without the written permission of the Board of Directors. In addition, explosive and firework devices are illegal in Washington State (except on Indian reservations) per RCW 70.77 specifically [70.77.255 (2) – setting off fireworks without a permit] and [70.77.495 – unlawful for any person to set off any fireworks in a forest, brush, fallows, grass or brush covered land…]
…and the: Penalty for unattended outside burning and/or storing or using explosives on Property within the CMCC (without Board Approval) is currently $100 (1st offense) $300 (repeat offense).
In addition there is a modified Burn Ban in effect for all of Skagit County.
Keep in mind that fireworks not only pose a wildfire risk, they also create trash, are harmful to wildlife and pets, and can cause trauma for those with PTSD.
So maybe plan to skip the fireworks this year, or catch one of the nearby sponsored fireworks displays like Mount Vernon’s Fabulous 4th of July event, the Peoples Bank Fourth of July Spectacular in Bellingham, or another nearby community celebration.
Thank you for honoring our community restrictions so that all of our neighbors can enjoy a safe and fun 4th of July!
Fire Weather & Firewise Meeting
A message from your neighbor: Chris England
Colony Mountain Neighbors:
It seems awfully early in the season, but the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has raised the fire threat to Moderate. We are in the middle of spring, yet fuels are already drying out and the threat of wildfire has begun. Although “campfires” are still allowed, general outdoor burning is suspended so you will need a permit to burn brush.
Those of us who have lived up here a while know what a struggle it can be creating and maintaining a “home ignition zone” around our homes. Brush, hazard trees, and other fire fuels can accumulate quickly, and I can attest that it’s physically demanding work to keep the ignition zone clear. The good news is the DNR and the US Forest Service (USFS) have programs in place to help homeowners pay for the cost of this work.
On Saturday, July 29 at 10:00 a.m. (location to be determined) we will be having a Firewise gathering. An official from the DNR will be here to explain how the cost-sharing program works. If you have only recently moved to our community, an official from Skagit/Whatcom County Conservation District will be here as well to talk about creating a Firewise home and to offer a free property hazard evaluation.
You may recall that around the end of last year foresters surveyed several properties to evaluate forest health. This was important because we need to create a new “Five-Year Action Plan” and “Hazard Evaluation Plan”. These documents, if prepared properly, will make us eligible to receive USFS grant money if we can show how it might benefit our community. The results of the survey will be discussed at the meeting. I need your input to create the new action plan for our neighborhood. This document describes what action we are planning to take to further prepare our community to resist wildfire.
For now, here are some things you might do to prepare:
- clean debris from your roofs and gutters
- rake and pile fire fuels (you’ll have to wait to burn them)
- ensure fire engines can get down your driveway and turn around
- ensure your address can be seen from the road
- pack a “go bag”
- mark your calendar for Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m. for our annual Firewise gathering (we will send out a reminder in a couple of weeks prior to the event with the location).
Water System Flushing & Volunteers with Blowers Needed Saturday May 6
Water System Flushing:
This weekend, May 6-7, the Community will be performing the bi-annual water system flushing per Washington State Department of Health Guidelines.
This involves running large volumes of water through our water system in an effort to remove sediments that may have collected with the distribution piping.
As the water is flushed through the lines, Ferric Iron (res water iron) that is loosely adhered to the inside of the pipes will be scrubbed loose and flow downstream. Most of the loose Ferric Iron will be flushed out, but you may find your water is cloudy and has reddish brown particles in it for a few days. This has no effect on the water quality (other than visually).
If you experience this condition you may run water through all of your taps (inside and out of the dwelling) for 5 to 10 minutes. This should remedy the condition. If the condition persists please contact the CMCC water system Manger for further guidance.
Additional Notes:
- CMCC does not add chlorine to the water system for routine system flushing.
- To avoid cloudy water within your house plumbing, you could opt to consider installing a whole house filter. An example of a water filter installation can be found on this site under the Water System section.
- Learn more about your water quality in the latest Consumer Confidence Report which is sent to you annually, and filed under the Water System section on this site.
Volunteers Needed:
During this same time, volunteers will be blowing off the debris on some of our roads, and we could use your help! Meet us at the well house on Saturday, May 6 at 9:00 AM with your blower, and we’ll distribute assignments to those who are available. Thank you!
A BIG “Thank You” to Dave!
Thanks Dave!
Please give a round of applause to our neighbor, Dave Holmkvist, who was spotted mowing the sides of our roads recently. Thanks for your contributions to our community Dave!
1st Quarter Reflections
On December 26 a message was sent to the community stating our water pump was not working and residents should conserve water. The water conservation request was lifted on January 7. Since then, we have received questions about what happened, why the delays in repairs, and what is being done to mitigate the risks of similar situations in the future. These are all reasonable questions, and the CMCC board would like to provide the community with a little more information:
In immediate response to the outage notification, some of our volunteer board members, who are skilled and experienced in operating our water system, began working to diagnose and call in the proper support for what was believed to be the cause of the outage: one pump motor would not operate under a full load.
On December 27, Aquatec supplied CMCC with a technician familiar with our system. In the course of the diagnosis, he found the air relief valve at pump station 2 was stuck. He concurred with with our volunteers that the pump seemed to have failed. At that point, CMCC ordered another pump.
Meanwhile, CMCC continued to troubleshoot other components including the control panel and the communication between components which was not functioning properly.
The following day, Process Solutions came to look at the control panel; they originally installed it and were familiar with it. Our system can be configured in many different ways depending on the requirements for individual water systems. Techs determined it needed to be reconfigured to better accommodate power failures. They reprogrammed it to allow the pumps to start up and fill the tanks properly with no damage to pumps or motors when power is restored after failures. We also still have surge protection. They also found the meter at the well-house was not accurate and error codes were confusing.
All of these diagnostics were meticulous and time consuming, and there were delays in receiving ordered parts. The system was restored to working order by January 7, although more repairs are still needed for long-term repair. Some components are no longer stocked by local suppliers so need to be sourced more widely.
In addition to working to finalize those repairs, the CMCC board is working on planning for future water emergencies, stocking some back-up parts when possible, and we have a spare pump on hand now. More information will be available at our Annual Shareholder Meeting. We hope you will join us then.
Overall, we are grateful for the high level of expertise and quick response time by all technicians that were called in, and for the CMCC volunteers who are skilled and experienced in operating our water system, and who worked tirelessly to rectify a very complicated situation. And we are grateful to you for contributing to the community’s water conservation efforts during a challenging time.
Thank you.
Colony Mountain Community Club 