Kiowa Water and WasteWater Authority
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on November 12, 2024, at 5:29pm by President Gabehart.
Roll Call
Present: President Donald Gabehart, Secretary Jill Duvall, Treasurer Teresa Parker, Director Laurel Brown & Director Bret Wager.
Also in attendance:
Trustee Howard, Town of Kiowa Board of Trustees
Kim Boyd, Town Administrator
Paul Grant, Headways Consultants on Zoom
Paul Polito -Attorney on Zoom
Pledge of Allegiance
President Gabehart led the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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 5-0 with no discussion.
- Approval of the minutes of October 8, 2024, 2024, monthly meeting - President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the minutes of October 8, 2024. Treasurer Parker made the motion to approve the minutes. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
Public Comments
John Hill affirmed that he had set a time for Paul Grant to come over to his home and help with his meter.
Executive Session
President Gabehart made the motion Subject to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4), for the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority to meet in an executive session upon affirmative vote of 2/3 of the quorum present, for the sole purpose of considering: conferences with Authority Legal Counsel for the purpose of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions regarding well permitting and bulk water sales. Director Wager seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion. The Board left the regular meeting at 5:32pm. The Board left the executive session and reentered the regular meeting at 6:17pm. It was noted by the KWWA attorney Paul Polito that no actions were taken during the executive session and the items discussed during the executive session were within those mentioned in the agenda.
Financial Reports
- Financial Statements - Administrator Boyd noted that there were some revised reports attached to the financial statements where there were some discrepancies noted and line items that needed to be clarified. The Board stated it would like to see variance and percentage columns on the spreadsheet to help track money spent throughout the year. There were questions about line items that were included by the auditor and whether those could be clarified. It was pointed out that the auditor who put those items in is retiring and a new auditor will be hired.
- Money Market Account - At the previous meeting there was a motion to move additional funds over to the money market account, which was done. In addition, the money market account has moved up to a 5% interest rate, so the rate of return is better. It was noted that a water revenue reserve account and short-lived assets return account should also be noted in the financial statements and that they should be funded.
President Gabehart entertained a motion to approve the financial reports. Secretary Duvall made a motion to approve the financial reports. Director Brown seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
Staff Reports
Paul Grant, ORC
- Monthly Report - written report was submitted in the packet.
- Repairs at Sewer Plant - The pump that was sent in to be repaired will be ready the next week and it will be installed November 20, 2024.
Kim Boyd, Town Administrator
- Project Needs Assessment Update - This was submitted October 1, 2024, and there has been no response from CDPHE. The third quarter report was submitted to DOLA.
- Tim Craft vs. KWWA Lawsuit - Case #30029 was dismissed with prejudice on October 31, 2024.
- Apple I pads and Business Manager-After discussion with Treasurer Parker, the domain name for KWWA will be kiowawater.com so when the email addresses are created, they will contain this domain. Apple Business Manger has not completed the verification process yet that will enable the ordering of the IPADS, however the keyboards have arrived.
Sasha Davidson, Clerk
Systems Total Report - There was a slight increase in the water loss this month, but in comparison previous years, it was not out of the norm. In the previous month, there was only one customer who received a shut off notice that did not timely pay and so they had their water and sewer services discontinued for a few days until they paid, and it was restored. There is still one customer from the previous month that still has not paid and has not had water and sewer services for over a month. This month four warning letters and four shut off letters were mailed out.
Old Business
- System Mapping - Diamond Maps - It is a computer program that will allow us to map all the water and sewer mains, meter pits, water shut off valves, hydrants, etc. Currently, only Paul Grant has all the maps and knows most of the locations of all these items. If he were unavailable and the KWWA Board needed to know the location of these systems due to an emergency, it would be a complicated situation. The Colorado Rural Water Association suggested this program to make sure that KWWA can keep track of all its infrastructure and related items. The board requested cost quotes for the mapping and program.
- Water Attorney - President Gabehart entertained a motion to hire a water attorney for KWWA. Director Wager made a motion to hire a water attorney to investigate legalities and procedures not to exceed the amount of $9,000.00 in legal costs. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
- Bulk Water Violation - Administrator Boyd requested direction from the board on how to handle the bulk water violation. President Gabehart made a motion to send a letter to Prodigy Excavating requesting payment of the water used and the meter fees with the penalties being deferred pending the outcome of revisions of the bulk water policy. Treasurer Parker seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
New Business
- Finance Procedures Policy - It was recommended that this be moved to the work session, as it is a long document, and the Board should have time to look over it completely. President Gabehart entertained a motion to move this to the work session. Director Wager made a motion to table the discussion of the finance procedures policy until the work session. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
- Establishing Agreement and Operating Agreement with the Town of Kiowa - It was noted that during a previous meeting there was discussion over the interpretations of the establishing agreement and the operating agreement, so the documents were handed over the KWWA attorneys to review. It was noted by the KWWA attorney that there were some minor revisions needed, but overall, the consistency and clarity of the operating agreement was sufficient. The Town's attorney has requested a work session with KWWA and their attorneys to review and collaborate on the documents. The KWWA attorney agreed that the issues could be dealt with in a work session. The KWWA attorney spoke to some clarifications for the establishing agreement, specifically section 104 which deals with appointments to the board. There was discussion concerning the need for clarity regarding the title "The Board" and which entity (KWWA or the Town of Kiowa) is referenced in different portions of the establishing agreement and who has authority for appointments to the KWWA Board. It was noted for insurance purposes that the connection between the boards is required, and the Town Board must make the appointments, which need to be clarified and identified properly in the establishing agreement. There was additional discussion about the appointment of officers and the timeliness. It was noted that all records should be kept with the independent records keeper and not individual board members and that some of the originating documents are missing and believed to be in the possession of a former board member which needs to be returned to the official records keeper. It was decided that a current board member would reach out to the previous board member and request that they return any documents they had in their possession.
President Gabehart entertained a motion to move further discussion about the establishing agreement and the operating agreement to the work session. Secretary Duvall made a motion to table further discussions about the operating agreement and establishing agreement for a work session. Director Brown seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion. - Bulk Water - Suspension of Sales - President Gabehart made a motion to suspend the sales of bulk water until the completion of the revision of the bulk water policies. Secretary Duvall seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion.
Correspondence/Discussion
Adjourn
President Gabehart entertained a motion to adjourn. Secretary Duvall made the motion to adjourn. Director Wager seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0 with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 7:07pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, December 10, at 5:30pm at Kiowa Town Hall.
Minutes Approved by: Jill Duvall, KWWA Secretary
Sasha Davidson, Secretary to the Board