September 20, 2021 Video Board Meeting
Transcript
Describer:
AGENDA
Board of Directors Meeting
Monday, September 20, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.
7404 Yorkshire Drive, Castle Pines, CO 80108
- Welcome / Call meeting to order / Pledge of Allegiance.
- Roll call / Determination of quorum / Disclosure of potential conflicts.
- Consider approving September 20, 2021 board meeting agenda.
- Consider approving August 16, 2021 board meeting minutes.
- Opening public comment period (three-minute maximum per person).
- Open Space Manager’s report.
- Finance Director’s report.
A. Consider approving financial report, payables, and claims for payment, including check numbers 26287–26370 (August 7, 2021–September 10, 2021).
General Fund & Debt Service Approve $56,047.57 Ratify $229,807.44 Totals $285,855.01
Enterprise Funds Approve $154,841.63 Ratify $788,251.53 Totals $943,093.16
Electronic Payments (all funds) Approve $0.00 Ratify $95,619.61 Totals $95,619.61
Total Expenditures $1,324,567.78
- Legal Counsel’s report.
- District Manager’s report.
- Directors’ matters.
A. Consider Board Resolution No. 2021-09-01 concerning the imposition of fines and fees on those who fail to remove their dog’s waste from CPNMD’s parks, trails, open space areas, and recreational facilities. - Closing public comment period (three-minute maximum per person).
- Adjourn.
Describer:
The video starts on graphic with a white background and forest green letters which says “Castle Pines North Metro District Board Meeting September 20, 2021”. 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 David McEntire:
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the Board of Directors meeting this Monday,
September 20th, 2021. Before we hastened into the meeting, I would like to ask everyone to join me, if you would, 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 of 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.
David:
Thank you everyone for that. I'm going to call roll. Please indicate when called upon your presence and or whether or not you have any conflicts for tonight's meeting. We'll determine the quorum thereafter.
Board Member Director Robert Merritt:
Director Merritt. Present, no conflicts.
Board Member Director Denise Crew:
Director Denise Crew. Present, no conflicts.
Describer:
Chuck is joining the meeting via Zoom.
Board President Chuck Lowen:
Director Chuck Lowen. Present, no conflicts.
Board Member Director Chris Lewis:
And Director Christopher Lewis. Present, no conflicts.
David:
Director McEntire is here, and I have no conflicts. This evening's meeting, we have established a quorum. We'll move into items three and four. Customarily, we look for after having our packages for some time now, working through the minutes to ensure they're accurate, transparent and honest, as well as the agenda for tonight, I'd look for, one of my colleagues to make a motion to approve, both the minutes of August 16th and the agenda tonight, September 20th. Items three and four. Is there a motion?
Chris:
I make a motion to approve the agenda for September 20th. And for the minutes to approve the minutes from August 16th.
Robert:
I'll second that motion.
David:
We've got a motion on the floor and a second to approve the minutes of August 16th in the, tonight's agenda dated all, September 20th. any further conversation before I call for the vote?
Board Voting All Speak:
Hearing none. I'll call for the vote. Director Lowen. Approved. Director Lewis. Approved. Director Merritt. Approved. Director Crew. Approved. And I approve as well.
David:
Again, items three and four passed unanimously. Welcome, Tracy. I have the sign up sheets. I'm not calling you out because you're late. Just, we love that smile, but I put you down here.
Describer:
David is talking to people in the audience who have volunteered to speak at the open public comment period.
David:
The only thing I don't know is whether or not you would like to speak tonight. Not right now. Okay. And. And, Deborah, you evasively didn't answer the question either. Did you want to speak? No thanks. Nope. No, thanks. Okay. All right. We have three people in the audience. I don't know that we have any that have signed in or are present on Zoom. But for the moment, I'm going to open up item five on our agenda, which is the open public comment period.
Describer:
John Conde is physically at the meeting, and he is speaking at the podium.Once he is done, he will sit back down.
David:
And I'm going to invite John Conde. John Conde, it's hard to recognize you behind that mask. Welcome. Please approach the pedestal there or the podium and share with us your address. And you have the floor, sir.
Describer:
Jim, the district manager, walks up to the podium and turns the mic on. He then whispers “All right. There you go.” And he sits back down.
John Conde Castle Pines Resident:
Thank you again, my name is John Conde. I live at 6945 Caddy Court in Castle Pines. It’s in the Castle Valley subdivision with Lennar Homes. And some of the things that I wanted to address with you are just first of all, thank you very much for the work you're doing. My wife and I moved here about two and a half years now. And we just very much enjoy the community. And we just really appreciate the work that you're doing.
Trying to keep us informed, trying to keep the, the fees down. I'm assuming your homeowners in the area as well. And what affects us it certainly affects you. And certainly thank you very much for the work that was done on combining Castle Pines with the Parker water. That will be a benefit for us for generations to come.
So that didn't come easy and took a lot of work. I'm sure, on many people's part. I also appreciate your efforts to keep the, the trails clean and, and healthy, with the, the amendment or the proposal that, that you have, on cleaning up after our pets, I walk the trails, frequently, virtually every day.
And so it certainly affects me. And, and I, we have a small dog, and we always make sure we carry a little bag with us and, and and clean up after our, our cute little dog. So thank you very much for the work that you do. Many times you don't hear things from the community here, just the opposite.
You know, when people have needs and we understand that. A question that I would have, you don't have to address it tonight, but just a concern that I have or a question that I have. As a, a relatively new homeowner, as you get into a new home, you want to make improvements on property, and, and, and I know that there's a process for getting things approved, and I've done that.
But I see that many other people apparently don't, because what they have done on their landscaping and driveways doesn't meet the, the approval. Is there any enforcement on that? Is there anybody that drives around taking a look to see if there's things that are done and if not done and, and, what happens if they're not done properly? You know, I don't know. I never hear about that. So again, thank you very much for your time.
Describer:
David said John, and Chris spoke off mic.
Chris:
You can take it.
David:
Go ahead, Chris.
Describer:
Chris is speaking with his face mask on.
Chris:
All right, John, appreciate the comments. Thanks for all the, the accolades and recognition for the hard work that my colleagues and the staff here are doing. I'm not part of that. But I do want to address, that was a joke, I do want to address the question. And it's more from a homeowners association perspective.
Describer:
John is asking Chris if he could take off his mask while he is talking, but Chris takes off his mask fast, so John doesn’t get to say the full sentence.
John:
Could, could you, while you're talking. Thank you, I appreciate that.
Chris:
It’s more from an homeowners association perspective versus the city of Castle Pines. So there is definitely a process for any type of modification, improvement and so forth on your property.
And it goes through that, your local homeowners association. And, they have an architectural committee that will have to approve any of those types of things. And if you see a violation or any resident sees a violation in the community, they can call on their website, there's a number you can call and just report that. And that's one of the ways, that's the main way the homeowners association, gets information and, and are notified about violations.
So that's my suggestion would just be, have a call and it's no big deal. The homeowners association has a maintenance company. They'll send somebody out to take a look at it and validate that it's a violation. And then there's a process of sending out, you know, different letters, warning letters and so forth until it gets corrected. So what area did you say you live in?
John:
I live in the Lennar home, the new Lennar homes off Lagae. Castle Valley. Yeah the Castle Valley.
Chris:
Castle Valley, okay. Yeah. That's across the street? Yeah, yeah. Okay. That's a little different HOA from ours, the ones we deal with. So do, do we know what that one is?
