Newsletter

May 2026

George Crank

From our President

I’ve been a bit worried, as you probably have too, about our water situation in the Uintas and

specifically, Uintalands. The Bear River Basin, as of early May, is sitting at a meager 36% of normal. So, what does that mean for our Association?
Our water system is fed by a natural spring.

You may have seen the access point off of Uinta Dr. on your way out of UL at the upper gate. We have pumps that send that water to our large holding tank on Fir Lane. That water is then fed throughout the association and Doug, our caretaker, monitors usage at several meter points.
Over time, I can see that we use between 800,000 and 1.1 million gallons of water per month during the summer months. I’m wondering if we can all take ownership in reducing our water usage this year by considering the following:

Leaky toilets waste 50-100 gallons per day!
Dripping faucets waste 1-11 gallons per day
Low-flow shower heads save about six gallons of water per shower
Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
No outside irrigation is allowed as per our Protective Covenants

I ask each of you to repair that toilet or faucet,

invest in a new shower head if you can, abide by
our rules, and be cognizant of all your usage.
Together I feel we can weather this situation.
To help, the board will be doing some work this
summer to support owners to find and repair leaks at each lot. Your cooperation will be appreciated.

A Fish Story to Tell

Don Erekson is a UL lot owner who some of you
may know. He has been a huge advocate, among others, for our fish pond and often facilitates the necessary steps to keep our pond stocked and our fish happy.
One Wednesday in April, Don traveled to Grace, Idaho to pick up 200 10” fish that the board had authorized (paid for from donations to our pond fund). Our pond capacity is about 300 fish and we had an estimated 100 fish living in the pond.
When he got to Montpelier, and went to check on the fish, he realized that the oxygenator in the tank loaned to him by a local hatchery had failed and the fish were struggling. Don called and drove all over Montpelier, but was unable to find help and the fish sadly died.

However, upon telling this story to the hatchery and the seller, the seller offered to replace the fish at no cost.
Don graciously made a second trip to Idaho the
following week and successfully brought back our new catch-and-release ONLY slippery darlings along with some food and some anti-algae treatment.
Thank you Don and all of our UL owners who assist us with both time and finances to keep our pond viable.
Please respect the rules of the pond – and inform your guests: catch and release, barbless hooks, artificial lures and flies. No bait of any kind.

June Work Party

Not on Father’s Day Weekend this Year!
Our first, of two, work parties will be held on Saturday June 13 starting at 9:00 at the fire station.
You may want to arrive by 8:45 for assignments and meet your neighbors. You can expect to spend about 2 to 3 hours doing the various jobs that need to get done that keep our association looking its best.
Please bring work gloves and water bottle plus a chain saw and/or weed eater if you can. Watch for more details on our Facebook page and our Uintalands.com website.

No meal provided this time

Prevent this Costly Mistake

One of our lot owners recently had their land professionally surveyed in anticipation of selling their property. During this survey, they learned that a neighbor’s shed had been built straddling their property line. It was an unfortunate circumstance that needed a somewhat costly remedy but could
have been avoided.
Did you know that any time you want to build a cabin, a shed, a barn, or any other structure on your property, you need pre-approval from the Uintalands board?
To do this, simply log in to your Buildium account
(Uintalands.com/“Owners Buildium” tab) and choose “Architectural Requests”, then “Create architectural request” to get the process started.

Our designated board member acts promptly on all requests and may ask a question or two but does not unduly hold up your project.

Uintalands Merch Store

You may see some of your UL neighbors sporting a new Uintalands logo hoodie, shirt, or other merchandise thanks to our first UL clothing store offering in February.

Or, you may be wearing one yourself. Either way, we had terrific success and look forward to offering the items for sale again this summer. Watch for more details on our Facebook page, our Uintalands.com website, or a future newsletter.