Private Road Maintenance- two examples of systems that work.

Pine Ridge Road, Chub Lake  Twenty property owners use Pine Ridge Road,  which provides access to the east, north and  west shores of Chub Lake. A property owner's  association was formed in 1972 to share the  cost and physical maintenance of the road. The  current arrangement is similar to what was  agreed upon 35 years ago, and works very  amicably. We also have a shared arrangement for snow removal and sanding. The annual association meeting held in July allows for  discussion of road issues and other property  owner concerns. 

Road maintenance:

1.      Each property owner pays an annual fee  of $150 in April to the association, regardless of  how far along the road they live. The exception  to this is three families who pay $60 because  they only use a small portion of the road and  have their own separate roadway to maintain  (Wintergreen Lane). A joint bank account is  kept by the association. 

2.      Culvert replacement is a major expense,  so property owners are asked to pay into a  reserve fund designated for culvert replacement.  For example, each resident on the road paid $30  in 1996 and $25 in 2004. Since the culvert fund  is empty again, there will be a new levy this  year. 

3.      Each property owner on the road is also  required to have one family member help on the  annual road work day once a year. For about 4  hours, the crew trims roadside brush and  branches, digs drainage ditches, etc. If a family  is not able to help with the work day, a $25 fee is  payable which helps pay for the rental of  equipment. When there are major projects such  as a culvert replacement, a separate volunteer  crew is recruited. 

4.      Other road maintenance is done on a  volunteer basis by many of the residents, who  help maintain the road behind their property by  filling in potholes, clearing branches, etc. 

5.      The association elects a road supervisor  to be in charge of road maintenance. This  person monitors the condition of the road and  arranges for the delivery of gravel and grading of  the road as needed. 

Winter Maintenance 

1. A contractor is hired each winter to plow  Pine Ridge Road whenever he feels it is  necessary. One property owner at the far end of  the road acts as a liaison with the contractor if  there are concerns about the frequency of  plowing, etc. and each road resident has a  separate arrangement to plow their private  driveways.
2. An equal portion of the cost of snow  removal and sanding of the road is billed  monthly by the contractor to each year-round  resident living on Pine Ridge Road. To help with  these winter maintenance costs, a minimum  contribution of $50 per winter is also required  from each seasonal resident, and those on  Wintergreen Lane. The reasoning behind this is  that regular snow plowing provides access to  each property for the owners and for emergency  vehicles if necessary. Some seasonal residents  voluntarily pay more than the minimum, due to  their frequency of winter use or distance along  the road. These fees are paid to the association  treasurer, who then forwards them to the  contractor so that the year-round residents'  billings can be adjusted. 

Hunts Road, off N. Waseosa Lake Road 

 Hunts Road is approximately 1 km in length.  Each of the 18 developed properties along the  road contribute an annual fee for road  maintenance for the spring to fall period.  Each fall, snow removal estimates are obtained  and voted on by the property owners. Each  property owner is assessed a dollar value based  on the following formula:  vacant land - 0%  building - no winter use - 5%  building - some winter use - 25%  year-round use - 70%  This system has worked well over 9 years.