Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on July 9, 2024, at 6:04pm by Director Bret Wager with the following in attendance: Directors: Teresa Parker, Laurel Brown, and Tim Craft. President Eric Whitman joined the meeting at 6:40pm.
Also present:
Rick Kolm, Town of Kiowa Mayor, Terry Howard, Town of Kiowa Board Member, Kim Boyd, Town Administrator, Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk/Utility Billing Clerk, and Scott A. Goodstein, KWW A atny & Ruth Borne atny via Zoom.
Consent Items
Approval of Agenda
Director Bret Wager entertained a motion to approve the agenda. Teresa Parker made a motion to approve the agenda. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Approval of Minutes
Director Bret Wager entertained a motion to approve the minutes from the June 11, 2024, meeting. Teresa Parker made a motion to approve the minutes pending her approval of the financial reports. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Financial Report
The YTD Profit and Loss Report was examined by the board. Teresa Parker requested to table acceptance of the report so she could look at it more closely and compare it to the June financial report.
Town Administrator Kim Boyd informed the board that during the audit, it was found that KWW A owned a third of the backhoe that was sold; thus, a third of the proceeds from the sale belong to the authority, so a check has been issued to them.
Questions arose concerning the current attorney's billing procedures, responsiveness/unresponsiveness to questions about billing amounts, and overall satisfaction with their work product. It was suggested that the authority investigate other firms that could represent them. It was noted that the annual budget for attorney fees is $12,000.00 and in the last six months more than $44,000.00 has been spent. When questions were raised with Scott Goodstein, the attorney, he stated that he did not agree with the statements that the firm had been unresponsive, and that their billing procedures were standard and that they would be happy to discuss any issues.
Staff Reports
Paul Grant
Paul was absent this evening, so staff filled in the information on two of the reports.
Effluent Violation - Kim Boyd - Due to a repair and interrupted flow, there were abnormal readings which skewed the lab results. Paul is aware and stays in communication. It is a form letter that is required to go out, but once there are favorable lab results, the letters will stop and there will be no fine.
Meter Installations - Sasha Davidson - There are around 106 meters left to install in town. Paul will be ordering those soon; however, the company that they were purchased from previously no longer sells the "Neptune" meters, so Paul is probably going to purchase them from the Neptune company directly. He believes the cost will be very close to what he was purchasing them for before.
Farmer's State Bank - (Current Building) - Mr. Craft stated that he had received a call from the owner of the building about problems with the pipes clogging. The board was informed that Paul had been out to the site several times and put cameras in our lines to ensure they were clear. The bank did admit that at some point they did flush paper towels down the toilets, which would cause blockage. Paul believes that the problem has something to do with the pipes under the bank and not the main system. None of the other businesses around them have had any problems with their plumbing.
Sasha Davidson
System Totals Reports - Based on the amount of water supplied and water used, the loss this month was 19%, which is the same amount of loss during June 2023 and June 2022.
Bulk Water - One board member questioned if we had a quota on how much bulk water we sell, due to Burnco using a lot of water. There was a discussion about limiting the amount of water that could be pulled by an individual company. Currently, there are four companies utilizing bulk water.
Swimming Pools - Several people have called about wanting to use the bulk water for filling up swimming pools. They have been told no and that they must fill the pools from their home water supply. Elizabeth and Elbert County do not allow bulk water use for filling swimming pools either.
Kim Boyd
Audit - It was reiterated that during the audit, it was found that KWW A owned a third of the backhoe that was sold; thus, a third of the proceeds from the sale belong to the authority.
