Louviers Mutual Service Meeting Summary

Meeting Date:  Thursday, April 27, 2006

Time:  6:00-8:30 PM

Location:  Village Club - Pool Room

Attendees from LMSC Board: Diana Miller, Mike Hammer, Jason Ingenthron, Tim Lone, Mike Hammer, Michael Smith, Julie Sarff  

Other Attendees: Tim Graf

Pete Holub was absent; LMSC Vice President Diana Miller was the meeting facilitator.  The meeting opened with a review of the meeting rules.  The 1^st order of business was input from the membership:  Tim Graf reported that he had a conversation with the owner of Hotline Auto regarding possible access through their parcel to reach the open space parcel that LMSC has been granted access to use via a license agreement with Douglas County for the land application of treated wastewater, Diana let him know that he was not the owner and that the owner via a representative let LMSC know that a negotiated access through the property was not something that they were interested in providing. Mr. Graf wanted clarification of the reasons LMSC needs right of way access.  Diana let the group know that legal (defined as a written legal opinion by an attorney or title insurance) access to cross over (not the pipeline) the rail road tracks was needed for the construction period as well as for seasonal monitoring when future discharge occurs. Proven legal access is the last missing component to our loan package, without it out application could expire resulting in the loss of construction funds.

Tim Graf also put forth the opinion that the cost estimate for the pipe work spanning the distance from the lagoon to the sprayer was too high; he suggested aeration for our existing lagoon as an alternate.  Mike and Diana responded that the State regulations require a three cell lagoon if we want to use aerators, and such a design was considered during the initial design phase.

Tim Graf posed the open question as to whether Louviers could make a case for hardship to the community to complete the system update, as the cost now seems excessive.  The hope would be the State regulatory body would take the hardship (high cost burden for small community) to the community into the decision making process.

A discussion was opened regarding alternate locations for dispersal sites such as the southeast end of Louviers Blvd. in the open space land. Diana reminded the group that significant dollars have already been spent by the community for the current site, and that if a site change was required much of the dollars that have been spent would not be recoverable.  

Diana commented that the Colorado Department of Health, may not be sympathetic to our delays as we have had the past ten years since the adoption of Control Regulation #73.to resolve our phosphorus and ammonia discharge limits.

Water Conservation:

The Board discussed water conservation measures that should be implemented for the 2006 summer season.  In consideration of the new rate structure (higher rates with higher usage) the Board voted unanimously to begin the season with a moratorium on watering between the hours of 9am and 6pm.  The well and pump cycles will be monitored frequently to understand the burden being placed on the well and pump/motor., If too much stress is detected, additional restrictions will be necessary (resolution 04-27a-06 = unanimous).  We all must remember that we share the same well (the only water source for Louviers), and that we all must do our part to conserve so that there will be water for the community. 

Finances:

Michael Smith stated that for the most part we are in budget, and continued that next month there will be a “budget vs. actual expenditures” review.  

Julie and Pete have been working on obtaining the CDBG grant money from Douglas County.  There will be a meeting next month to find out if the money will be awarded to Louviers.  Pete is also investigating a possible $10,000 in grant funds (some matching funds required from LMSC) from DuPont.

Second Water Source:

Pete has discussed our water rights situation with a DuPont representative, to explore the possibility that some of the acreage from DuPont’s property can be included in the Village’s total for claiming water rights from the Laramie Fox Hills Aquifer.  If this is possible it would elevate a shortage in our yearly allocation based on the area footprint (acreage) of the Village itself.

System Operation:

The cost estimate and the proposal submitted by Four Crown Plumbing for the water meter replacement was accepted, and work will begin on the replacement project.  Diana commented that the maintenance work on the lagoon conducted by Mike and Tim looks great and will likely extend its life by many years.

C&L Backhoe has conducted two utility locates for LMSC.  Per their agreement, they have provided parcel lot maps showing the location of the buried pipes, to be kept by LMSC for future use.