October 24, 2022 Video Board Meeting
Transcript
AGENDA
Board of Directors Meeting
Monday, October 24, 2022, at 6:00 p.m.
7404 Yorkshire Drive, Castle Pines, CO 80108
I. Welcome. Call meeting to order. Pledge of Allegiance.
II. Roll call. Determination of quorum. Disclosure of potential conflicts. III. Consider approving the October 24, 2022. Board meeting agenda. IV. Consider approving July 25, 2022. Board meeting minutes.
V. Consider approving the board’s August 17, 2022, study session minutes. VI. Consider approving August 22, 2022. Board meeting minutes. VII. Consider approving the board’s September 21, 2022, study session minutes.
VIII. Consider approving September 26, 2022. Board meeting minutes. IX. Public comment period. (Three-minute maximum per person).
X. Parks, Trails & Open Space Manager's report.
A. Consider adopting staff/consultant team’s proposed skate park facility location and construction timeframe.
XI. Finance Director's report.
A. Status of 2021 Audited Financial Statement.
B. Overview and status of CPNMD’s 2022 budget and finances.
C. Consider approving claims for payment including checks numbers 27044 – 27315and electronic payments for June 11, 2022, through October 18, 2022.
General Fund & Debt Service: Approve $14,750.96 | Ratify $397,030.74 | Totals $411,781.70
Enterprise Funds: Approve $442,795.03 | Ratify $3,302,179.95 | Totals $3,744,974.98
Electronic Payments (all funds): Approve $0.00 | Ratify $495,645.39 | Totals $495,645.39
Total Expenditures: Approve $457,545.99 | Ratify $4,194,856.08 | Totals $4,652,402.07
D. Adopt 2023 budget and certify mill levy by December 15, 2022.
E. 2023 adopted budget filed with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) by January 31, 2023.
F. Outstanding 2023 budget-development questions and considerations.
1) Status of CPNMD’s water and wastewater rate study Erik Helgeson of Bartle Wells Associates.
2) Annual consideration of cost-of-service rate and fee adjustments for
water and wastewater utility services?
3) Extend or rescind the existing temporary mill levy reduction?
4) Extend or rescind the existing elimination of the $15 renewable
water investment fee on customers’ monthly water bills?
XII. Legal Counsel's report.
A. Status and timing of integrated stormwater, parks, trails & open space facilities IGA with the City of Castle Pines.
B. Status of litigation against the developer, Ventana Capital, for deficient Lagae lift station and associated costs.
C. Consider adopting Colorado Family Medical & Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Opt-Out Resolution.
D. Consider a draft best practice, standard-of-conduct resolution requiring Directors to discuss concerns about contractors and staff exclusively in CPNMD board executive session(s).
XII. Interim District Manager’s report.
A. Homepage Non-Emergency Alert.
B. Nathan’s News.
C. Open House at InterConnect Pump Station & Pipeline facility, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 28, 2022.
D. Two Tuesdays with Travis: a series of informal discussions on the first and second Tuesday mornings of each month about CPNMD-specific topics on constituents’ minds; will commence November 1st & 8th, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., at the Castle Pines North Community Center.
XIII. Directors' matters.
XIV. Adjourn.
Our next monthly board meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Monday, November 14, 2022.
VISUAL INFORMATION DESCRIPTIONS FOR ATTACHED Map:
The proposed pickleball courts and skate park are positioned in two distinct areas of Coyote Ridge Park. The pickleball courts are planned for the northwest section of the park, situated inside the upper loop of the access road that extends north off Serena Drive, just north of the existing central athletic courts. Meanwhile, the proposed skate park is designated for the eastern edge of the grounds, located right next to the east parking lot along Hidden Point Boulevard. This skate park area sits directly south of the main playground and picnic shelter complex, putting it just east of the baseball diamond that borders Serena Drive to the south.
October 2022
TWO NON-EMERGENCY ALERTS
First, this is the time of year we usually switch water supply sources from our network of deep-water wells in the Denver Basin Aquifer System to our 1,006 acre feet of renewable water in Chatfield Reservoir. Via a long-standing contract, the Centennial Water & Sanitation District (Highl ands Ranch) treats our renewable water supplies. Which we then pump through our InterConnect Pump Station & Pipeline to three distribution points in our water distribution system.
This month, however, our staff/consultant/contractor team will replace literally every valve in our water treatment plant. Additionally, Centennial WSD is substantially expanding and upgrading its own water treatment plant. This combination of factors requires that we take our water treatment plant offline for twenty-one days. Thankfully, our renewable water supply in Chatfield Reservoir, our longstanding relationship with Centennial WSD that treats our renewable water, and the redundancy of our water distribution system via the InterConnect Pump Station & Pipeline allow us the flexibility to do so seamlessly.
Consequently, per our recent broadcast email, we begin utilizing our InterConnect Pump Station & Pipeline on Friday, October 7, 2022, with the intent of reverting to our aquifer wells starting Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
Switching water sources can stir up calcium and iron residuals in the water lines. Though the water remains safe to drink, if you encounter discolored water, please report it by clicking the E-MAIL US @ link in the upper right of our homepage and
completing the brief web-based form. We will dispatch a crew to flush the water lines in your neighborhood. Before reporting the discoloration, however, please consider turning on the faucets in your home to flush lines.
Centennial WSD intends to execute additional upgrades to its water treatment facility next year, though the impact on our water source is, for the moment, unclear. We will apprise you when we know more.
Once Centennial WSD completes its water treatment plant upgrades and capacity improvements, we anticipate reverting to our usual, twice-annual water source switchover as follows:
▪ From October 1st through April 30th of each year, CWSD will continue treating CPNMD’s renewable water supply in Chatfield Reservoir; and
▪ From May 1st through September 30th of each year, we will continue to utilize our deep-water wells in the Denver Basin Aquifer System.
Second, your October 2022 water bill includes a state-mandated, non-emergency notice of undocumented storage tank inspections from March 2022. The state requires water districts to periodically perform comprehensive inspections of their storage tanks. Though we scheduled the necessary tank inspections long ago, we failed to complete the work before the state required us to notify customers. Our staff/consultant team has established processes and protocols for filing the applicable reports promptly with the state. Our periodic tank inspection program now meets or exceeds state regulations.
We sincerely apologize for the oversight.
Nathan’s News
October 2022
Insights from Interim District Manager Nathan Travis
As we wind down our annual irrigation and l andscape season, our parks, trails, and open space division is making big moves! Beginning construction on the much-anticipated pickle ball courts last month presented unexpected challenges for our sta /consultant team. Special thanks to our Parks, Trails and Open Space Manager David Anderson. Through his hard work, creative problem-solving, and collaboration with the City of Castle Pines, we identified a workaround to a perplexing problem that had stalled the pickleball court groundbreaking for months. The issue has a long and complex backstory, so I’ll spare you the details here. Now that the project is underway, some have raised the following concerns and questions. We hear you!
Q: What will CPNMD do to mitigate noise from the pickleball courts once they open?
A: David Anderson and pickleball court designer, Carl Henry, are working with the installation contractor on a court design modification that will result in sound
mitigation panels. Our sta /consultant team will present the updated pickleball court design to the board of directors during its study session on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
Q: What about the Skate Park?
A: Younger residents and their parents have expressed sadness about losing their favorite community amenity. As a former “park rat” (a term that dates me a bit), I take their comments to heart.
First, we’ve identified two potential locations for the new skate park. Carol Henry of Design Concepts is developing preliminary conceptual drawings for both location options. Which she will present to our board of directors for initial review in October or November 2022.
Second, with what I hope will be the board’s blessing, the construction and opening of our new skate park facility will occur as part of Phase 2 in 2024. Special thanks to Director Christopher Lewis, whose relentless advocacy created essential momentum for accelerating the skate park.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
I buried the lead here. But with so many exciting things going on, I couldn't decide where to start. Drum roll, please…
We are collaborating with the City of Castle Pines to quickly and responsibly consolidate CPNMD’s 352 acres of open space, fourteen miles of eight-foot-wide, paved trails and three parks under City management. Doing so will enable us to focus exclusively on our water and wastewater utility infrastructure and services while thoroughly vetting potential inclusion partners. In addition:
n Given the stormwater, parks, trails and open space services which the City of Castle Pines is developing in The Canyons east of I-25, consolidating our community parks, trails, open space and recreational services under the City’s jurisdiction will reduce administrative overhead, lower cost and enable more e cient planning, operations and management.
n The City has signaled its commitment to water conservation, including replacing Kentucky Bluegrass sod and other water-intensive vegetation on CPNMD and City l and with waterwise/xeric vegetation.
n The City has also signaled its intent to honor CPNMD’s planned capital investments, including Phase 1, 2and 3 improvements to Coyote Ridge Park.
Our chief legal counsel, Kim Seter and city attorney, Linda Michow, are drafting an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the CPNMD board and city council to consider this year. Should the board and city council approve the IGA, our parks, trails and open space operations and management could move to the City’s contractual jurisdiction as soon as March 2023!
