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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 03/22/1985• MINUTES Water Board March 22, 1985 Members Present Norm Evans, Chairman, Henry Caulfield, Vice Chairman, MaryLou Smith, Mort Sittinger, Tom Sanders, Dave Stewart Staff Present Bill Carnahan, Mike Smith, Dennis Bode, Curt Miller, Webb Jones, Paul Eckman, Assistant City Attorney Guest Dan Huddleston, Candidate for Water Board Members Absent Neil Grigg, Bernie Cain, Tom Moore, Jim O'Brien (alt.), John Scott (alt.) Chairman Norm Evans opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Minutes The minutes for February 15, 1985 were approved except that Bernie Cain's name was missing from Members Present. Norm Evans introduced a film which was written and produced at CSU by the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute under contract with the EPA. The film called "Land Treatment of Municipal Wastewater," won an international award for which 32 countries competed. Dan Huddleston who was observing the meeting was introduced. He has an interest in water and is a candidate for the vacant Water Board position. Update on the Purchase of Water Norm Evans said that during the City Council work session on Tuesday, they voted to approve the Board's recommendation to authorize the City Manager and staff to purchase CST water if and when available at a price not to exceed $900 per unit and up to the limit of $150,000. Mike Smith related that recently, he had visited with Barry Lind who apparently had heard about the Council's action. Mr. Lind came to convince Mr. Smith to purchase North Poudre water rather than CST water. He had 20 1/4 shares of North Poudre water at $4500per share which would convert to 112.79 acre feet at a cost of $91,125. Mr. Smith explained to him that the Water Board would prefer CST water but that he would convey this information to the Board. Dennis Bode said that the price is very similar to CST prices. Henry Caulfield suggested that since we already have Council action on the CST water, that we direct Mr. Lind towards others that we know want to purchase water. The rest of the Board agreed. Tom Sanders asked if CBT water is available. Mr. Smith said that the staff is working with the City's Purchasing Department now and will be putting it "out to bid." He explained that there was a recent purchase that was near the $800 figure. He added that it shouldn't be much trouble buying it for under $900. Update on Appointment or Election of Water Conservancy District Board Members Henry Caulfield has kept Mike Smith up to date on the progress of this item. As of March 19, the bill that was discussed at the last meeting about court appointment with modifications-- not the modifications that the Board sought-- has gone through the committee and has been read three times as of March 12th. It was introduced to the House on March 15th. It is progressing through the Natural Resources and Agricultural Commmittees. The bill would retain the judge appointment but there would not be an open process as the Board had discussed. It does provide that 15% of the registered electors who have resided in the District for one year and are owners of property in the District, can petition to hold an election. All the Districts in the state would be subject to this. Mr. Caulfield observed that there doesn't seem to be a challenge of this at all. Mr. Smith informed the Board that former mayor Gerry Horak wishes to take this item to the next Council meeting and would like a summary of the Board's position. Assistant City Attorney Paul Eckman said that Mr. Horak wants the resolution introduced that was drafted previously requiring that Board members be elected. MaryLou Smith asked if Mr. Horak wants something other then the three —choice proposal which the Water Board offered at the last meeting. Mr. Eckman said that the proposal presenting all the views of the Water Board is acceptable. Henry Caulfield confirmed that there has been no resolution introduced by a legislator relating to the Pitkin County proposal which requires the election of Board members. Furthermore, it is too late to introduce such a bill or to change the current bill. Norm Evans suggested that an excerpt from the minutes with the Water Board position on the three options be forwarded to the Council. The staff will prepare an agenda item summary with that information extracted from the minutes. Staff/Board Relationship Bill Carnahan introduced the subject by relating that he tries to make sure that the staff is responsive to the needs and desires of the Water Board. Mr. Carnahan said that he just learned that the Water Board members received the Board and Commissions manual as well as a Water Board notebook prepared by the secretary which contains policies, minutes, by—laws, etc. He asked if the staff is providing the information that the members need. This is something we should talk about. We realize there is some information that you will want for future reference; other information you may want to discard once it becomes outdated, he continued. The staff would welcome comments and suggestions. Norm Evans responded that he finds the notebook that was prepared for members to be exceptionally good and convenient. The only suggestion offered was to punch 3 holes in the material for the notebook. Otherwise, the Board members seemed to like the organization and content of the notebooks. Municipal Leadershop Workshop The only members who did not attend the workshop in 1982 were Neil Grigg, MaryLou Smith, Jim O'Brien and John Scott. Or. Evans briefly explained the major thrust of the workshop. Basically, the participants learned what relationships are involved and where those relationships require attention. The question of policy management was also discussed, as well as a focus on where the priorities