King County recently received a FEMA grant to design, permit and construct a flood mitigation project for Wilderness Rim. The work will be done in phases, with some starting this summer (2015) and other parts continuing in future summers estimating to complete in 2017.

This Wednesday, April 15^th at 7 PM in the Chalet, King County project engineers plan to give a brief overview of the proposal and timeline for work.  The community is invited to hear the proposal and ask questions before the regularly scheduled board meeting at 7:30 PM.

Below is the proposal that was presented to the community in 2012.  Please feel free to reach out to office@wildernessrim.org if you have any questions.

One of the most popular ways for thieves to steal your identity is through your mailbox.  Here are some tips to help prevent mail theft:

1. During the holidays, don’t leave outgoing mail in an unlocked mailbox.

2. Take your outgoing mail to a blue collection box (there is one at the fire station in the Rim) or the post office, and don’t leave your mail in a collection box that is full.

3. Pick up your mail right away after it is delivered.

4. Get a locked mailbox and make sure that the mail slot is big enough for the letter carrier to insert your mail.

5. Have regular income checks deposited electronically into your bank account via direct deposit.

6. If you are expecting credit cards, checks or other valuable mail and don’t receive them, promptly contact the senders.

7. If you see suspicious activity on your street promptly call 911 and report it to police and safety@wildernessrim.org.

8. You may want to “opt out” of receiving pre-approved credit and insurance offers from the credit bureau mailing lists by calling 1-888-5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or by visiting online at www.optoutprescreen.com.

Here in Wilderness Rim, the power is serviced by Puget Sound Energy.  PSE customers can now get a mobile reporting app to keep tabs on power outages.  According to a PSE media release, the app is available for most web-enabled smartphones and tablets. It can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Even if the electricity is out at a customer’s home or business, they can still access the app to get the information they need.
Key features of the app include:

• Report power outages to PSE
• View a map of outages
• Get estimated restoration times
• See the number of customers affected in neighborhoods
• Report natural gas emergencies

PSE customers can download the new app to their Apple iOS, Android and Windows smartphones and tablets from the various app stores. Search for “Puget Sound Energy” or “myPSE.” The easiest way to report an outage is to use the app. To do that, customers use their myPSE account information to log in; they can also quickly set up their account on the app if they need to.  Outage reports can also be made at PSE.com or by calling 1-888-225-5773.

The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) is a group of elected members who are responsible for dealing with issues of the Wilderness Rim Covenants.  The covenants were set up in 1967 when the Rim was organized by the American Pacific Corporation.  These rules are designed to protect homeowners and ensure the most beneficial development, as well as prevent activities that might diminish the value or enjoyment of our beautiful residential area.

One of the most misunderstood covenants is Covenant #4 which covers the keeping of animals.  It states that no livestock, poultry or animals can be raised, bred, or kept on any lot.  This does not include “house pets” like dogs and cats, but breeding or sales of these animals commercially is prohibited.

The reasons for the no livestock covenant are as follows:

1. Health issues:  Poultry especially carry Salmonella bacteria on their bodies and in feces.  They can also carry viruses and fungi that can be infectious to humans.  All livestock can harbor parasites and attract flies and other noxious insects.
2. Rodent attraction: Food bits and feces attract rats, mice, and other small animals.
3. Predator attraction: Chickens and other small animals attract large predators like bears, coyotes, and cougars, all which live in our area.  These predators are a danger to animals as well as to humans.  More about Washington State law and predator attraction can be found here:  http://wildernessrim.org/bear-sightings-and-washington-law/
4. Noise and smell: Live animals can negatively impact the enjoyment on our neighborhood.

All the Covenants are posted on our website (www.wildernessrim.org/legal).  Questions can be sent to ARC at ARC@wildernessrim.org or give the office a call.  Please check future newsletters and the website for explanations of WRA’s other covenants.

We had Paige Igoe of Washington State Department of Health come to the Rim to do a Sanitary Survey.  The meeting consisted of Ernie Henrie (WRA), Page Igoe (DoH), Denny Scott (Sallal/WRA Water System Operator) and Jessica Besso (WRA). The meeting lasted for nearly two hours and some of the action items requested were:

• Being prepared for a possible future Bacteria/E.coli event in the Rim
• Planning for a meter replacement program
• Following up on our Cross Connection Control Program
• Fire flow (fighting a fire reduces the water pressure in the surrounding community)

These topics will be discussed and plans formulated to implement these needed programs. At this time we are still waiting for the engineer’s report so we can review it in detail. To implement some of these programs will be very easy and some will not. The fire flow and meter replacement programs will be very costly to implement and take much time while the cross connection control and E.coli programs will be far easier to initiate.

Also, WRA will be applying for water rights with Washington State Department of Ecology. This will be quite a process so stay tuned!

Want to be involved? Contact Water@wildernessrim.org or come to the committee meetings on the second Wednesday of each month.