Louviers Mutual Service Company Meeting Summary

FINAL-APPROVED VIA BOARD QUORUM.

Meeting Date: Monday, September 13, 2004

Time: 6:00-8:30 PM

Location: Village Club – Blue Room

Annual Membership Meeting: Monday, September 20, 2004, Time: 6:00-8:00 PM, Location: Village Club – Auditorium.

Reminder! DuPont Louviers Informational Meeting, Tuesday, September 21, 2004, Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Location: Louviers Faith Evangelical Free Church

Attendees from LMS Board: Diana Miller, Mike Hammer, Michael Smith, Pete Holub, Kent Sarff, Chris Dearborn

Other Attendees: Mark Edson, Larry Mattison

Meeting Summary:

The tank vandalism resolution was discussed by Pete. Basically, Louviers has received an apology from the vandals for both incidents. Diana has contacted Deputy Choi to let him know that the issue was resolved internally. The case is now closed. Diana needs to provide information about the paint that needs to be purchased to finalize the tank repair.

Pete discussed the potential for future rate increases. LMSC is facing some significant insurance rate increases next year. LMSC is also looking at some additional maintenance costs for water lines, sewer lines, hydrant and valve maintenance in the future. LMSC is looking at the January – February 2005 timeframe to open discussions with the membership. The potential for a graduated rate scale will be evaluated. To help evaluate a graduated scale Michael will be compiling usage information for the last couple of years for each billing period and service location. Michael is doing rate determination research using American Water Works Association (AWWA) guidelines. The group briefly discussed potential costs of a regional solution. Diana has been in discussions with the county who believes some grant monies may be available.

Kent let the group know that the contract with TST has not been finalized. Kent sent a red-lined contract back to TST and is waiting for a response. Kent will forward to the group a PDF of the proposed contract.

The group discussed the need to complete the LMSC Utility Master Plan. Diana expressed concern that TST may not have the bandwidth to take on additional projects. Pete indicated that he would complete a preliminary draft of the LMSC Utility Master Plan, which will include the LMSC vision for the future, objectives both long term, medium term and short term. Pete will be looking for guidelines on the AWWA website.

The group reflected on the Sedalia Landfill Hearings. Diana suggested that in the future LMSC testimony should be discussed and agreed upon by the board. The group agreed that LMSC testimony should reflect the feelings of the community. Diana commented that a great deal of misinformation about Louviers came up in the meeting. She suggested that a copy of the Halepaska report (study of Louviers well, funded by the county) be put into evidence as a standard hearing procedure. Pete discussed the importance of educating the commissioners and keeping them up to speed on what is happening with respect to water and waste in Louviers. Pete also suggested that when this type of event occurs we provide news agencies with a Louviers Fact Sheet.

Diana provided the group a summary of the meeting that Don Moore (Douglas County (DC) planning) had with the commissioners about Louviers. Topics covered in the meeting included the insurance amounts requested by DC as part of the land agreement for the land application site, the Waste Water Treatment Project, and future regional solutions. Don indicated that the meeting went well. He indicated that Commissioner Sullivan thought we should pursue additional grant monies, and that Don could help us going forward.

Diana provided a summary of the last meeting with the Louviers, Sedalia, and Thunderbird utilities. Basically, the group has agreed to a name, Plum Creek United Water and Sanitation Association. The group will finalize the vision and objectives for the group. As soon as they are finalized we will make available to the community. In a nutshell the association is committed to help find long term renewable water for the association and to find a regional sanitation solution in the future. The group feels that as an association we will have a stronger voice in future planning. Diana will be the primary contact for LMSC. Pete will be the secondary contact for LMSC.

The group talked about the upcoming board elections to determine who would be interested in running for the next session. The group talked about the significant time that has been invested by the group over the past year. Originally, it was thought that the board would meet once a month (as past boards had done), but it became clear early on that this would not allow the board to meet the needs of the community. The group talked about ways to better manage the time of board members in the future. The board agreed to make this a priority for the next session.

Diana reviewed the open operations projects. Related to the well house, last week the air-vac and cla-val were installed. The flow meter that was sent by the manufacturer was not functioning properly. A new flow meter is en route and will be installed next week. Also, it was determined that the shut off valve in the well house was not functioning due to a lack of maintenance, the shut off valve also had to be replaced. Diana commented that some additional tuning related to the air-vac will need to be done because she is still seeing air in the system. Related to the William’s pressure issues, she let the group know that she was still missing one part. Regarding the waste water treatment project, she let the group know that she is still working with the county to try and reduce/eliminate some of the proposed insurance requirements in the land agreement. She also let the group know she was waiting on input from TST. Next steps are surveying the property, getting a legal description back to the county, doing a soil test at the location, and working with TST to respond back to the state and insure all items needed by Rural Development have been provided. The collection system analysis is underway. DRC was the vendor selected to do the work. The progress is slow, DRC is encountering a lot of roots which must be cleared before scoping can be done.

Mark Edson let the group know that he has a copier machine at home that could be put to use. He also suggested that a copy of the LMSC bylaws and SOP’s be added to the louvierscolorado.com website.

Mark Edson has agreed to get involved with LMSC hydrant management. He did validate that the fire department will use hydrants in Louviers. Basically, the fire department if called to Louviers will come with tanker trunks, but will use fire hydrants to refill. This means that fire hydrants must be repaired or replaced not removed. Mark is investigating the possibility of picking up some hydrant parts from Gateway Fire District. Mark talked about the development of a preventative maintenance plan for Louviers, to get the plan moving forward we need to: a) Develop an inventory of hydrants b) Do a visual inspection c) Determine the course of action.