Firewise Project a Success: Neighbors Working Together for a Safer Community

In July, 43 lots in our neighborhood participated in a large-scale fire fuels reduction project, clearing approximately 15 acres of brush to better prepare our community for wildfire season. Thanks to a $25,500 grant awarded through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the entire project came at no cost to homeowners. Rodriguez Reforestation, led by Jose Rodriguez, carried out the work efficiently and professionally.

The grant was made possible through our Firewise program, spearheaded by our neighbors Chris and Ann England, and strong partnerships with the DNR, the Whatcom and Skagit Conservation Districts, and the Alger Fire Department. This collaboration demonstrates how much can be achieved when communities and agencies work together toward a common goal.

Neighbors were overwhelmingly positive about the results. Feedback highlighted how friendly, efficient, and thorough the crew was—many noted the work exceeded expectations. One homeowner even plans to hire Rodriguez Reforestation for additional projects. Neighbor Tanya Griffey remarked, “Jose’s team really opened up my property and driveway. After clearing the space behind my house, a big tree fell into that space and they came back and cleaned that up too! Since they were here, I’ve been finding all kinds of things that had been ‘eaten by the forest’ like many tennis balls my dogs play with and even a pink golf ball; I have no idea where that came from!”

Beyond the immediate benefits, this project gives landowners a manageable starting point to keep brush under control in the future. What once felt overwhelming now feels possible.

As always, we encourage everyone to stay vigilant. Our Smokey sign keeps us posted on fire danger levels, and it’s important to respect fire bans and talk with children about fire safety. Remember: if you see or smell something, say something. Just this past summer, when an alder tree fell on a power line and sparked a fire, quick action by neighbors and the Alger Fire Department prevented what could have become a dangerous wildfire.

We are grateful to everyone who participated in this project. Together, we are creating a safer, stronger, and more resilient community.

Save the date: CMCC Annual Meeting Sept 22

The 2024 Colony Mountain Community Club Annual Meeting for all lot owners will be held:

Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 10:00 AM
in the barn building located at 3801 Colony Mountain Drive

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.

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.

Note: There are positions on the Board open for new volunteers. The current Board of Directors and their positions are listed on the Board of Directors page of our website. If you or someone you know has interest in volunteering, please contact us to learn more.

We look forward to seeing you at this year’s annual meeting!

Belated Thank You to Chris!

The Colony Mountain Community Club Board of Directors would like to extend a special thank you to our neighbor Chris England who not only does a lot of work to help us be a Firewise Community, but he also went the extra mile to arrange for and host a chipper day this past spring. He did a lot as a volunteer to coordinate with DNR and the neighbors in the community who submitted requests to participate, to rent the equipment, and to manage the project. Community projects like this take a great deal of coordination and work, and we really appreciate Chris for stepping up time and time again to help us be Firewise!

Thanks Chris!

*If you or anyone else would like to volunteer, or know of community improvement projects they’d like to lead, we are working on improving our process for the ease of our generous volunteers in the future. Watch for more to come on that soon.

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!

Call for Volunteers: Saturday, Aug 6

Community volunteers are needed to assist with maintenance and repairs around the well house, shed, and surroundings, as well as for roadside repairs on Shultz Lane. The work will involve shoveling and raking, lifting and placing blocks under the storage shed, moving the communications sign-board, repairing road drainage, and other manual labor involving bending, lifting, moving dirt, etc.

If you are able and available, please meet at the well house at 10:00AM on Saturday, Aug 6 for this important work party.

Thank you for your help!

Meter Readings & Other Notices

Roadside Mowing
Mowing of our private roads will be occurring within the next couple of weeks. Please be sure that the road shoulders and ditches on or near your property are clear of large tree branches, logs or other debris so that the mower has clear access to come though.

Meter Readings July 2
CMCC volunteers will be reading water meters over the weekend of July 2, 2022. 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. A couple of important reminders about billing:

  1. meter clearing fee of $50 will be charged if your meter is not accessible and clear of brush for meter readings.
  2. With the COVID-19 utility moratorium having ended last fall, we want to remind you that the CMCC Billing and Payment Policy is available for your reference on our website in the CMCC Consolidated Policies and Procedures document. Please contact us if you have any questions about billing or payments.

Water Pump Update
January’s water pump failure challenged us all to come together as a community to respond to an urgent situation. Everyone pitched in to conserve water, we discovered and repaired several leaks during that time, and a few hard working community members gave over 48 hours of volunteer time to quickly repair our water system. Although we still needed to bring in additional water, and pay for some repairs, the effort that our community contributed significantly reduced the downtime we experienced and kept the costs reasonable. Please give a special thank you to the volunteers who gave their time and expertise during that time.

