mount baker photo by daniel mannisto · rain over the weekend. our electric bills next month will...
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January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 1
Mount Baker photo by Daniel Mannisto
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 2
President’s Message --- January 2017 We are off to a freezing start in 2017! We’ve been locked in our coldest weather streak since at least 2008 this winter. To date it has been a pretty dry streak also, meaning only light snow accumulation. Our snow and ice removal contractor has been doing a prompt and thorough job keeping our roads passable during the cold siege. Hopefully you’ve been able to use your driveway safely--- and hopefully we will see a lasting warming trend soon. As we look back at the now expired 2016, it seems that we (HHMC) can realistically state that we had a very good year overall, and claim a high grade for our performance. From a maintenance commission standpoint we completed the past year with our roads well maintained and in good shape; and with three major improvement projects completed in 2016 our stormwater drainage system is in perhaps the best shape it has ever been in, both functionally and maintenance-wise. Socially we welcomed many new residents, sponsored two Welcoming Parties, put on a fun rainy-day Potluck/Picnic in August and shared with each other at the Annual General Meeting in November. Financially we also performed well, ending our fiscal year with an approximate $20,000 net cash surplus, roughly a 9% under-run to our approved 2016 budget. That under-run combined with tight budgeting allows us to enter the New Year with a lowered dues assessment from the 2016 level, responsible reserves and a balanced budget plan for 2017. We also experienced a couple of highly encouraging member-generated community improvement initiatives in 2016.
Fritz Langenbacher has assembled a committee to investigate significantly improving internet speed performance on Bell Hill. Their Internet Services Committee is active and progressing. Their activities can be monitored on the Internet Services tab on the HHMC website’s Members-only page.
Don Baron, spurred-on by the widespread Northwest interest in the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake/tsunami potential, has begun initiating educational and neighborhood mapping/planning groups focused on emergency preparedness in our community. Information on this activity will be disseminated through neighborhood contacts and print information in The Highlander and at the Safety & Awareness tab on the HHMC website.
Please track the progress of these new activities, and get involved yourself in 2017 if you have interest. Your HHMC Board of Trustees assembled in early January to kick off the new Board year. As required by the By-laws of the association, each year new executive officers have to be selected, a Nominating Committee and an Architectural Control Committee must be appointed and other member committee chairperson recommendations must be ratified. Those duties were attended to, including the re-election of Ted Johnson as President, Russ Napier as Vice President and Irv Brock as Treasurer. Paul Banitch is our newly elected Secretary, taking over from Ted Stever who retired at the completion of his elected term to pursue a snowbird life. Sole new Board Member Rob Wade was elected Nominating Committee Chair and was also appointed HHMC Office Manager. A listing of other committee chair appointees (with phone numbers) can be found on the HHMC website home page.
Inside: President’s Message 2 Announcements 3 Preparedness 4 Weather 5 Photos and Comments 6
Important Dates
Board Meeting February 1 March 1
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 3
Most committee reports at the early January Board meeting were routine in nature, reflecting the holiday season slow-down, with the most significant physical activity reported being the final roadside ditch inspection/clean-out of the year. Treasurer Brock presented a wrap-up of 2016 expenditures (~$202,000) and the resulting net budget under-run of ~$20,000. The largest expense accrued in December (~$2400) was for snow removal and application of ice melt chemicals on our roadways. Assessment invoices were distributed to all HHMC property owners in December with a payment due date of January 15th. As of January 4th Board meeting approximately 48% (~$85,000) of the 2017 assessments had been received. The January Board meeting concluded with a discussion of Board support of Don Baron’s Emergency Preparedness initiative wherein the Board consensus encouraged neighborhood natural-group self-initiation/pacing, with emphasis on preparedness education and threat awareness. Communication with members and between groups was deemed necessary for continued initiative vitality, with occasional status reporting to the Board. The bottom line: “organize and proceed.” With a successful 2016 now in our rear-view mirror, we look forward with hopefulness that we will enjoy an equally satisfying 2017 in Highland Hills. Happy New Year,
Ted Johnson
PARLEZ-VOUS FRANCAIS? We are creating a weekly French conversation group, for anyone who is interested. All levels welcome, a very informal gathering each Tuesday at 1 pm, at the RainShadow cafe, starting January 17. Please join if you are free and interested. For questions, contact Don Baron, 360.808.2873 or [email protected]
Want Winter Driveway Help?
Contact [email protected] (or call 683-2077) for referrals if you want
professional help with driveway snow and ice removal.
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 4
Get Ready, Get Set - 2017 Emergency Preparedness for Highland Hills
We ended 2016 with a very informative meeting with the Clallam County Fire Dept, where Chief Dan Orr gave a very sobering but informative overview of our situation here in Sequim, in the event of a Cascadia Earthquake. There were over 40 Highland Hills residents present. I have uploaded a copy of the presentation to the HH website. Here were some of his main points:
In the event of an even moderate Cascadia earthquake, the damage would be substantial and
widespread.