David:
You know, we, we don't, but it's the same science, right? Actually. And we could be happy. Oh, go ahead, Craig, he may know.
Describer:
Craig is speaking via the Zoom meeting.
Craig Miller, Supervisor, Parks, Trails, and Open Space, CPNMD
I interject that it's the Castle Valley HOA. They have all say over everything that goes in the community. We really don't have anything other than the sewer service we provide here. So if this resident would reach out to me, my email is craig@cpnmd.org. I’d be happy to send them the contact for Castlewood HOA.
Describer:
Jim, the district manager, is saying off mic in the background “He cut out”.
David:
So what, that's Craig Miller, our open space manager. And, and he just gave you his email address. We'll give it to you before you leave. Okay. And, and if you'll let him know tonight or in the morning, at your leisure where you live. He will give you the contact information for your homeowners association and literally, albeit a self-help organization as they've been characterized. They are alive and well as we have heard and been reported, of and two throughout the community.
And they're the ones that will, not only evaluate any request, but evaluate those that hadn't gone through the right process. They'll also share with you the processes that are in writing, that are disclosed as a part of the purchase of the property and part of the property records. And so, again, it is a science. It's there to protect property owners, by virtue of, of the covenants, which are a part of the organizational documents for the entire community. I think you're in great hands. Feel free to communicate with Craig and or Jim Worley, who is our boss. here at the district. In the event that you don't get the answers that you need. But I'm confident you will.
John:
I appreciate that. Is that all right if I say another thing or just a follow-on, on that? You mentioned, my HOA, as far as I know, you are my HOA. You keep referring to, contact your HOA.
David:
Yeah. No, there’s.
John:
I have no idea. And that's another problem that we have is who do we contact? Do I contact the city, do I contact you? And now you're mentioning an HOA.
David:
Well, and, and take a look at your, your closing document and, and in your title report. It'll make mention.Those that are recorded against the property. And I'm sure that there is an owners association or a homeowners association. And last but not least, you can certainly call Lennar, and they'll point you to, as a declaration of that, or the author of those organizational documents, they'll point you in the right direction. Great group of builders in there that are doing a stand up job.
And they, they have the information and they have the organization that'll, that'll, I think, satisfy your inquiries. Again, while we are only, as Craig said, involved in Castle Valley from a water and sewer service provider. We, we don't operate any homeowners associations or involved in any owners associations throughout the city. But we can be a good source of information. Feel free to always give us a holler if you got a question. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Craig:
And again, please reach out to me tomorrow at craig@cpnmd.org and I’ve got all the information you need my friend. Your Castle Pines actually is a Metropolitan District. They do all the maintenance of the whole parks and the roadsides. I've got the direct contacts for your HOA so that you can circumvent all the confusion and go straight to that.
John:
Thank you. I'm sure that whatever you said was very helpful.
District Manager Jim Worley:
Craig, you're kind of cutting out, so I, you must have a connection. John. That's not good, so.
Denise:
I happen to live near you. And there is a.
Describer:
John moves forward right in front of Denise, and he is speaking off mic.
John:
Do you mind if I step forward a little please? Oh of course. No problem. I happen to live near you. And we do have a Castle Valley HOA. And they do all of Castle Valley as well as the West side of I-25. Everything that's being built over there has one big master, and I'm pretty sure it's Castle Valley HOA.
Describer:
Chris is speaking off mic inaudiably, and John is also speaking to Denise off mic.
John:
I’ve never heard that before.
Denise:
Do you pay HOA dues at all? No. That's interesting because.
Describer:
David and Denise are briefly speaking at the same time.
David:
You’re probably gonna.
Denise:
The single family homes. Yeah, I bet they just come out automatically, but.
David:
They're just having fun with you.
Describer:
John is speaking inaudibly briefly off mic.
Denise:
Yeah. You bet.
Describer:
The audio is cut out briefly.
David:
Thank you. John. it's with John's.
Describer:
John bands down to speak with Chris privately. They are both off mic and are inaudible. Chris shows him something on his computer. David briefly looks at them.
David:
Comments and questions and the answer from the board and, and Craig, thanks for your helpful advice and your offer to help John with contacting that group. Appreciate it. I'm going to close item five, the open public comment period, for this portion of the meeting and jump right into properly your open space report.
Now, we've been given your report and have had it for some time. My colleagues and I may have some questions, may not. But if you start off and, and we can't hear you for some technical difficulty. We'll have Jim finish up the report and take any questions. Follow up with you in the morning. Is that all right?
Craig:
Absolutely. Can you hear me now?
David:
Give it a shot.
Craig:
Can you hear me? Hello.
David:
Yes. Much better. I turned off my mic to help out, so go ahead. And, and you have the floor.
Craig:
Guys as noted you, you have seen my report. There's just a couple of things I'd like, like to point out, if I could. Item number two, our contract for irrigation audit program to slow the flow. Thanks to the marketing efforts of Ken Smith, we fulfilled our contract 100%. If you recall last month, we were probably 50, 60% full. In addition, we have 23 residents on the 2022 wait list. So this is great news overall to fulfill that contract and get that service done for our community. So I was very happy with that. I put some pictures in there that may not have come out very well for you.
For our annual order of seedling trees. We are bringing in 72 trees. And I wanted to show you some pictures of some of the ones that we've done in the past. I mean, we get 72 trees ranging in height from one to three feet for just over $500, which is the cost of one single tree.
Describer:
Craig is breaking up, and he is briefly inaudible.
Craig:
So we've purchased a pool of 468 trees over the years. The survival rate of almost 65%. And those pictures, they really don't do it justice, but those were taken at County Ridge Park, right along the North edge of the parking lot. You can go out there and see them for yourself. Many of them are now four feet plus in height. And they're doing very well with very little maintenance. We have a good ground to them. And we really don't have to do a whole lot of work to get them established. So it's a great way to reform this community, considering we're losing so many trees as we are. The other thing that I wanted to point out, and this isn't, I asked Jim to give you a copy of this email exchange that I had with the resident.
Describer:
Craig is briefly inaudible and he is breaking up.
Craig:
They live in the Winterbury subdivision. They're concerned about a path that has been cut by a homeowner. Nearby with a lawnmower to connect with the soft surface trail that we have between Esperanza and Winterbury neighborhood. And this president, excuse me, when confronted by this homeowner he said, oh well the open space belongs to everyone. So I'm within the rights to do this. Well as I pointed out in my response to this president, this is trespassing. It's our property. It's sort of.
A kin to us going on their property and suddenly to the other system is going to promote a trailer for the lawn. It's not acceptable. But again. Craig. This has been a growing problem. Craig. For the state. Yeah.
Jim:
Hang on if you would. About every other word is coming out. Let me try to tee this up for you real quick. We had Craig got an email recently from a property owner that said someone went into our open space and mowed a trail so that they could walk down to a trail.
Well, what Craig is talking about is that's not their property. It’s the district's property. And so the emphasis is for us to, to let people know, you can't just go out there and start cutting trees down or mowing or doing any of that type of work. Because you are trespassing. Craig’s exactly right. So that's the point that we're making here tonight, that if anybody's listening, don't go out and do that and do something.
If you have some issues or questions or concerns, give us a call. We'll talk all day long to you about that. But the email he's talking about, someone had gone out and mowed this thing all the way down to the trail and probably. Some other stuff I wish they shouldn't do. It is trespassing. So that's the point that he's trying to make with every other word. So.
