December 10, 2024 Minutes

Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority

Call to Order

The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on December 10, 2024, at 5:30pm by President Gabehart. 

Pledge of Allegiance

President Gabehart led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Roll Call

Present: President Donald Gabehart, Secretary Jill Duvall, & Director Bret Wager. Director Laurel Brown joined the meeting at 5:32pm. Treasurer Teresa Parker was absent. 

Also in attendance: 

Trustee Howard, Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees 
Trustee Hart, Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees 
Kim Boyd, Town Administrator 
Paul Grant, Headways Consultants on Zoom
Paul Polito - KWWA Attorney on Zoom 
Ruth Borne - TOK Attorney on Zoom 
Nicholas Poppe - TOK Attorney on Zoom 

Pledge of Allegiance

President Gabehart led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Consent Items

1. Approval of Agenda - President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the agenda with the amendment to move the public hearing concerning the 2025 Budget after New Business. Secretary Duvall made the motion to approve the agenda with the amendment. Director Wager seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion.
2. Approval of the minutes of November 12, 2024, monthly meeting - President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the minutes of November 12, 2024. Director Wager made the motion to approve the minutes. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion.

Public Comments

There were no public comments. 

Financial Reports

There were no notable issues with the financial reports. Administrator Boyd and Secretary Duvall are working to add a variance column to the spreadsheets and reports and to merge data from Excel into QuickBooks.

Staff Reports

Paul Grant, ORC

1. Monthly Report - written report was submitted in the packet - no additional discussion.
2. Digital Meters budgeted for 2024 -Remainder of regular meters will be ordered from Ferguson on December 11, 2024 - minus the 4 remaining larger meters for the schools, the justice center and the fire station.
3. Repairs at Sewer Plant -The lift station pump should be ready to be installed the week of December 16, 2024, and flow will return to the plant. Once that one is put in, the next one will be pulled and sent in for repair. Depending on pump size, it should take about two to three months to pump down the lagoon. If this does not happen expediently, monies have been budgeted to haul the waste away. After the lagoon has dried, there will be remediation. Following this, the plan is to place a liner in the lagoon to allow sewage to be stored there without having to report as a "spill". It was noted that companies would be sought to provide bids.

Kim Boyd, Town Administrator 

1. Apple Business - KWWA has been confirmed as an entity and a domain name has been registered. The iPads have been ordered and should arrive in the next couple of weeks. The wireless keyboards have already arrived. Once they have arrived, IT will be contacted to set them up, get the email addresses assigned and have training scheduled for those who would like to attend.

Sasha Davidson, Clerk

1. Systems Total Report - There was a decrease in the water loss this month, and in comparison, with previous years, it is following the pattern. According to the board's instructions, letters were sent out to bulk water customers and bulk water has been shut off. Two companies have come in to retrieve the checks we hold as insurance for damage to the hydrant. This month three shut-off letters and seven warning letters were sent out. At the time of this meeting, two of the shut-off customers paid in full, leaving one outstanding. There is still one customer from a couple months ago that still has not paid and has not had water and sewer services for over two months.

Old Business

1. System Mapping - Diamond Maps - As spoken to last meeting, it is a computer program that will allow us to map all the water and sewer mains, meter pits, water shut off valves, hydrants, etc. Currently, only Paul Grant has all the maps and knows most of the locations of all these items. If he were unavailable and the KWWA Board needed to know the location of these systems due to an emergency, it would be a complicated situation. The cost to KWWA would be $28.00/month for unlimited users. Colorado Rural Water Association stated that they would help us do the mapping for free. They requested that any maps that relate to the water/sewer infrastructure be brought in to assist in the process. One person would be set up as an administrator who could give access to people with either the ability to edit or view only.
   
   President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the purchase of Diamond Maps, choosing option #2 for unlimited users. Director Wager made the motion to approve the purchase of Diamond Maps, choosing option #2 for unlimited users. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion. 

New Business

1. Engagement with Bushong & Holleman PC, Attorneys at Law, for special counsel legal representation - this firm will be reviewing our bulk water policies. General legal counsel offered the names of three firms that deal specifically with water issues. Their engagement letter was included in the packet for review and approval. At the previous meeting, the Board authorized the Administrator to engage with a firm and they could do work up to $9,000. Legal counsel stated that they looked over the proposal and were satisfied with the language of the agreement.
   
   President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the engagement with Bushong & Holleman PC, Attorneys at Law for special counsel legal representation. Secretary Duvall made the motion to approve the engagement with Bushong & Holleman PC to review the bulk water policy. Director Wager seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion. 
2. Engagement with Adams Group, LLC, Certified Public Accountants for audit services - The previous auditor is retiring after 20 years and sent a list of three options for governmental auditors. A fourth option was offered by Secretary Duvall. All but one option, were not taking any new clients. Due to increases in prices and the fact that the Board will be working with a firm instead of an individual, the cost will be approximately double what was charged by the previous auditor. This firm also works with the Town of Elizabeth and are familiar with the area. They looked at previous audits and at our information on DOLA and believe they can serve KWWA. Legal counsel stated that they looked over the proposal and were satisfied with the language of the agreement.
   
   President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the engagement with Adams Group, LLC, Certified Public Accountants for audit services. Director Wager made the motion to approve the engagement with Adams Group, LLC for audit services. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion. 

Public Hearing

1. Finalization 2025 Budget

Public Comments

There were no public comments. 

