April Road Committee Meeting
By Ron Berutti
Inflation has been in the news lately. Gas and food prices are shooting up, and the value of the dollar is sinking so that most of the things we purchase become more expensive. Meanwhile, tax day has come and gone, giving us the unpleasant annual reminder that much of what we earn is not ours at all, but rather, belongs to the government. There seemingly is no relief for these financial burdens brought to bear on all of us. However, if you had attended the meeting on April 3rd, you would have found that the Road Committee is hard at work for Highland Lakes’ members delivering a better product for less money.
Firstly, the list of roads requiring oil and stone crack repairs has been compiled, and the project is out to bid with paving contractors. Approximately 30,000 square yards of roads require some oil and stone crack repair work. The Road Committee anticipates finding a reputable contractor who can deliver this work within budget.
Secondly, the Road Committee continues seeking to correct drainage problems. Highland Lakes was established without any drainage plan in mind. Instead, in some instances houses were built right where natural water basins existed. One such area that has seen its share of such drainage problems is on Acabonack Road. The Road Committee is addressing those problems. Specifically, the Road Committee recommended that the Board approve a plan to improve drainage conditions in the area. Better yet, the recommended plan will be less costly while providing more effective results than a previously proposed concept for addressing the drainage problems on Acabonack Road. It is anticipated that the savings realized will pave the way for future drainage improvements in that area. Consequently, we will all get more for less, thereby striking a blow to inflation.
Finally, the Road Committee was pleased to note that the costs for road sweeping came in very slightly under budget. Thus, more savings was achieved, albeit minimal in amount.
The Road Committee meets at the Clubhouse on the first Thursday evening of every month at 7:30 p.m. All Highland Lakes residents are welcome both to attend and to volunteer in joining the Road Committee if they believe that they can be helpful.
MARCH ROAD COMMITTEE MEETING
By Ron Berutti
The Roads Committee met on Thursday evening, March 6, 2008.
Thirty miles, that is quite a long distance. During the Civil War, thirty mile marches were sometimes conducted, and would take a full day’s time from midnight to dusk. Those forced marches were often conducted at double-time and at the point of a bayonet in case the men wanted to straggle and fall out of the march. After reaching their destination, those ragged foot soldiers would often engage in battle, their feet bleeding, only to be decimated by shot and shell.
The roads those men marched upon, to the extent they existed at all, were unpaved and often hard with choking dust, or else caused these extraordinary men to march knee high in mud. One wonders how far those men would have marched had the roads been paved.
Thirty miles is the amount of road that has been paved in Highland Lakes since 1989. Paul Peters compiled a list of all roads and the dates on which they have been paved, which itself was quite an extraordinary achievement. Only about six miles of road remains to be paved. And while there is no heroism in it, the Roads Committee continues marching on toward the goal of paving all roads and maintaining those that are already paved.
Regarding the ongoing maintenance project, a working list is compiled as to the road repair work that needs to be undertaken this year. The questions of cost and priority based on necessity will likely affect how much of that project can be completed this year. While the price of oil has skyrocketed (it is a key ingredient in the repair work), the Roads Committee is hopeful that all or most of the needed repairs can be performed this year.
Aside from that, there are two important things to note from this month’s meeting. One is a compliment to residents of Highland Lakes and the second is a request which, the Roads Committee hopes, will lead to a future compliment.
First, you may recall that the report of the January meeting reflected anxiety with residents pumping their water into Highland Lakes’ roadways. In March, it was reported that instances of this conduct have drastically fallen. Thus, thank you for cooperating, and please keep up the good work.
Secondly, it was noted that snowplows have had difficulty plowing some roads because some residents have taken to leaving the tail ends of their vehicles in the street. Apparently, they believe that snow will not be pushed in front of the driveway if they do this. The problem is that snowplows often cannot get past the obstacle. Consequently, it prevents the street from being properly plowed. Moreover, it may well lead to a snowplow taking the tail end off a car one of these days. It does not have to be that way. Rather, all Highland Lakes residents are asked to cooperate and pull their vehicles completely into their driveways during a snowstorm. In this way, the snowplows can do their jobs, and vehicles will not be placed in jeopardy of damage from the snowplows.
