KC logoKEN-CARYL RANCH WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT MINUTES
March 19, 2010:

THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS was held on March 19, 2010 at 6:30 a.m. in the Conference Room of the Ken-Caryl Ranch Water & Sanitation District, 10698 W. Centennial Road, Jefferson County, Littleton, Colorado 80127 (mailing address), pursuant to notice given to each Director and posting of notice as required by law. The Directors in attendance were Steven D. Gustafson, Philip G. Varley, Jan E. Rousselot, Sandy L. Rinow and Amy S. Turney. Also present were District Manager Timothy R. Anderson, Assistant Secretary Lindsey C. Gibbons, and Attorney Jim Borgel. District resident, Bud Becker, also attended the meeting.

Chairman Gustafson brought the meeting to order at 6:30 a.m.

  1. Disclosure of Potential Conflicts. No new or potential conflicts, or changes in previously reported conflicts were reported.
  2. Minutes-February 19, 2010 Regular Meeting. Vice-Chairman Varley proposed three grammatical corrections in the Minutes. Next, Director Rousselot moved that the Minutes be approved as amended. Upon a second by Director Rinow, the motion was unanimously passed.
  3. Accounts Payable/Paid. Mr. Anderson reviewed the Accounts Payable list for
    • February 2010. Mr. Anderson stated that the checks written in February were reflected in the Accounts Paid list, and that all of the checks written in February we paid to familiar vendors. Mr. Anderson noted that the Accounts Receivable balance for February 2010 was higher than February 2009. Mr. Anderson stated that District field personnel were able to locate the curb stop at 15 Golden Eagle Lane and the water at that location was turned off because of non-payment, so no excavating work was necessary as was discussed at a prior Board meeting.
    • Director Rousselot moved to approve the Accounts Payable (Paid) list as presented. Upon a second by Director Rinow, the motion was unanimously passed.
  4. Financial Statements. Mr. Anderson stated that the auditors from Haynie & Company were in the office the week of March 8th and he expected the 2009 draft audit report in April. Mr. Anderson noted that the auditors would be adjusting the 2009 accrued vacation general ledger (GL) account by approximately $35,000.
    • Mr. Anderson stated that 2010 revenue and expenses were on track except for the power expenses. Mr. Anderson explained that Staff met with IREA and they are going to test the demand meter to make sure the meter was logging kilowatt hours correctly. Mr. Anderson noted that no District investments will be maturing prior to the next Board meeting.
    • Following discussion, Vice-Chairman Varley moved to accept the February Financial Statements. Upon a second by Director Rousselot, the motion was unanimously passed.
  5. District Manager’s Report. Mr. Anderson reviewed the Monthly Manager’s report for February 2010 with the Board. Mr. Anderson stated that 234 people visited the District’s website in the month of February.
    • Mr. Anderson stated that 34 residential water accounts were shut off in February and 45 were shut off in March. Mr. Anderson explained that three homes were not shut off, but were tagged for shut-off because the customers had never been late. Mr. Anderson stated that the District may need to develop a new “courtesy” tag for these situations, because the current version of the shut-off tag upsets many customers. Mr. Anderson described a recent situation regarding a delinquent customer who had negotiated a payment plan. Mr. Anderson stated that the customer’s water was shut off on March 17th after the customer failed to meet the terms of their payment plan. The customer was informed that under the District’s procedures, the account needed to be brought current following a broken payment arrangement. Mr. Anderson stated that the customer left the office without making a payment and the office did not hear from the customer for a couple of days, so he went to the house on Thursday afternoon and spoke to the homeowner. Mr. Anderson stated that the homeowner told him that he had eight kids and three adults living in the house and explained his financial situation. Mr. Anderson authorized water to be turned on at the property.
    • Mr. Anderson stated that a water main break on Half Moon Pass occurred because the old cast iron saddle that was in the ground had rusted through. Mr. Anderson stated that the newer saddles were made of brass and do not rust. Mr. Anderson noted that he may hire a leak detection service to help identify the locations of the remaining cast iron saddles throughout the District.
    • Mr. Anderson stated that the meter at the Holiday Inn was replaced by field staff and noted that he sent a response letter to the unhappy sewer customer in Trailmark. Director Rousselot asked if response letters were sent to all of the customers that had sent in letters to the District regarding rates and Mr. Anderson responded yes.
  6. Public Comment. Darrell Windes and Allen Rogers from the Ken-Caryl Ranch Metro District and Chris Pacetti from the Ken-Caryl Ranch Master Association attended the meeting to ask the Board for a 2010 irrigation water rate reduction. Mr. Windes stated that this was the third year the Metro District was asking the Water District for a rate reduction on irrigation water and stated that the realized savings in 2009 was approximately $33,000. Mr. Windes stated that the savings from 2009 plus revenue set aside by Master Association will allow the Metro District to complete Phase 1 of the Valley Parkway irrigation replacement project this year. Mr. Windes stated that Urban Farmer had been hired to complete the project and any rate reduction savings in 2010 would go towards Phase 2 of the project in 2011.
