21100 Cayuse Street

Leavenworth, WA 98826 US

+1 (509) 763-0320

Main Office Telephone

Mon - Fri: 9:00 - 2:00

Office Hours of Operation

Pondo Webcam

River View & Timelapse

Board Meeting April 8th 9am Clubhouse

Quiet Time: 10pm-7am, Weekends & Holidays: 10pm-8am

We’re pleased to present to you the 2022 Annual Water Quality Report. This report is designed to inform you about our water quality and the water services we deliver to you every day. We are committed to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water distribution process and protect our water resources. The report can be found in the Members Only section under Water Quality Reports.

The Nov 22nd – Dec 10th election has concluded. Tabulation Results Found Here.

Ponderosa members did a great job this year to reduce the wildfire risk to your community. Due to your efforts, we have received the Firewise 2022 certificate of recognition.

Please visit the Experiences page to see the results.

The board has cancelled the scheduled Pine Needle Drop for May 2023 due to construction activity of the Maintenance shop. Contact Winton Mfg. Compost Works as a possible alternate drop location. The October 2023 Pine Needle drop is still planned activity.

pondo-logo-white

Welcome
To The
Ponderosa

welcome to The Ponderosa

Latest Letter To Membership
March 27, 2023

Welcome

Welcome! This is the official website of the Ponderosa Community Club (Pondo) provides information about its history, features, rules and benefits. Most of this website is general in nature, however, the Members Only section requires a login with official credentials. We hope you enjoy learning about our community and if you have additional questions, please contact us. ​

Our Mission

The Ponderosa Community Club’s mission is to create and maintain a safe and welcoming community which enhances recreational and residential living through active membership participation, visionary leadership, and commitment to sustainability and harmony with the natural environment.​

Pool Access

Our pool is for members/long term renters and their accompanied guests only, and is not available for use by short term rental tenants and their guests, CCC 11.99.290 et al. Please see additional pool rules in the members only section and posted at the pool. Open from Memorial weekend to Labor Day weekend; Wednesday-Monday 9am-9pm, first hour and last hour of the day are reserved for Quiet Hour. No Lifeguard on Duty!

Fireworks & Campfires

Discharge of Fireworks is prohibited in Chelan County (This includes Snakes and Sparklers). CCC 7.44. Outdoor Fire Pits, Fireplaces, Campfire areas must be approved. Dimensions shall not be larger than 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height. Fires allowed only with permission from Lake Wenachee Fire & Rescue.

Needler News & Event Calendar

Local Weather

Air Quality

Pondo Webcam

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Pondo Webcam

5 minute update. Click image for 4K

Not updating? Possible power outage.

How things work in our neck of the woods.

Fire Restrictions

Attended burning now open.

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RiverCom 911 – Emergency Call 9-1-1
Fire Weather Zone 696​

© 2023 Ponderosa Community Club, Inc. (Not affiliated with Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter)

© 2023 Ponderosa Community Club, Inc.
(Not affiliated with Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter)

Letter TO PONDEROSA MEMBERSHIP

Dear Members

Just a short note to bring you up to speed with what has been happening in the Ponderosa.

Warmer temperatures are finally starting to melt the snow! With the mountains of snow receding, the roads are starting to widen out and we are discovering a plethora of “dog piles” everywhere. While a few are in little blue bags, most are not. Please remember to pick up after your pets. We appreciate the people that are at least putting the piles in the bags, but please dispose of the bags properly as well.

And, as long as we are on the subject of dogs, we have had a series of loose dog issues lately. Please remember that all dogs must be under voice control or leashed per Chelan County Ordinance. “Voice control” as defined in the ordinance, states that “the owner must be present” with the dog. Please do not allow your dogs to run loose and unsupervised, keep them under your control.

With the warmer weather, expect the bears to be coming out of hibernation. Please secure your garbage cans and do not put them out until early Monday morning. When the bears come, if there is no garbage for them to pick through, they will move on.

There are 2 openings for Board of Trustee positions this year. Please consider volunteering to run for one of the open positions. Members of the Board guide our community into the future. Please contact any Board member or the Office if you have any questions or are interested in volunteering.

The Watershed Committee has secured a grant to perform some restoration and expansion work on the existing Firefighter Safety Zone in the greenbelt area above Saddle St. near the power lines. The committee is hoping that the Board will give its final approval at the next scheduled Board meeting on April 8 th. It has been a long time since it has been maintained, so it is quite overgrown and smaller than today’s standards. You should expect some tree removal and clearing work to be done once approved. This is a cleared safety area for firefighters to assemble should they be overrun by a wildfire in our community. This is NOT an area for members to assemble, members should be evacuated and gone long before any wildfire overruns the Ponderosa. Hopefully, we are never in that situation.

