Louviers Mutual Service Company Meeting Summary

Meeting Date:  Thursday, October 27th, 2005

Time:  6:00-7:30 PM

Location:  Village Club  - Pool Room

Attendees From LMSC Board: Pete Holub, Diana Miller, Mike Hammer, Michael Smith, Jason Ingenthron, Julie Sarff

Other Attendees: Bob Dye, Mark Edson

The next membership meeting is scheduled for:  Thursday, November 17th, 2005, at 6:00PM at the Village Club.

Meeting Summary:

The October 27 water board meeting was the first meeting with the newly elected board members in attendance.

Pete reviewed the meeting format, and distributed copies of the By-Laws to the new members.  The need to record resolutions as separate items from the meeting minutes was agreed upon unanimously by the Board.  It was decided that a numbering system would be used to provide a searchable database of Water Board resolutions, recording the language and the counted votes.

The first resolution of the new Board was to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Chris Dearborn.  The motion was put forth to fill the position with Julie Sarff, who was nominated for a Board member position during the September 15th meeting (Resolution 05-10-27a).  The Board voted unanimously in favor, and welcomed Julie as the newest member!

The next item on the agenda was to discuss the various Board of Directors positions and their related duties, and then to decide which members will fulfill those duties.  Pete will continue as President, Diana as Vice President, Jason will function in the role of Secretary, Michael and Julie will serve as Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer respectively.

Diana opened a discussion of the need to present the LMSC financial information in a concise format and to provide written rules for conducting business.  It was noted that formalizing the business practices and accounting procedures would provide continuity for the Board in the years to come.  Diana expressed the need to continue the effort in securing alternative funding sources, however, she currently does not have time available for projects that fall outside her duties as Vice President. Such activities are within the scope of the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer positions. Jason stated that the during that last Water Board meeting the community seemed to be interested and concerned about the RUS Loan; how the money will be spent and for which projects.  Current loan account information should be available during monthly meetings, with the funds from the loan to be tracked on a separate spreadsheet.  The Assistant Treasurer will perform these accounting activities.

Pete summarized the contract LMSC has in place with Lytle Water Solutions for locating a second groundwater source at a cost of $18,000. Lytle will provide the study for site selection and secure the well approval through the State Engineer.  Diana clarified for the new members that the contract is for a second well, not a renewable source.  The second well will play a critical role in preventing the costly effort to truck water into the Village when there is a production problem from our old well.  Last year, the cost to LMSC to haul water was approximately $6,000 for less than a week of trucking.

The Board discussed the second water source; the water amount of water available to LMSC, from the Laramie-Fox aquifer, will be allocated relative to the surface area of the Village.  Pete provided a rough estimate of 25 acre/feet/year of water allowed from the second source.  We currently use approximately 35 ac/ft/yr.  There is a need to reduce overall usage currently to decrease the demand on our existing well; also decreased usage could make Louviers more attractive to a future water provider when an opportunity to tie-in presents itself.  It was suggested that there be a campaign to inform the public about the need to conserve, create a goal for the community, and work together. 

Finances:

Michael provided a summary of the current Profit & Loss Statement and a summary balance sheet was reviewed.  No issues were reported.

Operations:

Bob Dye provided an update of his recent maintenance activities with the water system:  Current usage by the Village is down to 15,000 gallons per day.  The reduction in usage may be contributing to, or caused, the recent water quality issues in some parts of Louviers.  A metallic taste and odor, as well as a rusty color in the tap water have been reported. Aggressive hydrant flushing is ongoing to improve the quality of the water.  The leak testing found a problem area along Louviers Blvd., repairs will be scheduled.  The results also indicate that rust and deposits (scale) on the inside of pipes in some areas of the system has built up resulting in a reduction of the internal diameter.  The leak testing found a problem area along Louviers Blvd, repairs to be scheduled.

There are at least 6 hydrants that are not functional.  It was discussed that continuing to defer maintenance is not in the best interest of the community, from both a financial (homeowners insurance) and water quality perspective.  The hydrants in need of replacement were listed.  It was also pointed out that a number of dead end lines might be good candidates for the addition of a hydrant.

The issue of faulty fire hydrants brought up the need for the board to prioritize repairs as we manage money.  Diana reviewed Bob's role as our Operator in Responsible Charge and his responsibilities to the State for maintaining our water and sewer systems, It was discussed that it is crucial that he is notified of all water quality complaints so he can properly investigate.  The best way for a complaint to be reported is to call the LMSC phone number (303) 791-5556.  It was decided to replace two of the hydrants at the same time to save money and reduce interruptions in water service.  The Board agreed to allocate funds for hydrant replacement at $2,800 per unit.  Water will be shut-off Friday October 28^th from 8:30am to 10:30am for meter replacement.

Concerns were expressed over the lack of procedure for water shut-off, Jason will type up a SOP for this process.  A general bookkeeping session for the Board was suggested.  It will be discussed further and scheduled during the next Board meeting.   An ongoing discussion was opened for comment about the need to have all contractors and others working on the system to be insured and/or bonded so that LMSC does incur liability in the event of an accident; a decision was not reached.