Shortly thereafter, with CPNMD’s support, the City could schedule a special election seeking voter approval to reallocate an as yet undefined portion of CPNMD’s existing mill levy to the City of Castle Pines – without raising CPNMD’s residential and commercial property tax rate (mill levy).
Of course, we are working through a myriad of nitty-gritty details. However, our meetings with City’s sta /consultant team are encouraging. At this juncture. Both jurisdictions appear keen to finalize and execute a fiscally responsible consolidation of parks, trails, open space and recreation facilities without delay and for the benefit of all residents.
One a personal note: Our sta /consultant team is uniformly dedicated to providing our residents with quality, timely service. We take the quality of every service we provide seriously.
When you have questions or concerns about our parks, trails, open space, drinking water, wastewater services or stormwater, please don’t hesitate to ask for me directly. You may reach me via the E-MAIL US @ link in the upper right of our homepage at www.cpnmd.org; simply complete the brief online form. Residents can always call me at (303) 688-8550.
Your feedback is the best tool we have to ensure we deliver a fantastic outdoor experience and safe, high-quality drinking water to you and your family. We care and are listening.
Please stay engaged, keep an eye on our website and monitor our board meetings and study sessions. More to come…
“Remember we’re all in this together.” – Red Green
A thank you, an Open House & Two Tuesdays with Travis Infrastructure investments pay immediate & obvious dividends.
Many thanks to the several dozen homeowners who joined me for one of five guided tours of our newly renovated water treatment plant. By all accounts, the tours were fantastic. Check out the feedback and photos on pages three through six below. We are eager to schedule additional tours. Interested homeowners and HOAs should contact our communications director, Ken Smith, at ken@cpnmd.org.
“
We’ve invested roughly $3 million in our water treatment plant this year. With the board’s blessing, I anticipate investing another $7 million in water-infrastructure upgrades in 2023. Cost figures for the infrastructure improvements and system upgrades we executed over the last ten months are about seventeen percent less than the projected costs identified in the Parker Water & Sanitation District Inclusion condition assessment, even
as we make capital investments beyond those identified.
Nathan Travis
Interim District Manager
nathan@cpnmd.org
(303) 688-8550
”
Invitation #1: Open House
Please join us for an Open House at our $12 million InterConnect Pump Station & Pipeline, conduits for our community’s 1,006 acre-feet of renewable water stored in Chatfield Reservoir.
Date: Friday, October 28, 2022
Time: 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Location: CPNMD’s InterConnect Pump Station
Directions: Located adjacent to Highl ands Ranch, roughly two blocks south of Rocky Heights Middle School, on the west side of north Monarch Blvd. Turn left/west onto an obscure dirt road we will mark with balloons, signage and a greeter that morning.
RSVP: Because the InterConnect Pump Station & Pipeline are critical infrastructure, we require RSVPs. Please RSVP via our web-based form no later than 12:00 noon, Wednesday, October 27, 2022.
Invitation #2: Two Tuesdays with Travis
Please join me for Two Tuesdays with Travis — a twice-monthly series of informal discussions about any CPNMD-specific topic on your mind.
Dates: Tuesday, November 1 & 8and the first two Tuesdays each month after Time: 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Location: Castle Pines North Metro District
Address: 7404 Yorkshire Drive, Castle Pines, 80108
We will provide morning refreshments. RSVPs are unnecessary. Simply show up with a neighbor and your coffee mugs and let’s catch up! (We will remind you as we get closer to the two Tuesdays each month.)
Page 2 of 6
Here’s what your neighbors say about their experiences touring our water treatment plant…
“Thanks so much for coordinating the tour
of the Water Treatment Plant. It was very
enjoyable and educational. Most impressive is
the extent of knowledge and expertise Ken and
Nathan exhibit. There was no hesitation from
Nathan on the most technical questions about
plant operations or recent issues the District
experienced. It’s obvious Nathan is the logical
choice as the District Manager for the District as
there is no substitute for the “Tribal Knowledge,”
relationships and skills he has developed over
the years. Thanks again for taking the time to
educate us. Keep the tours going as long as
possible; they are an invaluable service to our
community.”
Scott & Susie Ellison
Royal Hill Neighborhood Homeowners since 1990
“What a great tour! We learned all kinds of
information and have much greater respect for
the amount and quality of work CPNMD’s team
does. The tour was interesting, informative,
and enjoyable and gives us confidence in the
services CPNMD provides and the resulting
water quality for our community. Keep up the
good work.”
Steve & Donna Packard
5-Year Knights Bridge
Neighborhood Homeowners
Page 3 of 6
“I’m impressed! Before our tour, I frankly had
some concerns and questions about our water
treatment system and capacity. In the short
term, I left the tour confident in our drinking
water quality and supplies. In the longer term,
I’m eager to see how CPNMD’s Inclusion
negotiations progress with our neighbor, the
Centennial Water & Sanitation District. For those
in our community wanting critical resource
security and sustainability with lower water
bills, rate increases and cost trajectories in
future years, I think integrating CPNMD’s water
and wastewater utilities with a larger water
provider is probably the most responsible way
to achieve that objective.”
Nancy Pellegren
Castle Pines’ Native & Buffalo Ridge Neighborhood Homeowner
“Our water plant tour was informative and
well organized. It presented the in-depth
details of the entire operation. As an engineer,
I appreciated the nuts-to-bolts explanation of
each step in the water-treatment process. Hats
off to our metro district! I encourage fellow
homeowners to check it out.”
Steve Gransee
23-Year Noble Ridge
Neighborhood Homeowner
Page 4 of 6
I now understand that water is more than something
we drink. Bathe in, irrigate the yard and flush down our
toilets. Believe me, the tour was more than learning
about where our water comes from — we also learned
about the incredibly complex journey it takes as
surface water or deep-well aquifer water to our taps.
“Under the guidance of the district’s interim district
manager, Nathan Travis — a man with more than a
decade of service to our community and over twenty
years of field experience — we embarked on a tour
that none of us will soon forget. We entered a building
filled with pipes, humming electric motors, computers,
chemical injectors, generators and a giant storage
tank and learned that the treatment of safe-to-drink
water is a complex and highly technical operation. I came away thinking that potable drinking water is, in some respects, analogous to crude oil that comes into a refinery in a raw state and may leave as refined jet fuel. Both processes require knowledge, skill, diligence and highly specialized 24/7 operations in modern, secure facilities.
“Admittedly, the early morning coffee and the yummy locally sourced Bundt cakes were a draw. Soon after our early morning meet-n-greet, we were shuttled to a clean, modern-looking plant. We were guided through the entire water treatment process and met various plant operators, who explained their respective jobs in detail. Nathan’s technical expertise and knowledge of the plant’s operation instilled in the dozen or so of us on the tour confidence that the metro district’s water is consistently safe to drink and high-quality. He explained future plant improvements and the district’s ongoing efforts to ensure reliable and sustainable sources of renewable water for the future of Castle Pines residents.
“Thanks for the great tour and the public outreach. When I got home from the tour, I had a big glass of water and really enjoyed it!”
Don Reese
20-year Brambleridge Neighborhood Homeowner
Describer: The video starts on graphic with a white background and forest green letters which says “Castle Pines North Metro District Board Meeting September 26, 2022”. The meeting opens on a shot of all board members present. There is also a T.V. screen showing the Zoom meeting for people joining the meeting via Zoom.
Board President Chuck Lowen:
Welcome everybody to tonight's board meeting for the Castle Pines North Metro district. This is October 24th. For those on zoom welcome as well. I would like to call the meeting to order at 6:01 or 2. And I'd like you to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Describer:
The board members and the audience rise from their seats and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. When they are done, they sit down again.
All Speak:
I Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Chuck:
Thank you very much. Item number three is approving the October 24th board meeting agenda. Can I hear a motion on that?
Tera:
Mr. President, I make a motion to approve the agenda with the following changes. Removing items 4 or 5 and six. Which are the minutes that we already approved at the last meeting. And moving item seven and eight. Which are other meeting minutes that we don't have available to our next meeting.
Chuck:
I hear a second? Second it. Any further discussion? Thank you. Madam Radloff or Director Radloff. Take a vote. That's before we take that vote. Let's make sure you're here.
Board Member Director Denise Crew:
Director Crew. President. No conflicts.
Board Member Director Chris Lewis:
Director Lewis. Present. No conflicts.
Board Member Director Tera Radloff:
and Director Radloff. Present. No conflicts.
Chuck:
Jason is. Blanckaert is out on a family get together. I'm Chuck Lowen and I'm here. And I have no conflicts. Now we'll dress the motion. No discussion So.
Board Voting All Speak:
Director Crew. Aye. Director Lewis. Aye. And Director Radloff. Aye.
Chuck:
Passes and so we move number seven. We don't have those minutes yet. So we'll have to move those to the November agenda. As well as item number eight. That puts us on item number nine. Which is the public comment period. Anybody wishing to speak either on zoom or here, please note that this is a comment period. Not a question and answer session. And please hold your comments to three minutes. Do we have anybody present that would like to speak? And do we have any on zoom that would like to speak?
