CSA 41 Spring Workday/BBQMay 7, 2011

NEWSLETTER

What a delightful spirit of community was enjoyed on May 7th at the Workday and BBQ! We were blessed by the labors of the largest number of Workday volunteers to date.

23 residents worked to help improve local roads and facilities. Work was divided into7 categories:

Shoulder improvements

Bob Drick provided his tractor and his operating skills in clearing sand and storm debris from road shoulders. With assistance from Carrie Hartmann and Terri Bak, who helped with sweeping and traffic control, the crew removed storm debris along N. Wild Oak between parcels 3 and 5. Now area residents can enjoy the full width of the roadway along this section. Also, Seward Heckaman provided his tractor and some shoulder enhancement along S. Wild Oak. Heck also did some pothole patching on S. Wild Oak.

Safety Signage and Fence Repair

Pace Hartmann set up the safety signage along the roadwork corridor. Pace also replaced and painted a missing fencepost adjacent to our mailboxes. And, prior to the Workday, Pace provided string trimmer work to clean up the mailbox area.

Pothole patching

Thanks to the large number of participants, we were able to field two fully-manned patching crews. Crew 1 consisted of Carlos Rocha, Scott Iveland, Scott Garner, and Jono Ohlgren. Using a truck provided by Scott Garner, and a trailer provided by Randy Miller, Crew 1 patched holes between Flora and Cebada Cyn on Avena Rd. Jono Ohlgren offered refreshments to his fellow crewmembers.

Crew 2 included Derek McLeish, Brian Just, Ezequiel Sepulveda, and Brad Shaffer. Using a truck and trailer provided by Brian Just, Crew 2 patched holes on North Avena and Catalina Rd., and filled in and compacted the road repair cavities dug out by the Road Repair Group near parcels 1 and 30. Crew 2 enjoyed refreshments provided by Randy Miller.

Road Repair

The road repair crew included Tom Goehring, Andy Andersen, Robert Bak, and Chuck Osberg. This hard working group dug out an unstable road section above parcel

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30, and started to repair a similar section abutting parcel 1. The dug-out sections were primed, compacted, and filled by members of Pothole Patching Crew 2.

Shoulder Mowing

Terry Malone and Lee Smith improved area roadsides by using their tractors to mow weeds along Avena Rd, Flora, and Crucero Rd.

Litter Patrol

Gail Goodcase and Yvonne Bailey scoured Canyon roadsides, collecting litter by the bag. Yvonne put her dog to good use, pulling the litter cart.

Photo by Susan Ashbrook

Project Management

Brian Just provided road markings and general organization of the impressive work force.

On behalf of the Road Committee and the Canyon residents in general, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to those of you who lent a hand to our maintenance efforts. Thank you so much!

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Barbeque and general meeting

Twenty-nine people attended the BBQ in the shade of the oaks and superbly hosted by Tom and Mette Goehring. We really appreciated the preparation of the fine meal and their great hospitality. Those attending the BBQ /General Meeting included Jon and Erin Ohlgren and their cute son Lars, and Erin’s mom and dad Jim and Kathy Sparling. Also attending were Scott Garner, Gail Goodcase, Derek McLeish and Susan Ashbrook, and their friends Scott and Shaun Mattern. Others in attendance included Seward Heckaman, Brian and Judi Just, Bob and Elaine Drick, Brad Shaffer, Scott and Estelle Iveland, and Scott’s mom, Doris.Also enjoying the afternoon were Lee and Margaret Ann Smith, Pace and Carrie Hartmann, Stan and Margaret Swanson, and of course the hosts, Tom and Mette and their friend Wayne.

