Welcome to the Ranch HOA's Website (Bigfork, Montana)
About UsThe Ranch Home Owners Association (HOA) was formed when the subdivision was formed in July of 1976. It is responsible for managing the upkeep of our roads, adherence to our covenants and general oversight of our beautiful community.
For more on our board, covenants, etc. please see the pages across the top of this site. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to use the Contact Us section--we will make every attempt to address your question/concern in a timely manner. Thanks for visiting our site! Mark Smolen President Fire Safety and Emergency Exits Living with the threat of wildfire is serious here in Montana and your HOA has and continues to make every effort to keep our neighborhood safe. We mow the roadsides, clean up common areas and enforce state rules regarding vacant property. We also maintain passable emergency exits in the event Ranch Road was blocked down to Highway 35. The emergency exit is at the top of Pommel Drive exiting into Saddlehorn via the gate. The gate has a chain that can be undone in an emergency. A separate exit path off Latigo Road is maintained. The path is accessed by undoing the two chains on the middle post and simply lifting the post out of the way. A map of the exits can be seen by clicking here. We encourage you to keep your family and guests informed regarding these exits. 
Bears and Mountain Lion Sightings
Numerous sightings of lions and bears (oh my!) have been reported in the neighborhood. We've also seen moose, elk, fox, and coyotes. We live in prime habitat for animals--residents and visitors should be prepared for them. Fish and Game has asked that residents take in any feeder that might attract deer or turkeys which are prey for the larger animals. Please also keep your pets inside or in a safe area. Also keep your garbage properly stored so that the animals cannot feed. If the animals get "used" to being fed by feeders or garbage, they will pose more danger to residents and Fish and Game will have no choice but to euthanize the animal. Being in Montana means you are in these animals home territory. Enjoy our wild habitat safely and let's keep the animals safe too. Eric from Fish and Game would like to know where and when you see Mountain Lions. Please contact him directly at: (406) 756-1776 |
AnnouncementsAnnual Dues Invoice
You will be receiving your annual dues invoice around Sept 1. with a fall newsletter. Most of you receive an email version and a few still get it in the mail. This IS THE INVOICE for next year. My newsletter is also posted under the Communications page. Snow Plowing Update
We have a new vendor! Our past vendor sold out of his snowplowing business. The new vendor is SnowCountry Solutions. And they are willing to do driveways if you need plowing service. They can be reached at: (406) 241-8846 We would suggest getting on their list before they get too busy. Road Paving Complete
Thank you for your patience and for using the designated routes...it really helps! 
Spring Newsletter Released
Click here to read. Annual Meeting June 23rd 2PM - 4PM The Annual HOA Members meeting and board election were held on Sunday, June 23rd at 2PM at the High School Lobby. Thank you to all who attended. To read Meeting Minutes, click here. Ranch Water District Meeting July 22nd 1PM - 3PM Ranch Water District will hold its annual meeting July 22. All members are welcome to attend. You may also send your questions or comments ahead of time to waterops@ranchhoa.org. The meeting will be held at the offices of Chrysler and Gordon at 120 Village Ln, Bigfork, 59911. Thank you to everyone that helped with the Spring Road Cleanup Day May 18th. Special thank you to Nan and Alex for the donuts! Thank you to all who worked on our Spring Cleanup Day!
Just want to say a special thank you to all who helped and worked on our Spring Cleanup Day! We sure got a lot done in just a few hours thanks to the number of hands we had helping! THANK YOU! Mailboxes Available We have installed the third and final cluster box in the mailbox area. Boxes are available for a one-time charge of $125 (for Ranch HOA Members) made to Ranch HOA. You can use the Contact Us area to the right to let us know you want one. Snow Plowing The Ranch HOA contracts to have the roads plowed each year. Please use caution, slow down OR STOP, and give the right-of-way to the snow plow. Our service no longer offers driveway plowing. If you wish to have your driveway plowed, Adam Koehler, owner of Bigfork Snow and Lawn, LLC offers contract plowing for driveways. He can be reached at (406) 213-5133 or via email: BigforkSnowAndLawn@gmail.com Do NOT Feed the Animals Just a reminder that it's illegal to feed deer in the state of Montana. And it will likely kill them--their digestive tracks are not geared at assimilating other feed. Click Here for a great article from FWP. Reflective Address Sign Offer from Bigfork Fire Dept For $15, Bigfork Fire Department will make a reflective street number sign for your property. This helps them find you, esp. at night. You can get either a horizontal or vertical sign. Simply fill out the Order Form (PDF) and send it in with your payment. They make the signs onsite and only charge to cover the cost of materials. The HOA highly recommends we all do this. Buyer Beware! We wanted to pass along some info regarding vendors that do moss removal. We have heard from an unfortunate member of the HOA that a vendor used a ferrous-based solution and it has damaged their home. It kills the moss, but it also will ruin your roof, gutters, flashing, chimneys, etc. other solutions are available, but the vendor purportedly told an owner that those don't work as good and used this other solution. Make sure you or your vendor uses the proper solution and make sure they are insured. Road Trimming Each summer/fall, we will be conducting road trimming to meet the minimum requirements for Bigfork Fire Dept. This means we will trim up trees 12 feet high and make sure we have at least 10 feet total width going straight up from the edge of the pavement. You can help us by trimming the areas around/in front of your home. This is to ensure that BFD is able to bring the correct equipment down the road to your home if an emergency were were occur. Please Respect Private Flathead L. Lodge Property We have received a request from Flathead Lake Lodge to remind residents to not trespass onto Lodge Property or Saddlehorn. They are reporting numerous run-ins with 4 wheelers and side-by-sides which can be extremely dangerous for their guests on horses. Their property is marked and everyone should respect their wishes. New Sound Abatement Resolution With the recent spurt in construction last year, a high number of complaints and requests from the residents were fielded to do something about the noise. To that end, the Board passed and the owners have ratified this new Sound Abatement Rule(s). If you are hiring contractors, please make sure they understand and abide by them. We understand that sometimes a truck may have to come outside of the hours due to scheduling, etc. We are flexible, but please try to be respectful of your neighbors. Link to Resolution Water District New Billing Address! Please be sure to take note of the new billing address on your July water bill. Water District info can be found here. Buying or Building? If you have your eye on a parcel of land or already own and you're thinking about building, we'd like to remind everyone to check out the Covenants section of this site. You will find the Bylaws and Covenants. Both documents have rules related to construction that you need to be aware of and there is a formal Architectural Review Process. Email Newsletter or Snail-Mail??
If you would prefer to get an electronic version of our newsletters (instead of a paper copy), simply use the Contact Us section (in the next column to the right) and send us a quick note to tell us. Please make sure you enter your email address accurately! The paper takes time to mail, costs money, etc. We appreciate all the folks who have opted for the electronic delivery! Also, if your contact info (email, phone, etc.) changes, you can always use this tool to notify us! Formal notifications will always be mailed (FYI). |
Mail correspondence can be sent to:
Ranch HOA PO Box 11 Bigfork, MT 59911-0011 Email us: contact@ranchhoa[dot]org (replace the "[dot]" with a "." ) 
Remembering Jerry & Heidi
7-2-2022 and 9-1-2022 Jerry Berendt passed away the morning of 7/2 and Heidi on 9/1. They were married over 60 years lived in the Ranch for 23 years and were really the patriarch and matriarch of our community. Jerry was president of the HOA and operator for the water district for many years. After moving here he also led Habitat for Humanity building homes in the area. He also helped many in our neighborhood work/repair our homes. They will not be forgotten. |