We are in the process of having the old pump motor evaluated to see if there is any value left in it. And our next budget will reflect this situation, the ramifications of the costs of repairs, and continued mitigation to reduce future risks. Please join us at the annual meeting this fall to learn more.

Volunteers Needed this Summer
We will be seeking volunteers this summer to assist with maintenance and repairs needed to the well house, shed, and surroundings. Please watch the website for more information coming soon.

Community shout-outs

to our community volunteers!

The Harrison Creek project is now finalized, and the Colony Mountain Community Club board wishes to thank the volunteers who worked hard to help make this huge project a success. Special thanks to:
Chris Chesley
Kelly Stockton
Chris England
William Korvin

Also a note of gratitude from Skagit County to the community:
I want to extend my sincere appreciation for the hardship that the residents endured throughout the duration of the project. Whether they had to drive around, or lived on Wood a Road and had additional traffic, I truly do value their cooperation with the project. – David Walde

And a few community members have been contributing to maintenance in the community by keeping the side roads free of debris and mowing the ditches. Special thanks to: Wayne Wright who was recently spotted clearing roads.

Also a special thanks to those who volunteered to assist with our 2020 Annual Meeting, including:
Lauren Tracy
Jeremy Means
Kelly Stockton
Sheena Todhunter

These are a few of the folks we’ve noticed lately. Do you know of someone else who has been doing good in our neighborhood? Let us know so that we can give them a shout-out too!

Your contributions are what makes this community so wonderful, thank you!

Water Line Work and Volunteer Opportunity Thursday 10/1/2020

The Skagit County Public Works culvert replacement project at Harrison Creek is making progress. We received word today that County’s contractor will be ready for us to remove the temporary/bypass water line and install the permanent line on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know about that changeover:

CMCC water shut-off and temporary service for some properties: Lots #1 through #12, plus #83 and #84 will have their water shut off on Thursday morning during the changeover to protect you and the CMCC water system. This water service interruption is planned to start at 9:00 am and expected to last approximately 4 hours. After the water service has been restored, you will be under a BOIL WATER NOTICE. The notice will be lifted once we receive notification that the water is safe to drink.

For your convenience during the shutdown, we suggest the following:

  • Store enough water for drinking, pet use, dishes, personal hygiene, etc.
  • Toilets can be flushed by pouring water into the bowl/tank.
  • You may wish to turn off your hot water heater, circulating pumps, etc. per manufacturer’s instructions.
  • When service is restored, there may be trapped air in the lines or discolored water. Open faucets for a few minutes until these problems clear.

Volunteers Needed: We could use 3-4 helpers to shut off water services, flush the water line and turn services back on that morning. We will meet at the well house at 8:30 am Thursday.

If you are available to help, please email your contact information to info@colonymtcc.org, so that we can coordinate these efforts and let you know if anything changes.

Thank you for your support!

 

Road closure, Waterline replacement and Volunteer opportunity

As you may have noticed, the Skagit County Public Works culvert replacement project on Colony Mountain Drive at Harrison Creek will be starting soon. With the last minute notice we’ve received, we are now hurrying to install the temporary/bypass waterline to provide water to all the properties South and West of the road closure. 

The Project: A large section of the road will be removed, taking out the CMCC waterline in the process. An eleven-foot diameter culvert will be installed, then the road will be repaired and the CMCC will install a new waterline reconnecting the North and South sections. 

Please Note: This project has a very aggressive schedule with work to be completed and the road re-opened by October 7. Don’t be surprised if the end date gets extended by a week or two.  

CMCC water shut-off and temporary service forLots #1 through #12, plus #83 and #84: Lots #1 through #12, plus #83 and #84 will have their water shut off for one day this weekend while we cut into the main waterline and install a temporary/bypass service line. After the bypass line is installed, service will be restored, and there will be a “Boil Water” notice in effect for these lots until water samples can be returned from our testing laboratory to ensure water quality standards are met (Tuesday afternoon at the earliest). Near the end of the project, there will be a second shutoff while the temporary/bypass waterline is removed, and the permanent line installed. That will also require a “Boil Water” notice. 

Volunteers Needed This Weekend: We are planning to rout the temporary waterline and connect it this Saturday, 9/12/2020. (Note: This work may need to move to Sunday but we will not know that until Friday evening) We can use 3-6 helpers starting at 8:30 in the morning at the Harrison Creek culvert. We will need help running the line through the forest, turning water services off and on, and directing traffic while work is performed in the road. Please email your contact information to info@colonymtcc.org if you are available to help, so that we can coordinate these efforts and let you know if the date changes. 

Thank you for your patience and support.
CMCC Board of Directors