Members Present: The following Directors were present and acting:
- Ron Krall, President
- Gary Osteen, Vice President
- Brock Knez (absent)
- Ash Lesniak
- Dusty Atkinson (absent)
District Manager:
- Kasey O’Halloran
Guest:
- Mary Andre, CDC Engineering
- Melinda Sherman, Sharp, Steinke, Sherman & Engle
- Jodi Lightfoot
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 April 9, 2018 at 5:47 pm, noting a quorum was present.
Minutes: The Board reviewed the regular meeting minutes of the March 2018. Upon motion duly made by Ash and seconded by Ron, it was
RESOLVED to approve the meeting minutes.
Financials: The Board reviewed the Financial statements for February and March 2018. Upon motion duly made by Ron and seconded by Gary, it was
RESOLVED to approve the meeting minutes.
Invoices: Invoices for March 2018 were reviewed. Ron questioned the charge on the Fire Hydrant bill from CDC. Jodi didn’t believe the amount billed is a fair amount for the work accomplished. Mary explained that Randy has been up to the site of the Lomas fire hydrant but offered to waive the fee for his first visit to the Lomas house. Upon motion duly made by Ash and seconded by Ron and unanimously, it was
RESOLVED to approve payment of the open invoices.
Transfer of funds from TWSD to TWSWA Enterprise:
None needed.
District Manager Update:
Tim Gibbons reported that he will continue to do the valve location project on his own free time but if it needs to be done immediately, he will need some help. The Board agreed it is not urgent and to wait until the weather is clearer. Tim reports that CDPHE did their inspection of the water system and there were no infractions; however, he will now need to do an annual inspection of the backflow prevention devices. Mary suggested Tim find a way to track and locate all the devices. Tim will either need a certified contractor to do the inspections or if he is certified, he will need to provide the proper certification documents. Kasey is to find out how Tim intends to do this and if the Board needs to do anything to make that easier for him. Tim can also hold off on the flushing of the fire hydrants that are to be replaced to save time.
Old Business: Woolverton Response – Jodi Lightfoot offered to speak with Mike Woolverton personally and present him the statement of his account. Kasey is to send Jodi an email with the numbers outlined. The Board stated that if he still refuses to pay after Jodi explains the situation, a lien will be placed back on his property.
Audit Response – Ron signed the audit forms from Chris Catterson.
District Manager/Operations Manager Contract – Tabled until the next meeting.
Fire Hydrant Project – Mary showed a map of the three fire hydrants that need work. Fire Hydrant 15 is the most productive. The Lomas hydrant and the condos fire hydrant are in locations that would not be used. The Lomas hydrant is only 6 feet away from the building however to move it would require a new easement. There is an option to remove the fire hydrant and cap it off. Fire Hydrant 16 is in a hole so CDC proposes to at least move it 20 feet so that is becomes productive. Ron suggests that this summer work be done on the Lomas fire hydrant, Fire Hydrant 16, and install an inline valve. He proposes we defer work on fire hydrant 11 pending the fire marshall’s approval. Mary will bring Mike Lomas in on the proposed work after meeting with the Fire Marshall next week. Fire Hydrant 14 has been discovered on a sampling map but not on previous maps. Board should be aware of that and investigate at some point.
Property Acquisition – Because there is not a quorum, no decision can be made but a discussion ensued. Melinda is questioning the deed of trust on the Krall property and cannot guarantee the lender is going to sign off on it. Legally that is an issue if the deed gets closed out and the easement gets dropped. Melinda suggested the Board could agree to the easement if the lender signs off to save money. Ash stated that regardless if the Board purchases or gets an easement the lender signature is required. Melinda suggested having the lender subordinate and that would be best bet. If the Board is under a time crunch, this might not be possible. Jodi asked if the purchase price was fair because it is an easement vs. a purchase of land. Ash suggested just buying the land and Melinda stated that it will take a lot of time and attorney’s fees. Ash asked that Melinda write a letter asking the Krall’s attorney to get subordination. Jodi stated she thinks it should be purchased. Kasey is to get a firm due date on when the land needs to be in the Board’s control. Melinda stated that the price seems appropriate. Melinda suggested if the lender can’t subordinate, then the land should be condemned. Melinda will speak with Ward on how difficult it will be to get the signature from the lender.
New Business: Sanitation System – Ron asked Mary to go through this summer’s timeline and through the funding budget model CDC created. Mary summarized the budget which is attached to these minutes. Mary summed up the conversation that CDC and Ron had with CDPHE, USDA, DOLA and the Colorado Water Authority. She explained the funding will all need to be sourced rather simultaneously so the amounts are very difficult to pinpoint. Mary stated that the SRF Loan will be at 0% instead of 1% that we had originally qualified for. The USDA will be a 2.65% interest rate. Ron stated that we are basically at the mercy of the agencies so he would like to just put this plan in front of those agencies and see if it will work out. Mary reviewed the USDA Funding application and what all is needed from the District. She explained that there may be a Section 106 consultation that could be required. She explains this could be costly and timely. The question was brought up that the USDA would be obsolete if the funding for the last $332,500 was found elsewhere. Mary suggested that the Board could try to fight the denitrification requirement which would reduce the budget by about that amount. Mary said we would need a good argument for our plan in five years. Ash and Ron stated that it might be worthwhile not pursuing the USDA funding due to the costly requirements that are involved with the application. Ron suggested that CDC and Timbers continue applying for the USDA loan. Ron would like Randi (from CDPHE) to setup another meeting with the funding agencies. He would like to submit the funding plan and explain the USDA loan/grant applications difficulties. He would like to explain the deferment of the denitrification process which would be put Timbers back to the SRF loan total. Hopefully this will start the conversation about deferment and get Timbers to a place where CDPHE can be convinced. Ron suggested putting a plan together showing the monitoring and testing we will do to stay compliant and if we come to a point where we need the denitrification component, the Board will go to the voters and ask for additional money to fund that component. Mary is to submit the schedule to Randi Johnson-Hufford tomorrow and Ron will work on getting a meeting setup for the week of the 16th.
Ballot Measure – Ron asked the Board if they need to do anything to educate the voters on the Ballot Measure and if so, how it should be done. Jodi suggested explaining that this is a replacement of the previous debt taken. Ash suggested emailing a letter from the board president to the email addresses we have and the HOA presidents. Kasey and Ron will find a time to meet with the HOA presidents later in the week to see if the information can get disseminated.
May Meeting – Due to the Board member’s schedule and the importance of the May meeting, it has been motioned to move the meeting to the 9th of May. Kasey will set the meeting up and post the appropriate signage.
Thanks to Ash Lesniak – Ron moved and Gary seconded to officially thank Ash for his time on the Board and all the hard work and dedication he has had to the District.
Board Member involvement – Ash requested that the Board continue to work with each Board Member to increase their involvement in the all the moving actions going on with the District. Ash didn’t know how but emphasized the need for each and every Board member to respond to every email and involve themselves in every issue.
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 8:12 pm, this 9th day of April 2018.
Respectfully submitted,
Kasey O’Halloran
Assistant District Manager
Timbers Water and Sanitation District