Craig:
Can you hear me at this point in time?
Jim:
Yeah, right now we can.
Craig:
Okay. I've changed the microphone set up, so hopefully that works. The point I wanted to make here is that.
David:
It’s not working Craig. What’s that? Thank, thank you, but it's not working. And let me just add in closing, unless my colleagues have some questions, or comments they would like to make as well. That, the district has always been willing and accepting of, or inviting neighbors that have any issues of the open space to communicate with us. Whether it be, fire mitigation or pest control or weed control in those open, open areas.
I know that we have no backlog in that regard. That we are up to date in any and all of those requests, and we continue those services, unabated and uninterrupted. So are there any other questions, comments, concerns of my colleagues?
Chuck:
David, I have a, I have a question if I could.
David:
Go ahead Chuck.
Chuck:
Craig, I didn't hear everything you said.
And if you answered my question already, sorry. I'm going to ask you again, though. You indicated that you planted quite a few trees, seedling trees over the years. And I'm looking at the pictures and knowing how dry our ground is right now. Are there any efforts to water these before we run into the winter?
Craig:
Yes. Hopefully you can hear me. But we do have a drip irrigation system to it. And David Anderson, parks foreman, goes around regularly watering all our trees around the winter with an ATV that has a 200-gallon water tank. So we're very protective of those trees. We want them to thrive. And it's not only these seedling trees, but also the new larger trees. That we plant out that he waters with Gregory through the winter.
Chuck:
Thank you. Good, good to know. Thank you. And I did hear that. Perfect.
Robert:
I'll just follow up with the last question, and maybe Jim can head this off for us. So if you guys can just update us on just going down Castle Pines, even from Yosemite down to Monarch. It seems that there's, not just a few, but more than usual.
More than ever, trees that are dying on the side of the road. Are we replacing those? If you can catch everybody up on that? Or is that due to the construction? But it seems like an inordinate amount, this year is already dead or wilting or yellow on the side. And I'm sure you've noticed it as well.
Craig:
Can you hear me at this point? Because I can explain. Keep trying. Basically the issue is, we had that very hard temperature change last September from 101 degrees to 30 degrees within a two-day period and had all that snow. That stressed a lot of the pines and evergreens throughout Douglas County, as they hadn't had a chance to harden off for the winter. Are you able to hear me?
Describer:
David and Denise are nodding their heads yes.
Craig:
Okay, so that's, that's problem number one. On top of that, the second problem is maybe the trees within this community, as I've pointed out before, were planted too deeply with wire baskets, burlap and rope around the trucks. Following so far?
Describer:
Denise is nodding her head yes, and Jim gives a thumbs up and nods his head yes as well..
Craig:
Yes. So for the most part, this is the, the situation we're in. These trees are 20 to 25 years old. They're collapsing due to environmental stress and improper planting that occurred 20 to 25 years ago. As we lose these trees, we do replace them typically at a two to one or a three to one ratio. With six foot tall evergreens or per deciduous trees. We've done a great job of replacing the trees that we've lost throughout this community over the seven and a half years that I've been here.
Chuck:
Craig, I guess I have a follow-up to that. You'd mentioned the planting and the burlap wraps and the freeze-thaw. These trees along the road, are any of those trees, death caused by the snow melt that's put on the streets. The what is it, calcium or magnesium chloride or anything like that?
Craig:
So something that is aggravating the situation. But even without that, Chuck we would still be losing these trees. Maybe not as rapidly as we are, but almost every single one of these trees, if you look at them on the side of the road, the trunks go straight up down into the ground, what we call a telephone pole planting. They're supposed to flare into the ground when they're planted at the proper heights.
When you plant them too deep, the roots suffocate. They don't have an opportunity to establish as well. And interestingly enough, some of the trees that we've excavated, we've pulled some of them out to do an autopsy, so to speak. The roots stay exactly inside the wire basket and inside the burlap, which does not break down. The wire basket doesn't break down, and the nylon cores around the base of the trees don't break down. So they're being strangled to death. Thank you.
Jim:
One of the thing, if I could add to that, there are some trees along Castle Pines Parkway that you might see a green paint thing on there. And those are dead trees of which we will have removed, but we can't do it at the same time. This project is going on because you got a block of road, basically. So I think Craig, you had those scheduled for January or some other time. Correct. Scheduled.
Craig:
The ash trees that are on either side of the brick wall at Yorkshire and Castle Points Parkway are painted with a green dot. Those will be taken out. I actually have a scheduled date of January 5th, pending completion of the construction. So those will be removed once the new construction is completed.
All the rest of the trees that I identified as being dead, that are ours, have already been removed. There is one on Castle Pines Parkway on the West end that is a Gulf Forest tree that is a completely dead pine. and then another time adjacent to it, which is going down. So those involve, of course, responsibilities. But you see those two trees in the Southside Castle Pines Parkway, those are not our trees.
Robert:
Thank you for the update.
David:
Okay. Thank you very much. I'm going to close the open space manager's report. I think we're up to speed with regard to the trees, and the tree replacements. And some of the other open space challenges over the last 30 days, or on an annual basis. And, couldn't be happier for the, the work that you're doing, Craig.
The number of trees that we have reintroduced and, and properly introduced them back into the community. So I'm closing item six, opening up our finance director's report. Amanda Castle is with us via Zoom this evening. She is going to give us a rundown of, of Pinnacle’s observations of our financial condition ON and, transactions over the last 30 days. As well as tee up a motion for the payables, as she wraps things up for the, my colleagues and I to consider. Amanda. Welcome. Thank you for being here. You have the floor.
District Finance Director, Amanda Castle:
Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to be here this evening. We do have for your review the financial statements for the district as of the end of August. Just a few high level items for the board's consideration. Currently, expenditures within the general fund are looking pretty strong.
We did have some repairs. We had the roof replaced. So there were some costs associated with that that you'll see hitting the budget to actual report this month. Those were offset to a point with some insurance proceeds that the district received for $11,000 in total. We are projecting that the funds within or the expenditures rather within the general fund may be slightly over budget this year, but we're continuing to monitor that along with the 2022 budget process.
So should we require an amendment specific to that will bring it forward. We will obviously have an amendment for some of the debt payoff that will occur with the transaction with Parker. But beyond that, everything is looking relatively good. Even right now our budget versus actual is pretty darn close for the year. So we'll just keep monitoring that to see where items progress.
When we look at the water, wastewater and storm funds, we are seeing revenues come in pretty strong. So in the month of August, we did see the usage increase again for the month. That did allow us to kind of close that gap further on the total revenues recognized. I do actually think we will come in, at if not above budget. But for now, I'm being conservative and keeping those just slightly under budget. Just in case things kind of taper off through the end of the year.
But as of right now, we're trending right on par with what I would expect. So I was really excited to see those usage reports and hope to see that continue. When we look at total expenditures for the wastewater and, or water, wastewater and storm fund. Really everything is trending on budget. The items I did want to bring your attention to are in the water fund on page.
I apologize, on page 12 of your packet. You'll notice that the water treatment plant R&M and water distribution R&M are trending well above budget. We are anticipating that those costs will be in excess together of $1 million for the year. We had originally budgeted about $400,000. Jim, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's where the costs associated with the issues we had this summer hit.
So those, while unexpected, I anticipate that we can absorb most of those costs, through cost savings elsewhere. We may have some additional costs, but in total, I think that some savings we'll have will help to offset the overages that we're saving there. If there are any questions on the revenues and expenses, I would be happy to answer those. If not, I'll just touch base on where we stand on a few items.