The Roads Committee meets at the Clubhouse on the first Thursday evening of every month at 7:30 p.m.. All Highland Lakes residents are welcome both to attend, and to volunteer in joining the Road Committee if they believe that they can be helpful.
February Road Committee News
By Ron Berutti
The Road Committee met on Thursday evening, February 7, 2008. Although all seemed right with the world in the wake of the Giants’ Super Bowl victory, the mundane work of asphalt, salt and snowplows still needed to be addressed.
Little new information was available to report. The Club’s Trojan loader is being repaired with parts from overseas, constituting a needed overhaul of this piece of equipment which dates back to 1984. When completed, the Trojan again will be a major weapon in the Club’s snow removal arsenal. It was reported that the Township of Vernon will be reimbursing the Club for the repairs.
Further, as a follow-up to the plans to concentrate on road and crack repairs on Club roads (see notes on the December 2007 meeting from February’s Newsette), discussion ensued about the progress in planning for the project. While nothing has been finally decided, it was noted that Vernon may be involved in the repair work. A list of identifiable problems is being compiled.
Beyond that, our maintenance guru Jim continues having pot holes cold patched. Big ones have been filled, and Jim is busy identifying those that are developing. This way, when spring arrives, the roads will be looking good, and damage will have been minimized.
Finally, the Road Committee is trying to ascertain areas in the most need of catch basins for the control of water flow. This is part of the ongoing battle to provide a drainage plan for a community that was not developed with drainage in mind.
None of this information will likely challenge the football Giants, the Mets’ Johan Santana trade or the presidential election for top billing on your list of personal interests or priorities. Regardless, the Road Committee remains dedicated to its appointed tasks. This way, Club members can concentrate on that which is important in their lives instead of concentrating on the condition of the roads that take them to where they want to be.
The Road Committee meets at the Clubhouse on the first Thursday evening of every month at 7:30 p.m. All Highland Lakes residents are welcome to both attend and to volunteer in joining the Road Committee if they believe that they can be helpful.
DECEMBER AND JANUARY ROAD COMMITTEE MEETINGS
By Ron Berutti
The Road Committee was active both at last year’s end, and at this year’s beginning. It met on Thursday evening December 6, 2007, and again on Thursday evening January 3, 2008. In between those dates, the unauthorized biographies of the Road Committee members contain fair amounts of eating, drinking, celebrating and family time. Collectively, the members may have added 20 pounds to Highland Lakes’s roads over that month’s time. Your author was a considerable component of that statistic.
But really now, at the December meeting, the primary issue discussed was that in 2008, the Road Committee plans no major paving projects. There has been considerable progress in road resurfacing over the past year. This year, in an effort to stretch existing road life while making budget dollars travel an extra mile or two, the Road Committee will be undertaking a road maintenance project. The goal is to fix cracks and surface imperfections on our 32 miles of road that are likely to expand with the freezing of water and with general road use. The repairs, it is anticipated, will add several years to our existing roads. Ultimately, this should result in substantial long term savings for the community. This project will go out to bid within the coming months.
In January, the primary subject of the Road Committee’s discussions centered on the illegal and dangerous practices in which some residents have been engaged. Specifically, some residents have been pumping water from their homes into Highland Lakes’s roadways. This damages the whole community in at least three specific ways. First, while water on the roadways always presents a potential hazard, it is particularly dangerous in the winter months because the water has a tendency to freeze, which may cause deadly accidents involving both motorists and pedestrians. Second, the community members end up having to pay for the removal of the ice or dangerous water conditions, since the costs of doing so end up coming out of the community association funds paid for with our individual dues. And finally, the freezing of water and ice removal efforts tend to damage the roads, costing all of us even more money.
Thus, because a very few members selfishly choose to violate the law, the rest of us pay for the crime. The Road Committee imagines that those engaged in such practices will be the first to complain when dues end up having to be raised because of the resulting costs. In short, it is encouraged that if you become aware of a neighbor or community association member that is pumping water onto our roadways, either politely ask them to stop if you are comfortable doing so, or else call security to report the situation so that it is brought to a halt. Finally, it was noted that the several small storms since November have required expenditure of substantial funds for road grits needed to provide traction on the roadways. With any luck, the storms will diminish as the season progresses.
