Community

No, it isn’t St. Patrick’s Day yet!

The little green flags you’ve reported seeing scattered along our roadway, labeled “H.D. FOWLER CO.”, were placed by our new snow plow contractor (Evergreen Coast) to reduce the risk of inadvertent damage in any future plowing:

We’re obviously pleased that our contractor is exercising this level of preventive care with your property. Who knows, it could snow again!

The snowstorm that passed through here couldn’t have happened on a worse morning: Not only did it snow hard, but we had swirling winds that helped to stack it up in places that day.

The snowplow showed up about 7am and started to clear the roads. They were nice to put us as a priority that day. After the week’s clean-up I have a few observations that I want to share:

• I’ve been living here for the last 3 winters and have been involved with snow removal each season. We don’t have them clean the driveways; they just don’t have the time. We’re not their only client and it’s a short time for them to make their plowing service available to all.
• The postman likes to remind us we need to keep the mailboxes clear for him to service. It’s all in our plan, but the first priority is to get the roadway as clear as possible so we can all go about our day. They came back in the afternoon and cleaned up selected areas better for the mailman.
  First thing the next day I stopped the mailman; he was happy and gave me the thumbs up. The snow can make for a stressful start to all our days. When the worst is over, we stop and think about what could be better – and hope to do better the next snow fall.

Community Working Together

I also saw positive things that week. On the first morning Board members were out walking the neighborhood, offering a helping hand where needed.

Our neighborhood also has a handful of teens that took advantage of no-school days and were out shoveling driveways for a small fee. It was nice to see happy Residents and happy kids having fun. If we do have more snow days this winter and you’d like to engage the teens in our neighborhood call me (907-738-7619) and I’ll give them your name and how to reach you.

Thanks,
Steve Skannes (Maintenance)

As planned, Sea Links roads were plowed starting at around 7:00 AM this morning (Wednesday). A quick drive-around indicated that while the contractor did an adequate job, there was room for improvement. We want to thank the three Residents who took the time to contact us with comments. Here are a few excerpts:

• Snow is pushed in front of driveways, creating a bigger mound that must be removed; this is a special concern if the resulting barrier freezes before it can be removed.
• In previous years when snow was plowed, it was cleared away from people’s driveways so that we could get our cars in/out without bottoming out, risking damage. The snow was piled in large mounds in open spaces (like cul-de-sacs) where it didn’t cause a problem.
• Mail carrier came by and said if this is not cleared better for his truck, no mail will be delivered. USPS regulations require that street-side mailboxes must have a clearance of 30’ (15’ on approach and 15’ after the mailbox).

Main takeaway seems to be, “We liked the timely plowing, but we can’t have our driveway entrances and mailboxes blocked afterward.”

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and suggestions. We value your feedback!

Keeping Street Drains Clear

There’s rain in the forecast beginning late Thursday, and we’re hoping that will take care of any remaining snow. As the weather warms it’s going to be more important than ever to keep our drains clear of debris. For three days leading up to last night’s dumping we salted by the drains with hopes that would help keep the liquid flowing. Still, if you see a blockage forming in a drain near you please take a few minutes with your shovel to break it up.

The lakes that can result from repeated thaw-freeze cycles have to be seen to be believed!

We’re very pleased to report that, as of Wednesday morning (Jan 8^th), both the vehicle and pedestrian gates at the rear of Sea Links are back in service. In fact, following a major parts replacement and a full tune-up, they’re working better than ever!

The code for the rear walk-through gate remains the same as the one at the front. There’s one minor difference: You don’t have to push star (*), just the 4-digit number. If you’re like me and can’t recall the code after not entering it for a few years, a quick call to Birch Bay Tax & Accounting (360.393.3658) will get you straightened out.

For the record, the vehicle gate was reported as damaged on Nov 24^th, following an apparent hit and run. No one ever came forward to own up for the accident. Total outage time was ~45 days.

The fourth quarter board meeting posted on the calendar for this Thursday has been canceled and replaced by the Annual meeting this Saturday the 19th. We apologize for the calendar on the website as we are trying to remove the listed meeting and are having difficulties. To review, there is no board meeting this Thursday and the Annual meeting is still on schedule for the 19th.

The Sea Links Annual Community Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 19th, at the Birch Bay Bible Community Church located at 4460 Bay Road, Blaine, Washington. Sign-in will begin at 11:15PM. Meeting will run from 12:00 to 2:00PM.