Okay, I don't hear any. So just quick touch base on items that are currently happening. We did pay our September 1st payment to CWCB for our proportionate share of the loans that we currently have outstanding. Having said that, Lauren Nierma, I believe is her last name, with the state, did send me the final information relative to final pay off of those loans. And then the amount that will be have, that we will have to transfer, to cash funds.
The remaining balance. I have all of that teed up and should be able to make those transfers within the week. We're hopeful to have all of that closed out by the 30th of this month. Which is really good. That's a big step in our motion to move forward with Parker. Beyond that, we're working on the final debt payoff on our COPs that is due on, on December 1st.
So we do have some time there, but there's a letter that will have to go with the prepayment of that debt that we'll send off to our trustee to ensure that all of that is taken care of. Beyond that, we are working on the 2022 budget. Big thanks to district staff for all of their assistance there. Right now, I'm just getting everything together.
For that budget packet to have for the board's review and approval. The board will see that in October, and then we'll start to consider that as we move forward throughout the year. The revenues or the preliminary assessed values for the district came in strong, which is good to see. I don't anticipate any major changes in final AV, but we'll continue to monitor that.
So right now, those are some pretty big projects that we are working on for the district. If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer them. If not, I can make a motion. I just need to know, do you want me to make one motion to approve the financials and the payables?
David:
I, I think so, let's take questions.
Comments, concerns any from the board. Chuck, any? No. Okay. Amanda. Go ahead, and if you would, make a motion teeing up the detail on the payables, please.
Amanda:
Absolutely. So we just need a motion to consider approving the financial report. Payables and claims for payment, including check number 26287-26370 from October. I'm sorry, from August 7th through September 10th, for total expenditures in the General and Debt Service Fund to approve of $56,047.57 and to ratify of $229 for $229,807.44. The enterprise to approve of $154,841.63, and to ratify of $788,251.53 in total electronic payments to ratify of $95,619.61, for a total to approve and ratify of $1,324,567.78.
David:
Thank you for that motion, Amanda. Is there a second?
Denise:
I'll second.
David:
We have a motion on the floor to approve the reports given by our finance director for the month of August. And the payables that bridge August and September. Is there any other comments, questions or concerns for Amanda? Jim.
Jim:
Mr. President, I do have one. It's more cosmetic than anything. The motion actually has to be made by a board member. And so she verbalized the motion. So there has to be a motion. And then a second to that from a board member. That's the only process that we do. So she's not, she's not allowed to do a motion other than tell you what it ought to be. And someone says, I move that and someone else says, I second that. If that's okay.
David:
Sure it's okay. I, I move for approval. Is there a second?
Chuck:
I second that.
David:
We have a second again. We have a motion and a second. Sorry about the misunderstanding. It was something I would have picked up through the finance director agreement that they could.
Oh, okay. Make a motion as our finance director, but leave it to you and.
Jim:
I'll check with this guy over here.
David:
Let us know next month before we. I will. Have to do it twice right. I will. So, anyway, any other comments, concerns, questions for Amanda or Jim as it relates to the financials presented by Amanda? None?
Robert:
I got one. Go ahead.
Robert:
Yes, Amanda, you've looked through all those well treatment plant and all those numbers and they looked good to you. We see them here, but the $182,000, the $339,000, the $217,000, the $19,000, and the $50,000 for the consulting fee, all those were above board and have been checked out.
Amanda:
Yes, absolutely. Jim's been doing an excellent job getting all of that information to me. And it all looks on par.
Robert:
Okay, appreciate it.
Jim:
Robert. Well, we're, we're doing a lot of major positive upgrades to our plan and things. So that’s some of the things that she's referring to. So I'm putting all that together in a, in a particular report. But that's really what those all are.
Robert:
Okay, yeah, it's all the numbers, but I didn't have an explanation next to them, but thank you.
Jim:
And it's looking good over there too, the plan. Excellent.
David:
You know I appreciate you bringing that up, Jim. That, that, that, that's a bigger project than the one we have going out in the street. And, and, one of, one of, many that being said Amanda, we're looking for that, a separate ledger for those improvements on both those projects. I don't see that in the package, packet. Did I miss it?
Jim:
I'll answer that. No, you didn't miss it. It's not in there yet. We are actually working on making sure those are all correct right now. So we'll send it.
David:
What's the ETA on the first?
Jim:
We can send it out probably at the end of this week.
David:
Yeah. End of the month is fine, Jim.
Jim:
That's just next week. So we'll get it to you in the next week or week two. Yeah. I'm going over some right now. Just double check and make sure that we've got those ledgers right. And then Amanda and I will communicate on that and we'll put a ledger in and we'll let you know.
David:
Very good. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, Jim. All right. Thank you again Amanda. Job well done. Appreciate the information. And, and the ability to have comments and questions. I'm going to close if I didn't already see that item seven. And I'm going to go ahead and open up, item eight, which is our legal counsel report. Everyone has again had the opportunity to read through the report, noting that the report contains attorney client privilege information.
So, having that in mind, if there's some other questions, comments or concerns that the board would like to pose to Kim Seter, who is here with us tonight. You may do so, but before doing that, be advised that within his report, he has attached the proposed resolution number 2021-09-01, which is a reflection of not only the comments, the answers to the questions and responses to concerns from our constituents. But also some additional, legal work and internal, massaging as well.
It is before you. It has been posted for the last 30 days on our website. It is in a form that, that we could execute this evening. And while we don't have to do that on camera, per se, I would like to take a reading and, and take action on it before I pass it to my colleagues.
I would like to just bring, again, everyone up to speed with regard to how this transpired. And and, and the feedback that we've gotten, I'm going to generalize, in the spirit of, of, being time sensitive, but, probably 90% of I, approaching 100 folks that have commented on the subject. I would say at least 90%, have been positive, have, have been overwhelmingly positive.
They have been loudly heard and, and appreciated that the district for the area that they steward is doing something. They see it as, as the problem that they brought to us as, as just that. A problem and looking for some help. My colleagues and I, along with Craig Miller and, and staff, put their heads together, working with council, reviewing our organizational documents and helped us formulate this resolution.
Probably the only small concern, call it the remaining 10%, because no one as I recall was, was against it. No one was adamantly opposed to it, opposed to it or adamantly opposed to it but rather was concerned about enforcement. And, and it, it. I just want to make sure that, everyone is clear that, what we have done as a part of this resolution is added additional signage, conveying to everyone that uses the trails and the open space in the parks, that these are for the enjoyment of human beings and, and for their animals.
So long as they're on a leash and that they pick up after them. We conveyed in the meeting last month that by, by virtue of or given, given the assessment from the CDC, that infants and young children are at risk when they come into contact with these kinds of feces.
And we know that we have a bunch of, of the kids in the parks and what we know the trails in the open space as well. It is dangerous to pregnant women. It's dangerous to the elderly. and those with, especially weak immune systems. We had to act. And I'm really proud that my colleagues and staff council were able to put this together.
And, we're able to start a process of information first. I think Director Merritt and Director Lewis were adamant about making sure that there was adequate information out there and, and my other colleagues at the facilities, by, by virtue of, of, waste containers, both in, in bags as well as, trash cans were out there.