USDA - On June 13, 2024, the USDA contacted Kim because Diana Edstrom, a citizen of Elbert County (not Kiowa) contacted them several times over several months asserting that she was working with staff to complete files, and asking about whether the loan had been in arears, and would they provide her records, etc. At least one of her voicemail messages was aggressive about wanting records. This concerned the USDA, so they contacted Kim, and she informed them that Diana was not involved with the staff and was not to have access to any files. Her actions are considered a crime, but at this time they are not going to pursue charges. Due to Diana's contact, the USDA looked at KWWA's loan closer and found that there is no reserve account, which is required under the loan. After discussions with Kim, they have decided not to pursue any action for not having a reserve account, since the monthly payments have been made on time due to being an automatic deduction from the bank account. The reserve account should be a cash on hand availability and not based on assets and what is in the savings account as was previously thought.
President Whitman's Bill - At the previous meeting, President Whitman asked the clerk to address what he considered a discrepancy in his personal water bill, that he had let go several months waiting for the clerk to realize the mistake and correct it and when she didn't, he brought it up at a public meeting asserting that if it is happening to him, it must be happening to others and he was concerned about misbilling of customers. After researching President Whitman's past bills, the clerk found that President Whitman had made an overpayment in December 2023, which gave him a credit of $2.06 which carried over each month, because he continued to make the full basic monthly payment, instead of what was on his bill. This information was passed onto the board for full transparency based on President Whitman's assertions of incompetency on the clerk's part. A request for an apology to the clerk was requested. None was given.
Public Comments
The following people spoke:
Richard Croissant
Old Business
- Increase in water/sewer Fees resolution.
A signed copy was provided to the clerk to file. - School District Portables - 3" Sewer Taps
Director Wager and Director Parker met with the school district and the contractors putting in the new school portables. After much discussion and looking at other town's tap fees, they decided to offer a one-time price of $13,000 for the 3" sewer tap and the normal $13,000 for the 1 1/2" water tap. Director Parker noted that the school superintendent had been notified that this is a one-time deal and will not be available when the new school is built. Legal counsel cautioned that the board should consider whether this amount will set a precedent for future considerations of 3" tap fees for other entities since governmental agencies are supposed to provide equal treatment to all. President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve charging the school district $26,000 for the water and sewer taps. Teresa Parker made a motion to approve charging the school district $26,000 for the water and sewer taps. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Resolution Regarding Adopting Digital Accessibility Policy
A signed and executed copy was provided to the clerk to file. - 2024 Legislation Affecting Special Districts
Legal counsel did make note that the board should be aware of new legislation SB24-233 regarding property tax revenue limit, which limits specified property tax revenue for local government entities beginning with the 2025 property tax year. Legal counsel believes that the authority would be considered a local government entity under the statute and would fall under this bill. - Termination of Operating Agreement & 90-Day Letter Terminating Operating Agreement with the Town of Kiowa - Changes were made to the terms of the termination from 10 days to 90 days. It was noted that the termination deadlines had changed several times, from 90 days to 10 days and back to 90 days. Questions were raised about who was making the decisions, due to several board members not being involved in the discussion. Concerns were raised that there was not a formal meeting to discuss the issues and decide as a board. Director Brown and Director Wager felt that they were not completely informed about the decisions. President Whitman stated that the board did not have the time or resources to complete the stipulations of the IO-day termination. Legal counsel followed up that it made more sense to go back to 90- day provision instead of trying to answer the specific questions required by the response for the 10-day termination. Director Brown added that without specific dates and/or timeframe being applied to the suggested defaults, there is no way to prove that they did not fall under previous staffs tenure, which could make a big difference for the whole situation. Legal counsel admitted that many of the defaults would not be able to be cured under the operating agreement "because a lot of the defaults have occurred over the course of multiple years, even if they had been brought to the town's attention ... through board meetings, for example, the notice requirements under the operating agreement are pretty specific and .... KWWA asked the town to acknowledge its preferred termination date, knowing that a lot of these defaults wouldn't be possible to cure within the thirty days because they've occurred over multiple years ... the town did not acknowledge that date ... so now this 90-day termination letter has been created rather than responding to their attorney's letter which requested some very specific information." It was also noted by legal counsel that in a previous meeting, the board approved a motion to let CRS take over management responsibilities and because the operating agreement with the town is still in place it has cause some complications in executing the agreement with CRS. In addition, there was concern brought up about the Town of Kiowa charging for website access. Administrator Boyd clarified that the town stated that they would quit absorbing KWW A's portion of the website and split the cost, and that the amount charged KWWA from January 2024- June 2024 was $105.00.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to tenninate the current staff. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the 90-day termination of the current staff. Tim Craft seconded the motion. President Whitman requested a roll call vote, with his vote being last.
