Members Present: The following Directors were present and acting:
- Jodi Lightfoot, President
- Ronald Krall
- Gary Osteen
- Brock Knez
- Mike Lomas
District Manager:
- Kasey O’Halloran
Guests:
- Tammy Lake, CDC
Call to Order: The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of Timbers Water & Sanitation District was called to order by President Lightfoot on December 13, 2021 at 6:04 pm, noting a quorum was present.
Consent Agenda: The Board reviewed the regular meeting minutes, financial statements, cashflow sheet and the AR report from November 2021. Upon motion duly made by Mr. Lomas and seconded by Mr. Knez, it was
RESOLVED to approve the consent agenda.
Invoices: Invoices for November 2021 were reviewed. Upon motion duly made by Mr. Krall and seconded by Mr. Knez, it was
RESOLVED to approve payment of the open invoices except for the Aslan Invoice and delay discussion until Tammy Lake has joined the conversation
Transfer of funds from TWSD to TWSWA Enterprise:
$5000 transfer was requested, and it was unanimously approved by the Board.
District Manager Update:
In general, all is going well within the District, John Fitzgerald and Tim Gibbons have not reported any issues this past month.
Old Business:
Remove/Improve Fire Hydrant 16- Tim with CDC produced an exhibit for Doug Shaffer (Fire Marshal, Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue) showing the distances between nearby fire hydrants and structures.
Doug’s response was: Thank you for the info on the distances between hydrants and structures. With the lay of the land and the curvy/switchback nature of the road making laying supply hose from the hydrant to the structures in a fire situation more difficult and time consuming it is the Fire Department’s determination that FH 16 should be moved to a more accessible location and kept in service to provide adequate access to the water supply in an emergency situation. In general 50 feet from the structure(s) would be a good minimum separation and we are happy to work with you on workable plan.
The Board agreed that the fire hydrant should be moved next Spring. Ms. Lightfoot will send documents on to Native Excavating to begin the process. Mr. Knez would like to know where the water lines are prior to the construction of the new garage by the new homeowners. Mr. Lomas agreed to take this research on and make sure their building plans will not invade any easements that currently exist.
WWTF/Reclamation Updates – Hydroseeding was completed to the extent practicable by Aslan’s subcontractor. The hydroseeding contractor had some issues accessing the entirety of the site due to moisture levels of the uncompacted soils. It was decided that John Fitzgerald would complete the remaining seeding by broadcast seeding in lieu of trying to get the hydroseeding contractor back to the site since CDC had no assurances that conditions would improve and it seemed that getting seed down before the snow was most important. CDC was also concerned about the fact that the hole in the access road caused by erosion adjacent to the McKinnis Creek culvert was growing in size and had already presented problems for the hydroseeding truck (Timbers contracted with Native Excavating to temporarily lay down a steel plate over the hole to facilitate safe access for the truck.) John was able to get the seeding done the day before Thanksgiving.
Influent Flowmeter – John and Tammy have been in contact with HACH technical support and sales regarding the issues we are having with the influent flowmeter. Specifically, the FloStation (the FL900 unit that is in the process building that the FloSensor, which is in the manhole, communicates with) did not power back up after a recent power outage. John worked with Hach to diagnose the problem and he understands that the backup battery needs to be replaced, but also that this unit is outdated. The FL900 FloStation was purchased in 2013 and the backup battery and CPU were replaced in 2015 after a lightning strike. Hach has suggested that instead of replacing the backup battery for around $500 we invest in a more current unit, the FL1500 FloStation. The 1500 will be fully compatible with the FloSensor in the manhole, which is still Hach’s current sensor unit, and will connect directly to the cable in place. The 1500 would cost $4527 and Hach could guide John over the phone through the brief programming effort on the new unit and the calibration procedure for the sensor. (Incidentally, the Hach representative who would come to assist with the auto sampler would be a different tech person so that effort is not in any way tied to flowmeter installation and calibration.) The Board posed more questions for HACH before making a decision. Tammy will call HACH and get back to the Board with answers.
Micro-C pump– John is sending the Micro-C pump out for repair (this should be a warranty repair) though he feels that we should have a peristaltic pump for this purpose and not the diaphragmatic pump that was installed since the Micro-C seems to be clogging the check valves on the pump. He would like to dilute the Micro-C less to either avoid or reduce the frequency of mixing required, but he is aware that this is a balancing act and less dilution could potentially mean more pump problems. CDC is reaching out to Jacobs to see if they can offer suggestions on the chemical feed strength and alternative pumps. The repair is planned regardless since the pump can be retained as a spare for the soda chem feed. John mentioned, however, that the soda pump is making some noise now as well, which is concerning, so CDC will apprise Jacobs of this and will discuss. Tammy will work with Jacobs on answers to these questions and get back to the Board.
Change order no. 8 – This was signed by Timbers and forwarded to Aslan in August but never executed by Aslan. This change order was intended merely to revise the substantial and final completion dates for the reclamation work; since this was not done, the current contract dates have passed. The final completion date for the WWTP work was in February so Aslan would be out of compliance without revisions.
Manholes – MH 5-10 will need to be abandoned. (Field directive; we have not done a change order for this as Aslan billed a prorated amount for this item for just the 4 manholes (1-4) they completely abandoned.)
Manholes 11-12 – abandonment to be taken care of at the time dam improvements are done (same as above)
Abandonment of monitoring wells – this was not in Aslan’s contract. Abandonment can be done after the termination application is approved. Aztec Drilling has provided a quote which they can confirm after a site visit. They will be available to do this work next season. This would fall under the loan repayment and the Board would like to move forward with this when Aztec is able.
WWTP punch list work – Unchanged from the last Board meeting.
Pay Request #10 – This pay request was submitted to CDC and reviewed. CDC submitted it to the Board for payment. Dr. Krall believes this is the only leverage the Board will hold over Aslan to complete the punchlist items. A discussion ensued and it was decided to reach out to someone high up in the Aslan corporation to get the contract finished out. Mr. Lomas will coordinate with Tammy and make the call at the end of the month. They will report to the Board about any sort of progress with the conversation. The Pay Request will not be paid at this time.
Dam Project and Easement Discussion – CDC has added the spillway channel alignment field-staked by Tyler and Tammy and surveyed by Willy to the CAD file for the easement exhibit. This was sent to Tyler at Applegate for review. CDC should be able to finalize this exhibit next week to provide to the Board and to Melinda for her work on the easement language. As for funding options for the Dam, Tyler has suggested looking into a CWCB (Colorado Water Conservation Board) loan or researching options through DARCA (Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance). He agrees it would be a stretch to pursue funding opportunities for drinking water supply. CDC will be looking into funding sources.
Pay Modification for Contractors – 6% raise – Ms. Lightfoot suggested that the Board give a 6% raise to the contractors, Tim, John and Kasey. Mr. Lomas agreed that it would be a very appropriate gesture given the current labor market and the skill level the contractors are currently at. The Board agreed to give an 8% raise to all three contractors starting in January 2022.
2022 Budget Presentation and Resolutions – Mrs. O’Halloran presented the 2022 Budget to the Board and answered all questions presented at the time. Dr. Krall made a motion to approve the resolutions before the Board approving the 2022 budget and setting the 2022 mill levies for the water and sewer subdistricts. Mr. Knez seconded this motion and it passed unanimously.
With business concluded and upon motion duly and unanimously approved, it was
RESOLVED to adjourn the regular meeting the Timbers Water & Sanitation District Board of Directors at 8:04 pm, this 13th day of December 2021.
Respectfully submitted, Kasey O’Halloran
District Manager, Timbers Water and Sanitation District