Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on May 14, 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. There were two to be added:
- Under new business - Hardship Request by Sasha Davidson, K WW A clerk.
- Under new business - Digital Accessibility Requirements by Scott A. Goodstein, KWWA attorney.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve the agenda with the changes. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the agenda with the amendments. Brett Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Approval of Minutes
Eric Whitman entertained a motion to approve of the minutes. Laurel Brown made the motion to approve the minutes. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Financial Report
The YTD Profit and Loss Report was examined by the board. It was noted that there were a couple large repairs at the sewer plant, and a large legal bill.
President Eric Whitman entertained a motion to accept the YTD Profit and Loss Report. Bret Wager made the motion to accept the YTD Profit and Loss Report. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
Director Laurel Brown brought up some concerns about the amount of the April Bill from KWWA's attorneys: Whitebear, Ankele, Tanaka & Waldren. There was discussion amongst the board members and attorney Scott A. Goodstein about expenses, items that might not be related to KWW A, the administrative costs, and the number of attorneys involved. Scott A. Goodstein asked to have the issues emailed to him, and he and his colleagues would look over them.
Staff Reports
Paul Grant
Water and Sewer - Water and sewer plants are all running well. At the sewer plant there was a valve replaced on SBR#2.
Compliance Inspection -An inspection was done at sewer plant by CDPHE (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment). There were two issues found:
- Since there was a discharge to the previous lagoon, there needs to be an investigation into whether it has a liner or not. If it does not, even though it was ok' d to use, the discharge would have to be reported as a spill. At this point the pond looks like it is holding, but the liquid will be pumped back into the sewer plant slowly and once it is empty it will be checked for a liner. It is a decommissioned lagoon, but hopefully the state will continue to let it be used in emergencies, like the valve replacement caused.
- The meters need to be calibrated at the sewer plant.
Farmer's State Bank Sewer Blockage - The backup was fixed and during the cleanout, a missing manhole was found, 16 inches under the pavement. Work is being done to bring it up close to ground level and mark its location. The Vet Clinic will be informed of the backup to see if they have any issues with their sewer.
Sasha Davidson
System Totals Reports: Water loss has continued to be minimal since the phone system issues at the water tower were fixed. There was a loss of 13%, up about 3.5% from last month. A few shut off notices were sent out, but all brought their bills current. 12 overdue notices were sent out last month also.
Neptune: The belt clip reader and tablet were both delivered and set up. Paul and Sasha spent from 9:00am -4:30pm on May 13, 2024, training to get the Neptune system set up to work with RVS, so it should be ready to go for meter reads this month. There is free technical help available if there are problems.
Tap fees: Tap fees have been paid, plus pit inspection fee and meter installation fee, which are noted in the financial statements.
Public Comments
The following people spoke:
ichard Croissant (Zoom)
Ron Pippen Jr.
Ron Pippen Sr. (Zoom) Debbie Ullom
Suni Mills
Jill Duvall
Old Business
- Rules and Regulations for Sewer Mains - Paul and Sasha updated the previous policy on division of services to add the sewer piece, and to clarify expectations and expenses. A discussion was held with Scott A. Goodstein and the board to have it turned into a resolution for the next regular meeting of the board.
- Competitive Bid Process for replacing management of KWWA - Teresa Parker, Paul Grant and former KWWA President Debbie Ullom conducted interviews with three of the four candidates from the RFP bid process to replace the current utility billing staff at the town with a new one, due to claims of inadequacy, incompetence, and cost. Special District Solutions was eliminated due to the high cost and was not interviewed. The remaining three interviewed were:
- Community Resource Services of Colorado (CRS) - Interview team was impressed with their presentation. 2 ½ hour interview. Cost is $8,000 set up fee and estimated $4,000/month until the end of 2024. Fees and contract would be renegotiated for 2025.
- SEMS - 1 ½ hour interview. Many options offered were additional costs above regular contract (cost not stated). This applicant was less responsive.
- Public Alliance- Some fees additional above regular contract (cost not stated). The interview committee felt that because they do not use a lot of the programs that are already utilized, that it would be "re-creating the wheel" to go with this company and would not be cost effective.
The interview team's recommendation is to consider hiring CRS. There was some discussion about clarifying the monthly fee being charged and if it would change next year. Tim Craft disclosed that he is a member on several boards where CRS is a manager, but he didn't consider it a conflict. There was also discussion about facilities to be used and avenues for citizens to pay bills. A question came up about the grievances and/or default of the current staff that led to the decision to look elsewhere for alternative KWW A staff. It was noted that the past president of the board of KWW A, Debbie Ullom, stated some issues, as well as current president Eric Whitman. When pressed on specifics, Tim Craft stated that he believed that there were better staff to serve the residents of Kiowa than what is available and that based on the operating agreement the staff could be terminated without cause, and he would "rather not go through a laundry list to save the embarrassment of staff'. It was reiterated that a company specifically devoted to water districts would be more beneficial to running KWWA.
Teresa Parker made a motion to look at the contract and hire CRS, pending legal and KWW A board review. Bret Wager seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
A roll call vote was taken:
Laurel Brown - No
Teresa Parker - Yes
Bret Wager - Yes
Tim Craft - Yes
Eric Whitman - Yes
- 90 Day Letter Terminating Operating Agreement with the Town of Kiowa
President Eric Whitman made a motion to table this discussion until next regular meeting pending review of the CRS contract. Teresa Parker seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion.
New Business
- Project Needs Assessment - After a brief review and discussion, it was decided that the board needed time to review the document to make recommendations and revisions. The upcoming audit was discussed, and it was decided that the current audit was sufficient at this time. A committee was formed with Laurel Brown and Tim Craft to look over the document and address concerns.
Teresa Parker made a motion to table the Project needs assessment upon review of the committee until the next regular meeting in June. Tim Craft seconded the motion. Motion passed with no discussion. - Hardship Request - A hardship request to lower the amount due on a bill was made due to financial concerns. After discussion, it was decided not to make any changes or allow for hardship, but instead to recoup the money from the sale of the property.
- Digital Accessibility Requirements - Scott A. Goodstein spoke to the new law requiring websites to be ADA compliant by July 1, 2024. Small communities can apply for an extension until July 1, 2025, if they cannot meet the deadline, but must have a plan and show movement towards compliance. It was noted that the current website designer was aware of the law.
Correspondence/Discussion
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 7:34pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at Town Hall at 6:00pm and a special meeting will be held on May 21, 2024, at 6:00 P.M., at the Kiowa Fire Department, 403 County Road 45, Kiowa, Colorado 80117.
Minutes Approved by: Eric Whitman, President
Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk/Utilities Billing Clerk