Members Present: The following Directors were present and acting:
- Ron Krall, President
- Gary Osteen, Vice President
- Brock Knez
- Ash Lesniak
- Dusty Atkinson (excused absence)
Assistant District Manager:
- Kasey O’Halloran
District Manager:
- Jodi Lightfoot
Guest:
- Mary Andre, CDC Engineering
- Melinda Sherman, Sharp, Steinke, Sherman & Engle
Call to Order: The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of Timbers Water & Sanitation District was called to order by President Ron Krall on March 13, 2017 at 5:46 pm, noting a quorum was present.
Minutes: The Board reviewed the regular meeting minutes of the February, 2017 meeting. Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, it was
RESOLVED to approve the meeting minutes.
Financials: The February 2017 financial statements were reviewed. Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimous, it was
RESOLVED to approve the financials.
Invoices: Invoices for February 2017 were reviewed. Upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, it was
RESOLVED to approve payment of the open invoices.
Transfer of Funds
From TWSD to TWSWA
Enterprise: None.
Old Business
Honoring Ellen: Upon a motion made by President Ron Krall and seconded by Vice-President Gary Osteen, the Board unanimously approved the following resolution:
Whereas, Ellen Dalton has served the Timbers Water and Sanitation District in multiple capacities including bookkeeper, secretary, election official and historian since 2003; and
Whereas, that service has been faithful and exemplary; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Timbers Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors recognizes and thanks Ellen Dalton for her outstanding service to the Timbers Water and Sanitation District.
This resolution will be printed/etched on a plaque and given to her at the April Board meeting. Kasey is to get the plaque, gift certificate and arrange for Ellen to attend the meeting. The Board authorized a gift of a $150 gift certificate to Harwigs and approximately $100 for the plaque. (ACTION)
Wastewater Treatment Plant:
Ron and Jodi met with Mary Andre after the last board meeting to discuss the Board’s desire to transition from a time and materials to a fixed project contract for the remainder of the work on the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mary agreed to provide a project based contract proposal in May, after making the final technology recommendation on the basis of the consulting engineer CH2MHill report.
Design & Engineering Grant: Since Timbers qualified for the disadvantage community status from the State, the District has qualified for a $250,000 grant. This grant is actually a principal forgiveness loan. To close the loan, the loan agreement was reviewed by Melinda Sherman, and with the advice of Larry Berkowitz, the District bond counsel, the attached Resolution was moved, seconded and unanimously approved.
Since this loan incurs no indebtedness of the part of the District, Ron has asked for legal opinion on whether it will be counted as part of the total loan capacity authorized by 2014 the ballot measure. Initial opinion from Larry Berkowitz is that while there is no legal precedent it is believed the loan will be excluded from the indebtedness covered by the 2014 ballot measure.
The board asked Melinda to start attending the meetings in May 2017 so she will be apprised of details surrounding the complexity of funding for the WWTP and the acquisition of property.
Correspondence with John Williams, Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority: When applying for this grant, CWRPDA suggested that the board create an enterprise for the wastewater treatment plant. It was clear that this was not a requirement but a suggestion. Ron responded to John saying that unless there is a requirement that an enterprise is created, Timbers does not intend to create one. Upon reading Ron’s response, the State raised the possibility that the Timbers Preserve taxing district is classified as a sub district and therefore the ballots for the ballot measure should not have been sent to the Timbers Preserve homes. Ron’s response to Mr. Williams was that the ballots were properly distributed as the indebtedness is being taken on by the entire District.
Additional Engineering Analysis of Options for Wastewater Treatment Plant: Mary proposed that CDC remain the lead engineering firm responsible for the overall project with CH2MHill consulting on and stamping portions of the project. Mary would manage the client relationships.
Approval of CH2MHill proposal: The Preliminary Effluent Limits issued by CDPHE have raised questions about the suitability of the technology proposed in the Project Needs Assessment submitted in December and commented on (by CDPHE) in January. CDC has strongly recommended an additional engineering analysis in order to be certain the proposed technology will meet the District’s needs for the long term.
CDC recommended we contract with CH2MHill for this analysis. CH2MHill will deliver a report to the Board by the May Board meeting. The contract cost with CH2MHill will be $35,000. The Board approved to go forward with this plan to work with CH2MHill.
Discharge Permit Modification: Mary submitted the modification request in February and was instructed that it will be 3 weeks before Randy Ogg at the State will complete his review. Until the permit modification is approved, Mr. Ogg directed that Timbers comply with the monitoring requirements of the issued permit. Timbers will not be able to fully comply on the well monitoring portion of the permit for February and March due to operator safety concerns and inability to access the site. Mary will issue a letter of explanation.
PNA: Mary will submit an extension request so that we can first receive CH2M Hill’s report before commenting on the PNA.
USDA Funding Options: Ron met with David Carter about the potential for USDA funding. The advantage of USDA funding is that loan terms are longer (40 years) than other loan sources. Interest rates are higher, however. David made no guarantees but was clear that USDA does have money to loan and is capable of making a decision within a month from application to approval. If Timbers is under the poverty level (which is dependent on USDA accepting the Income Survey results done for the State), it would qualify for a 2.73% interest rate. David agreed to speak to his staff about Timbers qualifying for a $30,000 engineering grant. He agreed to get back to Ron/Jodi by the end of the month.
CDC Contract for the Sanitation System:
CDC has agreed to charge an engineering fee of $10,000 to work in conjunction with CH2MHill on the report requested by the Board. Mary will get a proposal and contract together with CH2M Hill and send to them to Ron for a signature as soon as possible.
Water Tank Project:
Ron asked Mary to decide what kind of tank pad Timbers will need. The current gravel pile seems to be untouched and undisturbed. Jodi will talk to Native about the Tank Pad project. (ACTION)
Zirkel Wireless enclosure:
Zikel Wireless has asked the District for permission to site a new battery back up pack and electrical service at the Water Tank. Ron met with Alan Belvo of Zirkel to learn exactly what Zirkel needs. Essentially they need a 4×4 cement pad, adjacent to the water tank, positioned in the best place per their engineers, and new electrical service to power the antennae and battery back-up. They recently did the same build at the water tank in Craig. The water tank will not be disturbed. Ron agreed that he would talk to the Board about it and asked if Zirkel will renegotiate our contract and install an electric meter and pay for their own electricity use. Mr. Belvo indicated that he would be willing to do both.
Ron discussed with Alan the service needs of a few District members who live on or near Sky Valley Drive. The Board agreed that the TWSD should not become involved in efforts to provide internet service to those customers.
Ron will contact Mr. Belvo and enter into negotiations on a revised contract. Jodi will incorporate the construction of the new concrete pad into the water tank renovation project. (Actions)
Woolverton past due fees:
Melinda will write another letter to Mike asking for the overdue fees. Mike has verbally instructed Jodi he will pay 20% of his overdue fee by the end of March and the remainder by the end of June.
New Business
Audit Exemption: Board reviewed and approved the application to submit to the State auditor asking for an exemption from audit. The application and resolution were signed.
With business concluded and upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, it was
RESOLVED to adjourn the regular meeting the Timbers Water & Sanitation District Board of Directors at 8:10 pm, this 13th day of March 2017.
Respectfully submitted,
Kasey O’Halloran
Assistant District Manager
Timbers Water and Sanitation District