are. Dr. Evans believes that it woulc be worthwhile to review these issues annually. Chairman Evans selected some pages from the executive summary of that workshop which were duplicated for the members. He stressed that what is included does not necessarily reflect the current attitudes, the current circumstances, or the current views, but is does point out areas of concern that we need to consider continually. Next, he discussed some major points in the summary. He first pointed out page 5 on Roles. He talked about the definition of roles for the City Council, the Boards 8 Commissions, the City Manager, the Water Board, the Staff and the Board Chairman, and in each case what the Board/Commission and staff expectations are with respect to those roles. Henry Caufield explained that with regard to major matters, the Board chairman should make the presentations to the Council rather than the staff: one reason being that there may be some differences of opinion. We should make clear that these are Board actions and not necessarily the views of the staff, he said. As a Board this had been practiced, but we need to define occasionally what "major matters" are. Norm Evans went on to discuss the area of providing expertise to the staff, Council and City Manager. At the workshop the fine line between the staff function and the Board expertise was discussed extensively. It was agreed that the Board members would be moderate in the sense of intruding into staff functions; but would oversee, review and offer suggestions. Mike Smith commented that this area has improved greatly since the workshop. Bill Carnahan added that it is important to keep the communication between the Board and the staff to a level that the staff can caution the Board when the staff thinks the Board may be "going over the line," and at that point both can talk about it. On the other hand, Henry Caulfield emphasized that if any Board member has a serious question about an issue, he or she should feel free to express those concerns. The Board should have that flexibility. The staff agreed. Tom Sanders expressed his disappointment in only one area and that was the lack of involvement of the Water Board in the Anheuser-Busch issue. He thought the Board should have been involved somewhere along the line, not necessarily from the beginning. It is his hope that for future industries being considered, the Board will be kept informed and will be allowed to ask questions. Bill Carnahan agreed that the the Water Board's view was shared, for example, with the Planning & Zoning Board. He emphasized that the staff learned from the AB situation too. Dave Stewart contends that we should look at the pre-treatment standards etc. and not at the industry itself. Henry Caulfield brought up the concern about waiving certain fees for industries as incentives. He was under the impression that the City has always required that development pay its own way. He wants to make certain that our policies with regard to the Water Utility are not violated in these instances; for example with Sunatrand. Norm Evans commented that we must accept that occasionally we will be confronted by political reality. MaryLou Smith wanted to be reassured that if the Board strongly disagreed with a Council action with regard to water related fees, etc., that the Board's voice would be heard. She was assured that the Board could act to inform the public of their concerns. Bill Carnahan explained that, to some extent, that is a part of the staff's role. The Board isn't aware of all the issues that are being considered. It is also a part of the staff's role to inform the Board if it is determined that there could be a problem. Norm Evans referred to p. 31, "Water Board Performance Targets." He read a list of the 13 targets for the succeeding 12 months. The top S issues were taken from that list which represented the consensus of staff and Board. The five, not in order of prioity, were; 1) Acquisiton of future water supplies 2) Creation of a long-term water plan for the City 3) Relationships with special districts 4) Water Treatment Plant No. 1 S) Definition of Water Board policies, goals, and relationships with staff Dr. Evans related that there has been significant progress in all of these areas. Chairman Evans asked Mike Smith to give a brief summary of what has been occurring with the regionalization concept. Mr. Smith said that the group began meeting last summer. The group is composed of Greeley, Loveland, North Weld County Water District, ELCO, Fort Collins -Loveland Water District, Town of Windsor, West Fort Collins Water District, and the City. The major emphasis is looking at possible regionalization of treatment, transmission, etc. The first task was to gather information on the location of major transmission lines and treatment plant supplies. This has been accomplished. Webb Jones of Fort Collins Water Utilities has transferred that information to one map. At the last meeting the water supply aspect was addresssed. They looked at projections of when each of their water treatment capacities may run out which turned out to be approximately the early 1990'5. There is a good possibility of spearheading a regional facility at that point. With this much lead time for planning, the possibilities look very good. Another interesting point that emerged was that, originally, the mouth of the canyon was considered to be the best place for a regional treatment plant. However, after looking at it more closely, the demand appears to be south and east of the City. Norm Evans suggested that for the next meeting the Board review and prioritize the list of 13 targets in the workshop executive summary. Staff Reports A. Out of City Service Request Systems Engineer Webb Jones related that the Water & Sewer Utility had received a letter from the Reid Burton Construction Co, requesting