The most involved part of the Road Chair position is managing the “spring cleanup” phase of the year.

No one likes potholes, and if you’ve ever lived off of unpaved roads, you’ll know this is a season in North Idaho all onto itself.

For those who’ve always enjoyed paved roads, Pothole Season is when winter subsides and dirt roads begin to thaw and come undone before they’ve thawed enough to do any meaningful repair.

Try getting the owners of 300 properties through this in-between phase after they JUST paid their annual dues.

Bottom line: the permafrost can’t be exposed or dirt roads will turn to mud with more rain. See “under grader” pic as an example of how little grading can be done in this phase.

Photos and detailed explanations for the community have been instrumental in earning trust and support of our efforts, particularly through spring cleanup.

This is the equivalent of having (and keeping) construction client buy-in.

The Road Chair must also coordinate rock distribution projects including seeing through board approvals all plans + budget proposals, and then coordinating with the Road Crew on staffing and timing of projects with respect to weather + road conditions, and sometimes, communication with the paving company on materials or pricing, all to maximize our investment, stretch every dollar.

Work progress + wrap-up must be reported to residents with care, and questions then fielded with even greater care. This keeps my Client Communication skills honed.

You’re probably wondering, at this point, how much dues are here in Spirit Lake East. They’re just $265 A YEAR!

If you’d like to learn more about what goes into rock + grading projects to get a glimpse into the planning + execution required of the Road Chair & Crew, you can check out the Spirit Lake East Blog HERE.