They've been deployed. The district spent a considerable amount of time this last month, month and a half doing all of that. And, again, I think we're ready to deploy this resolution. We are not going to spend any money whatsoever on third party enforcement. We are expecting, the same kind of, embracing that we experienced in our, some of our parks and some of our other amenities where there were issues that the public would, would convey to us, given they're given our contact information and our solicitation for information as we have made, any of the violations, and if we can pursue, those.
That are in violation, we now have the grounds for the first level of fining. Let's hope that it doesn't happen. I know that that's the heart of my colleagues and myself. But it is, much like we were talking to John about a self-help scenario here, where the residents are, are, are in favor of our recommending that no tax or fee or rate money be spent on enforcement at this point.
They are embracing our recommendation laid out in the resolution this evening. Is there any other comments or questions, concerns before we consider the resolution before us tonight?
Hearing none. I'm going to tee it up by making a motion this evening. Again, this is resolution number 2021-09-01 has been in the public venue for now some, some period of time. In excess of 30 days. There is no changes recommended. There's no further comments or concerns to be considered. So my motion is a motion to approve. Is there a second?
Chris:
I second it.
David:
We have a motion on the floor to approve this resolution. And a second, is there any other or further conversation about it by my colleagues, staff, council, anyone? Hearing none, I'm going to call for the vote. Please share with all of us attending this evening your feelings about the motion in a yea or nay.
Board Voting All Speak:
Director Lewis. Yea. Director Merritt. Yea. Director. Crew. Yea. Director. Lowen. Yea. And director McEntire is a yea.
David:
For John's benefit, let me just say that the district, much like the city, have very specific lines of responsibility and, and areas of stewardship. This does not include the Lagae or Castle Valley, this resolution. It is not within our service area. It does not include the city, park, or the area that the city has. It is just a resolution for the area and the amenities that we steward.
Should they follow our example? Where I know none with this specificity exists. It would, it would probably help our enforcement opportunities and, and, and, but that's just my conjecture. So thank you again everyone, motion passes unanimously. Gonna.
Robert:
Lastly, we just hope that the comical signs out there bring awareness and correct the problem the way it should be, instead of putting it on paper like it is today.
David:
I would agree with that. And while, while well, we'll leave it at that. Okay. I'm going to go ahead then and close, legal counsel's report. Open up the district manager's report again. Jim, thank you for a report. It was detailed in, in, content, and information. I know that it was also piggyback, or the Kennedy Jenks piggybacked on your report. And it too, was very productive over the course of the last 30 days.
Again, you guys have been busy, and, you know, I just want to take the opportunity unless you have something more to say about that. To give you and your staff both internally and externally that a boy, and that a girl. As it related to that recent notice that the state asked us to send to all of the residents. Again, for anyone that's not familiar with these form letters and/or the process, what was sent out was a, was a form letter.
It articulated fairly, what took place in, in, July, where they described it as 5% of the water sample of a single day came in under the .2 milligrams per liter of, of disinfectant. And it also denotes fairly, as it is clearly marked, emphasized, bolded that since the situation is resolved, an alternative drinking water supply, i.e. bottled water is not necessary.
That, that paragraph was marked and the other one was under the heading of what's being done. An increased chlorine dose at the entry point to maintain the proper chlorine levels to the distribution system. You know, for any water district to be conforming to the rules and regulations of the state. Taking these samples and sending them in as rigorously as they are required, to have this happen is, is just, normal course of business.
And, and the great news is none of the, none of the paragraphs were marked where there was any health issues, where there was any items or issues that would create an unsafe condition. But rather was really kind of a, a letter that said, nice job in my opinion. You know, what frustrates me though, is I just end up, is, is that the communication.
It just isn't quicker. You know, this happened in July, and we got approval to distribute it even on their form letter. We got approval to distribute it in, on September 7th. And, it just it, it frustrates me, and I'm sure that it frustrates some folks, that, that, that there's that large gap of communication and, and I just want to make sure that everybody understands that that's not our doing.
if we had the form letter and we were required to send it out, it'd be that afternoon. Because it resolved that afternoon and it wasn't anything harmful. But it was what's required. And, and we've done it. So if, reaching anybody or if there's any questions, it does say to, to communicate with Mr. Worley or district manager, and well, he's only accepted a few calls. Again, great job on that, Mr. Worley. I really appreciate it. Was there anything else about your report you want to bring up?
Jim:
I just want to bring up two things. One, that's not in the report we had, we get line breaks periodically as we all know. We had one this morning that was a little different. The line break is over at Monarch and Tenby. I think it's the roadway over there.
It turns out that the line that, that is having issues is a raw water line that comes from some of our wells that ends up going up to the plant. We have multiple lines that ended up going into one, basically one line which goes into the plant. This is one of them. So, so the good news in that is we don't have to shut down anybody or, or stop any service to any property over there because that's a raw water line.
Number one, the bad news is it can't really get worked on until Wednesday morning. Shouldn't be an issue over there. I don't think any of you live over in that area necessarily. But in case somebody says this thing happened Monday and now it's Wednesday. But because, also an interesting thing, I was called by Nathan this afternoon and this morning he said Jim, one of the light poles is starting to fall over.
I see you mean the street lights? He said yeah. So they reached out to, I think, the city maybe or somebody, and had them come out and they took that pole down. Because it was messing with the integrity of that area. So anyway, I just want to point that out to you. But again, the good news is it's not water going to someone's house.
And so we didn't have to show anybody off. The other which is, I don't know if anybody's noticed or not, but there's a little bit of work going on out here on this roadway here. They just switched this over, as I'm sure all of you know, this past Saturday, from eastbound lanes to, or westbound lanes to eastbound lanes. Now we're really going to get into the nitty gritty of our pipe, of our replacement on the pipe.
It is on this side of the road, basically the, the North side of the road westbound. So you'll see more work. Those of you who drive by and watch what's going on. You'll see more work with our pipeline going on in there in addition to the roadway. So I think the contractor is doing an excellent job of taking care of this.
It is a heck of a challenge with the traffic that goes through there. So they're doing a very good job, but our involvement will be a little more on this next few months. And so I just want to let you know that. Certainly if there's any questions from anybody related to what's going on over there, they know how to reach me. Be happy to address any questions. So that's it, Chris.
Chris:
Thank you Jim, I have two questions actually. The first one is, more of a comment and it's, the site it's finished. Looks really good. Not only that, I've gotten comments from my neighbors telling me, wow that's the smoothest road we've driven on forever, right? So that's really good.
My second question or my question is really. So I see where we went with the asphalt. What's going to happen with the rest of it? Because there's additional construction. And I especially I was noticing the left turn that goes into the development over there. That's cement also. So are we going to continue asphalt for the rest of the road? And maybe our colleagues can help us from the city. Or is it going to go asphalt? I mean, our is going to be cement again. And so, you know?
Jim:
It's going to be one of the two. I'm just kidding with you. No it, it eventually is going to be asphalt. What's happening on this side now is our connection is basically a little further east then this intersection at Yorkshire.
Our connection that we have to hook up to this new pipe we're putting in is down here. So you'll see some of that being torn up down there. I think, and I have to admit, I'm not real sure. Maybe Deborah or Tracy can help me out. I think when this is replaced up to Yorkshire, I think that's going to be concrete.
Is that correct? Tracy an, and Deborah. But then going west on Castle Pines Parkway, just like now, going east will be asphalt. Does that help you with that a little bit? This actually, the project wouldn't go down any further than right here in Yorkshire if we didn't have a connection point about 300ft down the road. That makes sense to you.
