Sanding & SPEED.

Hello, SLE. As you may have seen, the Road Crew sanded all the usual areas of concern.

Now that I have a little more time, I’d like to go over a few things.

- Sand is distributed for slick, icy conditions, not so that folks can maintain a higher rate of speed.

- We cannot sand daily.

- If it’s urgent, that’s an exception, and those are made on a case-by-case basis.

- From evidence left behind, speed and going too wide on roundabouts were factors yesterday.

- We want everyone to be safe on our roads and we do everything we can to make that possible.

- We also need the community’s help and ask everyone to SLOW DOWN and DRIVE CAREFULLY.

- It is winter in North Idaho and we live in a rural setting on unpaved roads and I continue to see people speeding and driving without caution.

- I agree 100% these roads are not optimal for these conditions. They were not built right nearly 50 years ago.

- This was a known quantity when we all bought here.

- As Road Chair, my goal is to lead the improvement of our roads in partnership with not just the Road Crew, but our neighbors.

- We have our job which is complicated by the poor construction of our roads and we must contend with weather, budget, etc.

- There is not an unlimited budget. For now $265 a year, we cover all plowing, sanding, grading, road base (rock), trucking, fuel, equipment, maintenance, repairs, insurance, and admin costs.

- The potholes are an issue, I agree, and all is being done that can be done given weather and other factors I’ve addressed previously.

- There are limits to what we can do here yet we stretch it far beyond the dues with donated time from volunteers and even unbilled equipment time + above and beyond mechanic time.

- Over 30 loads of rock were brought in and additional grading (40 hours donated) before the season closed out.

- As mentioned in the Jan meeting minutes, we are working to line up a roller for spring, and I cannot wait to implement this along with that higher-quality rock that will now be used as our standard.

- We also ask for your help because we are a community and everyone holds responsibility in keeping our roads safe.

- Speed is the #1 cause of accidents and the destruction of our roads.

- PLEASE SLOW DOWN.

- Also, if I provide other suggestions like the use of winter tires in winter it’s because I take my job seriously, and want everyone to be safe here and beyond SLE.

A timely example: Last week, our roads were sanded and we had zero issues in SLE, but Highway 54 was not and there were police positioned at the 41 because the highway hadn’t yet been treated and people were sliding out, and all they could do was have law enforcement there to report accidents while they waited for the roads to be managed.

- This is why I will continue to suggest how to be safe not just in our neighborhood but on our road ways here in North Idaho. To not address all factors is avoidance and that’s not my style. If it helps to keep you safe, I’m going to suggest it.

- Thanks for your time and again for driving slow and cautiously here and outside our community.

Enjoy this beautiful Sunday. Jon