Denise:
Just a quick reminder, we did away with the second public comments at the end of the meeting. So if you wanted to say anything, now's the time.
Chuck:
Nobody here, nobody on zoom. We'll close item eight nine. Sorry and move to park trails and open space. David, number ten.
David Anderson, Parks, Trails and Open Space Manager, CPNMD:
Good evening everybody. You have my report in your packet if you have any questions we’ll accept them now.
Denise:
I have one. Okay. I noticed you. You eliminated 2000 square foot of the community garden? Turf. Just turf. Just turf. So are we expanding the garden? I was okay. Yes. I wasn't sure how to read that. Whether we were expanding or eliminating. And I thought.
David:
No, it is expanding.
Denise:
Okay because it's a pretty popular. It's littler. Yeah. Yeah. Amenity. Yeah. Okay thanks. You're welcome.
Chuck:
Board. Any further questions of David? Chris, you okay? Thanks. Anything else to report?
David:
No, I think Nathan will talk about the pickleball and skate park stuff. Okay.
District Manager Nathan Travis:
Yeah so under the park on the agenda item A, is the consider adopting the staffing consultants team proposed skate park facility location. I did not get a construction time frame, time frame from Carol just yet. You do have information on the location.
We met out there last Friday and basically walked the entire site out there. The initial site that I presented at the study session last week is definitely the one that has the best opportunity for improvement. There's really good sidewalk access, pretty decent street visibility, existing restroom facilities that we can upgrade. There's an existing parking lot. It's very visible from the rest of the park as well. So it's on the same level as the existing playground equipment and things like that.
So it would be helpful if we can go ahead and vote to approve that location so that she can move forward with the design process. First step and that'll be reaching out to community. We want to get together a stakeholder team to kind of bring their ideas to the table, see what they want to look at after. Or see what they want in their skate park. From there, we'll go to a conceptual design. We're looking at things, she said by the end of the year. But we didn't have a full, I just don't have a full schedule from her yet.
Chris:
And did you guys talk about the cameras?
Nathan:
Yep, yep. So we talked about adding security cameras at the skate park. As well as over by the restroom. The other existing restroom facilities and parking lot. And will also evaluate the possibility of doing something at some other parks where we have more issues with vandalism.
I think that's more prevalent with the bathroom facilities than anything else.
Chuck:
Nathan, the only thing that concerned me about that location last time we spoke was the potential noise hazard coming from the skate park to those homes closest to it is that.
Nathan:
They're not really, they're not that close. Yeah so you've got the skate park from where the homes are will be down a hill for the most part. So you get quite a bit of sound abatement just from the hill. And then there's like a two lane road. And then there's a whole other drainage ditch and then several hundred feet beyond that.
Describer:
Nathan and Chuck were speaking at the same time and was briefly inaudible.
Chuck:
Okay and we're not approving the design. We're just approving the date that construction can potentially start.
Nathan:
Today we're only approving the design location. So where they're going to build the skate park or where they're going to design to build the skatepark.
Chuck:
Anybody like to make a motion?
Chris:
I make a motion to approve the location of the proposed skate park facilities located as indicated in this diagram.
Describer:
Chris holds up the diagram of where the skate park and Pickleball courts are proposed to be.
Chris:
So next to the existing restroom of Hidden Point Boulevard.
Chuck:
We have a motion, hear a second? I'll second. Discussion, Tera.
Tera:
So I just want to clarify. We're not, we're only, we're only approving them to design for this location. Correct. So if, if whatever reason, I mean we still get a decision point where we can determine that that's not the right location.
Nathan:
Yeah, yeah absolutely. Especially if we go into the design process. Yeah. There's. Oh you're in your middle of your thing. Sorry I’ll wait.
Tera:
And it's not by the restrooms. It looks like it's by that parking lot. The existing parking lot off of Hidden Point Boulevard.
Nathan:
Correct yeah. And there is a restroom structure at the end of that parking lot.
Tera:
Gotcha all right. Thank you.
Chuck:
Any further discussion? I call the vote.
Board Voting All Speak:
Director Crew. Aye. Director Lewis. Aye. Director Radloff. Aye. And I'm an Aye.
Chuck:
Your motion passes.
Nathan:
Thank you. And then just a couple other things to get on your radar for that park while we start looking at future improvements. There are some ADA compliant issues that we need to address. The only ones we really absolutely have to do are some minor sidewalks to get from the existing sidewalks into the pavilions.
And then the other thing that we're going to need to look at as certainly as part of the skate park design will be the option to do a site survey for the entire park. We did some minor surveys specifically around like the pickleball court area, the basketball courts. But the rest of it hasn't really been done yet. It's a lot more cost effective for us to do a survey of the entire site to get elevations and data points and property lines. And it is to just kind of keep piecemeal it.
And so as future parks improvements are done down the road. It would be, this would be a really good opportunity to kind of get some of that work out of the way. So we'll have to do a site survey anyway for the existing skate park. But it makes a lot of sense to just go ahead and survey the whole park.
That's nothing. No decision needs to be made on that. That'll come back as part of the final skate park design and construction plans and all of that. But I just wanted to get it on your radar.
Chuck:
Nathan, with the potential or proposed skate park location. You spoke about handicap access. Correct. And the parking lot that it's adjacent to. Is that going to be redone as part of the construction?
Nathan:
That's something we could. It's something we could look at the parking lots. Not in awful shape. It could use a resurfacing. In terms of ADA compliance. There's two sidewalks that run down around the outside of the skate park. The one that's closest to the entrance to the parking lot. We'll have to regrade and rerun that sidewalk just to make sure that we get the grade down so that it's also ADA compliant. That'll be part of the skate park design.
Chuck:
Okay and in the design where they're going to be lights?
Nathan:
No, we yeah. We didn't talk about lighting at all. Okay. I don't believe the existing facility was lighted at all.
Chuck:
No it wasn't. Denise, any questions, Chris? Anything else David, Nathan on that. No. Agenda item? Okay finance director is Phyllis.
Nathan:
Yep we've got Phyllis on zoom. Hello. Welcome Phyllis.
Phyllis Brown, Director of Finance and Accounting Community Resource Services of Colorado (CRS):
Let's see I'm pulling up the agenda here. Finance directors item A status of the 2021 audit. Just heard back from the auditor today to schedule another conference call with him and go over our open items. And then we can, that we were scheduled to begin that next week. Or the week after. So we're right on schedule to be able to get back with them and hopefully get everything we need easily to them.
So we'll know more by the next meeting. But the goal that we've discussed was to have the audit filed by the end of the year. So we're on track for that. Item B Overview and status of the budget and finances kind of goes hand in hand with C. We've made good progress on getting some of the accounting caught up. Reconciling the bank accounts and getting you guys the information for approving and ratifying the payments.
Since the period of the last period that that was done was June 11th. And so this goes through October 18th. So I want to thank Sadie. She's been working real hard to go through. And, and also Amanda had left a nice trail and gave us a training video that we'd gone through. So that was very helpful for us to keep on track and be able to know how to record things and where to find things. So we're still learning. But we've made a lot of progress. And so that's the approving and ratifying. So yeah on that or I guess you guys make a motion on that.
Chuck:
We do. I appreciate the work you put forth getting our financial update. I know it was, it was quite a task. And you gave us a lot of reading. But from what I gather so far from what I've looked at it yesterday and today. It looks like it's pretty much in order with budget. And we seem to be doing appropriately. Well, yeah. Go ahead.
Phyllis:
Yeah, well no more. We haven't done the finished up revenue and expenditures. So we were able to do the disbursements and receipts. And so that's the next step is to go through and come get, get everything caught up with September and be able to go through the revenue expenditure accounts. Look at the balance sheet accounts become more familiar with everything that's included in that. Which will also help us as part of the audit process. So we should have a better report next month that hopefully we'll have revenues and expenditures as well.
Chuck:
Well it looks like you got a good start. I know that it was quite a rathole when you started.
Phyllis:
But we're still playing. You know, we were accountants. But I also call us detectives. We have to kind of go through and figure out what's what. But, you know, we've got a lot of help and Nathan's been helpful. Capital project. The capital items will be probably the, we'll need help with some of that. And there's a bunch of payroll information that we have to get back to the auditor. So for, for the, for their open items. I think later in the report I wrote that they had said well gee, we're almost done with the audit.
And then when I got on to the engagement organizer that the auditor provided us, there's like 45 items on that list. And so that's where I'll be able to help a lot with that. To go through with Andy and with his help to show me what you know, what he's looking for. To get that information to them. A lot of it's payroll related.
So it's just a matter of finding the right reports. And then the capital part almost with Nathan on.
Chuck:
Well thank you for your effort, Denise.
Denise:
Yeah Phyllis, I just have a question. I noticed compared to last year and maybe this goes hand in hand. You're not through all the revenue yet. But I saw the tax collections were like 78% versus last year.