a 4" sewer tap to serve their office at 301 East Lincoln. The Water Board members received that letter and a map showing the location of that property with their agenda packets. Mr. Jones explained that as an out of City property, they are required to send their request to the Water Board, the Planning & Zoning Board and eventually the City Council. Mr. Caulfield asked if the Board had not agreed some time ago to allow the P&Z Board to look at these requests first. Mr. Jones confirmed that there was such an agreement. However, that proceedure has been reversed at the request of the Planning & Zoning Board. Hence, the Water Board will now receive these requests first. The staff recommends approval of this request based on the Company's proximity to the City limits and because of problems they appear to be having with their septic tank. Furthermore, there is a 33" main under construction at this time, which crosses their property. Mr. Jones added that they would be subject to the standard out of City service agreement which includes annexation should the City ask them to do so. Following a short discussion, Dave Stewart moved that the Water Board approve the out of City service request according to the ataff's recommendation. After a second by Tom Sanders the Board voted unanimously for approval. B. Update on Rate Study and Drought Study Dennis Bode said that the Rate Study is completed except for revisions to some tables that the consultant is doing. The final report will be available soon. The staff will continue to work on the system -wide study as an extension of the Rate Study. With regard to the Drought Study, you will recall that the consultant has defined the drought characteristics and has accomplished a lot on that. He had done a great deal of work to try to confirm the generated hydrology. The major effort in the last couple of months has been the modeling which, primarily, the staff has done. We are looking at several supply scenarios and using different droughts that were identified in that hydrology to get some relationship to the system safe yield in times of drought. The modeling should be completed shortly. That data will be given to the consultant. Staff will be working with the consultant to finalize the report. At the April Water Board meeting, Mr. Bode said that we will spend some time going over the drought study information. Staff hopes to have a draft report at that time. i C. Water Treatment Plant Design Mike Smith announced that he hopes to have the consultant give the Board an update at the April meeting on the design of the Water Treatment Plant. Other Business Henry Caulfield announced that three copies of the book Saving Water In a Desert City are now available for staff, Water Board and City Council members to share. They should find it interesting reading, both technically and politically. MaryLou Smith asked if the Board will continue to work on the outline related to the Rate Study. Mike Smith said, as far as the Water Board is concerned, the outline is complete. Staff will inform the Council that we are taking a broader look at the system as an extension of the Rate Study. Consequently, it will be a while longer before the final results are available. However, they will receive an executive summary of the Water Rate Study. Curt Miller announced that the Water & Sewer Utility has begun construction of a 60" transmission main from the Water Plant 2 site down to Lake Street; It is beginning at the intersection of Elizabeth and Overland Tr. Paul Eckman gave a short update on the Windy Gap annexation issue. He said he called Larry Simpson of the Northern Colorado Water Conservany District and conveyed to him the basic feeling of the Water Board regarding the annexation issue (i.e.) for what small interest the City has in Windy Gap, we have enough of the City annexed to meet our requirement in the sub -district or we could perhaps identify that water to AS or to the old part of the City. Since that should be sufficient, the City would object to proceeding with any further inclusion of additonal lands in the District. Mr. Simpson agreed that the City shouldn't have to do that because we are not a participating municipality since we transferred our interest to PRPA. He said further that the City should not have been asked to proceed with this annexation. Mr. Eckman asked Mr. Simpson to convey that in writing and forward it to him. As yet, Mr. Eckman has not received a written confirmation. Norm Evans suggested that the Board invite Mr. Simpson to a meeting sometime soon to get a perspective of the NCWCD's aspirations and plans. Mike Smith announced that the Water & Sewer Utility is putting out an RFP for a wastewater rate study. He stressed that it is just a routine updating of some areas relating to the cost of service. Dave Stewart asked what is happening with the NPDES permit. Mike Smith responded that the City was issued the permit, but there was a problem with the nitrite standard. The hearing is set for April. He said that we have come to an agreement with the Division on a number -- 2.7. Our people and their people felt that was a fair number. It is hoped that will be confirmed at the hearing and we will get out permit revised. Since there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:20.• O �rz licrJ ccIa-C.v 13 -;vu6 CITY OF FORT COLLINS WATER UTILITIES MEMORANDUM To: Fort Collins Water Board From: Molly Nortier, Water Board Secretary 7Y11'�+ Re: Change of Meeting Date Date: March 6, 1985 Because the regular meeting of the Water Board falls during the week of the CSU and Poudre R-1 Spring Break, the meeting has been changed to Friday, March 22, at 3:00 p.m. in the interim conference room at the Water 8 Wastewater Utility, 700 Wood Street. WATER UTILITIES 700 Wood Street . P.O. Box 580 . Fort Collins, Colorado 80522 . 1303) 221-6681 221-6685