The Road Committee meets at the Clubhouse on the first Thursday evening of every month at 7:30 p.m.. All Highland Lakes residents are welcome both to attend, and to volunteer in joining the Road Committee if they believe that they can be helpful.
SEPTEMBER ROAD COMMITTEE MEETING
By Ron Berutti
The Road Committee met on Thursday evening September 6th. After discussing ongoing projects, the focus of the meeting was on three items: the bind that the recently passed Highlands Act puts us in; the necessity for the Township of Vernon and for Sussex County to address certain of Highland Lakes’ critical road safety needs; and safety concerns on Highland Lakes’ roads.
The Committee noted that at the Annual Meeting in August, there were several comments made about water flow problems which residents wanted addressed. When Highland Lakes was built, it was exclusively a summer community. Drainage and water flow was not on the agenda of the builders and, thus, the Road Committee has been fighting a long battle to address the resulting drainage problems. However, a recently passed law known as the Highlands Act has complicated these efforts. While the intentions in passing the law may have been good ones, unfortunately it has hampered Highland Lakes’ ability to tackle many of these ongoing drainage problems. The reason for this is that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection must now approve many projects in which it formerly had no jurisdiction. This is an extremely time consuming and expensive process, and has led to a great deal of frustration not only in Highlands Lakes, but also in much of Northern New Jersey. To the extent that creative solutions not implicating N.J.D.E.P. involvement are feasible, the Road Committee is trying to take action.
With respect to traffic safety issues along Breakneck Road and Highland Lakes Road (Route 638), it was noted that these roads are controlled by Vernon and the County respectively. Neither has been responsive to traffic safety concerns regarding crosswalks and placement of traffic control devices which would make crossing these roads safer. While Highland Lakes’ Liason Committee has endeavored to cause Vernon to install crosswalks, so far the efforts have been fruitless. A general discussion took place that in this election year in Vernon, Highland Lakes residents who are concerned with traffic safety would do well to vote as a block to ensure that the Town Council becomes more responsive to our needs. Attendance at Town Council meetings to express these concerns would probably be helpful as well. Thus, all residents concerned with traffic safety on Breakneck Road are encouraged to attend Town Council meetings in order to be heard.
Finally, it was noted that while ongoing road projects on Highland Lakes’ roads have been very successful, they have created a problem. That problem is that some residents now feel that they can increase their driving speeds on the improved roads. This has created some dangerous conditions, particularly near the Beach One school bus stop. For instance, some parents have been seen driving at unsafe speeds in the mornings on the new and improved roads while rushing to drop off their children. It was noted that this is particularly true on the Alturas Road hill near the intersection with Muscotah Road.
It is important to remember that a safe speed on Highland Lakes roads is only 15 M.P.H. Even though the roads are constantly being improved and repaired, the better road surface does not make it safer to drive at speeds you normally would reach on town or county roads. Thus, parents and others are urged to remember that driving above 15 M.P.H. increases the risk of serious injuries to children, pedestrians, and to other automobile passengers. So please make a conscious effort to slow down on our roads.
The Road Committee meets at the Clubhouse on the first Thursday evening of every month at 7:30 p.m..
All Highland Lakes residents are welcome both to attend, and to volunteer in joining the Road Committee if they believe that they can be helpful.
--------------------------
Road Committee chaired by Tom Kemiksizgil is responsible for evaluating which roads need to be worked on most for the upcoming season. There are over 32 miles of roadway in Highland Lakes, much of which is in need of upgrading. The Club has dedicated a portion of their Capital Budget every year for at least the last 5 years for these projects so that by the end of approximately 20 years all roads in Highland Lakes will be in compliance with the Club's road standards. With each new year's projects completion, the Operating Budget item for the cost of maintenance continues to drop. The committee is responsible for recommending to the Voting Board which roads should be tackled in the next cycle based upon need and fiscal feasance. The Road Committee meets the 1st Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm.
We Make Things Happen.....We Volunteer!