Town of Kiowa Water & Wastewater Authority
Regular Monthly Meeting Minutes
November 14, 2023
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Kiowa Water and Wastewater Authority was called to order on November, 2023, at 6:00pm by President Debbie Ullom with the following in attendance:
Directors: Eric Whitman and Teresa Parker appeared in person. Annette Burmaster and Tim Craft were absent.
Also Present:
Town Administrator: Kim Boyd
Town Clerk/Utility Billing Clerk: Sasha Davidson
Paul Grant, Headways Consultant, LLC, appeared via zoom at 6:25pm
Consent Items
- Approval of Agenda
President Debbie Ullom requested an amendment to the agenda to add under Old Business B - Budget for 2024. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the agenda. Eric Whitman seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion. - Approval of Minutes
Teresa Parker noted that there was typo in the paragraph under “Budget” on the minutes. The amount should be $7000, not $700. Debbie Ullom made a request that the minutes be approved with the typo corrected. Teresa Parker made the motion to approve the October 10 regular meeting minutes with the correction in the budget paragraph. Eric Whitman seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion.
Financial Report
Debbie Ullom requested a motion to table the Year-to-Date P& L financial report. Eric Whitman made a motion to approve. Teresa Parker seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion. It has been tabled until the December 12th meeting.
Staff Reports
- Paul Grant, Headways Consultants
Paul confirmed that the company he had helping to replace the meters in the mobile home park quit after doing 17 meters. He stated that his crew would finish replacing them in the next couple weeks. During Paul’s report, a community member, John, stated that he had spider spray available for Paul to use. Paul stated that after finishing at the mobile home park, that they would be out of meters for the year. He believed that next year they would only have 117 left to replace. He noted that we still need to get the program set up to read the meters easier. It was noted that the RVS system was fixed to accept the program for the meter reads. Contacting Neptune was the next step, and it was suggested that the cost would be around $9000.00, and it needed to be discussed in the budget meeting in December. Money has been budgeted for Paul to replace another valve so areas can be isolated instead of shutting down the whole town. The phone line for the tank needs updated, which will be somewhere in the range of $2000 - $4000 dollars, which needs to go on the repair list. - Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk
The System Totals reports for October and September were included in the packet for review, which included the Bulk Water totals. There was discussion of continued water loss – primarily based on the old meters and some of the new ones that were malfunctioning, however it was noted that the percentage lost was coming down. Next, was a discussion of accounts that were in arrears. 20 letters were sent to people who were in the 31–60-day range for overdue accounts. 18 shut-off letters were sent out to people who were in the 60+ range for overdue accounts. All but one account paid the full amount, so one account was shut off. As of the meeting, the person paid the full amount, and their water has been restored. There was discussion about the fact that when payments are made, it goes to pay the oldest amount due, so it reverts to the previous set of payment range and so it shows that the person is not so far behind. It was suggested that a report be generated that shows anyone who has a balance over $300 and a letter can be sent to let the customer know. It was also noted that the spreadsheet on deposits made is in process. There was a discussion about refunds being generated after sales of properties if there was a deposit. Lastly, it was discussed that the three meters that had been malfunctioning, have all be changed out and are working properly now. - Kim Boyd, Town Administrator
Grant Update – Paperwork was received from Dola to finalize that grant, so once the contract is entered and finalized the money can be utilized. Wright Water has been P & A which is the public needs assessment which gets the project closer to the SRO. A $10,000 loan is what is funding that. It was noted that Wright Water is paid and then KWWA turns it in for reimbursement from the grant. There was a question if Jeff had gotten everything he needed from Paul, but at this time he has not reached out to say that he is missing anything but was agreed that the administrator would touch base with them. It was noted that Paul showed up to replace meters in the trailer park. He had hired licensed meter installers to help him with the installation and was paying the difference between the price contracted with him through KWWA and the cost charged by the other group. 17 were completed and 18 were left, plus 3 on Mayan Circle. The other group quit and stated they would not do the other 18 at the trailer park.