About 95% or 96%. I know. And that is because you're not quite through the revenue reconciliation yet, is it true?
Phyllis:
No, we did, we did look at what was collected and asked through September. So that's something we have on our radar as well to see what we get in the next month. Why it's lower I don't, I don't know. But you're absolutely correct. Because when we looked at that and I went back and checked the percentages like is that correct? What's going on? And went back to the county report. And that's all they reported so far. So we need to we have that on our radar.
Denise:
Okay thank you. Good question. Thanks.
Chris:
Also, Is the budget current against budgeted. You still working on that directly? Yeah. Which page am I missing here?
Phyllis:
No that's, that we are missing that because we don't have all the revenues and expenditures through September. We don't have that revenue and expenditure statement. We were able to tie out all the cash. But to go through the payables and receivables and tie up the numbers for the revenue expenditures. That's the next piece of the puzzle.
Chris:
And we're going to have that. Are we meeting on this in November?
Nathan:
The budget hearing is November 14th, yeah.
Chris:
So when are we going to have a view of that? Is it the 14th or are we going to get some time to, you anticipate when we're going to have that?
Phyllis:
Well we've given you a preliminary one. And then as soon as we can get another one will send out a revised draft. But, you know, I work with Nathan to come up with a plan on that and then he can let you guys know. Will that work?
Chris:
So Director Radloff is telling me. So you emailed us the preliminary budget separately? I guess it's, it's in an email. Okay I guess I, is that last, last month when I looked at it? Was that or did you send that to Travis, Nathan?
Nathan:
Yeah, I sent that out. It went out last. Not this past Saturday. But the Saturday before.
Chris:
So if it's the one you sent out, I looked at that. Okay got it, thank you.
Chuck:
Questions? Anybody else? Phyllis, thank you very much. We'll approve and ratify the checks now from check number. This is item number 11 C. Check numbers 27044-27315. And the electronic payments for June 11th, 2022 through October 18th, 2022. The General Fund & Debt Service approved was $14,750.96. Ratified $397,030.74, for a total of $411,781.70.
The Enterprise Funds approved $442,795.03. Ratified $3,302,179.95, for a total of $3,744,974.98. Electronic Payment funds are ratified at $495,645.39 and that total remains the same. Total expenditures $457,545.99. Ratified $ 4,194,856.08 and a total of $4,652,402.07. Do I hear a second to this motion?
Denise:
I'll second the motion.
Chuck:
We have a second. Any discussion on the approval and ratification, hearing none.
Board Voting All Speak:
Director Crew. Aye. Director Lewis. Aye. And Director Radloff. Aye. And I am an aye. Moving down to item number D, adopting the 2023 budget and certify the mill levy by December 15th, 2022. This is Phyllis.
Phyllis:
Well that's, that's for informational purposes to know. So you guys know what the next steps are that you have to certify by December 15th. And then the next item is the adopted budget. It doesn't have to be filed from January 31st, 2023 with Delilah.
Chuck:
Good. It's good. Good to be reminded of those dates.
Phyllis:
Yep yep yep.
Chuck:
We have the budget meeting next month on the 14th, as I recall.
Phyllis:
Well and that again when typically and you guys can tell me this typically on our districts, if we're approving a budget, it will be subject to additional changes based on your final levy search. Because on November 14th you won't have your final assessed valuation. And so that number has to be true to Up. Once you get that. Which will be early December, you'll get your final 80. And then you file your mill levy certification.
Chuck:
By December 15th correct?
Phyllis:
Does that make sense? So we have a lot of districts that have already approved their budget subject to those changes.
Chuck:
Nathan, are you on board with that timing? Yeah. Okay questions? Thank you very much, Phyllis, good job. I know that it was a lot of work. But you and your, your crew have a big thank you from this board for the work you've done. And we look forward to getting closer to the end of these late reports. Me too. Thank you. Item F any outstanding development questions and first consideration is this you Nathan? Or again back to you Phyllis. Cost the service rate fee adjustments. Are you just reminding us?
Phyllis:
Natham is that a Nathan item?
Nathan:
Yeah reminders on that. So the water and wastewater study rate study with Bartle Wells. We're still in communication. They've talked to CRS. It substantially needs of the work that Phyllis' team is getting caught up on.
Before we can get them all of the information they need. They're looking at doing a rate study update. So really just building on the rates that were put out in, I think 2019. And so that should be a relatively quick process. Once they have the information it should only take a couple of weeks. And then something just to really keep in mind is also the consideration.
Oops sorry. If you go to item three and four, I gave everybody a little handout that was from a little while ago. Kind of explaining why these things were done. But we currently do have a temporary mill levy reduction we went from $19 to $15.79. And then we also had stopped charging the $15 renewable water investment fee. So we're going to need to consider what to do with those if we want to bring them back.
They were included as part of the original rate study that we were working off on 2019. So those dollars were anticipated to be needed. It's something that I'll leave to, leave to the board to decide. Or we can see how that folds into a rate study. But it's something that will definitely have to address.
Tera:
And when will we talk about all that in our budget meeting or when?
Nathan:
Kind of yeah, I'm kind of opening the question if you guys have any specific desires. If we want to make a movement to bring ourselves back in line with how the 2019 study went. Or if that's I guess this is also a question for Phyllis. Or if it makes sense to hold off on those until, and do that as part of the rate study update.
Chuck:
Well, we can't make any decision on the cost of service in any fee adjustments until we see a final budget. But on number three and number four, we had a mill levy reduction. We did it for a reason and I would need a lot of convincing to put it back on. I don't know how the rest of the board feels. But I think we took it off for a reason.
I'm sure it was a good reason back then and I see no reason unless you need it critically to run the systems. I would, I would like to suggest we don't add the mill levy back.
Tera:
And I'm going to disagree with that because I think we need to see, you know, what our budget is what our water, what our rates are. Again, I have no idea. We're collecting enough money to run our system and operate our system and and maintain our system responsibly in a fiscal responsible manner. I, you know, I think we also have another new board member who isn't here tonight. But I think, you know, a very brief paragraph of why that was done is certainly I think it warrants another discussion. Especially since a lot of the decisions that were made at that time were predicated upon the inclusion being completed. Or at least done.
And I think those decisions, you know, were based on a different set of operating assumptions that we than we have now. So I, as one board member of five. Think we should have that discussion again.
Chuck:
I couldn't agree with you more, Tera. I'd like to as I said when I started this conversation, we need to see what the cost of service rates and fee adjustments are going to be with the budget. And if it is determined that we need the mill levy. Or we need the $15 renewable water investment fee, that will be discussed at that time. But right now, we took them off for a reason. I'd like to think it was a good reason. But as Tera said, if we need it when we look at the final budget numbers. Then we have to items to consider.
Nathan:
Sounds good I'll, go ahead Chris.
Chris:
So I'm totally in agreement that it's something that we need to evaluate at the January time frame. When we looked at this we looked at the reduction in the mill levy as it related to the cost that we would have to incur. Not only in inclusion but also into run the district.
And at that time it was determined that it was definitely going to be something that we're going to temporarily reduce. I would say, from as we're going to doing in, doing the budgeting process. We need to take the approach as the chairman, the president said. Of not making or making that permanently removed. So whatever evaluation we do we need to do it with that in mind. And then let's look at the numbers. If we need to reduce something else. Then that's what we need to do.
We're not going to just be taking the constituents money that we have decided or evaluated that we don't need. So that's my thought on the mill levy. And as it relates to the fees. Same goes to the fees. We take the fees out. We, we operated for the period of time over the year. We have enough information that we can evaluate it.
We take the fees out. And then if we want to bring the fees back, then that would be something that the board would have to vote on again. So you vote for the fees in here. And as it relates to the mill levy, we go to the, we go to the constituents to increase that back again after we make it permanent. Thanks Chris.
Tera:
We have a fiduciary duty to make sure I'm not suggesting that we take our ratepayers money without cause. But I am feeling very responsible that we are responsible for maintaining this aging system and making sure that we are collecting enough money to do that. I think. That is our.
Chuck:
I think we all agree with you Tera. And I think that that's what we said. Let's look at the budget. We can make those decisions at that time.
Tera:
It's not what I heard Chris say. So I just wanted to clear it up.
Chuck:
Which raises the next question. When do you think we can review the budget so that we can consider some of these items more specifically?
Nathan:
Phyllis, do you have a timeline on. Well we'll obviously have the November 14th meeting. But a more complete view on when we anticipate having that ready.
Phyllis:
Well, right now you guys did receive the, the draft budget October 15th. And that does have the estimated for 21. So the numbers we have per the audit to date, what we estimate 2022 to be and the proposed 2023. And so you can look through that and see where we're at. And we'll have to chew up those numbers as we get our September financials tied out. And then also I want to meet with Nathan and go over again. Nathan has worked with a couple other people and we've put in the capital expenditures we anticipate and some of the other expenditures.
