2017 was a busy year for road repairs on our hill! The fire truck turnout project on the entrance road was completed in August, 2017, and we also included some repairs that were needed due to storm damage. Our neighborhood roads also received a regular maintenance slurry sealing in September, 2017. Slurry sealing is performed every 5 – 7 years in the neighborhood, depending on weather and other factors.
When the 2017 fire truck turnout work was being done, we realized that our unpaved emergency road, which the neighborhood was using during the entrance road work, was not easy to maneuver! This would be a serious problem if we needed it during an emergency in wet or otherwise bad weather.
Compaction and graveling of the emergency road was put out to bid and completed in April 2018. It is much safer to use because of this work. The SBIA board and our local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is thankful that the community supported the special assessment that was needed to fund these projects which created more safety for all of us.
2020 was another major year for road repair on our hill. After several patches and minor repairs of the road at the arroyo curve, we were told by engineers that the original road base was failing, and this portion of the road required a total rebuild. The community decided to proceed with the repair without a special assessment, which would have cost $754 per household at the time. The neighborhood voted to deplete 100% of the SBIA road reserve and general funds, instead of levying a special assessment.
The rebuilding of the road at the arroyo curve was completed in the late fall of 2020.
All of our roads were due to receive a crack fill and slurry sealing in the fall of 2022. However, the community decided at the annual meeting to postpone this project until the following year (2023) when more funds would have been collected from dues and a large demolition and excavation project at the old “red barn” was completed.
Fast forward to January 2023. After a long series of heavy winter rains our roads suffered new and worsening cracking, small sink holes, and erosion. Additionally, our asphalt pathway to the beach stairs has suffered from little or no repairs or ongoing maintenance in over 40 years. A proposal for a special assessment went out to a vote of the membership to cover the costs of repairing some damaged areas and sink holes and to cover the delayed slurry sealing. The special assessment also included funds for repair of slow but insidious erosion that was damaging/weakening the road shoulder near Toad Hollow. Paving experts advised redirecting water flow across the street onto the Kaiser empty lot. Repairing and replacing the asphalt path to the beach stairs was also included in the special assessment. The assessment was approved by an overwhelming majority of the membership.
Repair of the problem drainage area and the beach pathway are planned for the early summer of 2023. And the asphalt repair and slurry sealing of roads are planned for the fall of 2023. Stay tuned…
