Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on June 11, 2024, at 6:02pm by President Eric Whitman with the following in attendance:
Directors: Teresa Parker, Laurel Brown, Bret Wager and Tim Craft
Also present:
Rick Kolm, Town of Kiowa Mayor, Terry Howard, Town of Kiowa Board Member, Tammy Hart, Town of Kiowa Board Member, Kim Boyd, Town Administrator, Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk/Utility Billing Clerk, Paul Grant, Headways Consultants, and Scott A. Goodstein, KWWA attorney.
Consent Items
Approval of Agenda
President Eric Whitman asked if there were any changes or additions to the agenda. The changes were as follows:
- Under Old Business - move the Project Needs Assessment discussion to the top of old business and move the rest of the items down in the same order.
- Under New Business - Change the title of "C" from Legislative Memo - Digital Accessibility to Overview of 2024 Legislation Affecting Special Districts.
- Insert the item Resolution Adopting Digital Accessibility Policy right after "C" and move the rest of the items down in the same order.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve the agenda with the changes. Bret Wager made the motion to approve the agenda with the amendments. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Approval of Minutes
President Eric Whitman asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes. The changes were as follows:
- Under the Discussion section it was stated that there needed to be an addition to the statement: "The KWWA Grant came up ... ", it was revised to state: "The KWW A Redundancy Well Grant came up ... "
- Also under the Discussion section, it was stated that there needed to be a revision per an email sent by Mr. Craft and restated in the meeting. The original text read: "The Project Needs Assessment also came up, as it also has a suggested water fee increase contained in it at 100%. They have not had a chance to read this document either. This document was.sent out May 14th to board members." It was revised to state: "The Project Needs Assessment also came up and Mr. Craft stated that the PNA identified a 100% rate increase. Several members stated that they have not had a chance to read this document either. This document was sent out May 14th to board members."
Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve of the minutes with changes. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the minutes with amendments. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Financial Report
The YTD Profit and Loss Report was examined by the board.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to accept the YTD Profit and Loss Report. Teresa Parker made the motion to accept the YTD Profit and Loss Report. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Staff Reports
Paul Grant
Paul stated that there was not much to talk about this month. New meters will be ordered to replace the last of the old ones. Mr. Craft asked about water loss and Paul stated that he didn't have the numbers in front of him. Sasha Davidson stated that the numbers were around 20% which is consistent with the reading from May in 2023 and 2022. Mr. Craft asked if this was the same as when the well was leaking, and Sasha stated that those readings were between 50-60%.
Sasha Davidson
System Totals Reports: The reports were expanded to mention that there was a large leak at the elementary school, and at Nordman Park. There was one shut off notice sent, and an outside entity is going to pay off the debt. 20 overdue notices were sent out.
Neptune: The new system was tried out. There were a few glitches with the Neptune device reading all the meters. A few were missed and the old ones still need to be read by hand. Overall, it seems like the system will work well once the bugs are worked out.
Kim Boyd
Ann Alley Tap Fee: A letter confirming payment of the tap fees, a copy of the check for the tap fees and a letter stating the address was changed. This evidence refutes the statements by current and former members of the board that the tap fees were never collected.
Public Comments
The following people spoke:
Debbie Ullom
Diana Edstrom (Who stated that she does not have a three-minute limit and proceeded to keep speaking) Suni Mills
Terry Howard
Jill Duvall
Susan Schlick
Jim Digby
Director Craft read from a prepared statement. (Attached)
Old Business
- Project Needs Assessment (PNA) - Director Craft led the discussion beginning with questions about the scope of the engineers for the assessment and if it was related to the grant or the whole system. It was noted that the decision was made by the KWWA board not to put out an RFP and stay with Wright Water Engineers since they have been with KWW A through the entire process, and they have been working with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) for the PNA. It was turned over to the board for approval and once approved it will be uploaded to the CDPHE to be approve by them. The engineering portion of the well redundancy project cannot be completed until the PNA is approved. The board used $10,000 in grant funds to pay for the PNA, plus $2,000 out of budget. There is a million-dollar grant from the Depa1tment of Local Affairs (DOLA) for the well redundancy project and KWW A is matching that with a loan from the state revolving fund because it requires a 50/50 match. CDPHE also offered a grant to help with the project. Currently the only grant involving KWW A is for the redundancy well project. Getting the PNA approved, with move the project into the next phase of the process for the loan and the portion of design and engineering for the well. The PNA report identifies about 5.7 million dollars for the project which is a jump from the original numbers. It was brought up that to help support the project, water rates need to be doubled or at least raised by 50% immediately to meet the 5.7-million-dollar obligation. There are opportunities for 80% loan forgiveness because Kiowa is a disadvantaged community. Additional grant monies should also be investigated to support the project. The state also will require a rate study as part of the process. Discussion of well placement and water usage was included as part of project requirements. There were questions about grant documents being sent from a CORA request by Diane Miller, and it was stated that documents have been sent three times, including once by legal counsel. It was noted that President Whitman is the contact person for DOLA and the board members can contact them directly. It was suggested that to save some money on the project, only those items which are required to get the redundancy well up and running be cut.