    • Vice-Chairman Varley asked why the Valley Parkway irrigation system was chosen first to replace and Mr. Rogers responded that the Valley Parkway had more water breaks than other areas in the District. Director Rousselot asked if any trees would be removed during the project and Mr. Rogers stated that most of the trees would not be removed, except for an area near the equestrian center. Director Turney asked about the design of the irrigation system and Mr. Rogers explained the current irrigation system and the new irrigation system layout. Director Rousselot asked if the Metro District could provide the Water District a map of the Phase 1 Valley Parkway irrigation replacement project and a spreadsheet of expenses related to the project.
    • After discussion, Director Rousselot moved to extend the Metro District irrigation water rate reduction for 2010 contingent that the Metro District provided requested mapping and spreadsheets to the Water District. Upon a second by Director Rinow, the motion was unanimously passed. Mr. Windes thanked the District Board of Directors for helping out the residents of Ken-Caryl again this year.
    • Next, Chris Brown from Bank of the West spoke to the Board about a new product his bank had to offer. Mr. Brown stated that the District could invest public funds with the Federal Reserve Bank directly and the funds would not be co-mingled with any other funds. Mr. Brown stated that the account would operate similar to a Merrill Lynch account.
    • Chairman Gustafson asked if the District would have to transfer their operating account to Bank of the West to invest in the Federal Reserve Bank and Mr. Brown responded yes. Mr. Brown told the Board that he could prepare an analysis of what Bank of the West would charge, on a monthly basis, to service the District’s operating account, if requested. Mr. Anderson noted that the District tried investing public funds with Bank of the West and experienced some troubles with the transaction, and as a result, the funds were withdrawn from the bank.
    • Then, Bud Becker, a 2010 Board Candidate, introduced himself and described his previous work experience. Mr. Becker stated that he was a retired in-house attorney for utility companies and worked for utility companies for 30 years.
    • Mr. Anderson told the Board that he would email Board Candidates a questionnaire to be filled out and returned to him with a photograph. Mr. Anderson explained that he would have the questionnaire responses and pictures of the Board Candidates published in a future Life at Ken-Caryl newspaper prior to the May 4, 2010 Election. Mr. Anderson reviewed the seven Board Candidates: Robert Espinoza, Bill Poos, Bud Becker, Mike Spalding, Derek Bristol, Amy Turney, and John Heasley.
  7. Capital Projects. Mr. Anderson stated that Nelson Pipeline still had not submitted their Final Pay Request for the 2009 Sanitary Sewer Replacement project because the gentleman that was working on it had been out for some time due to medical problems. Mr. Anderson stated that he told Nelson Pipeline that the deadline to submit the Final Pay Request was March 23rd.
  8. Policy No.5.5.1 Disconnection. The Board discussed the District’s current policy on Disconnection and then Director Turney moved to extend the disconnect date to 50 days after the billing date. Upon a second by Director Rinow, the motion was unanimously passed. Mr. Anderson stated that the Policy would be amended and the billing statements would be ordered to reflect the new Policy.
  9. RFP for a Cost of Service Study. Chairman Gustafson stated that he believed the RFP for a Cost of Service Study was important because it was the best option to unite Board members and to make sure that Water and Sewer rates were equitable. Mr. Anderson noted that Denver Water has an in-house rate department. Vice-Chairman Varley stated that he was against hiring a rate consultant and passed out handouts to the Board. Vice-Chairman Varley went over three hypothetical rate scenarios from the handouts he provided. Chairman Gustafson thanked Vice-Chairman Varley for his time and efforts in preparing the rate analysis. The Board discussed pros and cons of obtaining a rate consultant and asked Mr. Anderson what he thought. Mr. Anderson responded that he was hearing more complaints from customers about the current rate structure and would like to see a rate system that had a service charge and then charged the customer per thousand gallons. After further discussion, Director Turney moved that the RFP for a Cost of Service Study be sent out to rate consultants. Upon a second by Director Rousselot, Director Rinow and Chairman Gustafson voted in favor to send out a RFP for a Cost of Service Study. Vice-Chairman Varley opposed.
  10. Open Items. Mr. Anderson stated that the Denver Water conservation committee meeting discussed Denver Water’s future advertising plan for 2010, which included billboards and radio commercials discussing water conservation. Mr. Anderson stated that the Committee reviewed the positive progress seen with the Western Slope Water Rights. Director Turney stated that Denver Water would be changing their Easement Agreements in the future.
  11. Other Matters. Vice-Chairman Varley asked Staff to research Treasury Direct investment vehicles and to report their findings at a future Board meeting. Vice-Chairman Varley stated that winter water usage was up and Mr. Anderson stated that winter usage does tend to fluctuate from year to year.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 8:25 a.m.

Secretary

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