The maintenance staff is starting demolition of the old maintenance shop building. The contractor will be starting to bring in equipment and materials in mid-April to start underground, grade, and concrete work for the new steel building. The building is scheduled to be delivered at the beginning of May for assembly later in the month. We will be installing a new power service to the shop, which will be underground from the corner of Morgan and Cayuse so we will be temporarily closing Cayuse St. while we lay the conduit. We will send out a notice when we close the road, we don’t expect the closure to be more than a day, but we will keep you posted.

Other projects for this year include but is not limited to, placement of the new soccer goals, replacement of the volleyball net system that a four-point buck decided to remove last fall, adding more lounge chairs in the pool area, installing fencing around the pickleball court, completing the telemetry update on the water system, cleaning ditches, and adding/replacing mailbox kiosks.

If you have ideas or suggestions for us, please let us know.

Sincerely

Daryn Wilbur
Manager
Ponderosa Community Club Inc.

Dear Members

Just a short note to bring you up to speed with what’s happening in the Ponderosa.

There was a cougar spotted last Sunday roaming throughout Ponderosa. The Dept. of Fish and Wildlife was notified, and they came out and successfully transported it to a new home without harm.

With the short break from the falling snow, the maintenance crew has been working on removing snow from the cul-de-sacs and other areas as needed. We have had an extraordinary winter so far so please bear with us as we make room for the next round.

Next week, Bob the Caretaker will be posting a short video regarding garbage cans in the road on the Ponderosa Community Facebook page. The waste management truck can reach out up to 5’ to pick up a garbage/recycling can. The video will show you how far away from the road that you can place your cans without worrying that they won’t be picked up. Please do not put your cans in the road as it interferes with our ability to keep the roads clear and pull your cans back in once they are emptied.

Unfortunately, we have had to tow a few cars that were parked in the road. When vehicles are parked in the road, it not only hinders our ability to keep the road plowed, but more importantly, it also interferes with emergency vehicles. Please remind your family, friends, and tenants that parking in the road is not allowed. If you need a place to park until your driveway is cleared, please let us know and you can park in the clubhouse parking lot until your driveway is cleared.

The Office manager/bookkeeper has moved on. We wish her the best in her future endeavors. We are looking for a Bookkeeper/Office admin. If you or anybody you know is looking for a part-time office position, are proficient in Microsoft Office suite and QuickBooks, please feel free to contact the Office.

Daryn Wilbur
Manager
Ponderosa Community Club Inc.

Voting from November 22nd – December 10th, 2022. On the ballot are two issues, the 2023 Budget and Annual Audit. Please Vote!

August 17, 2022

Dear PCC Members,

On the second Saturday of each month the Board meets to provide direction on the ongoing operations of the Ponderosa Community. These meetings are open to all members with an option to join in person or online. This email is to provide a reminder of existing rules as it relates to fires, signs and dogs. This is also to inform the membership of an update from the most recent August 13, 2022, Board Meeting. There were two additions to the Fine schedule as outlined in the Operating Procedures for Littering and Illegal Dumping that could have an impact to some members.

Fires – Burn Ban
Chelan County imposed a complete burn ban on all fires in Chelan County on August 11,
2022. The Ponderosa fine for an illegal fire during a burn ban is $1000.00 for the first
offense. The fine will double for each offense thereafter. Please do not have any fires
during the County imposed burn ban.

Signs – Not Allowed on Trees
Signs placed or mounted on trees is a violation of Chelan County Code 11.92.040. Ponderosa has followed and enforced the County Ordinance regarding signs on trees owned by Ponderosa. The only signs that we allow to be posted on trees are the blue reflective address signs for the Fire Department. Please check with the office prior to attaching any signs to the trees on the front of your property along the road. In many cases, those trees are on Ponderosa property. If there are signs already posted on trees in front of your property, please either remove them or contact the office to verify if they are on your property or not.

Dogs – Must be under voice control or on leash
The office has received several complaints regarding dogs running loose in the greenbelt areas and barking and howling at all hours of the night. Please remember that all dogs must be in control of their owners, not allowed to harass wildlife or otherwise disturb the public. Not only does this violate Ponderosa Greenbelt rules, but also Chelan County Code. Per our Bylaws and Operating Procedures, Code violations will be reported to the County if the issues are not resolved.

(New Rule) Garbage – Bears and Wildlife
Due to the extreme increase in local bear and wildlife activity, mainly due to garbage containers being unsecured, the Board added additional rules to the fine schedule regarding unsecured garbage. The volume of garbage that has been littered on homeowner property and scattered to other owners property is significant. We as a community need to take every action to secure the garbage for the health and safety of our community and for the bears that are among us. The garbage is required to be fully secured until the day of garbage pick-up. If you unsecure on Sunday or any other day this has led to the problem we face today.