It was noted that there was one correction needed. Additionally, there were some line items that showed a "011 that were previously unaccounted for and will now be accounted for in the future. There was discussion over the water and sewer bonds and the need to ensure that they are properly labeled and accounted for and whether they need to be listed on the budget and/or the audit. The auditors will be contacted for clarification on this issue. The issue of interest rates being budgeted at a higher level was of note and it was clarified that there is a table that is followed which denotes the amounts due. Infrastructure repairs and legal fees were the two accounts which were over budget in the previous year. 

Resolution 6, Series 2024, A Resolution to Adopt 2025 Budget

President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve Resolution 6, Series 2024, A Resolution to Adopt 2025 Budget. Director Wager made a motion to approve Resolution 6, Series 2024, A Resolution to Adopt 2025 Budget. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. 
Director Brown - Yes 
Director Wager - Yes 
Secretary Duvall - Yes 
President Gabehart - Yes 
Motion Passed 4-0 

Correspondence/Discussion

1. Digby vs Town of Kiowa, Stipulation of Disconnection, Case 2024CV30025 - Ruth Borne, Town of Kiowa General Counsel, and Nick Poppe, Town of Kiowa Special Council - Concerns were raised by KWWA about the return of water rights back to Mr. Digby. Four attorneys, including Mr. Poppe, Ms. Borne and two water attorneys were involved in the disconnection and de-annexation issue. An explanation was given based on Colorado Law and the contract that the water rights needed to be returned to Mr. Digby. It was noted that the water rights were not correctly transferred from the Town of Kiowa to KWWA as they should have been, thus KWWA did not have any standing in the issue. All four attorneys agreed that the water rights needed to be returned to Mr. Digby. There were still concerns about the ownership of water rights based on adjudications that seem to state that the Town of Kiowa and KWWA had joint ownership of the water rights on a 50/50 basis in 2019 and that KWWA should have been involved in the process. It was recommended that if KWWA was still concerned about the issue, then they should seek legal advice but as far as the Town of Kiowa is concerned, the issue has been resolved. Discussions were held about asking the water attorneys looking into the bulk water to also consider the disconnection issue with an offer to provide documentation from KWWA.
2. Potential use of previously capped well on Kiowa Fire Protection District Property as potential redundancy well. - There is a previously capped well just south of the current fire station that taps into the Dawson Aquifer. It is a permitted well for 15-acre feet per year which could work for a redundancy back-up well which would be around five million gallons per year. Currently, it is not tapped into the main, which would need to be rectified before it could be utilized, and it would need to have a contact point for chlorination. There needs to be discussions with CDPHE regarding the grant funds and if they can be transferred to fix this well versus drilling a new one. It is also possible that there is some infrastructure money that might pertain to this project. It was suggested that a cost feasibility profile be generated to bring this capped well online. The question of bulk water sales was brought up for this new well and the current well. At this time, the sales of bulk water have been suspended until the water law attorney can investigate and clarify the language in the agreements as it appears that it should not have been sold previously from any well. It was noted that even though bulk water use has been suspended, the Elbert County Road and Bridge building is still receiving water for personal use, even though they are outside of town limits due to an intergovernmental agreement even though it appears to be in violation of our water agreements. There was discussion surrounding the possibility of extending the infrastructure to property that adjoins town limits and its legality and getting additional clarification from the water law attorney. The State Water Permit supersedes any language in the operating agreement and needs to be the overriding authority, which is part of what needs to be investigated. It was requested that Wright Water and Hamacher be contacted to check into the situation with the capped well and use it as the redundancy well and get their suggestions. 
3. Project Needs Assessment (PNA) Review Letter from CDPHE -The submittal by Wright Water Engineering was reviewed and they sent a list of additional information that they would like to receive. Wright Water Engineering was notified, and we are awaiting a response.
4. KWWA Documents - President Gabehart spoke to KWWA's Ex-President Debbie Ullom about documents she holds. She stated that she did not have any originals, but emailed the documents she felt were relevant to what KWWA was looking for to fill missing areas in the files. These documents were forwarded to the current KWWA Board of Directors. Ms. Ullom stated that KWWA should have all the originals, or they are recorded with Elbert County. She stated that if we need any documents or notes in the future she will shar_e. Based on some of the documents provided, some of the files will be updated and clarified. It was suggested that if Ms. Ullom has boxes of documents, she should just turn over everything she has to the KWWA Board who can determine if they are needed for the files. It was determined that at this time, it is not necessary but if any board member wants to contact her, then they can call or email her to look at the files.
5. Water Rate Raise -The 3% water rate raise is set to go into effect in February 2025, reflecting the January 2025 Billing cycle. A resolution was passed at a previous meeting, but it was noted that they can be changed by this board. The board requested a copy of the resolution to discuss at the January 2025 meeting. It was noted that the projected income on the budget considers the increase in fees and part of the reason for the rate rise was to help cover the loan for the new redundancy well. There was a question about how far out the rate study was and if it could be addressed at the January 2025 meeting. There was discussion surrounding raising tap fees, instituting water use fees and raising meter deposits to bring them more current.

Adjourn

President Gabehart entertained a motion to adjourn. Secretary Duvall made the motion to adjourn. Director Wager seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 6:57pm.  

The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 5:30pm at Kiowa Town Hall. 

Minutes Approved by: Jill Duvall, KWWA Secretary

Sasha Davidson, Secretary to the Board