- Email Notice of Non-filing regarding Grant - (Update from DOLA) The grant will expire in 2025 if the board takes no action to utilize it by the summer of 2025, however if an extension is requested it will probably be honored. At this time, there has been no action taken on the grant due to no requests for money at this time. Quarterly reports are being filed. Until the PNA is approved by the board and CDPHE and the project is moving forward there is nothing to report. There are no expenditures or requests for reimbursements to report. DOLA did report that if KWW A were to switch over to a management company, they will need to update all the information for the grant but would not need to reapply for the grant. It was noted though, that the board needs to consider the conflict-of-interest clause in the contract, because even a suggestion of a conflict of interest could put the grant into jeopardy. Currently the grant covers labor, materials, and testing, but does not cover the costs associated with administration and oversight. Right now, the administrative costs are absorbed by what KWW A pays the town under the operating agreement. Switching to a management company, they could charge outside of what normal management of the authority costs, which is not reimbursable under the grant. The project can be done in phases, so when requests for proposals (RFPs) are put out to start the project initially, the board could put it in as "A, B, and C" under the one-million-dollar grant. DOLA suggests that if the board does not believe that one million dollars is sufficient, that breaking up the project is a good idea. Once the million dollars is spent on the first phases of the project, then put out more RFPs for parts "D, E, and F" at which point the board would qualify to go in and ask for an additional one-million-dollar grant or more or ask for supplemental funding. No matter what option is chosen, it will require a 50/50 match in funding. It was restated that at this time, the onemillion-dollar grant is solid and safe, but to utilize it the PNA must be approved.
Laurel Brown made a motion to approve the PNA with revisions made by the KWW A Board, for submittal to the CDPHE. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Increase in Water/Sewer Fees Resolution - Read by President Whitman: "ANNUAL FEE INCREASE - The Monthly Water Services Charges and the Monthly Sewer Service Charges ( collectively the "Monthly Service Charges") shall automatically increase between 3% and 3 .5% each year on January 1. The Board shall determine during the December of each proceeding year the percentage between 3% and 3 .5% that the Monthly Service Charges shall automatically increase on January 1 of the subsequent year. In the event that the Board fails to make such a determination before January 1 of the subsequent year, the Monthly Service Charges shall automatically increase 3.5%. As an example, the Board shall determine during December 2024 the percentage between 3% and 3.5% that the Monthly Service Charges shall automatically increase on January 1, 2025. ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE INSTEAD OF THE ANNUAL FEE INCREASE: TRIANNUAL FEE REVIEW. The Monthly Water Services Charges and the Monthly Sewer Service Charges (collectively the "Monthly Services Charges") shall be reviewed by the Board every three (3) years and adjusted if the Board determines that such adjustment is necessary." Discussion was held about the language in the resolution. There was additional discussion about the 9% raise of the rates to start. Questions arose around the decision to choose 9% over other options and what study it was based on, since 2011 was the last rate study that was completed. It was remarked that the auditor has suggested that rates be raised every year, but the board did not do it. Based on current rates, the board will be "in the red" by 2025 if it doesn't raise rates. There was discussion about giving the public notice, and it was noted that there was a public hearing, even though much of the discussion did not center around raising rates, but rather other topics such as CRS. It was also noted that the public notice in the newspaper and other places, stated that the meeting was about a rate increase. After discussion, it was agreed that on the July 2024 bill there would be notice of the 9% rate increase added so customers would know that the August bill would be higher. It was decided that for the resolution, that the alternate language of the triannual fee review would be adopted.