So you could look at that and see, here's your water service revenues that we anticipate and here's the water expenditures that we anticipate. And then you'll see if there's a deficit. Same with property tax that's going in the general fund. You know, projected $3.7 million revenues coming in. And then what are the total expenditures. And I'm looking down at the draft.
And the change in fund balance per the proposed budget is $68,000. With an ending fund balance of $6 million proposed. So you could start looking at those numbers and see if you're having a current year deficit. All your funds have positive fund balances. And so to me what you're looking at is what is, what are we doing year to year.
So our current revenue is going to cover our current anticipated expenditures. And that would help you determine whether you think you need to change your mill levy or change your water rates. Does that make sense?
Chuck:
It does but we are going to be presenting this budget on November 14th. And so between now and then, we need to look at as close as numbers as we can get within the next two weeks.
What do you think?
Phyllis:
Coming up, coming up fast I know so. Can you. I guess we.
Chuck:
Can you get that information to Nathan. And Nathan, can you get that distributed to us so that we have an opportunity to review it and ask questions? Absolutely.
Denise:
One question. If we were to change the mill levy, what's our time frame or deadline? Is there a deadline on that? Yeah. What's that? December 15th. December 15th. Okay thank you.
Chuck:
Questions, anything else? Phyllis, I think that's all for you. Thank you very much. We'll look forward to receiving that. That budget is completed as we can find it at that time and updated to what you are comfortable with the numbers. So that we can talk specifically about the $15 renewable water investment fee. As well as the reduction or having to add back mill levy. So, yes.
Denise:
I'm sorry. One more, one more question. On the $15 renewable water fee. Correct me if I'm wrong. But we collected that two, maybe three years roughly if that? No idea. I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of two years. Where did that money go? Is that part of the general fund enterprise? Do we know? Was it set aside? Any idea?
Phyllis:
Well, I want to look to see where that actually ended up going. But I would think it would go into your water fund, not into the general fund. Right. All water fees go into the enterprise fund.
Denise:
I mean, I guess I'd like to know if we. Well, obviously we did collect those funds. How much is in there? Have we spent anything? Are we saving it first? What's its purpose at this point, I guess is what I think we need to discuss. We need to discuss renewable water. But have we spent any money on that and if so. Or if not and how much it's in there would be a good place to start.
Phyllis:
And I don't see that it was specifically set aside as a, as an assigned or a separate fund balance. Which makes me think it's just included in your total revenues. But that's just my preliminary guess. That's right.
Nathan:
In the to correct in the enterprise fund, correct? Not the general fund. Yeah enterprise fund. Correct.
Chuck:
The water fund, enterprise fund. Yeah. Yeah. That's probably where. Okay any other questions? Thanks Phyllis. Did you have another one?
Denise:
I don't have another question. Just a statement. If we were to collect a fee, we need to be accountable where that fee goes. And I feel like it'd be a, we should know that's all. I feel like we collected it. There's money somewhere. But what have we done with it? What's, what's the, the history of it or the plan for it? That sort of thing is what I'm looking at. Shouldn't fees be separate from rates, is what I'm getting at. If that makes sense.
Chuck:
Phyllis, that's something for you to try to look into with Nathan.
Phyllis:
Yeah, I will.
Chuck:
Thank you very much. There's no other questions. Let's move down to the legal counsel’s report.
Legal Counsel Kim Seter, Esq.:
A couple of items just came up during that discussion. We have published the November 14th meeting as your budget hearing. So that's ready to go on November 14th. And at that time we'll present you with the resolutions to assess your mill levy. Approve the budget conditioned upon the final. The final AB from the county and you can execute it at that time or postpone it until another meeting if you want. As long as it takes place before about December 10th. So that we have time to certify the mill levy.
In addition, you've been talking about possibly discussing the fee that was eliminated. If you want to talk about that, we need to give notice to the, all the ratepayers that you will be talking about that. Doesn’t mean you're going to increase it or do anything with it. But we do have to give that notice if you're going to talk about it.
So if you think you're going to do that in November, let me know. We'll make sure the notice goes out. You don't have to do that one in November. Because you don't have the same deadline that you have with your mill levy. So you could do that in January or February. But if you want to make it part of your budget discussion, we should give notice now.
Chris:
So a follow up to that question, counsel. So if we don't talk about it till June of next year, what happens to that, that fee that we're not collecting right now?
Kim:
Nothing you're not collecting it. You won't have any revenue from it.
Chris:
So it stays status quo. Yes. And at what point do I, we have to vote to make it permanently status quo, not collect them?
Kim:
You don't have to vote to do that. So right now you're not collecting it. If you don't take any vote, it's not going to be collected. You would have to affirmatively vote to collect the fee.
Chris:
Sounds like a plan. Thank you.
Kim:
Moving on to the items listed in the Legal Status report. Timing of the integrated stormwater parks, trails and open space facilities there was attached to the legal report for tonight and amendment to the, the stormwater agreement. I had a conference call this afternoon with the city attorney. And we think there's a better approach to this and that is to redraft the stormwater agreement.
And then we will attach the parks agreement to it. The overall idea and the overall idea is going to be that we will eventually, probably yet this year, turn over the stormwater responsibility and the funds to do the work to the city. But will not close on any of the easements or facilities until the end of March. And at that time, the parks would go over at the same time.
So we're trying, to rather than doing that amendment and piecemeal or trying to now pull it all together into one piece. The city is going to consider this on the 21st of November. I will have agreements for you to look at at the November 14th meeting if you have time to do so. But that's the current plan. And then again, this is just between the attorneys. But we thought the end of March would be a good deadline to shoot for, for both things happening at the same time.
Chuck:
And that's because of the legal work that's necessary to create the documents.
Kim:
Yep just because of the time that it's going to take. But we would, we would turn over responsibility for the stormwater system to the city before that. As well as the funds from the stormwater fund.
Chuck:
But if I understood you right, you wanted the stormwater and the parks, trails and open space as one agreement.
Kim:
Well, they'll still be two agreements. But they'll be attached to one another. So. Okay. The ultimate closing on both of those agreements will be the end of March. But in the interim, we'll go ahead and transfer responsibility for stormwater to the city. I understand.
Chris:
So I have a question. A couple of questions. So I think we we talked about this August or September. And at that time we were going to do both IGAs at the same time, stormwater and park trails and open space. And the plan was to have it all done by November, right? So I'm kind of wondering how did we get four months of a delay from being able to close the two, the two IGAs together? That's my first question.
Kim:
Yeah I'm not sure I can fully answer that. Somewhere in between there we had come up with the notion of pulling those two agreements together. And making sure that we have the closing at the same time. Because of the, the utility it provides in getting the easements transferred. Which also makes it much easier if we do an inclusion at some point in the future.
So we had worked through that. That was presented to the city, was presented to you guys. You approved the notion of moving ahead that way. At one point, we had agreed to draft an amendment to the stormwater agreement. Which I did. I recall that we did not have a Parks and Rec agreement. We thought we did. But when I reviewed that it was it was very different.
So we were going to redraft that document. I drafted the amendment to the stormwater agreement and then that was the subject of my conference call today where it was decided let's not do the amendment. Let's redraft that agreement, redraft the parks agreement and make sure that they integrate.
Chris:
Okay so is there. What, what does it take to pull that out. Or is that your best case scenario, worst case scenario, middle of the road?
Kim:
I'm going to have a draft. The stormwater redraft is basically done. If you look at the attachments to the legal status report. I did the amendment and then I had an associate redline the agreement using the amendment. That red line is pretty much going to be the new stormwater agreement. Then we'll redraft the parks agreement and then make sure that the two mesh with each other.
Kim:
And that should, I'll have drafts to you by November. Your November meeting for your review.
Chris:
So my question is still is a middle of the road worst case scenario. Best case scenario is that March dime frame? I mean, we've moved it from September to November. Now we're in March.
Kim:
Yeah, that was part of our conversation today too. And I think the answer to your question is the end of March would be the worst case scenario. The language in the agreement will be, will say on or before the end of March.
Chris:
That would be great and I would appreciate it if you guys work with the city and work through the agreement to see if we can get it close. So my second part of the question is, so we would turn over stormwater operations to the city along with funding when?
Kim:
That, that's a date to be determined. But it would be before the end of March most likely just to get it out.
Chris:
I thought, I thought I heard sometime this year.
Kim:
Yep it could be this year, it could be the end of the year.
Chris:
So my question then is why? What do I get from turning it over without a completed document or agreement?
Kim:
You will have the completed agreement.
Chris:
Just that portion of it. It's just the stormwater agreement portion of the combined together.
Kim:
You'll have the, the entire agreement together. And then that agreement would say that at some point the city is going to just take over all of the work and maintenance on the stormwater as well as the funding. The contingency on that has always been them getting their stormwater enterprise in place.
And they had their hearing and I believe it was in September. Then there's a 30 day window in which that can be challenged. And sometime here in October, probably right about now there stormwater enterprise is official. So at that point the funds can be transferred there. And they can only use those funds for the stormwater. And that that was something you had brought up earlier.
