Lake Committee Update

On January 4th, Rich Palmer and John Adamick cored the ice on Hidden Lake to determine dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the lake. The ice was 17" thick but we didn't know that when we first walked out! I have to admit that this Texan was a little nervous to see all of the cracks in the ice (see photos).

The ice was also groaning and popping really loudly, which I had never heard before at Hidden Lake. The good news is that the DO levels were 6.0 or higher through almost the entire water column.  This should be more than sufficient to support our trout population and is considerably higher than the values recorded the prior winter. Our two windmill aerators appear to be doing a good job for the lake.

I also included one nighttime photo of a full moon rising and reflecting off of the ice of the lake because I thougt it was neat. The photo does not do justice to the beauty we saw that night.

John Adamick
Lake Committee Co-Chairman
 

Posted March 25, 2009

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM: 

In January 2009, Joe Stehling attended a meeting with Colfax County Sherriff Pat Casis and representatives of Taos Pines to explore establishing a Neighborhood Watch (NW) program in the two communities.   Rich Palmer also attended and provided his insights and observations based on his security runs on Hidden Lake.    During the meeting the Sherriff discussed the mechanics of establishing USAonWatch committees in the two communities.  He answered questions regarding meth labs, patrol surveillance, emergency response, legal and illegal use of firearms, phone banks, and vacation surveillance of properties along with other issues.  The USAonWatch was launched following the attacks of September 11, 2001.  It encourages Watch groups to learn more about crime prevention, emergency response, and terrorism awareness.

On 25 April, Sherriff Casis will conduct a workshop to train interested local residents and provide further information on the details of establishing the Watch groups and the mechanics of organizing the groups and how to obtain signs and material to educate residents on the program.    Scott Jones, Rich Palmer and Joe Stehling are planning to attend.   Any residents who will be at Hidden Lake on that date are encouraged to attend – contact Joe Stehling for details at joestehling@earthlink.net..

THINNING GRANT MONEY:

Joe Stehling has submitted a grant application on behalf of the Colfax County Coalition of Firewise Communities (CCCFC) for the 2009 Hazardous Fuel Treatment on Non-Federal Land (NFL) program.   The grant is a 90% grant funds, 10% contribution and goes on for three years for a maximum of $300,000 to cover all costs.   The grant is being submitted for 125 acres in communities in the CCCFC:  Hidden Lake, Elk Ridge, Taos Pines, and Ute Park.  CCCFC has ensured collaboration with the Carson National Forest, NM land Office, Sandia and Taos Pueblos, Colfax County Fire marshal, and NM State Forestry.   Thus far 10 Hidden Lake residents have responded to Joe’s March E-mail or through personal contact and have indicated an interest in participating.  Current commercial costs for fuel reduction is between $2400 and $3500 per acre.  The 10% contribution may be either monetary or in-kind work.   In-kind labor is at the DOL rate of approximately $17.00 per hour.  All Hidden Lake residents are encouraged to keep track of any work done on their properties as any work done can be counted towards the in-kind portion.  Hidden Lake property owners may be required to pay the $1,000 per lot assessment the HLPOA board established for mechanical thinning operations in addition to the 10% contribution.  CCCFC has considered putting the fee in the grant application, but NMSF advises that the cost is not appropriate as those funds do not directly contribute to the cleanup.  Further, if the fee were to be paid for all ten HL participants, it would result in three acres not being cleared on properties of the other communities.   

 CCCFC’s initial thought was to only use small equipment, such as a bullhog, to do the clean-up and to hopefully obviate the $1,000 assessment.  One contractor who visited Hidden Lake to survey the operation advised that the job could not be done with just the bullhog.   There is too much large-diameter downed material and the density of the standing timber is too great.  Further, some of the slopes are too steep to permit the equipment to operate without larger equipment, some thinning, and hand work.

 If the grant is approved, we will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the work.   Joe and Scott Jones have been in contact with Consulting Foresters and are working on the details of exactly how to orchestrate the operation using a combination of hand thinning crews and mechanical mastication.  Send any questions, thoughts, and recommendations to Joe at joestehling@earthlink.net or Scott at ohjammer@yahoo.com. 

