Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on January 14, 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, Director Bret Wager, Director Laurel Brown and Treasurer Teresa Parker. Secretary Jill Duvall joined the meeting at 5:46 via Zoom.
Also in attendance:
Mayor Howard, Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees
Trustee Hart, Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees
Kim Boyd, Town Administrator
Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk
Paul Grant, Headways Consultants on Zoom
Paul Polito - KWWA Attorney on Zoom
Consent Items
- Approval of Agenda - President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the agenda. Treasurer Parker made the motion to approve the agenda with the amendment. Director Wager seconded the motion, and the motion passed 4-0 with no discussion.
- Approval of the minutes of November 12, 2024, monthly meeting - President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the minutes of December 10, 2024. Director Brown made the motion to approve the minutes. Treasurer Parker 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.
Staff Reports
Paul Grant, ORC
- Monthly Report - written report was submitted in the packet. No discussion.
- Repairs at Sewer Plant -One of the pumps has been installed and there needs to be some changes in the control system, because it is looking for the other two pumps. Once that is done, the system should be on line and back on auto and they will be able to start pumping down the lagoon. The State gave six months to pump out the lagoon, but Paul believes it can be done in two to three months.
- Suspected Water Leak in Mobile Home Park -There was an investigation done, and there does not appear to be a water leak at this time. There is no extra water going through the tank that would suggest a large leak. It was decided to keep an eye on it for now.
Kim Boyd, Town Administrator
- Grant Updates -After conversations with the Eastern Central Plains Council there is a consulting firm that is going to investigate state and federal grants for the second well. If there is an option between going for the older well with less water and usage, or a new well then it might be worth it to explore options. It would cost around $2,000 to engage this consultant, which would fall into the budget under the grant writer section. More discussions will be held with the consultants to firm up the actual costs and benefits.
Sasha Davidson, Clerk
- Systems Total Report -There was a decrease in the water loss this month, and in comparison, with previous years, it is following the pattern. This month two shut-off letters and 14 warning letters were sent out. There is still one customer from a few months ago that still has not paid and has not had water and sewer services for over three months. The customer did stop in and inquire why they were still being charged with the water shut off and they were informed that there is still a base rate to be paid each month whether drawing water or not. The customer stated that they were going to speak with their lawyer.
- Diamond Maps - The program has been initiated, and trainings will commence soon to get everything going and on line. Once completed, the board members can be added to the program and go through training also.
Old Business
- Rate and Asset Study - Scott Thomas, Colorado Rural Water Association -After a brief introduction, Scott discussed that water systems need to make sure they are staying on top of assets, knowing their conditions, knowing when to replace them and how much that is going to cost and where you are going to get the money to ensure a smooth-running system. A focus for Kiowa is to get a second well, because only having one and no redundancy is not advantageous. Tonight's focus is looking at asset management and rates; if no capital improvements are made versus if the four-million-dollar well project moves forward. If no capital improvements are made, with a built in annual 3% inflation rate increase the water side of the equation keeps up, but the wastewater does not. Any state or federal funding applied for will look at the wastewater funds which need to be solvent instead of water funds compensating for wastewater. They will also look at the debt service to see if the net revenue minimum requirements are being met. Currently with a 3% rate increase for water each year, the water side will meet its requirements. The wastewater rates are about 22% behind which is about a 12 dollar increase that is needed to be solvent. If the new four-million-dollar well project goes forward Scott split the costs into 50% coming from loans and 50% coming from grants as a starting point. He discussed several federal and state options for grants that could cover much of the project, which would lower the amount of loans needed. If borrowing two-million dollars for the new well for a 40- year loan at 3%, water rates would need to go up 30% for a 20-dollar increase and wastewater rates would need to go up 20% for an 11-dollar increase immediately and then to a 3% inflation rate increase annually.
It was noted that the existing well by the fire department could be rehabilitated and reconnected and used as a backup source of water with a maximum pumping rate of 30 gallons per minute with 15-acre feet per year, limited to municipal use in the Dawson aquifer. If the authority wanted to seek to expand the withdrawal from that well, it would require a replacement plan since use of the Dawson Aquifer requires it. To determine the usability of well, it would require a well pumping test which will cost $20,000-$30,000 with the rehabilitation plan being a six-figure cost. So, to even look at the old well, the cost is still going to be around $200,000-$300,000 just to determine the usability. So, looking for grant funding for a new well should still be an option.
It was also noted that the program RevPlan interfaces with Diamond Maps, so as items are cataloged, a plan can be formulated to figure out what assets will need to be replaced at what times, cost, etc. - Approved 2025 Rate Increase - Based on the presentation by Scott Thomas it was determined that the 3% rate increase would be put solely on the wastewater side for this year. It was noted to increase the remainder of the 19% on the sewer rates to bring it solvent, a public meeting would need to be held. It was decided that next month a discussion will be held about holding the public meeting to discuss this issue.
New Business
- Meter Deposit Fees- There was a brief discussion about the discrepancy between the current meter deposit and the actual cost of a new meter and the purpose of the deposit. The current deposit made is $109.02. When a home is purchased, the new owner pays the deposit, and the seller gets their deposit back. The purpose of the deposit is if the meter is damaged by the homeowner, the deposit covers the cost of replacement. The actual cost of a new meter is $399.00, which is a deficit of around$290.00.
There is also a $3.00 fee each month to cover the meter installations, and discussion was held around the length of time for that fee. It was determined that there is a resolution that should dictate the terms, and it would be investigated. - Tap Fees - There were comparisons given between the current tap fees and tap fees of other communities in the area. It was noted that tap fees are only applicable to new builds and development and would not affect anything already built in town. There was a question about how far out the town could annex property for future development. It was noted by the KWWA attorney that there is a three-mile rule from the current boundary without meeting extra requirements. President Gabehart made a motion to table the discussion about the meter deposit fees and tap fees until the February 11, 2025, meeting. Treasurer Parker seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
- Civic Plus Mass Notification System and Agenda and Meeting Management Program - Administrator Boyd brought up the suggestion that KWWA and the Town Board consider sharing the cost of the Civic Plus program. The first part of the program would allow both boards to send out alerts for items like water leaks and shut offs or power outages and gas main shut offs. This program would assist the boards to better reach the citizens instead of just relying on the website or social media to get the word out. It would give the entities the ability to send text messages, voice calls, emails, etc. simultaneously and citizens can choose which forms of communication they prefer. The company has agreed to waive the $1800.00 set up costs and due to the size of the municipality the cost would be$3,000.00 annually. The cost for each entity would be $1500.00 annually. The second part of the program deals with meeting planning, agendas, minutes, ADA compliance, and open records requests. This program is an add-on to the website which would allow us to work on the agendas cooperatively with the board in real-time, and then post them, packets, minutes, videos, etc. and put them in ADA compliant formats. There is a one-time set up fee of $1895.00, and an annual subscription fee of $2300.00, both of which would be split between the two entities. Our web designer believes that this program would be great add-ons for our website and would be time saving and make our information more transparent.
President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve paying half the cost of the Civic Plus Mass Notification System and Agenda and Meeting Management Program contingent on the Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees agreeing to pay the other half of the cost. Director Wager made the motion to agree to pay half the cost of the system contingent on the Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees agreeing to pay the other half of the cost. Secretary Parker seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
Correspondence/Discussion
None
Adjourn
President Gabehart entertained a motion to adjourn. Director Wager made the motion to adjourn. Secretary Parker seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 7:02pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 5:30pm at Kiowa Town Hall.
Minutes Approved by: Jill Duvall, KWWA Secretary
Sasha Davidson, Secretary to the Board