Chris:
That does. Well. That answers the question. I won't say it makes sense, but it answers the question.
Jim:
My understanding and, and the city officials can address this. Certainly. I believe it's a little less cost, I think asphalt, a little less cost from a construction standpoint. But probably the biggest factor on the reason for the asphalt is, is the noise. It's a lot quieter than a concrete road.
And so that's one, I think one of the reasons that I don't want to speak for the city, so maybe never or Tracy can jump up here. But that's kind of why that's what it is. So if you want to find out a little bit more. Yes. Yeah, you bet.
Describer:
Tracy is at the meeting in person, and she is speaking at the podium.
Tracy Engerman, City Council member for District 3:
Let's see. There we go. So the asphalt is less expensive, and it's easier to maintain when they have to come in and make repairs. But the seam it's important where we have to do turning radius. So anywhere there's turning in intersections it holds up better to cement. So the concrete's put there like you see in the intersection on Monarch and Yorkshire.
Same thing down here because we have so many heavy trucks and so much on and off turning and stopping motions with the tires turning. That puts a lot more wear and tear on asphalt than it does on concrete. So we would be going in there and doing more maintenance more often, which then would make it less money savings if we had put the asphalt there. So that's why we have some places that are concrete.
Robert:
Just real quick. Maybe it'll subside. But the traffic was fine right up until now. We switched sides and I've seen for the last week or so. It goes all the way almost to the highway during certain hours. Is there something that needs to be addressed or why now the complicated traffic, when we've had this for a while and it seemed to have been okay.
Tracy:
Part of it is because the traffic that is going eastbound, we only have one lane to be able to line up at that light. So you're getting back up onto Monarch from there, turning onto Castle Pines Parkway. And the same way coming here. Before we had two lanes and then they would feed in up here at the top of the hill.
And now they're only, they have to feed into one lane a lot sooner. So then it means there's less room for traffic to line up.
Robert:
And how long is that going to last for everybody?
Tracy:
Whenever we get this done.
Robert:
Ah, so to the duration?
Tracy:
Unless they find a different way to do it. But at this point, they're using a lot of that, those lanes that are further down on eastbound, westbound Castle Pines Parkway.
But the East side of Yorkshire, they're parking a lot of their vehicles and trucks there. So there's not really we could, we could maybe extend the lane a little further. But I don't, I don't know that it's going to make a big difference.
Robert:
Okay, because earlier I was going to bring humor to it when David mentioned you were tardy to say well, she was stuck in traffic. Even though it's a four-minute drive.
Tracy:
I was stuck at the light, actually, to get across the intersection.
Chris:
Councilwoman, I just would like to say we appreciate the feedback and the information, but just the fact the responses I've gotten. So as you got, as the city continues its planning, the asphalt is really being commented upon by many people that we've encountered. So as you plan the rest of the streets, you know, take that into consideration.
Robert:
What are you saying? I think we've seen a surprise and might need a little more communication, but I think everybody likes the asphalt, but yeah.
Tracy:
Yeah. Thank you.
Jim:
That's all I had, Mr. President.
David:
Any other matters?
Chuck:
Yes, David. It’s Chuck. I do have a question to ask Jim. Jim, can you hear me?
Jim:
Yes, I can.
Chuck:
Going back to your report dated September 20th, the first paragraph concerning the Forest Park sewer odor. You mentioned in there that everything has gone extremely well. I do not believe that the homeowners that live on Glenhunt Ln in Forest Park would agree with you.
And I think that, some of them have talked to you. One in particular that lives on that street and talked to you a couple almost a month and a half ago. And he was referred to Nathan. Nathan spoke with him a couple of times, and now Nathan's gone dark. And several homeowners on Glenhunt Ln are not happy as of, as soon as, the end of last week. They are telling me that it is so bad that even their wives are deciding whether or not they ought to sell. So, I think we still have a problem there. And I'm just curious, what is happening to mitigate those odors for the Glenhunt Ln homeowners?
Jim:
I'm glad you brought that up, Chuck. And I should have mentioned that before we found out, Nathan found out about a week ago that there is a part, I'll call it. Or a piece of the, the new structure that we built by our station three that injects this ozone into it.
That's what takes care of the odor. There's a piece or a part to that that hasn't been completed yet, which Nathan didn't know until just last week. So when that is done, then the ozone will constantly be injected into that sewer water is what it is. So that you take care of it. The problem has been that, it’s that it stopped injecting periodically for a short period of time.
And when it stops, that odor continues down there. So he's still on top of that. And I'll let you know next month or even before that when that part comes in and when it's taken care of. And that should take care of it all. Because I question the same thing, Chuck. I said, why are we getting these periodic calls? So he reached out for the contractor and this is what he's found out. So we should have.
Describer:
Chuck and Jim are speaking at the same time briefly, and Jim’s last words are inaudible.
Chuck:
So the pilot program is not working extremely well.
Jim:
Well, the pilot program worked well because that was from, we injected differently. We used a tank of some sort. Now we have a structure that we have built and it automatically injects into it.
So the pilot program worked well as long as the ozone was continually injected into the water, or into the wastewater. That's what we're working on right now with this permanent structure. Over by station three. And as soon as that is done, it should continue in addition to setting it up on our scale system. So if it stops working, there's an alarm sent out to our people. So all of that's being worked on now, and I apologize for the timing on it. But it would be taken care of when that part comes in.
Chuck:
And you think this will happen in a week?
Jim:
I hope so. I'll, I’ll check with Nathan to see. When he and I talked about this Friday afternoon. He didn't know the timing yet, and so I'll reach out to him in the morning and find out the timing, and shoot you an email.
Chuck:
Well, he. I wish Nathan would have phoned these owners, who he'd spoken to in the past and not gone dark. If I could.
Jim:
I'll call him.
Chuck:
Jim, I would appreciate you calling, one of them in particular. And I will email you his name and his phone number. We don't need to do it over the, over Zoom, but I would appreciate if you'd call him directly, and give him some feedback.
Jim:
I'll call him in the morning.
Chuck:
And I will text you, name and phone number. Thank you. Thank you.
Jim:
I do. One other thing. Thank you, Mr. President. We got another cleanup day coming up this Saturday. Saturday morning, meet at Coyote Ridge like we did back in June. I think June 5th was the last one we had. Had a great turnout last time. Sheila will be out there with us. And Craig is actually going to give me a list tomorrow of different areas. Because we've done such a good job.
The park is looking pretty clean. So there aren't a lot of things to go hunt for necessarily. So we're going to kind of spread them out. Maybe run along Monarch or some other areas to pick up some other stuff. So what a great opportunity for people to get involved in their community, and a lot of people are. And so that's this Saturday starting at 8 o'clock. We'll go to about 10 o'clock. I love to have as many people out there that can show up. Coyote Ridge Park.
Robert:
How are we advertising that? Next door or is it? I think.
Denise:
Is it an insert in the water bill?
Jim:
Yeah, there was an insert that went in the water bill that went out. Yeah, so we've been talking as much as we can. I think Sheila, we've gotten a pretty good response. If I'm not mistaken, you mentioned something about a number.
Land Use and Built Environment Specialist III cc, Sheila Lynch TCHD:
We have about 30 people signed up right now. Perfect. And we're going to send a broadcast email tomorrow to remind people.
Jim:
Okay. Thank you. So hope to see you out there Saturday morning.
Robert
Saturday morning? Yeah. Of course.
