February 2024
Featured Articles
Adopt-a-Hydrant
Fireplace Ash Disposal
Propane Supply Update
Snow Removal
Cal Recycle - California Redemption Value
What is the Board doing now?
Adopt-a-Hydrant
There are approximately 100 fire hydrants located throughout Kirkwood and during the winter months fire hydrants can quickly become buried in snow making it difficult for firefighters to locate and access during an emergency. In the event of a fire in your neighborhood, firefighters may spend valuable time searching for and digging out a hydrant when they could be doing other important tasks. This is where you can help. Some citizens have informally "adopted a hydrant" in their neighborhood and taken responsibility to clear snow 3 feet in all directions from the hydrant, as well as keeping it visible from the street.
How to Keep Fire Hydrants Clear
When shoveling out a hydrant, take care not to damage any of the associated piping and clear approximately three feet away from the hydrant in all directions with a clear path between the hydrant and the road. This will help firefighters access the hydrant to connect hoses and operate the hydrant.
If you notice a hydrant that is not marked with a snow pole, or have any questions please call us at (209) 258-4444.
Thank you for helping make our community safer.
Fireplace Ashes Disposal
The District, in cooperation with ACES Waste Services, provides an Ash Bin as a courtesy to our customers who need to safely dispose of ashes produced by wood stoves and fireplaces. The purpose of the Ash Bin is to prevent fires in other dumpsters which are dedicated solely for disposal of household waste. In the past, improper disposal of ashes has caused numerous fires at the dumpster pad, trash chute rooms, and even the ACES dump truck. Such events pose a serious fire threat to homes and could cause a wildland fire.
The Ash Bin is located adjacent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Loop Road and is available 24-hours a day. This bin is for ashes only. Please do not dispose other items in this dumpster including bags, boxes or bins used to transport the ashes, as that also poses a fire threat. Also please ensure that the Ash Bin is closed after use so that embers do not travel to the surrounding area. Thank you!
Cal Recycle - California Redemption Value
What is California Redemption Value (CRV)?
Good news. There are now a few more items you may be buying with a California redemption value. So, before you throw all your empty beverage items away, take a look at this.
Effective January 1, 2024, the eligible list includes beverage containers that are boxes, bladders or pouches that contain wine, distilled spirits, wine coolers, or distilled spirit coolers.
The CRV refunds for these are:
- 5 cents for containers less than 24 ounces
- 10 cents for containers 24 ounces or large
Consumers pay a California Redemption Value (CRV) fee when they purchase beverages and receive CRV refunds when they redeem containers at a recycling center or retailer (called a dealer in the program). CRV eligible beverages are packaged in: Aluminum, Glass, Plastic, and Bi-metal.
Propane Supply Update
As you may recall, last year Kirkwood experienced a huge winter with colder temperatures, avalanche concerns along the highway, (which caused numerous road closures) along with District’s propane supplier having challenges getting propane deliveries to Kirkwood. All of which contributed to some difficult times for the District with keeping our propane levels up in our propane tanks. This caused us to ask you to conserve propane on a couple of occasions and your conservation allowed us to make it through. Thank you!
Since that time, the District worked hard and found an additional propane delivery vendor, which along with the mild winter we have enjoyed this year, has allowed us to keep our propane tank levels topped off and keep with customer demand.
Moving forward, we will continue to do everything we can to keep our tanks topped off and work with our propane supply vendors to have deliveries prior to storm events.
Snow Removal
The focus for winter of 2023/24 has been on new and vigorously repaired equipment and retaining experienced operators. The District has new equipment designed for handling the edge work on the roads and a new trackless for the driveways.
Winter Parking Reminders
- Snow removal operations occur almost every day. Please avoid parking on the streets. If you MUST park on the street overnight, please plan on moving your vehicle as soon as possible the following morning.
- If you parked on a parking pad area or in your driveway, please dig your vehicle out and move it within 24-hours after a storm so that the Operators can clear the parking pads and your driveway.
- Please do not leave snow shovels, skis, building materials, firewood, etc., in your driveway at any time. Snow can cover items quickly and can create a safety issue for our snow removal operators and can damage snow removal equipment.
- During severe storm events, it is imperative that you mark your vehicle with orange snow states as vehicles can become completely buried overnight. If you're a District Snow Removal Customer, stakes are for sale at the District office for $12.50 each, while supplies last. Call the District office at (209)258-4444 to arrange your purchase.
What is the Board doing now?
In February, the Board reviewed and approved recommended actions from the KFVD Temporary Advisory Committee. Look for a Community Notice, customer survey, and new informational documents at kmpud.com this week!
Additionally, the Board created a new Energy Efficiency Rebate program which will use the Public Benefit Funds collected by the District since 2021. Look for this program to launch by July 2024.
As always, the Board encourages the public to attend and participate in the Board meetings. The next KMPUD Board meeting is on Friday, March 8th at 2:00 pm.
