Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on March 12, 2024, at 6:01pm by 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, Kim Boyd, Town Administrator, Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk/Utility Billing Clerk, George Rowley, KWWA Attorney, and Paul Grant, Headways Consultants who was on Zoom.
President Whitman read a statement written by the KWWA Attorney George M. Rowley.
Consent Items
Approval of Agenda
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve the agenda. Tim Craft made the motion to approve the agenda. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Approval of Minutes
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve of the minutes. Tim Craft noted that he would like the minutes to reflect that he tried to enter the meeting through Zoom but was unable to join. Tim Craft made the motion to approve the minutes as amended. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Financial Report
The YTD Profit and Loss Report was looked at by the board. President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve the report. Bret Wager made the motion to approve the report. Laurel Brown seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Staff Reports
Paul Grant
Water tower - The auto dialer phone line has been fixed. 2 batteries were replaced, and the solar panel has been fixed. There was one overflow that resulted in the 26% loss.
Meters - The remainder of the meters have been replaced in Ute Village.
Majestic Church Leak - They were able to find the leak and shut off the water at the curb stop. There was probably a loss of around 2,000 gallons. At this point they are seeing if they need to move the service line. There was a question of who would be charged for this service - C&C Construction was out at the leak so they will be sending a bill to the Town who would have to decide if they will forward it to the church.
Kiowa Bar Leak -After checking around the bar, it was determined that one of the upstairs tenant's toilets was leaking quite a bit and this was the cause. The tenant was informed of the problem so they could get it fixed. In the meantime, the water was shut off to that toilet.
Wastewater Plant Mechanical Issues - Inlet valve on SBR #2 has no shut off/check valve. To get in and fix it the basin needs to be drained as there is about a foot left of liquid. Paul purchased a pump to see if they could pump it out themselves. If not, they will have to hire someone to do it. He provided a copy of McDonald Farms Wastewater Disposal Company as one option for this, but it will cost around $11,000, so at this time, Paul's crew will try to pump it out themselves so the repairs can be made.
8" PRV at Apache & Ute - This upgraded clay valve has been installed. Next year will be the final clay valve that needs to be replaced which is the 12" Fire Station Valve.
Lead/Galvanized Pipes -The Colorado Department of Health is working to eliminate lead exposure for its residents. To that end, Paul is going to be figuring out which service lines in town still currently have galvanized or lead pipe or solder. If a house was built after 1987, there is no problem. Houses built between 1983 -1987 might have copper pipes with lead solder. Houses built before 1983 could have lead pipes. Sasha volunteered to help Paul determine which houses were built before 1987. After that he will have to go into the meter pits and physically look. If the lead is on the town's side, then the cost will go to KWWA and if it is on the customer's side the cost will go to them. Fawn Valley may have to have both sides of the curb stop inspected if we can't find dates.
Sasha Davidson
System Total Reports -There was some water loss from the tower, but at this time the overall water loss is half of what it was in the previous couple of months. An updated spreadsheet and graph were provided to show the decline in water loss. Since the repairs have been completed at the water tower and as the meters are updated, the loss should continue to go down. All the accounts that were in arears paid their bills in full.
Water Tower Information - Previously, the tower did not have an address, but after contacting the assessor's office, it does have a utility address which is 12415, Hwy 86. Photos and information were provided to show where the water tower is located within the plat and that it is encompassed in a 3-acre area. Currently, we are out of compliance without a fence around the water tower. A request was put in to add the fence to a maintenance list.
RVS & Neptune - RVS uploaded the new file on their end, and made a test file, which was provided to Neptune. If all the files work together, then the plan is to utilize the hand held device in April after some brief training.
Leak at A-14 Hardship Consideration - There was leak at this location and 200,000 gallons were lost. The request was to pay $125 per month until this is paid off, which should take a little over a year. President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve the hardship request. Tim Craft made the motion to approve the hardship request. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Public Comments
Debbie Ullom -spoke for 1 minute 41 seconds.
George Rowley- signed up but declined to speak.
Jim Digby-signed up but declined to speak.
Kristen Decker - signed up but declined to speak.
Diane Miller -signed up but declined to speak.
Terry Howard -spoke for 1 minute 18 seconds.