Yeah and I'm going to have a follow up question on that. I'm sorry but I'll have a follow up question on that one but. Yeah. So when we transfer the operations of stormwater it in let's say November. I don't know the date but I thought it was before December, right? We are going to be or or the green will be. There will be an actual legal agreement in effect for the city and us to follow. Correct. Okay back to the enterprise fund. So just to confirm the enterprise fund when we transfer our funds that we're going to be going through budgeting right now to their to the city's enterprise fund. It's 100% that goes into that enterprise fund. Is it 10% that is in the fund that can be used for other different other activities? Or it's 100% of whatever we transfer.
Kim:
It's 100% of what you transfer.
Chris:
Okay I'm good thank you.
Tera:
And so what is, how does that affect our MS4 permit? I saw that was something in one of the engineer reports later on that they are assuming that the city has that. I mean what's what's going on with that?
Nathan:
Our MS4 permit is already under the city. So the city has the primary MS4 as part of this whole process we just won't have one. When the city takes care of all of that are part of it would be dissolving the MS4 that we carry. And then the city would assume, assume responsibility for all of it under theirs.
Tera:
Right and I understand that. But it seemed like I think it was in the Kennedy Jenks report or something. They mentioned the MS4. They just assumed and I didn't know kind of in the interim. What, how that's affected.
Nathan:
I will reach out to Kennedy Jenks and let them know that it's shifted around. That way they're fully aware of it.
Kim:
Under the current agreement we will cancel our permit, make our final report. I think the current agreement says by September 1st. So obviously that's not going to happen. And whatever will also put that on sometime before March 30th.
Tera:
So we don't have to cancel our permit right now. I think that's why I'm saying it seems a little like we're in a little bit of a transition and I'm not sure what the status of our permit is or if we have to keep it going or what. You know, what we need to do with ours while we're before we do the actual, you know, close on the paperwork.
Nathan:
Yeah. Yeah it'll, it'll stay in place until the agreement’s executed. I just need to let Greg know so that it doesn't show up on his report.
Tera:
Okay we're on the same page now. Thank you so much.
Kim:
And I would just say not, not when it's executed. But when the assignment takes place in the city takes over. And we'll get rid of ours.
Chuck:
And I need, I need you to come closer to the microphone. I'm losing my hearing.
Kim:
Now I'm losing my voice, so.
Chuck:
Okay item B.
Kim:
Status of litigation with the developer that's moving ahead as noted in the status report. And I think the next time we have a meeting where there's some time. I'd like to add that to an executive session and we'll talk about the strategy and what's going on there.
Item C, consider adopting Colorado Family Medical and leave insurance opt out resolution. So we've talked about that a couple of times. You have in your packet the proposed resolution. If you choose to opt out you have to have the public hearing first. After that you can either approve the resolution. If you do not approve the resolution you are automatically in the family leave insurance program. And we'll have to start deducting insurance premiums and paying them to the state. I don't believe I have a single district that isn't opting out.
Denise:
When you said the public hearing for that, didn't we do that at our study session?
Kim:
Yes you did. I'm sorry you're ready to vote tonight. I apologize.
Denise
Yeah we're good to go.
Kim:
You're good to go.
Tera:
So yeah, this is that we did not receive any participation or feedback from any of the employees that would be affected, correct? That's correct. Yep, correct. Okay. So I'll go ahead. I moved to adopt resolution number 2022-10-1 declining participation in the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program. And direct legal counsel to implement the opt out as required by law.
Chuck:
I have a motion, a second? Seconded it. Further discussion? I've had enough.
Chris:
I just want to confirm what Director Radloff just said. Which was, we got no responses back from any employees or staff that they wanted us to do otherwise than to opt out.
Nathan:
Yeah, correct. They were given notice with the information that I got from Kim Seter's office. Passed all of that around, told them the date of the hearing. Also told them that they had the option to respond in writing if they were unable to attend the hearing. And no one elected to object or I guess really speak in either direction. They just remained silent. Thanks. I'd like to call a vote. Director Crew. Mic. Mic. Mic.
Board Voting All Speak:
Director Crew. Aye. Director Lewis. Aye. Director Radloff. Aye. And I'm an aye. That motion passes counsel. So you'll make note of that and do what we need to do.
Kim:
We'll take care of it. Familie, familie. The next item is, you may recall there was a proposed motion concerning operations of the board and raising concerns about contractors. At the last board meeting, we discussed preparing bylaws instead and incorporating whatever the board chose into the bylaws.
My associate found bylaws that exist already from 19. 05. I think they were. 05. The 80s.
Denise:
No, I think it was 05. 05.
Tera:
Amendment was in 05 they were before that. They were.
Denise:
They might have been amended.
Kim:
They were typed on a typewriter. So we retyped them, attached them to the legal status report. And I just need to know how you want to proceed. What I would suggest is that we revisit those. We can do a draft based upon those adding the provision that you discussed. And I think there's a couple of other things we could throw in there that would help. And then present the bylaws to you for approval at a later meeting.
Denise:
Can I ask you, Kim in your opinion after reading through, are they pretty typical? What other districts do? Are they pretty outdated? It is 87. You're right, there was an amendment in 05 but.
Kim:
Yeah my impression of them was they basically pair it what the statutes say. Which is really not what you need. You know, you need some, some personal guidance on how to operate as opposed to the statutes authority that you have.
Denise:
So you, you would recommend a little fine tuning to what we have. Yeah. Okay, okay.
Chuck:
Do you have some suggestions to make?
Tera:
Wouldn't there be that, be a resource from the Special District Association that they might already have some?
Kim:
It could be. I've never looked to see if they have some proposed and we can certainly do that.
Tera:
I mean, I don't think you would need to reinvent the wheel. There's probably something out there that you can leverage. Yep.
Chuck:
Is this to be considered in November or December, November or December?
Tera:
I would, I would say maybe even January because November is going to be our budget meeting. And I don't know that we want to add a lot of.
Chuck:
We don't need to load it up.
Tera:
And then the December meeting. I think we were reserving to see what we needed based on our budget discussion in November. And we were going to talk about our December's meeting. So I actually would say early next year.
Chuck:
I think that's probably a good choice. Can you give us some, some feedback on the existing one you found? Yes. And maybe some update comments that are more pertinent to this time?
Kim:
Yeah, we'll go ahead and include that in next month's status report. And then you can take it up in January. Great. And you'll have plenty of time. One thing that's not on here that I did add to the status report. Nathan had engaged the services of someone to start going through all the boxes of documents. I came over and spent a long time going through the boxes. Trying to see what we could get rid of and not get rid of. And did anyone count the boxes that were shredded, Nathan probably 80?
Nathan:
Yeah somewhere in there I can get. I could get an exact number. But it was a significant amount of very old information that is well beyond the statute or value of keeping. The other big push around that is really just organizing all of this so that we know that what we have and then moving it into like a digital database so that we can search all of that through.
And so there, there's some more up there for them to go through. But we've definitely taken a big swing at it. Which is nice but I notice.
Chuck:
Did I hear 80 boxes that you got rid of? 100, 80, 100 how many? 80. About 80. 80. And these are obviously outdated. And how many boxes do you think we have left to go through?
Kim:
Probably more than that. Sorry?
Nathan:
My guess would be 40 or 50. I haven't, I haven't counted them. Good, okay.
Kim:
I hate to hear people saying outdated and old. Because I found the letters in there that I wrote in the 80s.
Chuck:
In the 80s.
Kim:
Yes but regardless of that, the Colorado State Archivist has promulgated rules for documents that have to be retained. And if, because we're destroying documents, you run some risk that somebody's going to ask for them. And we're going to say we destroyed them and then you've got a can of worms to deal with. But the archivist rules allow you to adopt their rules and if you adopt those, then you're immune from any kind of suit. As long as you keep what they say you should keep.
So next month's status report will also include a resolution to approve their rules. So that we can take advantage of that. If you choose to do so, you don't need to take that up next month. But sometime in the future maybe January again.
Tera:
So all of the stuff that was destroyed then basically follows the records retention rules. Yes. Okay. Colorado State.
Kim:
And that's it for me. Other than things in the written status report. Including what? Unless you had questions on anything in the written status report, that's it for me.
Chuck:
I don't. Tera, Chris? All right let's move on to the interim district manager's report. Thank you counselor for the information. Nathan.
Nathan:
All right I will start with my report. Does anybody.
Chris:
I have one. Chris, yeah.
Chris:
Sorry I'll do it in the director's area. Sorry.
Nathan:
Yeah does anybody have any questions on the report that I submitted first?
Chris:
No questions but I do have a comment. On the Natan’s what do we call it news?
Nathan:
Nathan's notes, Nathan's notes I think, is what it's called yep.
Chris:
Not sure I want to make sure that I put that.
Nathan:
It is Nathan's news. It was Nathan's notes last month. Nason's news.