Laurel Brown- No
Teresa Parker - Yes
Bret Wager-No
Tim Craft- Yes
President Eric Whitman - Yes
Motion carries 3 to 2.
New Business
- ECPH Fairgrounds Wastewater Treatment Proposal
There was a brief discussion about allowing the Elbert County Fairgrounds to utilize our sewer system for the various RV's and Trailers that come in during the summer. Paul stated that they would only be using about 6,000 gallons which will not get the current tank to even 50% of its capacity, so he did not see any problems. The fairgrounds would need to have a tap installed, but the size has not been figured out at the present time. Discussion was held whether the fairgrounds should be charged on a monthly basis for sewer instead of just a partial year.
Tim Craft made a motion to table this decision until the August 13, 2024, meeting until the committee had time to make its recommendations. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Water and Sewer Policy and Resolution
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to adopt the resolution. Tim Craft made a motion to adopt the resolution. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Public Records Request Policy
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to adopt the resolution. Tim Craft made a motion to adopt the resolution. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Certificate of Insurance - Copy of KWW A's Last Asset Audit & Declarations page
President Eric Whitman ente1tain a motion to table the discussion. Teresa Parker made a motion to table this discussion until the August 13, 2024, meeting until the audit was completed. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Engagement Letter for Litigation Attorney
KWW A is currently involved in a lawsuit with the Town of Kiowa and the firm of White Bear does not perform litigation, so outside counsel needs to be engaged. President Whitman stated that he made some phone calls and Mr. Hollars of Spencer Fane has agreed to represent the authority. Director Brown brought up the concern that she was not even aware that the board is involved in litigation and that the President should have made the board aware as soon as he knew and why weren't copies provided to all the board members. She also brought up concerns that some members of the board were having discussions outside of regular meetings, which is a violation of the open meetings rules. President Whitman stated that he was served as president of the board and had to be "coached by Scott" that he needed to find a lawyer to represent KWW A and he "did as he was told to do". When asked why certain board members did not have knowledge of being sued or a copy of the complaint, legal counsel thought they had infonned the whole board, and apologized for the oversight. Directors Brown and Wager agreed that neither of them was formally notified before it came up in tonight's meeting. When asked what the lawsuit entailed, Director Craft stated that it was about decisions the board made about termination of the staff and challenges to Director Craft's eligibility to be on the board. There were additional questions about the letter engaging with Spencer Fane and the fact that Tim Craft's name was at the bottom and if he had also engaged with this same law firm. Director Craft stated that he was not involved with Spencer Fane and had not engaged them. Legal counsel affirmed that it was probably a Scribner's error since Director Craft is involved in the lawsuit. Concerns were brought up about the costs of having two different law firms with open ended billing and the pertinent deadlines that were upcoming.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to hire the litigation attorney. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the hiring of the litigation attorney. Tim Craft seconded the motion. President Whitman requested a roll call vote, with his vote being last.
Laurel Brown - No
Teresa Parker - Yes
Bret Wager - Yes - but with reservation, wanting to closely monitor Tim Craft- Yes
President Eric Whitman - Yes
Motion carries 4 to 1
Correspondence/Discussion
None
Adjourn
President Whitman ente1tained a motion to adjourn. Tim Craft made the motion to adjourn. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion Passed with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 7:37pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 6:00pm at Town Hall at 404 Comanche, Kiowa, Colorado 80117.
Minutes Approved by: Eric Whitman, President
Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk/Utilities Billing Clerk