A bit quieter this week on the Ranch. Here are some highlights:
Tuesday, August 15th at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors conducted their monthly workshop at Cedar Creek Center. A few of the topics discussed included ways to enhance upcoming SVRA election cycles by using email and candidate videos, potential changes to the next property owners weekend event, and information to be presented at the upcoming Board of Directors meeting by a local tree service about common aspen tree diseases on the Ranch.
Aspens are subject to a variety of fungal problems such as leaf spot and leaf blight that affect foliage as well as cytospora canker that causes patches of bright orange bark. (The latter often ooze brown liquid and eventually the bark will fall off revealing dark brown or black areas beneath.)
Thursday, August 17th at 7pm the SVRA Board of Directors conducted their monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center. I was, unfortunately, unable to attend this meeting, however, you can find the complete agenda here.
Friday August 18th and Saturday August 19th the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Natural Resources Board (NRB) held their annual “Garage Sale for Trails and Parks” at the First Response Center on Vista Drive. Despite the dicey weather the sale was a big success with great attendance by the public. [As of the posting of this week’s news, the total funds raised from the sale were not available, however, I’ll be sure to report that in next week’s blog post.]
Saturday August 19th the SVRA sponsored a Community Garage Sale for Ranch residents; maps depicting participating addresses on the Ranch were distributed in advance via email and were also available the day of the sale at a kiosk on Vista Drive.
Here are a few additional news items, to include one we neglected to make note of in last week’s email:
A number of TSVR infrastructure projects were announced for public bid last week (on August 9th) to include Water Installation Project 2023, replacement of the Green Canyon tank liner, chip-seal on Alpine Way, and asphalt on Brambleberry Drive. The bid notices were repeated this week in the Star Valley Independent and can be seen at this link [refer to pages 18A and 19A]. A third and final bid notice will be published on August 23rd.
This week the TSVR NRB installed a safety fence near the Cedar Creek Trailhead. The fencing cordons off an area where Cedar Creek drains into a culvert. With the heavy spring runoff this season, the drainage area had become increasingly eroded and frequently clogged with debris presenting a safety issue for those passing by on their way to access the Cedar Creek Trail. Here are a few photos of the newly protected area.
Before and after photos of the safety fence installation near the Cedar Creek trailhead. The annual financial audit for the Town of Star Valley Ranch began this week. Annual audit results are usually presented during the November Town Council meeting.
Calendar items for next week include:
Wednesday, August 23rd at 1pm a TSVR Water Utility Board meeting will be held at Town Hall. [I believe this meeting is intended to focus on water rates.]
Also on Wednesday, August 23rd at 5pm the TSVR Planning and Zoning Board will hold their second meeting of the month at Town Hall.
Saturday, August 26th, the next-to-last TSVR Farmers Market event of the season will be held from 8am to 11am across from Town Hall at the First Response Center.
Also on Saturday, August 26th at 6pm the SVRA will hold a Taco Potluck at the Barn.
Thanks for reading and please share the Close to Home 307 website with your Ranch friends and neighbors. As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and tips about Ranch happenings as potential future content on Close to Home 307. Email me at: close2home307@gmail.com