Perseid Meteor & the Andromeda Galaxy photo by David Stahl · trimming requests as members’ summer landscaping work winds down. R&D reported the completion of several summer stormwater

October 2016 LINKS web site: www.hhmcsequim.org Editor e-mail: [email protected] Page 1

Perseid Meteor & the Andromeda Galaxy photo by David Stahl

Rainbows by Davi Witt (top) and Marilynn Elliot (bottom)


President’s Message – October 2016 As you receive and read this month’s HHMC message we will be getting deep into autumn and the 2016 general election season. We will also be getting prepared for our Highland Hills annual general membership meeting (the “AGM”) here on the Hill. You will soon be receiving (either by US Mail or electronically via our HHMC website Members-only area) a number of items for your study and consideration. Included will be reports of activities of your Association since the last AGM, the Trustees’ recommended 2017 budget proposal, a member ballot and other materials. It is very important that you complete and submit your ballot because we have legal requirements to achieve a quorum (>34%) of eligible voters to assure our non-profit corporation can function effectively. Please take your responsibility as an HHMC member/voter seriously and VOTE, either by casting your vote in person at the AGM or by submitting your completed and signed ballot by US Mail or by e-mail. Because our Association operates very efficiently as an all-volunteer organization our members pay very modest annual dues (“Assessments”) for services received when compared to most HOA’s and Co-ops. As has been recent practice, once again your Board will be submitting to you for ratification a 2017 budget that features a reduction in the annual assessment versus the 2016 level. With sound planning and good management the Board anticipates that we can maintain a reasonably steady annual assessment level for the foreseeable future. By trimming various 2017 planned expenditures we feel we can achieve a significant 2017 dues reduction even while accommodating a modest increase in our Emergency Reserve Fund to give us a little more “rainy-day” insurance. Please review the proposed budget when you have access to the documents and don’t hesitate to ask questions of Board members, or submit your questions to [email protected], or bring questions to the forum at the AGM on November 16th. There are a couple of issues that Board members would like to hear your opinions on, either via direct communication, electronically or preferably in open floor discussion at the AGM:

1) What do you think of the Board’s recommendation to only fund an independent professional audit of HHMC finances at five-year intervals?

2) What is your interest-level in community-wide emergency preparedness/disaster planning? 3) In future budgeting, should the Board propose only routine maintenance and repair projects

for our existing roads & drainage infrastructure; or should enhancements (“capital improvements”) such as safety, risk reduction, and new installation projects be budgeted?

The latter issue ---“maintenance & repair only” vs ”capital improvements” inclusion --- is a contentious current Board of Trustees’ issue so member input would be especially appreciated. While 2017 budgeting discussions were the most important part of the October Board of Trustees’ meeting, several other activities were covered, including summaries of recent Architectural Control Committee (ACC) as well as Roads & Drainage Committee (R&D) happenings. ACC has been monitoring a handful of new construction and remodel projects and has processed a significant number of tree removal and trimming requests as members’ summer landscaping work winds down. R&D reported the completion of several summer stormwater drainage system projects, each now ready for testing by fall and winter rains. Drainage projects completed included:

a) Mowing/cleaning of all seven miles of roadside ditches;

Inside: President’s Message 2 Emergency Preparation 5 Weather 6 Mad Hatter’s Tea Party 7 Photos and Comments 8 Day Trip 10

Important Dates

Board Meeting November 2 December 7 Annual General Meeting November 16 @ 7 pm

mailto:[email protected]


b) Maintaining, and inspecting (by independent technical professionals), all five of our detention basins;

c) Completing the installation of a covered culvert below the Highland Hills Falls in the north Doe Run S-curves, protecting the road edge and increasing safety;

d) Completing installation of a culvert connection (formerly an unprotected open ditch) from our Basin #4 outflow to the greenbelt/Highland Irrigation ditch-crossing culvert); and

e) Completing a new concrete spillway on the west bank of our large Detention Basin #6 to protect the berm from uncontrolled “dike-burst” erosion in case of basin overfills.

Photos of the latter three projects are included in this edition of The Highlander. Part of our sanitary sewer and stormwater disposal/processing agreement with the City of Sequim (they accept our outflows, for which each HHMC resident member pays a premium sewer charge) requires us to annually provide to the City with the results of our drainage system independent inspection report, and our response to it. In addition to a letter report this year, the City requested a briefing by the inspectors and an on-site visit to the basins. In mid-September we were visited by the City Public Utilities Resources Manager and the City Chief Engineer for a successful briefing and tour. With major 2016 projects now completed, R&D is currently readying for winter clean-up and routine road, ditch and basin maintenance activities, as well as arranging for ice and snow removal services. HHMC’s Welcoming Committee has announced a second 2016 new resident Welcoming Party (October 15th) since home sales have continued at a surprising pace since mid-summer. Also, undeveloped lot sales in Highland Hills seem to be picking up lately. With ballot issues identified and nominations now in place it is time for the Board to issue the AGM data packets for perusal of all HHMC Members. Info will be available soon, so be alert and aware---and please peruse! Plan to attend the November AGM if you can, and be sure and vote even if you can’t attend.

Ted Johnson

Basin #6 Spillway Project Lower Basin #4 Channel Tight-line Project


Basin#3 Outflow S-curve Ditch Before (top) and After Tightlining (bottom)


GET READY, GET SET.... EMERGENCY PREP UPDATE

As I write this, a once in fifty year storm is threatening us here in Highland Hills. And even though I thought we were pretty well-prepared, I still had to find and/or buy a couple of items. Luckily in this emergency, we've had days of advance warning. That may not always be the case.

WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR

We had over 40 people come to the first Highland Hills, "Get Ready, Get Set" emergency preparation meeting! A team of three Experts/First-Responders from the County Emergency Management office, reinforced in stark terms, Sequim's vulnerabilities in the face of an emergency, and the importance of taking action steps now. And they clearly laid out the important first steps to take. They organized attendees by neighborhood and led multiple "Map Your Neighborhood" (MYN) sessions, which a number of neighborhoods around Sequim including Emerald Highlands, have all completed. Neighborhood groups should be following up, to actually map the locations of propane tanks, meet neighbors and exchange critical information. The County Experts reinforced this fact: in an emergency situation, neighborhoods that have organised in advance do far, far better than those trying to do it in the heat of an emergency.

WHATS NEXT

Our next meeting comes at the invitation of the Chief of the County FIre Dept. He contacted us, urging we organize this session. Further, they have invited us to have the meeting down to the County Fire Hall and who doesn't want to see the firetrucks! Times and dates are still TBD, we will get word out when timing is confirmed. If you are in town, We urge you attend this important session and meet-up with your neighbors. For more info:

Visit the Highland Hills site, it has some excellent resources and info, very well organized. o http://www.hhmcsequim.org/Safety.html

Contact: Don Baron, [email protected] , 360.808.2873

http://www.hhmcsequim.org/Safety.html

mailto:[email protected]


Our Monthly Weather

Stormy Weather

After a period of relatively mild weather (light rain followed by sunshine), a couple of back-to-back storms are moving through the area. As usual, the Olympic Mountains are protecting Sequim from the onslaught of heavy rain and high winds. We are getting about 1/3rd to 1/2 of rainfall that the Puget Sound and Vancouver Island are receiving. These storms should cause the Dungeness River to start flowing higher, it has been very low lately. No salmon at Railroad Bridge yet, I expect that to change soon, meaning no dog walking among the smelly spawning fish. Today is day 2 of the above mentioned storms, and there is a ton of snow atop the Olympic Mountains! This bodes well for the rest of the year.

All measurements are taken at 600’. Precipitation is measured daily at 7 am.

2016 2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015 Precipitation Precipitation Snowfall Snowfall High High Low Low

(In.) (In.) (In.) (In.) °F °F °F °F

January 1.74 2.59 0.0 0.0 61 58 29 28

February 1.92 3.20 0.0 0.0 57 54 36 35

March 2.51 3.27 0.0 0.0 70 53 36 34

April .91 .66 0.0 0.0 81 67 45 37

May .75 .41 0.0 0.0 75 82 46 43

June 1.49 .40 0.0 0.0 88 92 45 47

July .53 .52 0.0 0.0 71 91 51 46

August .20 .83 0.0 0.0 90 90 47 46

September 1.20 1.25 0.0 0.0 75 82 46 45

Month to Date (Oct 15th) 1.73 .81 0.0 0.0 61 45 42 46

Annual Totals 12.98 13.94 0.0 0.0 90 91 29 28

Running Year Total (10/16/15 - 10/15/16) 25.34

0.0

90

27


Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Annual Event to Promote Breast Cancer Awareness and Operation Uplift

About 195 women, including many from Highland Hills, attended the sold-out event to raise awareness about breast cancer, support survivors and commemorate those lost to the disease on Friday October 7. Attendees were wearing hats from the chic to the comedic. As always, bras in pinks and purples featured prominently as hat decorations.

Operation Uplift is a nonprofit cancer support group that was founded in Port Angeles in 1983 that provides support for survivors of all types of cancer, both men and women.

Operation Uplift and the Olympic Medical Cancer Center (OMCC) in Sequim received donations of $3,500 each from the Mad Hatters at the event.

One of Many Highland Hills Tables Photo by Audrey Gift


Photos and Comments

South side resident David Stahl writes: “The attached photo is an opportunity for Highland Hills residents who live on the north side of the hill to see what has happened to Burnt Hill this summer and fall. My sense is that all the clear-cutting is related to the dramatic increase in cougar and coyote sightings in Highland Hills over the past six months. In the 2005 to 2015 window I was aware of but one or two reported cougar sightings while this year that have been four that I’ve heard about. My neighbor was ‘ear witness’ to a cougar killing of a deer recently and noted that deer stayed away from her property for some time after that. I also have noticed that the annual fall visits of deer to my front lawn haven’t occurred this year.” Maybe that explains why those of us who live on the north side have noticed many more deer this year than the last few years.

Happy Valley Fall Scene Photo by David Stahl


Nice Buck Photo by Marilynn Elliot

Eyeing Fuchsia Photo by Marilynn Elliot Munching Fuchsia Photo by Marilynn Elliot


Day Trip for Halloween

On the front page of the Friday, October 14th edition of the Peninsula Daily News is an article featuring the Port Townsend Twisted Mystery Tour. The tour encompasses many of the “haunted” places and “shanghai” tunnels in town. Sounds like a lot of fun, especially if you combine it with lunch or dinner in one of the fine town eating establishments.

For details click on this link: http://www.tourporttownsend.com/Haunts.html

http://www.tourporttownsend.com/Haunts.html

Documents

Perseid Meteor & the Andromeda Galaxy photo by David Stahl · trimming requests as members’ summer landscaping work winds down. R&D reported the completion of several summer stormwater