Please join us for the annual meeting 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 20, at the CSPD Gold Hill substation, 955 W. Moreno.
In Waldo Canyon Fire's wake and with our several-years and continuing drought, we believe fire mitigation and safety issues are still timely. Wildfire Mitigation Administrator Christina Randall, Education and Outreach Program Coordinator Amy Sylvester, and Fire Marshal Brett Lacey will share how to reduce wildland-urban interface (WUI) risk and information gleaned from the catastrophe, including:
F mitigation efforts that worked, others that did not
F before and after images of Waldo
F risk assessment ratings and fuel conditions
F how to make homes more fire resistant
F high- and low-risk exterior plants
F evacuation planning
F insurance issues
F changes in city planning
We Need You: Web and Membership
Would you be willing to update and maintain the Skyway Association Web site? We’d sure appreciate it. Contact Ed.
We invite you to join the Skyway Association for only $15 per year. Our renewal time begins February 1. Here are some things you receive for your membership dues and what our plans are.
1. Annual FireWise branch and limb curbside pickup—for no additional cost: If you were to hire a chipping and hauling team of two men and equipment for eight hours, the cost would be about $1,000 daily. Skyway uses FireWise for 10 days, or $10,000 worth of work. It's a great value for potentially saving your home.
2. Annual Skyway picnic and music in the park: Our sponsors and the association treat members to a wonderful afternoon of great food, music, games, and an opportunity to socialize with your neighbors. Where else can you serve an entire family for $15, plus receive so many other benefits, like not cleaning up after the party?
3. Yucca and Web site: We plan to improve our site, making it the place for Skyway members to view and download the Yucca, receive social, Neighborhood Watch, fire safety, and regional information. One idea we're tossing around is to have monthly social gatherings to meet others in the area. What do you think? Email Cathy at howardct@q.com.
4. Skyway improvements, such as flagstone signage, median weeding, and pesticide-free goats chomping Bear Creek Park's eastern weeds.
A Word from Ed Alyn, Board President
Our many thanks to Margaret Brettschneider who has retired from the Skyway board. We appreciate beyond measure her countless years as Yucca editor and more recently as co-president and FireWise coordinator. She will continue as FireWise committee chair and will be accepting FireWise reservations at the annual meeting. If you are interested in becoming a board member, please contact me, 635-1382 or 2alyns@q.com.
Neighborhood Watch: Bobcats and Coyotes Hungry, Dogs and Cats Injured or Killed
For those who receive leighwestin@gmail.com Neighborhood Watch crime-, fire-, and Skyway-related updates or reports from block captains, you already know about all the dogs and cats who have lost their lives being killed in backyards and off trail by coyotes, bobcats, and the occasional mountain lion. Email me if you’d like reports. It has helped reduce crime in Skyway.
Almost daily I see dogs off leash. Illegal in most city and county locations, it is also unsafe for dogs and intrudes on people’s peace and space. When my dog was attacked by an unleashed bulldog, the wounds took two months to heal. The bulldog’s owner still doesn’t leash the dog, and the Humane Society, whose number appears at one of the trailheads, refuses to intervene. Please remind dog owners who let their dogs run free, there is a leash law, just as there is a no-barking law. Dogs, like many humans, simply need love and attention.
Be sure you have smoke and CO detectors working properly with fresh batteries changed on a date you cannot forget (anniversary, a particular holiday, my birthday). And please drive slowly and carefully.
Winter Tree Watering Recommendations
A healthy urban forest cools our streets and homes, reduces noise, provides aesthetic value and wildlife habitat, absorbs carbon dioxide and pollutants, and reduces storm run-off.
City Forestry and the Palmer Tree Coalition reminds residents to water their trees. After several years of drought, trees could use a little TLC. Watering trees in fall and winter allows them to emerge healthier in the spring. Drought-stressed trees are vulnerable to disease, insect infestations, branch dieback, or even total loss. Place up to 4-inch-deep mulch under each tree's drip line, the area under the tree's foliage receiving less rain.
F Water to a depth of 12 inches below the soil surface.
F Water slowly to saturate soil within the drip line of the tree canopy. Move the hose around for large trees.
F Give the same amount of water year round—10 gallons per inch of tree diameter 1–2 times per month. An easy rule of thumb is to measure the tree trunk diameter at knee height and water for 5 minutes per inch.
We Didn’t Do It!
An unidentified entity purporting to be affiliated with a Homeowners Association at Libra Drive and Parkview Blvd. has sent letters to Skyway neighbors regarding property appearance.
Though implied, none of these letters came from the Skyway Association or its board members. If you receive such a letter, please contact Ed Alyn or any member of our architectural control committee, and we will again forward it to our attorney.
Transportation and Traffic Matters
Kathy Krager, Colorado Springs transportation manager, spoke at the November 14 board meeting. One common point of contention is the installation, and often subsequent removal, of traffic-calming methods, such as median islands. If you have input about local traffic-related issues, Kathy can be reached at kkrager@springsgov.com, 719-385-7628.
Bear Creek Park Easement Plan
District 3 El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark is spearheading a community discussion regarding the potential placement of a conservation easement over areas in Bear Creek Regional Park. The conservation easement would provide assurance that at least a portion of the park will be preserved long term and would require the area to remain as open space and/or park property in perpetuity.
The county has been in discussion with the Palmer Land Trust regarding holding the conservation easement (the county cannot hold conservation easements on its own property). The conservation easement would be a binding legal agreement between the county and PLT that restricts development in order to protect the conservation values of BCRP. It may have preservation zones that would allow designated areas of the park to continue to be used for a variety of recreational uses while other zones would primarily be designated as open space.
The next public meeting is 6:30 p.m., Wed., Jan. 23, Centennial Hall auditorium, 200 S. Cascade . Park in the parking garage located west of Centennial Hall.
http://adm.elpasoco.com/Parks/Pages/News%20and%20Events.aspx
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