David:
Good. Mission accomplished. Thanks, Jim. Thank you. Robert. We'll see you on, on Saturday. Any other directors matters?
Chris:
I, I do have something for Director of Matters. I didn't realize you were there, but I do have a.
Describer:
Chris pulls his face mask down so it doesn’t cover his mouth.
Chris:
Sorry. I do have a question. Actually, it's a follow up. So, you know, we started this whole agenda as being fiscally conservative stewards of our community and looking to reduce government and reduce the cost that we have to the community and so forth.
And then we went out and we, we started to hold the water sewer, you know, we did enclosure with Parker. And second part of our plan was, what are we going to do after that? And I know we've had some discussions around, well, maybe we should, target parks, you know, trails and open space. And we have looked at all the options.
And one of the options is to follow similar to the, the, the water with Parker. So looking at is there a way for us to do an inclusion or a merger with other entities out there that are experts in dealing with parks and open space and trails? So I'm kind of wondering where that stand. I thought we had an opportunity where we were exploring doing that with, with South Suburban and, I don't know, Jim or any of my colleagues. If you guys can comment on where we stand on that. Sure.
You're right, in as much as that has been a part of, of, our internal planning for some period of time. A very comprehensive plan, to say the least. But a longer story short, very much like the drought plan Chris that the district put together, rolled out, before the South Metro fire and, and.
And, Douglas County, emergency folks garnering their approval and recommendation for, for, executing that plan. It also came with the recommendation of, of three different commissioners. But it was, we've run into the same kind of, of interference. I think would be a fair way to characterize it. Where the leadership at city has interjected themselves into these programs. And these ideas sufficiently showed where they communicated with the chief of South Metro with the commissioners.
And I know that because I was party to those conversations with, with, leadership in, in tow. As well as our own resident here who is, leads South suburban. The city leadership has insisted that they did not like our idea. The drought plan regardless of the fact that we don't have one.
And they didn't, don't like the idea of South suburban. And, as I said, made that abundantly clear to the folks at South Suburban as well as the district should relate to the drought plan. These folks have shared with us directly that they don't want to get in the middle of a, of a disagreement between the district and the city. And that's where it stands. Does that answer your question?
Chuck:
No, David if you don't mind. I'm, I guess I'm confused. I'm not here to lecture anybody on our drought plan and how important it is. We've all seen the fires across our country. They're devastating and for us to, to drop it is foolish. I think we ought to continue to try to enforce it.
But to have the city ignore it or tell us they don't like it is unconscionable. That's the worst thing a city can do for their constituents. This, this involves lives, involves home values. Why they are turning a blind eye on this is beyond me. And it. And it irritates me on South Suburban, because you did raise two issues.
Does it matter if, if the city doesn't like that plan? If we are in charge of maintaining parks and recreation, can we continue to have that conversation as a, as a metro district with South Suburban and encourage them that it's the right thing to do and get some direction? I don't think these things should be dropped or pushed under the carpet. They're too important, Dave.
David:
Chuck, couldn't agree with you more and, and, but I wouldn't characterize it as shoving them under the rug. And we kept them on the table, as it were. Because we garnered so much support, as I mentioned earlier, not only with the county commissioners, but the chief at South Metro Fire and Rescue.
I mean, they went as far as saying, guys, we like this. You could, you could put your program at our front door, as you come into the city. But you may recall that wasn't the location of, of, of our drought plan. It was at the entryways to the city. The city leadership had a different vision, and it didn't incorporate our drought plan.
For that reason, they did what everyone has a right to do and, and share with the county commissioners, the chief. And as it relates to south suburban the, the hierarchy in South suburban that their vision for those initiatives by the districts were not the same as theirs. So, without, without there being a change in, in our. Leadership. and and vision or equally the leadership and the vision of the city. These issues are in limbo.
Chuck:
David. I don't know. I don't want to beat this dead horse. But, the city didn't like our plan. Did they make any recommendations to us to change anything? Or do they have a plan of their own that we just haven't heard yet?
David:
They, we've never been. We've never been given, short of the, of the.
Professional and very respectful discourse that we have with the ladies in the audience who represent the city as private citizens in some cases, and as council women and other cases. We've not had a conversation, Chuck with the city manager or the mayor. That culminated what city manager ever the mayor in, in.
At least, once maybe twice nose to nose, one on one with county commissioner until we, we, we, we've, we've been told no. And you recall that the first no was when we wanted to roll out part of our drought program at the entryway on Monarch into the city on our own property that we steward. And because we wanted to make sure that we followed the, the rules and regs and the laws and, and the ordinances there's a sign ordinance. And they denied us a sign permit to do that because it was not in keeping with their vision.
You know, that subsequent to that not only as, as residents living in the, in the Black Forest of which we do, albeit a high desert, arid climate have received a number of, of collateral pieces from their individual insurance companies and, and every rider along the Colorado River corridor of the dam of the dangers, fire dangers.
We saw them in the sky last year coming up through Daniels Park and, over from, the communities to our, to our west. I hope that it doesn't cost a life before we're able to put a program in place that, as you said, improves If not, secures a quality of life. A secure lifestyle and, and return on everyone's investment.
I, I don't know how better. If there's something more specific, great. But I think that's fair. Every word that I said, and I would, ask the ladies that are here representing the city in that capacity if they have anything to add, you're welcome to come to the podium. If there's anything that I've said that is in error to their knowledge. Feel free to rebuke what I've said, but otherwise I think that's fair and, and, transparent and honest. With regard to where we're at on both those issues.
Chuck:
Thank you. David, I appreciate your, your input. I guess I'm just frustrated. And, it always comes home when I see a fire right off of I-25 in Castle Parkway. Creeping up either to the apartments or to the vacant Safeway store. And I just know how vulnerable we are. And, and so I hope we don't lose sight of how important this issue is.
Robert:
Chuck, I'd like to second on that. And also just bring it to the table that hopefully the people that are involved. Know what liability is being created professionally now. And if something does happen, we're putting all the Castle Plains residents in that.
If it is the city's decision and, to follow that, everybody's going to be a stakeholder in this. And the liability. So I would like to see something done on it as well. And now it's been said on, on record.
Chuck:
Thanks, Bob. Robert.
Chris:
So, not to minimize the drug plan. But I want to get back to the parks, trails and open space opportunities for mergers and inclusion, and.
Chuck:
Chris, I can't hear you.
Describer:
Chris pulls his mask down so it is not covering his face.
Chris:
I apologize. So not to minimize the parks, the trails and the open. I'm sorry, the drought plan. But I'd like to get back to the parts, the trails, and the open space. And explore if there's something else that we can do. Because we know for a fact that we can save money and give money back to the residents.
Right and, is there options and do we need to have, like a resolution or something stating our position? Or is there other opportunities for other entities to maybe bring involved in this process? Knowing based on feedback we've gotten the best option so far is South suburban, they're just not willing to get between us and the city.
And, and that's in fact now impacting our overall community, right. And, and, that's not good for us overall. So I want to make sure that from a documentation perspective that the metro district is doing whatever we need to do. We're doing our fiduciary duty to make sure that we're looking out for the community. And we'd like to have as much partnership with whoever we can to save their money. So I don't know, Council, if you want to make any comments or Jim, you want to make any comments. And then, David, maybe you can close out.
David:
Well, Chris, yeah. We weren't attempting or, or wanting to minimize the South Suburban issue as you know, for months. I think back even when Deborah was, was our liaison conversations about the other half of the district's business were commonplace in these meetings. And, and while we had been in communication with South Suburban directly, for many months.