 

  • (New Fine) Littering – When littering occurs on a homeowner’s property, which could include wildlife gaining access to your garbage it is considered to be littering regardless of location or how it is secured. If wildlife is able to access the garbage through whatever means it is littering. This includes bird feeders and other sources of food. (RCW 70A.200.060)
  • (New Fine) Illegal Dumping – When illegal dumping occurs on another homeowner’s property or Ponderosa Property, which could include another homeowners or Ponderosa Property garbage can. (RCW 70A.200.060)
  • RCW 77.15.790 states that it is unlawful to negligently attract bears to an area or building. Violation of this RCW could lead to a $1000.00 fine issued by Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
  • Waste Management can provide wildlife resistant cans, you may contact them here: https://www.wmnorthwest.com/chelancounty/index.html or call at 877-466-4668.
  • Please do your part. Secure your garbage!

If you have any questions, concerns or need to report an incident please contact the office at 509-763-0320

End of State of Emergency

PROCLAMATION OF CIVIL EMERGENCY THE PONDEROSA COMMUNITY CLUB . PDF

January 11th, 2022
While we continue to address roads and the impacts of the most recent snowfall, we are officially ending the State of Emergency. A huge thank you to the Ponderosa staff, volunteers and firefighters who have been working around the clock to ensure the safety of our community. For our last communication during this emergency we continue to have highlights below.

Mountain Passes
 Snoqualmie Pass and Blewett Pass continue to be open. White Pass remains closed and unsure of when it will open. Stevens Pass may open tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12. Please monitor the Washington State Department of Transportation for openings and closures.

Ponderosa Status
 Last night we had freezing rain, which caused additional issues with the roads. They continue to be difficult to navigate and need to be driven with patience and caution. The county plow ended up in the ditch on Camp 12 this morning. Corners are hard to see around and they are mostly a single lane. The Ponderosa dump truck is down and was towed to Wenatchee. Meanwhile, we were able to hire a snow blower to work on Shetland, widened Corral, parts of Saddle, Stirrup and Palamino. With the dump truck down, we cannot pull snow out of the cul-de-sacs yet, but it should be back by the middle of next week. Tomorrow is a maintenance day, we have multiple repairs to do on the rest of the equipment, we hope to continue working on mailboxes and hydrants and we need to get to the clubhouse. We also had to get a couple of water vaults exposed so we could turn off water to a couple of houses that were having issues.

Ending State of Emergency
 We are officially ending the STATE OF EMERGENCY. However, as the roads continue to be difficult to navigate and not everything has been able to be cleared, we are asking folks who come over to be patient and well prepared. Some key things to know if you are coming to the Ponderosa or intend to rent it out:

1. DO NOT PARK IN THE ROADWAY – There continues to be several properties that have limited or no access to the driveway. Before you come to the Ponderosa arrange to have your driveway plowed to sufficiently park a vehicle that does not block the roadway.
2. BE PREPARED IF YOU COME TO PONDEROSA – We continue to have our limited resources available to clear roadways and are not at the point to assist individual members in accessing driveways and dwellings. If you do come, be prepared for all conditions and may not be able to access your property at this time. Prior to your arrival you will need to have your driveway plowed to be able to park. As the staff are using all resources, there is extremely limited availability to have your driveway privately plowed at this time.
3. SHORT-TERM RENTALS – If you are a homeowner who is renting out as a short-term rental do not rent your home out until the driveway has been privately plowed and there is access to the home. With several feet drifts of snow and several feet high berms, unless your property has been plowed and cleared to the home your renter will not be able to access. The Ponderosa is not equipped or responsible for the clearing of your driveway or access to your home. Currently, our traditional snowplow drivers that provide private snow clearing have been assisting the clearing of the roads and may not be available to clear your driveway at this time. Offer them the patience and consideration in addition to the Ponderosa staff who have been working around the clock to ensure the safety of our community.
4. LIMITED RESOURCES – Leavenworth and Plain continue to be short on grocery items. There is still NO gas available in the area. If members or renters come over, they absolutely need to be prepared and not rely on local services at this point.

Thank you all for your patience and a huge thank you to the Ponderosa Staff and Volunteers!!!

Open Board Position.
Volunteer Needed.

If you are interested in serving your community as a Ponderosa Trustee and Board Member, please contact the Ponderosa office. Trustee’s responsibilities can be found in the Bylaws section 2.2.

EMERGENCY CONTACTS

Law Enforcement or Medical Emergency

RiverCom 911

Call : 9-1-1

Ponderosa Community Club Emergency

Primary Emergency #

(509) 860-6697

Secondary Emergency #

(425) 750-2289

Comments About Admin & Finance Reports

  1. See board feedback.

Comments About Ponderosa Signs

  1. Too many signs. Just because you put them up doesnt mean people read them. They should be safety only.
  2. One way signs on COLT ROAD need to be clearer or increase number. I see too many people going the wrong way.  Speeding on COLT ROAD continues to be an issue.
  3. Clean and maintain walking shoulders of the roads.