We here in Sequim will be largely cut-off and on our own for weeks. He urged that we each of us
have 30 days-worth of water (2 gallons/person/day) and food on hand.
All of the area north of Sunland, will be flooded by a 60 foot tsunami; most of the Sequim valley will
face swamp-like conditions due to liquefaction.
While the county, State and Federal governments are taking this risk extremely seriously and have
action plans in place, they will all be overwhelmed by the scale of the event and it will take many
weeks to months for them to restore essential services.
Seattle will be their first priority, the suburbs second, and we here on the peninsula, a rather distant third. So it really is up to each of us to take preparation steps in advance.
Given this, we will be launching a series of actions steps starting this month:
Firstly, we will be organizing a series of individual neighborhood meetings to move the MYN (Map Your Neighborhood) program forward. This is the first step the County recommends every neighborhood take. In addition to laying out steps for each individual household, MYN also includes inventorying skills in the neighborhood, and identifying propane tank locations, a critical element in the aftermath of an earthquake.
Secondly, for those who are interested, we will be holding CERT training (Community Emergency Response Teams), so that we have a core group on the Hill who, in the event of an emergency, will be able to knowledgeably spring to action, with a pre-determined plan. If you would like to join the training and one of these teams (soonest they could do it is April), please contact me, Don Baron at [email protected], and I can forward more detailed info.
In order to facilitate on-going information and organization, we have set up a closed Facebook group, "Highland Hills Sequim". If you are on FB, please join up. If you are not, this is a good reason to join! We all hope that none of this preparation will ever be necessary to deploy. But given what we learned from the Fire Department, it would be foolish and irresponsible not to take some precautionary steps to... get ready, get set! More to follow! All the best, D.L. Baron US Cell 360.808.2873
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 5
Our Monthly Weather
An Icy and Cold Stretch
For all of you snowbirds, you’ve missed a bunch of cold weather. It is almost noon on January 13, 2017 and the outside temperature is a balmy 35.2° - this is probably the warmest since Monday the 9th when it got up to 41° and all driveways and streets were covered in a thick sheet of ice in the morning. We have received an occasional snow flurry which hasn’t amounted to much unless you live near the top of the hill where it snows a lot. The snow has not melted on the ground, it just stays frozen. The short term forecast is for warmer weather with the possibility of rain over the weekend. Our electric bills next month will be awesome. Of course our heat pump and furnace decided to retire and we had them replaced on the coldest day of the year. To make things a little more miserable, a mini-epidemic of severe head cold and coughing has spread amongst a lot of us. Here’s hoping things return to normal soon!
All measurements are taken at 600’. Precipitation is measured daily at 7 am.
2016 2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015 Precipitation Precipitation Snowfall Snowfall High High Low Low
(In.) (In.) (In.) (In.) °F °F °F °F
January 1.74 2.59 0.0 0.0 61 58 29 28
February 1.92 3.20 0.0 0.0 57 54 36 35
March 2.51 3.27 0.0 0.0 70 53 36 34
April .91 .66 0.0 0.0 81 67 45 37
May .75 .41 0.0 0.0 75 82 46 43
June 1.49 .40 0.0 0.0 88 92 45 47
July .53 .52 0.0 0.0 71 91 51 46
August .20 .83 0.0 0.0 90 90 47 46
September 1.20 1.25 0.0 0.0 75 82 46 45
October 3.57 1.84 0.0 0.0 61 73 42 40
November 2.48 5.35 0.0 0.0 70 57 39 28
December 1.55 5.98 1.7 0.0 51 57 26 27
Annual Totals 18.85 26.30 1.7 0.0 90 92 26 27
2017 2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016 Precipitation Precipitation Snowfall Snowfall High High Low Low
(In.) (In.) (In.) (In.) °F °F °F °F
Month to Date (Jan 13th) .44 .18 1.1 0.0 41 51 23 33
Running Year Total (1/14/16 - 1/13/17) 19.11
2.8
90
23
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 6
Photos and Comments After last month’s plea for photos, Daniel Mannisto came to the rescue with some great professional class photos.
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 7
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 8
Hurricane Ridge parking lot and view as of today.
January 2017 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 9
A good web site describing local features http://www.visitsunnysequim.com/index.aspx?NID=118 An Obscure Local Fact FIR TREE 700 YEARS OLD YIELDS 58,000 BOARD FEET. PORT ANGELES Wash- The Monarch of North Pacific fir was cut this week at Twin Camp. The giant’s age was -700 years and it scaled 58,000 board feet. Few firs have lived so long and still fewer have grown to the remarkable perfection of this tree. The stump is slightly oval 12 feet the narrow way and 13 feet the widest distance. It stood 310 feet high without flaw. A-three foot section near the stump has been cut out for permanent exhibit in the museum of the State University at Seattle. – Daily Boston Globe – Nov 18, 1928 Page B 16.