But it was always a part of a, a friendly and, and business relationship matter of due diligence, if you will. And, and because we wanted to make sure that we could deliver on the promise we made with Parker. Or with the residents first and foremost as it relates to the inclusion with Parker.
The science is in. The science is alive and well. The economies of scale the abundance of, of, of amenities. All of that that you say are, have been recognized in conversation with South Suburban. But they respectfully have asked that we not put them in a, in a, in a position where they would have to pick sides.
And in fact, I gave them my word that we would not put them in that, that situation, regardless of the request from the city, to kill it. I gave them that assurance. I have, I have spoken to some of our other neighbors. Some of the other folks involved in a development of the city in that arena. And, and there's a tremendous, tremendous interest and, and acknowledgment that, that the city on its own would never, ever be able to match what.
An inclusion with Parker has done. And that that wasn't that wasn't a verbal mistake. That was my point. To carry the burden of renewable water again on the backs of 3500 people. And that's what we're talking about is, is the residents west of, of I 25 at least initially. There's no way that, that, that the, that the district or the city could deliver the quality and the quantity of amenities had a price and a cost that an inclusion with South Suburban could.
We have not received a no. We've just received a respectful, don't put us in that position. And, as, as your spokesperson in those meetings I've, I've conveyed to them our promise that we wouldn't. I hope that answers your question.
Chris:
Thank you. Thank you. Yes, that does. Okay.
Craig:
Mr. President, if I could say something.
David:
You bet Craig. Go ahead sir.
Craig:
The situation with parks and open space, and our unknown future is very concerning to myself and to David Anderson, our foreman. Something's got to be figured out. We've got less than four months. Just saying. Actually, less than four months.
Robert:
Craig, let me assure you this board is going to do everything possible to do what's best for the residents and Castle Pines that we have done. And we're working on it and wish to be able to announce some stuff later when it comes to fruition. But, we're working on it and because it, it's very important that it just does not get put aside like it has been.
And, but it does have to be talked about as everybody has brought up. So you to and it has to be done with responsibility that we've shown, for a while now. The last three years.
Craig:
Understood, the clock is ticking and it's very concerning to both David and myself just so you're aware.
Robert:
Hopefully it won't be released to a responsible section or so.
So thank you for bringing that up.
David:
Craig, thank you for, for, chiming in and we, we, acknowledge and hear you loud and clear, how it affects all of us. Especially the residents whom, of course, is our priority. But it is that it, and I know it's your priority as well.
But in that same vein, it's ironic that this comes to mind, because wasn't on our agenda. I'll use that as an excuse. But the whole issue of the right of way, that is, is, been put on the back burner as well. By the city and, and you know it started back again when, when Debra was, was concerned that this board had not communicated with the city. Or the city, or vice versa.
And, and jumped on it, jumped in the middle of it and made sure that there was some communication. And I think that the communication has gone real well with the city since then. We have made our case. We, we delivered a claim. They have asked for some time to solidify and substantiate that our claim was, was accurate, that it was fair, that it was correct. And have come back and said just that. Director, Public Works Director Larry Nimmo has, has provided the evidence of that as well.
And, and yet, as opposed to responding to our claim with a definitive yes or no. That the city will acknowledge the damage and the responsibility of the damage. Again has deferred, okay gone dark. I think was the word that Chuck used as it related to our own Nathan on, on the sewer issue.
And in all fairness, Larry, his last communication was that he had it on his budget radar for next year. Hoping to tandem that with some road construction. But was insecure about making a commitment given the magnitude of, of work and limits and availability of and pricing of some of the labor and materials.
So another, another one of those that unfortunately, the residents don't know the entire story and or see the lines of responsibility. Not that we are always superior to anyone or, or subpar to all of them. But we do have a need and a desire. This board has a passion for being honest and transparent and direct and in communication with the residents. As I know a lot of, of our colleagues at the city do. But we could all do a better job in that regard.
And, and we do owe them. We do owe them an answer within days. Those that we've asked for their patience on this matter, to trust that we were going to represent them well in this regard. Craig, are we out of time, or how many days do we have left to pull the trigger? If we were able to pull that off with the reclamation of the right of way?
Craig:
We probably have less than two weeks this coming month.
David:
I thought as much. All right, very good. Thank you. I just wanted to make sure that that remained top of mind with my colleagues. And with those that are listening in, and in attendance today. If there's no other items, I'm going to close the director's matters, and I'm going to recognize Ms. Mulvey, Deborah Mulvey. I'm not sure what capacity tonight because I've lost my sign-up sheet.
Describer:
Deborah is speaking at the podium. Once she is done she will sit back down.
Deborah Mulvey, City Council member for District 1:
But thank you.
David:
By opening up item 11. Go ahead Deborah.
Deborah:
Thank you for addressing in what capacity I speak. Because we are all very well aware that Ms. Engerman is the city council representative. I'm only speaking as a private individual. You've raised a number of things that I'm concerned and want to read a few things that I haven't seen. Nevertheless, I have never sat in a meeting and been called a liar. That's incomprehensible and unprecedented, and it happens to be a problem. It is not accurate for this particular individual, me.
And I would encourage a discourse that is face to face with the body, if that's what's desired. And that conversations be conducted personally. If individuals are going to be called out. And I'll leave it at that please. You know where to find me.
David:
Thank you Deborah. No one else wishes to speak. I'm going to close item number 11.
Describer:
Robert says something off mic to David to remind him about John, but he is inaudible.
David:
Oh John, go ahead sir.
John Conde Castle Pines Resident:
Get the right button. Did I get the right button? Okay, thank you. First of all, I want to thank Mr. Worley for always responding. I've contacted him a couple of times. He's always been cordial, receptive and very helpful. And let me know about tonight's meeting. So thank you Jim, I appreciate your help. Second thing along that line, he informed me of tonight's meeting and invited me to come. And so I appreciate that.
But without that, I wouldn't have known there was a meeting. I'm sure that on the Castle Pines North Metro District site, there's something about somewhere. If you click here, click here, click here. You might be able to find it. But for me, it's not obvious. Maybe for everybody else, if you know it's there it is.
But I would suggest that you make it a little bit bigger as to when the next meeting is. Here's a link to the minutes. Just, just something like that, just to let us know. The third thing I would like to bring up is, the Zoom. The analogy is like trying to kiss your girlfriend through a screen door. It’s just not the same.
I would suggest that where the audio quality, the visual quality is, is very substandard. It's not just here. It's just any time that you require everybody, unless there's an emergency or something unusual. That everybody be here. The, like I say, if there's an emergency, such as during Covid, you guys still had your meetings by, by Zoom.
That was commendable, and I appreciate that, and it's still having a business run. But when it’s, that, that emergency is no longer here. Unless, like I say, there's an emergency and there are those that happen. That you require everybody to be here. And the fourth thing is apparently there's a link for people to, to listen in.
I don't know what that is, but again that might be on the, on the website. But I don't know where it is. And so you might just think about that and make it more visible. And thank you very much for your hospitality tonight, and listening to me, and addressing my questions and comments. Thanks.
David:
Thank you, John. Our pleasure. Close item 11. And, look for a motion for adjournment on item 12.
Robert:
I'll make a motion to adjourn. I'll second.
Board Voting All Speak:
All those in favor in unison may say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
David:
Hearing none, motion carries unanimously. We are adjourned. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Amanda.