Since the beginning of 2009 New Mexico has experiences 200 wildfires over 12,300 acres.   Nationwide, the National Interagency Fire Center has logged 11,814 wildfires so far this year – the most for any two-month period in a decade and nearly 3,700 more than average.    We have received only 49 inches of snow, almost 100 fewer inches than last year.  The long range forecast is for a dry 2009.  Weekly, if not daily, red flag fire warnings have been issued for Eastern New Mexico in the past several months. Thus far 24 properties have been thinned or partially cleaned up on Hidden Lake.   Risk of significant property value for each owner is facing Hidden Lake, as it is other communities, and we have a large opportunity available to us to make a difference, both for individuals and for Hidden Lake itself.

 PROGRESS ON A FIRE SUB-STATION

Colfax County Coalition of Firewise Communities has been able to procure property from the state of New Mexico for a fire sub-station.  The property is in the old gravel quarry at the base of the hill below Hidden Lake, on NM Highway 120.  The “lease” is for 35 years at a cost of $500.  The Department of Transport has signed off orally on driveway access to the state highway.  The Colfax County Fire Marshall Larry Osborne and Bob Coss of the Moreno Valley Volunteer Fire Departmant have arranged for inspection and sign-off from the State Fire Authorities, opening the way to equipment funding and County approval.  CCCFC has an oral commitment from the County of Colfax to approve the site, the plan, and ultimately to take on board the fire station when built.  The proposal should be on the April agenda of the Colfax Commissioners, and we are hopeful of formal approval. 

Initial projections of cost for the build-out are $30,000 - $35,000, and CCCFC has been able to raise $3,600 so far.  Hidden Lake Property Owners have been very generous to date, and CCCFC is grateful.  Bob Brown of Elk Ridge (and the CCCFC vice-president for operations) will supervise the building of the station, using as much like-kind contribution and volunteer effort as possible.  The fire sub-station will service thousands of acres and approximately 140 homes.  Address any questions to Scott Jones at ohjammer@yahoo.com.    Please send any donations to CCCFC Secretary Jody Gray at P.O. Box 215, Ute Park, NM 87749.

Suggestions for Those of you Needing New Phone Service - Posted Feb. 3, 2008

For those of you building a home in Hidden Lake or planning to build soon, Qwest has told us if a new customer requests service they can expect it within five days.   If the switch box is getting to a point where it will be maxed out, they will install another switch box.   The Qwest sales rep contacted said she could not comment on the number of lines currently available for HL.    She said if she has a physical address she can tell what service is available.   

 

The Board is recommending to anyone planning to construct a house that they put in the order for a phone line as soon as construction begins.  That way Qwest will be able to do whatever they have to do and perhaps they will have a phone line when the house is completed.

Phone Service Update - Posted Feb. 12, 2008

The following email was sent to the webmaster in response to the above posting:

Guy, 

This is John Adamick, owner of Lot 53. In the “News & Announcemenst” section, I just read the article referring to Qwest and phone line service to Hidden Lake. The article is seriously in error. My wife and I ordered a telephone line approximately one year ago. We were given a telephone number and then told that the line would be connected within 5 days. After waiting two weeks, I contacted them and got the run-around for about a week. Finally, I was referred to the Qwest engineer responsible for our area. The engineer reported that all telephone lines in the Hidden Lake area were being utilized. He said that the switch box in our area was “copper wire” and there were only 98 lines in total. However, he told us there was a plan to run a fiber optic line from Angel Fire to a sub-station located at the Black Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Once this occurred, it would effectively double the number of available lines to the Hidden Lake area and we would then get our phone line. The plan at the time was to run the fiber optic line in Spring 2007 along the easement that runs alongside Hwy 434. This line has not been laid up to this point in time. We have contacted Qwest periodically about this issue but nobody can tell when, if ever, the fiber optic line will be laid. We are supposedly the first-in-line for phone service in the area but who knows when that will be?

 Regards,

John Adamick

 

                                         View of the new easement entrance                                                                          View of the new easement path