Old Business
A. Rules and Regulations for Sewer Main - SOP -This policy guides decision-making during a main break or when a system requires a shutdown for work or an unusual event. There was discussion about adding a section to the rules and regulations about ensuring that there are sufficient barricades when excavating companies are digging the holes and during repairs. An additional SOP was requested for when the leak is found under/in the homeowner's property, which would include both the water and sewer lines. A discussion was held about the yokes and curb stops. At this time, grants are being sought to help pay for putting in curb stops at each house, so KWWA's responsibility would stop at the curb stop. It was noted that in 2021 the KWWA board decided to pay for the yoke no matter whose side the leak was on, and so the yoke and the meter are KWWA's responsibility, which will be included in the SOP. Currently, Paul is the emergency contact if there is a major leak/break.
B. Water & Sewer Increases - Discussion was held about water rate increases. For residential customers, a 3% increase is about $3.18, which would bring the bill up from the current base rate of $106.14 to approximately $110.00/month. A 6% increase would bring the bill up to approximately $113.00/month. A 9% increase would bring the bill up to $116.00/month. A 12% increase would bring the bill up to $119.00/month. Based on the rate study done previously in 2011, our rates are far behind where they should be. Discussion was held about Commercial ($122.38 base rate), Governmental ($140.46 base rate) and School ($136.29) rates needing to be adjusted accordingly from their base rates. Beyond the base increase in rates, there was discussion of a yearly increase of 3- 3.5% in rates to help adjust for inflation. If rates had been raised 3% from 2011, the bills would be around $135- $140 per month for residential. To be equitable across the board, a percentage raise would be charged to the Commercial, Governmental, and Schools.
It was noted that in the next five to seven years there would need to be about $3,000,000 in repairs, which means rates need to be increased about $50.00/month across all users. This does include additional taps, grants, etc. It was suggested that there needs to be an official reserve study done to ensure that the numbers are correct, and it was stated that there are grant possibilities for this.
Bulk water rates were discussed, which at the current time are $20.00/1000 gallons flat rate. It was suggested that those rates needed to be raised also.
A meeting will be scheduled so that 30 days' notice can be given to all the residents in town about a public hearing for the water/sewer rate increase. President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve raising the water/sewer rates' base plus and annual CPI increase. Tim Craft made the motion to consider an increase of the water/sewer rates by 9%, phased in over six months once approved, across all user types, with an annual increase tied to the consumer price index in January of each year. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
New Business
A. Certificates of Insurance with all subcontractors/vendors:
Direct Link
Inland Potable Services Inc. (Tower Diving Company)
Headways Consultants
Velocity Plant Services
All State Plumbing & Consulting
Cross Diamond Electric
Denali Water Solutions
Ted Miller & Associates
Timberline Electric & Control Corp
TW Summit Corp
Kiowa's Town Administration has the documents and will share them with the KWWA Board
B. Contingency Fund - What is it used for? - A former board member volunteered that it was added to avoid making an appropriation at the end of the year so that when repairs or legal fees, etc. cross the end of one year and go into the next, it is the balance that moves forward to cover those expenses/overages, which should not be spent otherwise.
C. Town of Kiowa overreach on KWWA Authority - This was covered in the opening statement by President Eric Whitman
Competitive Bid process for replacement management - Discussion was held about replacing the current management. If there is a default under the operating agreement between KWWA and the Town of Kiowa, it can be terminated on ten days' notice providing a cause. You can also terminate for any other reason on 90 days' notice. It was suggested that there be exploration into other management groups to see if a different and cost-efficient option can be found. It was noted that the staff who work for the KWWA Board also work for the Town of Kiowa Board and are responsible to both boards who are at odds currently. In addition, it was stated that the two boards need to work together on the best way to work for the citizens of the town. It was requested that the option of looking into other management companies be put on next month's agenda. Theresa Parker made a motion to reach out to four or five companies to investigate replacement management from our surrounding area. It was suggested that the motion be a bit more general and utilize RFP's (request for proposal) to get a minimum of three bids. The motion was amended to reach out with RFPs to investigate replacement management options for the KWWA Boards. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Discussion
None
Correspondence/Information/Review
None
Adjourn
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to close out the meeting. Tim Craft made the motion to adjourn, Bret Wager seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 7:20pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Town Hall at 6:00pm
Minutes Approved by: Eric Whitman, President
Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk/Utilities Billing Clerk