Comments About The Swimming Pool

  1. Pool has been super cold this year a couple of different times and to the point where my kids (or myself) would not or could not go in or stay in. We pay for this amenity and the heat should be fixed or the heaters replaced to resolve. Other families have also had this issue.
  2. Provide a pool monitor to control garbage, reckless behavior etc.
  3. Pool was cold many times this summer and we could not use it. This is one of the reasons we purchased in the Pondo community and it impacted our summer.

Comments About President's Communication

  1. Mary Cox used to send out regular, and informative communication. She would talk about the weather forecasts, upcoming events, and actually make them sound like fun.
  2. I think there should be more push notifications that alert people to login to check on new items or posts. Can’t just login everyday to check on changes. Gets to be a pain.

Comments About the Playground

  1. I believe we could add more activities.

Comments About The Clubhouse

  1. We should add some non summer activities such as pool table, pingpong, indie games etc.
  2. Daily access for members with pool card access. Pool table, reading area etc. Winter time gathering area for coffee, conversation etc…

Comments About The Office

  1. The office should have a presence on the weekends – at the very least on Saturday. So many people need to communicate with the office on weekends and it isn’t open.
  2. Anytime I’ve dealt with the office, it’s not been a pleasant experience. I’m a resident here, I pay my dues and I’m not sure why we get treated like second class citizens. I have replied to a few emails that have come from the office but they’re ignored. I don’t get why.
  3. Improve Response time of email requests.

Comments About Board Communications

  1. I would like to see more updates and communications from the BOD.
  2. When asking for approvals to spend the money that is the budget (like $60k just asked for), I’d appreciate to see report on what options we considered.
    Example: Is the roof replacement based on just one quote or a few, and can we see those quotes? If not, why?
  3. Communication tends to be passive. This has been an ongoing issue for a number of years. The recent updates from the President have been a big improvement. Sometimes you have to reach out, via email updates for example, and not require members to hunt for info on the website.
    Also please continue to have the Board Meetings available on ZOOM. This has been a big help as well.

Comments About Snow Plowing & Sanding

  1. Why do they ALWAYS plow huge berms in front of our driveway, usually AFTER I have cleared it to get out! The other side of the street does NOT have traffic so why can’t they use some common sense and courtesy and plow to the other side?
  2. More sand on both up and down the hill.
  3. There is a way to get it done without it looking like a war zone. Also, you could be more courteous to residents by not putting huge berms in front of their driveways.
  4. The truck skips the corral road to the right of the mailboxes off stetson. We need it sanded regularly and especially when garbage pickup on Monday am. We had several times where we could not get garbage pickup in the winter last year. Also, we saw other cars and a tow truck get stuck but when sand was added it was resolved.
  5. Plow more frequently and lay salt so we don’t have and inch of ice on the roads all winter.
  6. The plowing makes a massive berm in front of all drives. Perhaps having someone come through and push the berm to one side of the drive would be helpful for those not able to knock the berm down prior to it freezing. In addition, we understand bus routes are the key, but services like garbage, have trouble accessing the hills during heavy snow fall. It would be nice to have the hills sanded and cared for after these larger snow falls ahead of garbage pickup.
  7. We had several instances of Corral not being sanded at our end and the garbage truck would not come to our houses despite being in the neighborhood. This led to garbage backup. Additionally, there is a treacherous, icy hill/corner on Corral as it turns onto the Shetland corner that was not sanded regularly. Finally, we saw other cars get stuck on our road due to icy conditions and once sand was spread, the car could travel on the road. We would like Corral/Shetland roads sanded regularly like all of the other roads and also priority on Monday AM for garbage pickup.

Comments About Road Surface & Quality

  1. Roads bread up fast, especially in the Winter time. It takes too long to fill them in and in the mean time, the potholes get so bad, they can cause traffic hazards.
  2. Loose gravel on stirrup could be fixed as it’s been a while.
  3. The amount of potholes, thinness of the chipseal layer exposed by them, was shocking this year. The base looked shabby as well. Whoever did the roadwork initially did a poor job; it should have lasted much longer before it strted falling apart. aaathe exeption would be the hill where there is ground water, although there should have been some mitigation completed on that so it doesnt reoccur.
  4. Pot holes on upper Bridle need to be filled in again.

Comments About Dust Control

  1. Oil and/or sweep the streets more than once a year. There are WAY too many needles on the roads which can be a fire hazard as well as causing too much dust on them.
  2. The street sweeper should rented or hired more than the once per year in the spring. Pin needles and other debris accumulate too and can be slippery, especially when walking. They can also mask holes or dips potentially causing falls.