The Board of Directors of the Timber Creek River Water District (TCWD), Summit County, Colorado, met via online Zoom conference on August 15th, 2024, for their regular quarterly meeting. The meeting was called to order by Executive Director Scott Price at 5:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
The following members of the Board of Directors were present, constituting a quorum: Mark Petty – President; Larry Nelson – Vice President & Treasurer; Jim Peif - Director; Also present: Michele Tonti - Water District Consultant; Scott Price – Executive Director and District Administrator; Jon Drees – Manager with Quality Water Management Inc.
DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Mr. Price asked everyone if there were any known conflicts of interest on the Timber Creek Water District Board. Mr. Price acknowledged that none were expressed.
CONSENT AGENDA
Mr. Price reviewed the Consent Agenda and asked if anyone had any questions or comments. Mr. Petty made a motion to approve all items on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Nelson seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S DISCUSSION ITEMS
Mr. Price directed the Board’s attention to the Operations Report in the packet. He summarized the water production and noted that it is within expectations. There was a brief discussion about the water consumption, power outages, historical issues, and the welcomed stability of the system provided by the equipment updates.
Mr. Price provided a summary of fire hydrant testing and maintenance conducted by an outside specialist company. There was a discussion about the booster pumps, SCADA controls, and anticipated improvements during the next few months.
A review of this year’s sanitary survey was conducted. The only issue was the inability to show a copy of the fire station’s backflow prevention device testing results from 2022. The CDPHE representative suggested that a survey of cross connection be conducted in all homes that have a fire suppression system. An outside third party company was hired to lead the survey and document the findings. Only three homes were found to have a cross connection, and each of them has a testable backflow prevention device. One device was replaced. The other two homes will be scheduled for tests.
Mr. Petty expressed appreciation for the work of the Quality Water Management team and what has been accomplished between the previous sanitary survey and this year’s survey. He stated that the same person from the state conducted the inspection, and the improvements are tremendous, so they had to search much deeper to find something to complain about; namely, the backflow testing report from a couple of years ago.
Mr. Peif said the plant tour was eye-opening for the significant overhaul from the mess it had been. Ms. Tonti stated that the water district is now operating much better on all levels, and she is grateful. Mr. Price thanked his team of Mr. Drees, Mr. Coleman, and Mr. Crossland for their effort coordinating vendors, compliance projects, and the ongoing testing.
The Lead and Copper Rule was explained by Mr. Price. Mr. Drees provided an overview of the new revisions (LCRR), and the requirements to survey all service lines in the district. He shared that the results of the LCRR inventory shows no lead service lines in TCWD. The data has been gathered with several outside parties' assistance. It is good news that there are no lead service lines because the next set of regulations will require districts to mitigate all lead in the distribution systems.
PRELIMINARY 2025 BUDGET DISCUSSION
Mr. Price asked the board for input into next year’s budget. There was a discussion about the inflation rate and what the 2025 budget should include. Mr. Petty recommended that the board include an inflation factor, and Mr. Price can submit adjustments to key expenses such as system improvements. He asked Mr. Price if there would be an increase of the administration and operations contract. Mr. Price responded that because there has been no increase since the agreement began, there would be a five percent increase in 2025.
Mr. Nelson stated that he agreed with everything Mr. Petty was saying, and he would work with Mr. Jones to submit a draft budget to the board. He also reminded the board that the additional six percent saved from not paying interest on the bond is contributing to the financial strength of TCWD.
REVIEW AND APPROVE SECOND QUARTER FINANCIALS
Mr. Price guided the board in reviewing the second quarter financial reports. He explained that the property taxes are lower this year because of the mill levy that expired when the bond was paid off. For the benefit of Mr. Peif, he provided details about tap fees. There were unpermitted remodeling bedrooms that required the district to assess tap fees.
Ms. Tonti asked about property taxes that are still being assessed, and Mr. Nelson answered that not all of the taxes were tied to the bond repayment. Ms. Tonti asked if the tax received should be placed into capital reserve, and Mr. Nelson stated those tax revenues go into the general operating fund. There is only one checking account. Ms. Tonti asked if we could get interest on that money. Mr. Price stated that at other districts, he uses an interest bearing account at Colo Trust which is safe and meets all government guidelines for low risk investments. He stated that he would like to see the district create an account and
Mr. Petty asked that the Board address the account at the November meeting. Ms. Tonti stated that we should move quicker than later because it is simple to find the right option for a liquid savings account.
Mr. Nelson stated he has had this conversation with Mr. Jones many times, and Mr. Jones has declined to create an investment account because he had taken the position that it isn’t worth it. So, nothing has been done. Mr. Nelson stated that the board will need to make a formal proposal and vote to get Mr. Jones to open a new investment account. Mr. Petty asked Mr. Price to add this item to the November agenda. Mr. Price asked Mr. Nelson if it would be appropriate for QWM to oversee the new account. Mr. Nelson said that the account should be created and managed by himself (as Treasurer) and Mr. Jones (as accountant), and he needs the approval of the board with instructions for Mr. Jones to take this action. Now that interest rates are at the five percent range, it is a point of contention with Mr. Jones.
A discussion ensued of comparing the actual profit and loss with the budget. Everyone concluded that there are no accounts that are outside of expectations.
Mr. Petty made a motion to approve the financials. Mr. Nelson seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
ADDITIONAL BOARD & ADVISOR DISCUSSIONS
Mr. Nelson asked Mr. Price about micro plastics in the water and should the district test for it. Mr. Price said there are no regulations that he is aware of for micro plastics, but there is much concern from EPA about PFAS (aka. forever chemicals). Mr. Price explained that the EPA notifications are focused on there is no immediate health risk, but the accumulation of the chemicals in the body is the reason the regulations have set a very small level of four parts per trillion as a threshold. Mr. Petty suggested that we wait until asked by CDPHE to conduct any testing. Mr. Price committed to presenting more information about micro plastics and PFAS at the next meeting.
Mr. Petty opened a discussion about an adjacent property having interest in using TCWD water services or buying water rights. Mr. Price provided a brief summary of the conversations he had with real estate professionals in which Mr. Price explained why the current system would not support the additional density. It would take an expensive engineering study to design new system components such as a tank, pumps, and distribution system. He told them a formal proposal would need to be given to the TCWD board. Mr. Price stated that this idea seems like a bad idea for all parties involved.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Petty made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:25pm. Mr. Nelson seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.