Bret Wager made a motion to adopt part "9" of the Amended and Restated Resolution concerning the imposition of various fees, rates, penalties and charges for water and sanitary sewer services and facilities. Laurel Brown seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Teresa Parker made a motion to increase water and sewer fees by 9%, with notice going out to customers on the upcoming bill that the increase will be on the August 2024 bill. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - White Bear Ankele 4-30 Invoice Issues - Concerns were brought up about the high amounts on the bill and the specifics of the some of the charges, and if KWW A or individuals were responsible for some of the charges. Legal counsel offered to meet with concerned board members to clarify questions. Questions were brought up about the May 17, 2024, invoice, in which the board was billed for a review of the previous bill. Legal counsel offered to look at the bill with his colleagues. Board members were concerned that they still might not get sufficient answers but agreed to submit questions to legal counsel. A question came up about whether or not KWW A could force an annexation and legal counsel responded that KWW A cannot force an annexation.
- Letter Terminating Operating Agreement-A question was asked if the letter would be emailed and sent certified, to which the answer was yes both due to requirements in the operating agreement. Concerns were brought up by two of the board members about firing the current clerk and administrator in favor of CRS and possible loss of benefits. There was disagreement among board members about whether the decision to hire CRS was finalized at the last meeting or if it was still looking into hiring them after a review by the board and legal counsel and what the previous vote meant. Next, there was discussion over the vagueness and/or non-specificity of the CRS contract. KWW A's legal counsel stated that they worked with CRS to vet and approve the contract. There was also discussion about changing the termination period from 90 days to ten days providing a 30-day period to cure the alleged default. Additionally, it was pointed out that most if not all the grievances listed happened before the current staff were employed, so they would not be able to fix the issues. Legal counsel explained that there were not requirements in the operating agreement that KWW A provide specific dates for the defaults, just that they must provide the defaults, but "given that many of the defaults took place over the course of multiple years it would be pretty difficult to be able to find each individual event listed here." In addition, the provision for the termination does provide for a 3 0-day cure period ... "Our position is that that cure period is intended for the defaults that can be cured in 30 days ... so our opinion is that this cure period isn't really relevant to these defaults ... but again, they are not going to be able to go back and cure things that they have been failing for multiple years .. .it's not possible" Board members questioned this due to the fact that the current staff cannot be held responsible for actions of previous staff and the 30-day cure period is in the contract. Concerns were also raised about the USDA and changes in management, but the board was assured that the USDA was fine as long as they got paid.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to terminate the current staff. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the ten-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. - CRS Contract - There were four RFPs submitted. CRS was chosen as the top candidate as they fulfill all the requirements that KWW A requests and offer many other options. Teresa Parker, Paul Grant and former KWW A President Debbie Ullom conducted the interviews. There is an $8,000.00 set up fee and a $4,000.00 flat monthly fee for the remainder of 2024. It was stated that there is not an automatic renewal set up for the contract. There was some concerns about outside charges that might be outside the scope of the basic contract.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to hire CRS. Tim Craft made a motion to hire CRS beginning June 21, 2024. Teresa Parker 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
- School District Portables - 3" Sewer Taps - The school district is requesting a 3" sewer tap for their new portables. Currently the KWW A fee language states that this is TBD by the KWW A Board. Examples from other similarly situated towns were provided to give guidance. After a presentation by Reise Prokop of Iconic Contracting, it was determined that the board would form a committee to determine a cost before the next meeting. The committee is made up of Bret Wager and Teresa Parker. The cost of the tap fee does not include the cost of the meter, the meter pit inspection or connecting to the main lines. A request was made that if a costeffective amount could be determined for the school district and/or if a payment plan could be possible, it would be appreciated.
Tim Craft made a motion to table this decision until the July 9, 2024, meeting until the committee had time to make its recommendations. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Legislative Memo -Overview of 2024 Legislation Affecting Special Districts. - Legal counsel went over the new law affecting changes digital accessibility laws. Resolution adopts a policy and plan to comply with that law.
President Eric Whitman ente1tained a motion to adopt the resolution. Teresa Parker made a motion to adopt the resolution. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Correspondence/Discussion
None
Adjourn
President Whitman made a motion to table the rest of the items under New Business until the next meeting and adjourn. Tim Craft seconded. Motion Passed with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 8:28pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, July 9, 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