Following a fine meal, Road Committee Chairman Brian Just began a general meeting. He started by thanking Tom and Mette for hosting the get-together and for preparing a mouth-watering meal. Brian also thanked the Workday volunteers, the current Road Committee members for their service, and all the attendees who brought and shared food. Also, Brian offered thanks to the residents who provided donations to the Rancho Santa Rita Association. Donations to this account provide the funds for us to provide mailings, website, insurance, printing, professional consultations, supplies, and other road-related expenses. The Association received generous donations from Dr. and Alexa Dixon, Dave and Bernice White, Roy and Laurie Gentry, Veronika Mills, Jon and Erin Ohlgren, and Scott and Estelle Iveland. Donations totaled $965.00!The Road Committee sincerely appreciates your generous donations, and we promise to be cautious caretakers of your funds and your trust.

Next on the agenda was a Financial Report. As current Sect./Treasurer Dave White could not attend, Chairman Just filled in with the report. Our County funds are currently at $33,437, with an additional $11,000 coming in June or July of 2011. Brian also reported that our Association fund was at $8317.01, but that figure has now been increased to $9282.01 by recent donations. Recent expenditures, including cold mix, paint, mailing costs, and misc. items will somewhat reduce these totals. Chairman Just offered a glimpse at future possibilities for large CSA 41 projects. While no Road Committee decisions have yet been made, future projects might include improvements to N. Wild Oak, removal of sub-surface clay sections, and/or widening the section of Avena between the mailboxes and the driveway to parcel 47. CSA 41 does not have enough funding to contract any serious roadwork at this time, so we will be contemplating and preparing options for when we are more completely funded.

Finally, before opening the discussion to general resident concerns and/or questions, Chairman Just announced that a canyon-wide pumpkin contest would soon be

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underway. The rules are simple: Grow a pumpkin, and bring it to the Fall Workday BBQ for the weighing ceremony. The heaviest pumpkin wins. Carrie Hartmann, whose prize-winning gourd topped out at 344 lbs. last fall, provided seeds from her champion to hopeful growers.

Canyon residents discussed an ongoing problem with a chronic loose horse problem and attendant trespassing issues, especially on the north end of Wild Oak. Animal Control has been contacted many times regarding these issues, but these contacts have not brought a resolution to the problem. Residents in attendance at the meeting offered several ideas to resolve this problem. While no official plan was determined, the consensus was to notify our County Supervisor regarding Animal Control’s failure to solve the problem. If this contact and discussion does not provide resolution, attendees offered support for the expense of Association funding to acquire a legal opinion regarding our best course of action. Through legal means, we would seek to solve this problem and to protect residents against potential liability as we strive to provide our mission, which continues to be the maintenance of safe area roads for canyon residents. Our mission is also to serve as a representative body, voicing the concerns of canyon residents to the Board of Supervisors.

Continuing the general discussion, Margaret Swanson offered a general invitation for Canyon ladies to join in with a currently operative birthday luncheon group. Contact Margaret or Margaret Ann Smith for details.

Gail Goodcase mentioned that there is a Santa Ynez Valley group called Animal Rescue Team. They are licensed and permitted by the California Dept. of Fish and Game to rescue and rehabilitate certain types of injured, orphaned, or displaced native wildlife.You can contact them at (805) 896-1859, and see their website at www.animalrescueteam.netIn other Canyon news, the mirror that was on a blind corner on North Wild Oak is being improved and rebuilt by Brian Just. It will soon be back in place, helping to make that corner safer.It has been suggested that we post clear signs at the CSA 41 entrance and at Poquito Rd. making it more obvious that these roads are private, and for the exclusive use of Canyon residents. With the closure of the boarding stables on Parcel 46, we are starting to see increased equestrian traffic on Avena, originating from boarding stables further north on Cebada Cyn. Rd. Please let us know how you feel about such signage. We are here to represent your voice. There is a hazard to equestrians on the south end of Avena.Also, if you would like the Road Committee to consider any other future road improvement plans, let us know. For these or other concerns, please contact a Road Committee member.Tom Goehring, 740-9808, tom@ranchoftheoaks.com, Brian Just, 737-1693, bandj@wildoakwinery.com, Jon Ohlgren, 689-7839, centralcalranches@yahoo.com, Margaret Swanson, 736-8627, mswanson@impulse.net, Dave White, 736-9305, d.g.white@earthlink.net

Respectfully submitted, Brian Just

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