Chris:
I don't know if anyone have seen, if you guys have seen this. But pretty much this is the document that Nathan started distributing. I think, this month. Yes. Right? This is pretty good. So if you haven't read this much, I'd like to comment and said that good job. I like the way that this is structured. It has a lot of good information and it has a lot of information on all the different tours that you've been having. And responses from the, the constituents and the folks that actually participated.
So I do appreciate your reaching out to the community and having all the participation that you've had. So if no one has seen this. I just want to make sure I commented and said, this is good to go.
Nathan:
And there was a copy of that left with the agendas at the front desk as people came in as well. So home page nonemergency alert. We did put up two alerts this past, past month. One was regarding a notice to the public about a violation for our tank inspection program. We didn't have any new violations. This was a pulled over going back to our sanitary survey last April. I think late April, early May. We have taken care of everything on that violation list. With the exception of a comprehensive structural tank evaluation.
We're going to actually be doing two. The only reason that it's still on there was just scheduling and timing. We weren't able to get anybody out here. So that is it was already scheduled. The state just reached out to us and let us know that we needed to kind of just send a reminder that that was still on our plate.
So we'll actually be having divers come out here in the next few weeks. They'll drop down into the tanks is pretty standard protocol for getting those structural evaluations. And then we also want to make sure that we have a fully drained offline inspection. So that's going to happen in January or February of next year. We'll take each tank offline independently.
Will still be able to supply water. That's why we want to do it at our lowest flow time. Since we're only going to have one tank of sword while we do it. And then Kennedy Jenks and their team will get down in the tanks and actually do surface tension testing. A bunch of different stuff looking for any potential issues.
We don't anticipate anything water level tanks have been holding really well. The sites look good in the grand scheme of things. They're not terribly old. The oldest one is from the beginning of the district and the other one. I think was 2001 somewhere in there. So those will get taken care of and then we'll submit all that paperwork to the state.
The paperwork can be submitted to the state when the divers are done. Then we'll get that taken care of. And then the second update is and we've talked about it before is the use of the interconnect pipeline. This year is going to be different. We're only utilizing it for this month to allow for Centennial to do massive upgrades to their water treatment plant. So their service plants going to be completely offline.
They did give us this month to replace a bunch of valves over at the plant. So they're working on that now. And then next week we'll be on the, starting on the first. We'll be 100% back on our own wells at our treatment plant.
Chris:
So Nathan, as a result of us having to, we're going to be switching to the Bartle Wells, right? Correct. Okay and this month we're replacing all the valves and so forth as a result of that. Is that why we well, some of the residents have been encountering a lot of ground water and sediments.
Nathan:
The groundwater and sediments are more from the work that we're doing at the water treatment plan. So those are things that we've been actively working on and evaluating. We believe that the valves are well, Semocor and our operation staff strongly believes that the valves that we're replacing at the plant. A lot of them are isolation between when we clean filters and the, and the valves that hold things from going down into the clear well. We've got a few of them that are holding like at 96%, 97% instead of 100%.
And so it's just the seats are fouled. So we need to get those swapped out. And so we think that's a pretty substantial part of the issue. We're also evaluating our filter media. We're doing a filter full filter replacement as a capital project in fall of next year or pending board approval anyway. In the interim the filter media that we currently have is also right at the end of its design life.
You get about ten years out of it and we're right on year ten. We don't want to completely rebuild the filters as they are to have to go and do that again next year. So what we're going to do as a partial replacement. We'll take the anthracite that's on top. It's the primary filtration. Media will take it out and replace it without doing the entire filter bed, just to make sure we're getting the best ion removal that we can moving throughout the year.
So the uptick in brown water, brown water complaints is really more of a direct result of all of the work we've been doing at the plant while the plant is running. It's kind of like working on a car while the plant while it's still operating. Iron is a tier two contaminant from the EPA. We've done a lot of field testing as we've gotten these brown water complaints, haven't seen super, super high levels. Certainly enough to change the watercolor.
But those tier two contaminants are ones that only have a negative impact on things like clarity, taste, smell. There is no negative side effect for it. We're actually not even required to remove iron from the water if there are several systems. Parker historically, East Cherry Creek Valley, several large systems that have not always or continue to just pump well water straight out into the system. And they use like polymers to try and keep it suspended.
But, so the discolored water we're seeing for our residents is certainly new here and we definitely want to keep working on that so that we resolve it and get the crystal clear water consistently that we're used to. But at the, at the same time. It's not, at least it's not a public health and safety concern. And we're operating still in much better conditions than a lot of systems do. Thank you.
Chuck:
Clarify for me again, we are replacing the valves as we speak? Correct. And you think we're going to be offline for 21 days?
Nathan:
Yeah so we are scheduled to go back on I think next Tuesday I think is the day that we kick back on. Off the top of my head but yeah.
Chuck:
So we're, we're getting our water from Centennial. Currently yes. Okay, okay. And then Centennial is going to do a water treatment plant upgrade. We don't know how long.
Nathan:
So Centennial’s first phase is expected to be completed end of April, beginning of May. They, operation, my conversations with their operations staff. If there are things at that point that we need to be offline for once they come back at their I think it's 50 or 60% capacity.
Once they're back up to their capacity level. We basically have like another like April May buffer where we could shut the plant down and do more work. If we have things that we want to do that require us to be completely offline. We'd be able to take advantage of that. But they're targeted, they're planning on having their plant. At least their first phase of their plant rebuild done in that April May time frame.
Chuck:
Going to be tricky.
Nathan:
We'll get it.
Chuck:
With the cost, with labor shortages and equipment shortages. There could be some surprises in there. So I hope you plan for alternate direction if something happens. And you don't have the parts and can't open the plant.
Nathan:
Yeah so especially with the valve replacement. One of the reasons that we were so confident we could do it on such a short time frame is that everything that we needed to do it is already here. So it was sitting on a pallet at the plant ready to go. Most of that stuff was delivered in early to mid July. We just needed to wait until the plant was offline to install them so we don't. We're not worried about part delays to get those up and running.
Chuck:
Perfect thank you. Anything else on your report?
Nathan:
I've got, we're going to do another open house at the interconnect pump station. That's Friday, October 28th, 7:30. We'll meet here. I don't have a current headcount. I have, I have talked to 3 or 4 residents directly that we've gotten signed up. So I'm not sure exactly how many we've got going. It's a really, really cool facility.
I'm excited to show it off a little bit. Get down, take a crew out, group out to the IPS. Of course, the board is more than welcome to attend. We'd love to see you there. And then we'll also be doing similar to what we had in the past with Jim and I believe, David McEntire as well. Kind of an open forum two times a month.
We have, I guess, an affinity for alliteration. So two Tuesdays with Travis. That'll be the first two Tuesdays of every month from 7:30 to 9 a.m.. I'll be available in here at the office for any resident that wants to come in. Ask me pretty much anything that they want to, you know, related to the Castle Pines North Metro District.
Chuck:
Okay, very good. So hopefully everybody puts that date down for the open house that I haven't been over there. So it'll be fun to see.
Nathan:
Yeah, bring your walking shoes there. There will be an optional part of the tour that goes down into, I don't know, the basement for lack of a better term, of that facility. But it's 40ft straight down and it's all stairs.
But that's where all the really, really cool stuff is, so.
Chuck:
Maybe I'll let you take my camera and video it.
Nathan:
We could get a harness and a crane and lower you in through the, through the access hatch.
Chuck:
Good to know thank you. Anything else for Nathan board? Are we good? Nathan, you good? I'm good. David's good.
Nathan:
Oh, one more quick thing. You read my mind.
Chuck:
Been coming to expect it.
Nathan:
Yeah so, following up from the study session last week. I did reach out to the consultant that Austin hammered recommended regarding the long term water study. Kind of like looking at all of our options. What we have with all of the inclusion partners. I haven't connected with them yet. And then I need to touch base with Kim tonight too. He was also going to see if he could track down a recommendation. The recommendation that I got from Jason was more for pipeline rehabilitation stuff.
And so as we look at that part of the, of the study for our, our long term capital planning in terms of like pipe condition assessments. It's a type of technology that is actually really, really cool. It's good to know somebody in the business that does it. Can significantly reduce costs for water line rehabilitation rather than replacing them in place of epoxy.
And I'm going to shut up because otherwise I'll geek out over water pipe fixing technology for too long. But that was the only other update.
Chuck:
And it's appropriate, those old as our systems are, we start seeing more breaks. Let's find out where they are before they happen, if possible. If that system can produce that great. Further questions?
Chris:
So can you comment a little bit more than that? So for the folks that weren't part of this study session, they probably don't even understand what you just said. But essentially at our study session. We did review the water districts that we met with. So we met with Aurora, Centennial, Parker and we were supposed to meet with Castle Rock. Which is to coming a couple. This Friday. This Friday and essentially reviewed the, the meetings that we've had and some of the results.
And I guess a quick summary would be after that was done. We decided that one of the things we wanted to do was to also look at bringing in an independent water consultant who can essentially take the information. Or do a better job of going out there and looking at all the different water districts out there. And maybe come up with an overall plan that we as a district can use to go forward.