Public Comments
Dean McAllister at 213 Cheyenne. He had a bill for a water break in August. He was told by the mayor that the break was on his side, and it would cost around $700.00. Mr. McAllister requested that the water just be shut off and he would take care of the problem himself. He was then informed by the mayor that when they were shutting the water off the valve broke, and so the main line had to be shut off. The mayor then added that since they had to fix the broken valve that they would also fix the meter at the same time. Mr. McAllister noted that it appears that he has a new meter with a new sensor on top, and a cover. He went on to question his responsibility to pay for the yoke replacement. Paul Grant joined the conversation at this point and explained that when they went to replace the meter it was discovered the there was a leak in the yoke, so it was replaced also. It was noted that four plumbers were called to get estimates about repair costs, and they all had similar numbers to what KWWA was charging. Mr. McAllister noted that he did not think he should have to pay for all of it because he has licensed plumbers that could do it cheaper. He asked if the yoke replacement costs were in writing, and was informed that they were, but maybe getting the information out to customers in a clearer form would be beneficial to everyone. Mr. McAllister noted that he was willing to pay for the yoke fee, but no the labor fee. It was pointed out that the code has been set for a long time and this issue is included. When it was brought up again about Mr. McAllister wanting to bring in his own licensed plumber, there were concerns about issues that could affect the whole public water system and the infrastructure. The main issue Mr. McAllister had was that he felt he did not receive proper notification. In the end, after the discussions, it was decided to table the issue until Debbie could talk to George and Paul, and Mr. McAllister was told not to pay the bill yet until more information was collected. Paul was told to put a new cover on the meter.
Old Business
Updated Operating Agreement
Discussion about including certain expenses that go between KWWA and Town of Kiowa in the $5500.00 monthly. It was decided that KWWA would continue to write direct checks to Core for the sewer and water plant (#9), and any water and sewer specific expenses (#10). Things that would be inclusive in the $5500.00 would be KWWA’s portion of the town hall’s utilities, Phoenix service plan, Adobe, Zoom, and the copier. It was agreed that the clerk’s position and benefits would continue to be paid for by KWWA. KWWA will not pay for items in the town that are not tied to it specifically. There needs to be some specific verbiage to make the budget clearer in respect to the shared and reimbursement expenses between KWWA and Town of Kiowa regarding what expenses are included in the $5,500.00. Debbie Ullom requested a motion be made to approve the amended and restated operating agreement for the Town of Kiowa and KWWA, November 14, 2023, with the additions of #9 and #10 and spell out of what is inclusive in the $5500.00. Eric Whitman made a motion to approve the agreement. Teresa Parker seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion.
New Business
- Budget
The budget will be updated and there will be some adjustments that need to be made for the next year with expenses that will be incurred. - Logo
The board was given three logo choices to update the KWWA letterhead and mailings. The board chose the third picture which was the KWWA title along with a “swoosh” underneath it. They requested that all the fonts match, and the response was affirmative. - Hardship Cases
There were two hardship cases brought before the board. Account 427 thought that they had been approved previously and there was a miscommunication. Debbie asked for a motion to allow this customer to continue with the payment plan. Eric Whitman made a motion to accept the terms of the agreement. Teresa Parker seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion. A second hardship request came in about paying for one of the yokes. Debbie Ullom requested a motion to table the discussion about account 412. Eric Whitman made a motion to table the discussion. Teresa Parker seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion. - Forfeited Tap
Discussion about new property owner not wanting to pay tap fees on one that had been forfeited previously. They were informed that the seller knew about this and agreed to it at the time. Previous notes, minutes, letters, and information were provided to the interested parties.
Discussion
None
Correspondence/Information/Review
None
Adjourn
Eric Whitman made the motion to adjourn, Teresa Parker seconded, and the motion passed with no discussion. The meeting adjourned at 6:57 pm.
The next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at Town Hall at 6:00pm
Minutes Approved by:
Debbie Ullom, President
Sasha Davidson, Town Clerk