We invite you to join a new volunteer effort in our Colony Mountain Community. We’re looking for neighbors willing to help with maintenance, improvement, and — when needed — emergency projects. Our fellow lot owner, Doug Robinson, has volunteered to serve as Volunteer Coordinator (VC), organizing and scheduling projects as they arise.
Why we need you
Even though no projects are scheduled right now, we expect work to begin in Spring 2026. Life happens though — sometimes emergencies arise without warning (like water leaks or fallen trees blocking roads), and we may need extra hands quickly.
What kinds of help we need
Volunteers of all skill levels and abilities are welcome. Potential tasks include:
Traffic control or general support during projects
Other miscellaneous assistance as needed
If you plan to join a work party, please bring any tools or protective gear that you’ll need.
How to sign up
If you’d like to volunteer:
Text Doug Robinson at 360-708-7933 to be added to the volunteer list.
Save his number in your contacts so you’ll recognize his messages.
When a project comes up, Doug will send a group text to all volunteers — just reply if you’re available. If your availability changes, keep him posted.
Volunteering is completely flexible and remains on a “when you can” basis.
Projects we’re already considering (Spring 2026)
Repainting and replacing the roof of the water pump house
Clearing vegetation around the community water holding tanks at the top of Mountain Drive
If you’re interested in helping maintain and improve our community — whether you’re handy, strong, or just willing to lend a hand — we’d love to have you.
The Port of Skagit County received a grant to build a fiber to the home project and is currently under construction in two areas of Skagit County. The Port has partnered with Astound Broadband on these projects. One of the project areas is the Bow/Colony Mountain Fiber Optic Project.
The Port has received several questions about the requirements of participating in the project. These questions are addressed below in the Q & A format.
Q: Do I have to participate in the project?
A: No. The decision to connect your home to the fiber optic network is strictly voluntary.
Q. Will it cost me anything to connect to the fiber optic network?
A. Not if you sign up for installation before December 15th of this year. The cost of installing the fiber optic line to your home is fully covered by grant funds until December 15th.
Q. What happens if I sign up after December 15, 2025?
A. After December 15th, installation will be funded at 90% through August 31, 2026 or until grant funds run out. After August 31, 2026, the project will be complete and future installations will not be covered by grant funds.
Q. If I already have Astound Broadband service at my home (either internet or cable TV), do I need to sign up for this project?
A. Yes. The current Astound service in your community is delivered by older coaxial cable. This project will connect your home to new fiber optic cable and replace the older connection infrastructure. You need to actively sign up for this new fiber optic connection, even if you are already receiving service from Astound.
Q. If I already have TV/internet service through a different provider (including wireless providers), is there any benefit to signing up for this project?
A: Yes. You can sign up to connect your home to fiber optic cable regardless of whether you intend to sign up for internet service through Astound. The cable will simply be available to you in the future should you wish to sign up for service later and will be available to the next homeowner should you ever sell your home.
Q: Can fiber optic cable provide better internet service than my existing system?
A: Yes. Fiber optic cable provides fast, reliable connections with high bandwidth and symmetrical upload/download speeds. It is considered the most reliable, high-speed internet available.
Q: Will this installation last for a long time?
A: Yes. Fiber optic cable is estimated to last for 25-50 years.
Q: If I sign up is there a minimum amount of time I need to subscribe (sign up for service with Astound)?
A: No. Astound’s product offerings do not require a minimum amount of time of contract for service, and you can sign up for service at any time after fiber optic installation. Astound does offer price guarantees within timeframes of anywhere from 12 to 36 months.
Q: How do I sign up to receive a fiber optic connection to my home?
A: Please contact Astound Community Direct Sales Representatives:
Q: What is required from me to sign up for the installation?
A: Astound will provide you with a waiver to sign, authorizing installation on your property. The Port sent out letters to individuals who live on private roads requesting access to utilize the original plat easements. If authorization has not been granted by the HOA or individuals living downstream towards the public road, we may not have permission to install fiber up to your road to provide services. The Port currently does not have approval for the following roads: Alpha Lane, Cedar Drive, Colony Creek Lane, Deerhaven Road, Dragon Fly Lane, Hobson Lane, Moxie Lane, Peace Lane, Peppermint Lane, Regulus Lane, Tulip Lane, and Turtle Lanes. If you live on any of these roads, please reach out to the Port’s Project Manager Travis Binschus at travisb@portofskagit.com.
Q: Who should I call if I want fiber optic connections to my home, but don’t want to sign up for service with Astound at this time?
A: Please call the Astound contacts listed above and let them know you would like the installation but are not planning to sign up for service at this time. Astound is the manager of this fiber optic system and will also manage record keeping for the installation, including the waiver required to allow the installation on your property.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Travis Binchus at the email address listed of call (360) 757-0011.