So that's what Nathan was talking about. He had a couple names of consultants or, or experts in the field out there. And we were going to approach them. That would be one track. The other track was that we had the reviews of the water districts that we met with and we still have to have a strategy as to what our go forward plan is going to be.
That's, that's one plan. So that's plan two or close to action number two. And then we have another plan that we, we're going to think about, so. Or we need to talk about. So that's kind of what that was all about. Did I get that right? Nailed it.
Chuck:
That was pretty good. You did good. The purpose for all of this though is that with a failed inclusion we, I think this board is being very conscious in crossing their T's and dotting their I’s. We're talking to other districts, as Chris just said. And we are going to hire a consultant that will look pretty much at everything we have and say it's good to go with an inclusion. Or you need to fix A, B or C or whatever they come up with.
That's what we're going to hire them for. So that'll help us over the next several months. Get a better handle on what the inclusion is going to look like and how strong I believe this district already is. So I look forward to that. When you come up with the name. Let's discuss it.
Tera:
So I'm really confused because I don't remember us talking about that consultant in the meeting. We did talk about evaluating everything that we have and all of the work that we still need to do with our water study. And is that the same consultant that's going to do the water study and our water loss study and our condition assessment? That's what I thought we were moving forward with and that we're hiring a consultant. I don't remember the board talking about that. And of course we can't make decisions on a study session. So catch me up with what I missed.
Chuck:
I think you just kind of went through it. A complete study.
Tera:
That wasn't what I heard Director Lewis say. Director Lewis didn't say we were going to do all of the studies that we need to know what we have. Which is our water loss study. I don't know that we have one. Do we need one? What about our, those studies that we mentioned? I thought we were going forward with those studies. Which was more of an engineer. This sounds more like we're hiring a consultant to do something completely different. And I don't remember talking about that. And we didn't give direction because we can't give direction in a study session to go do that.
Nathan:
Correct, so this, this would be all encompassing of those. So I'm in fact finding mode. I'm not entering into any agreements with anyone. I'm reaching out to potential consultants. These consultants, generally speaking, have engineering and legal backgrounds that make them experts in this field. This is what they do. And so part of that will be identifying what of those things. We need to move forward on what we do have, what we don't have.
So we do have water loss studies. We don't have piping condition assessment profiles for some things. So it's really just kind of like seeing what's out there. Looking for available options so that I have the ability to bring something to the board and then take direction.
Tera:
Maybe so then that consultant would be identifying those projects that we do need to do. Like you said with, you know, whatever those things. The water law study that you said we have. But if we don't have a, those other studies. Then we would have to get those studies done. Correct. Gotcha okay, just want to make sure. Yeah. That's not what I heard. So I just want to make sure.
Chris:
Okay so yet again we have selective hearing. We go to a study session. We talk about things. And when we choose not to follow through on some of those things we come up and say oh, we can't make a decision out of study session. Great, let's not have the study sessions. That's what I've always said. Have the meetings right here.
Let's have those conversations. So we did talk about what would we, that first of all we reviewed all the, the water districts that we went to. Park started with Aurora. And we can pretty much review what happened from that meeting. We talked about what happened with Centennial and we talked about what happened to Parker and what we're going to do with Castle Rock. And then what we, we also talked about was that based on what we've experienced at these water districts that one of the strategies was to also. Instead of having this board. Along with our district and our legal counsel. Decide specifically on what to do about the inclusion. Or could be a metering plan. It could be the plan that Denver has where pretty much I guess it's outsourced to Denver to do the water for certain districts. We talked about all that. And then we said what would be beneficial to us also was to have an independent water consultant who does inclusions, evaluations of our systems for a living. Take a look at this.
And, and we came up with names and Jason came up with the name and he suggested that to, to Nathan. That's what we spoke about. So if I'm misstating something that didn't happen, you guys can correct me.
Chuck:
I think you're right. And I think Tera was just expanding on what we need to consider in the Independent Water Consultants review. So I think we're all on the same page.
Chris:
And I would just say that we didn't say go. We did not say go hire that consultant.
Chuck:
Push it again.
Chris:
Not go hire that consultant. We said to evaluate all the 3 or 4 options so that when those come back then us as a board can have additional discussions about maybe hiring 1 or 2 or which one. So no direction was given. But we did, we did, we did give the direction to Nathan. Which, on a study session, we don't have to vote as a resolution. Because we can't do that. But we did give direction for him to go evaluate three or how many names he got.
Tera:
I also provided him a name. So I hope he also talks to that company. But I think it might just be we articulate things differently. So I just wanted to make sure because what I had was interested in is that we need unbiased information on the state of our system and the right tools for us to make the decisions. And that includes the capital improvement plan. Which includes the water Master plan, the sewer master plan, the water loss study, the pipe assessments are conditioned assessments, the meters that show us how the leaks. Where the brakes are.
So our water loss analysis are condition assessment so we know where to focus. And what I understood you to say was that we weren't doing those things. We were just hiring a consultant to go and evaluate all these things. So I just wanted to make sure that my understanding, which Mr. Travis confirmed as the same. But it, the way that you articulated it did not resonate with me.
Chuck:
I think we're all on the same page. Is that correct Nathan? Are you comfortable with where your, the direction you're going? The heading?
Nathan:
Yeah, I think it makes perfect sense. Yeah.
Chuck:
Okay all right. Let's close out the, the last item. Go to director's matters. Do we have any?
Chris:
I want to revisit just a little bit. I think we do to make the interim manager, district manager permanent. So when we voted in this and maybe counsel, you can help me here on the timeline. We give a six month period. And I thought it was back in May or June. So when are we due to vote to make the interim district manager a permanent district manager?
Kim:
I don't recall what the date was for that, Chris. But I can look at the I believe we did an agreement with Nathan and I can take a look at that. If it was six months, it was probably for a review. But I'll put that in the next status report.
Chris:
Yeah, I think and the reason I mentioned in it, I think it's coming up in November.
Chuck:
I think it's November because I don't recall as having a meeting scheduled in December for the holidays. So I'm pretty sure it's November.
Chris:
Okay so I want to make just if that's on the agenda for next, next month so that we can vote. And make a resolution to make the district the interim district manager permanent.
Tera:
Well, as we do that, Mr. Seter please, maybe it's terminology. But I don't think there really is anything like a permanent employee. I think there's full time positions. But permanent employees type of contract, that would mean that they could never go. And I don't know that Colorado law would allow that. So I do have a question for Mr. Travis.
So the draft budget, I know that we put on our website that it's available in our offices for anyone to review. Is that possible to put on our website so people don't have to come into the office? Because I know a lot of people that would probably take a lot of time to actually come into the office. So can we make it available so that they can look at it?
Yeah. Absolutely. Awesome, thank you. I want to thank all of our employees. I want to thank Phyllis and Sadie. I know you've been doing a lot, a lot of work and there was a lot to catch up on. So I want to thank you for that. That's awesome. That was it.
Chuck:
David Anderson, for you. There was a question from some homeowners. And I think you might have seen the email on the renovation of the Tapadero and Serena landscaping. Correct. Can you give us an update on.
David:
We are, we are meeting Wednesday morning with the two residents to see what they're, what their vision is for the, for those areas. When's the. This week. Okay. To get it into our budget for next year.
Chuck:
Okay and you'll put that in your minutes next month. Okay. Okay, thank you. Any other directors matters?
Chris:
Okay yeah I have one more. So I want to talk a little bit about communication. So pretty much within the last weeks, month maybe we actually had news articles talking about the district. So you know the district has been pretty disciplined about our message. And we try to have a unified front. We try to put out all the information for the community and for the residents and for our constituents and our partners and our staff. So that we're all in the same page. And we actually have a district, director of communications and we have a communications department. And we all get calls.
Every one of us on this board gets calls from various folks as to statuses and what we're doing. And comments in every one of us say, great. Our communication directors name and telephone number is such and such. Give him a call or you want to talk to our staff, Nathan or David no problem. But we try not to go out and provide statuses and communication on what we're doing because we don't want to.
Differ from our mission and vision that's out there from our code of ethics that we have out there. And, you know, we talked about having bylaws. Great maybe we can put this one in there too. Because as a professional organization, we try to stick to being professional. So I just wanted to comment that over. You know, that's one of the things we do is we try to be consistent in our message and we use one means of communicating to the press, to the constituents and so forth.
That's all.
Tera:
So maybe what we should talk about is that contract. Because we should look at all the contracts as part of our budgeting. Because that particular contract hasn't been looked at in a while. And that's one position that reports to the board. Doesn't really make sense to report to the board. All the board has one staff member. Which is Mr. Travis and all the staff should report to them.
So sure, we can talk about, let's talk about that contract.
Chuck:
Okay, finished with the in-house bickering. I'd like to close the meeting. Any thoughts on that? Okay meeting adjourned.
Chris:
I seconded it.
Chuck:
Thank you for coming.