Wind erosion and the Developer creating the impression SMR has “roads is the short answer to the question asked at the last Board Meeting, ‘why aren’t the roads crowned and appear concave?’
Long answer: in the UNSUBDIVIDED LANDS DISCLOSURE REPORT under ‘Streets Roads and Drainage’ roads are described as wayfinding paths on grade and contour… “The roads are not built to City/County or other standards, since roads are dirt …….”
Dirt paths were cut with a bulldozer than bladed with a grader absent establishing a proper crown, proper bar ditches, proper drainage and proper side banks. Bad spots were rocked as needed as sales opened up further into the development to give the appearance of ‘maintained roads’. All sales activity was coordinated with good weather that allowed groomed dirt surfaces.
First United had disclaimers for the first few years that they were not responsible for individuals accessing roads. They did everything they could to have buyers driven around in sales vehicles who then drove the long way around to avoid the bad spots.
May 2020 the Declarant appointed the first Owner Board. October 2020 Pinon Valley Excavating was contracted for roads and started work. Heltzel & Sons who cut the roads in (John Heltzel was also a sales agent for First United) refused when asked to continue doing road work for the new Board.
Contacting Pinon early 2022 my first question was their take on topsoil movement due to wind. He chuckled… ‘I can grade an area during windy conditions and driving out 5 hours later my work could be covered over, tracks gone.
Out the gate the First Owner Board and Pinon were relentlessly harassed by two parties demanding their roads be fixed first. Although some dirt path work was accomplished over two years the harassment paralyzed any progression and spilled over creating other POA issues. The Isley Board (August 2024) aims to move us past these issues with focus and determination.
Top soil movement piles up alongside the road filling in dismal bar ditches giving the concave profile to roads. An indicator of soil movement are plants that only germinate in ‘disturbed soil’ along the sides of roads some being tumble weeds, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant and Daturas’. None of these germinate in the interior of parcels that are absent of disturbed soil.
The disclosure report is clear, road improvements would be the responsibility of the POA once the owners took control. The Horsley (Schmidt) Board in 2023 through Holmgren Law Firm sent First United and the Rancher a shakedown demand (legal threat) to pay up for dismal road conditions and damage from cows. This was silly on its face as there was no legal standing as the Disclosure is clear and the Ranchers commercial cattle operation falls under state Open Range laws.
When Richard Schust and Robert Mills from First United (former Declarant) were appointed as Board Directors of the SMR POA in January 2024, Tom Mann addressed the issue of this unresolved “demand” being a conflict of interest between the SMR POA and First United where its unknown what happened or if there was any final outcome.
Another example of how top soil migrates are the rocks on Antelope Run that disappeared several years ago during the long period of constant moisture. Covered over with soil along with moisture that promoted soil moving up from under the rocks due to a pumping action by road traffic. Over the past 18 months or more, with the dry spell the rocks reappeared as traffic loosened the dry packed fine soil that the wind then blows away.
Most of SMR is over a sandstone bluff formation covered from eons of soil deposited by prevailing winds from the southwest. Heavy sand drops out first building up that then catches fine dust. Drilling our well they were pushing two and a half feet a minute until hitting the hard sandstone around 115 feet. The drilling rate was reduced to one foot a minute that slowly increased to just under two feet a minute to a depth of 360 feet. When they hit the shelf it felt like an earthquake and equipment and trees where seen moving.