CMCC’s water pump failed this week after a power outage on Sunday. The good news is the water system is working and filling the tanks.
For those that want more information, the system is currently only operating in a manual mode where two people turn on and off the well and booster pumps at the same time. This failure is not like one we have had before. Both the well pump (not what failed most recently, that was the well pump motor) and the booster pump control failed. It looks like the booster pump VFD (pump controller) went out with the Sunday power outages but failed to send a signal back to the well pump to turn it off so it ran for many hours without moving any water and overheated. Fortunately we had a spare because of the last outage. We hope to have everything work normally sometime this weekend.
Thank you to everyone who did their best to conserve water this week.
Also, a huge THANK YOU goes out to Board Volunteers Scott Jackson and Bob Connolly for spending a lot of time this week working through our community’s water pump issues!
The Colony Mountain Community Club’s water pump is not working. We are working to get it fixed. But in the meantime, we are currently limited to the water already available in the tanks (approximately a few days days worth depending on how much we as a community are able to conserve), so it is important that we all work together to conserve water during this time. Please conserve your water use until further notice.
We will send out updates as they become available. Contact us right away if you have any concern that you may have a leak: info@colonymtcc.org.
There are currently two vacancies on the CMCC Board of Directors. The Board meets once a month. If you are interested in volunteering for one of the positions, or finding out more about serving on the Board, please contact Info@Colonymtcc.org. The next Board meeting is on Saturday, August 23 at 10:00 am. Everyone is welcome to attend (contact Info@Colonymtcc.org for the meeting location).
Fiber Internet Update:
Fiber Internet is coming to Colony Mountain! The Port of Skagit County received several grants to bring fiber internet to unserved and underserved rural residences and our area is included in their “Bow Hill” project. The construction contract has been awarded and the contractor has started work. It will be a few weeks before they get to Colony Mountain.
The project is divided into two parts – first the contractor will install the “backbone” fiber cable in the streets (public rights-of-way and private road easements). The installation will be overhead where the fiber cable can share space on the power poles, and underground in the remaining locations. The second phase will install the service connection from the street to the house. The grant funds will cover the individual service costs for most homeowners. More on that below…
The majority of the fiber cable installation will be in County roads, where the Port has legal access for construction and has obtained a permit from the County for the underground installations. There are a number of private side roads, including several in our community, where the Port needs permission to use the existing utility easements for the fiber construction. For CMCC, this means that the Board of Directors will need to grant the Port permission to use the CMCC road and utility easements for Park Place, Schultz Lane, Toad Lane, Linda Lane, Pond Lane, Mountain Drive, and Colony Mountain Lane.
The fiber cable construction methods to be used on the CMCC side roads will be as follows (subject to change):
Colony Mountain Drive – Overhead and underground Park Place – Overhead Schultz Lane – Overhead and underground Toad Lane – Overhead and underground Linda Lane – Underground Pond Lane – Underground Mountain Drive – Overhead and underground Colony Mountain Lane – Overhead (for services only)
As mentioned above, the grant funding will also cover the costs for the service connection from the main fiber cable to the house for most CMCC residents. If you are eligible, you will receive a letter in the next few weeks from Astound Broadband (the Port’s service provider partner on this project) with information on how to sign up for the connection to your house and available service plans. Note: you are not required to sign up for internet service to get the connection installed to your house.
The service connection grants will be first come – first served until the grant funds run out. The grant will cover 100% of the service construction costs through December 2025, and then 90% through March 2026. So, watch for the letter from Astound and respond promptly!
If you have questions, email Info@Colonymtcc.org… The Port staff working on this project have asked to be invited to our upcoming annual meeting to answer questions about the project, but if you wait until after the meeting to sign up you may miss out on the end of year service construction grant funding.
You may have received Nooksack Adjudication documents via certified mail from the Washington Department of Ecology. These documents are being sent to everyone in northwest Skagit county. The CMCC board is reviewing the forms and will provide further information to everyone next week.
Watch for the follow up on our web site and via email soon.
With Independence Day almost upon us, it’s time for another neighborhood reminder:
This is a wonderful time for celebratory gatherings! But as a reminder, there are limitations regarding outdoor burning and fireworks in our community.
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).
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.
Tree removal work will be preformed along the upper part of Mountain Drive that may require parts of the road to be closed on August 21. The work is estimated to occur approximately between 8:00 am to 2:00 pm on August 21st.
If you need to travel Mountain Dr during this time, please make arrangements to leave before 8:00 am or park your vehicle at the bottom of the road ahead of time so that you can come and go during the work hours (park on the East side at the entrance of Pond Lane).
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@colonymtcc.org.
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.
Colony Mountain Community Club 