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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 06/20/2019WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING June 20, 2019, 5:30-7:30 p.m. 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Community Room 06/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:38 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Michael C. Brown, Jr., Jason Tarry, Phyllis Ortman, Greg Steed, Brett Bovee, Randy Kenyon, John Primsky, Kent Bruxvoort, Brett Bovee • Board Members Absent - Excused: Steve Malers, Andrew McKinley, Jim Kuiken • Staff Members Present: Theresa Connor, Katherine Martinez, Pete Iengo, Lance Smith, Randy Reuscher • Members of the Public: None 3. AGENDA REVIEW None 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION None 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Chairperson Brown asked for a motion to approve the May 16 minutes. Board Member Bruxvoort moved to approve the minutes. Board Member Ortman seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 7-0 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Staff Reports (Attachments available upon request)  Water Resources Monthly Report (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights: A board member inquired about a disconnect between the precipitation to date (103.1% of average) and the cumulative and median snowpack amounts for Joe Wright and Deadman Hill sites on page 8; Staff Liaison Theresa Connor stated she’d check on this with the Water Resources Division Manager. The WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 06/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 board member also inquired about whether the snow-water equivalent in the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan areas is truly 13 times the average amount (1277% of normal); Ms. Connor replied the statistics are accurate.  Financial Monthly Report (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights: A board member inquired about Water Fund Revenue the line for development fees, PIFs and contributions, budgeted $582,000 and yet Utilities has collected $8 to 9 million. Strategic Finance Director Lance Smith replied that the Fort Collins-Loveland Water District paid $8.2 million for increased treatment plant capacity (5 million gallons) from the City rather than paying for it over 20 years. Board Member Bovee joined the meeting at 5:41 p.m. b. Regular Items Boxelder B-Dams Upgrades (Attachments available upon request) Utilities Deputy Director Theresa Connor presented an overview of the project. The State Engineer’s Office has upgraded the hazard classification of three flood control dams in the upper Boxelder Watershed (B-2, B-3 and B-4 dams) due to land use changes from agricultural use to urban/suburban land use in the downstream watershed. Improvements are needed to the dam spillways as they are inadequately sized to pass major flood events to maintain their certification for flood protection purposes. A stakeholder group of Larimer County, and the cities of Wellington, Timnath, and Fort Collins, and the North Poudre Irrigation Company (NPIC) has formed to develop an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to create a plan to complete the needed capital improvements and on-going maintenance needs. NPIC’s board approved joining the IGA on June 19. The agreement’s first phase is to hire consulting services to assist the stakeholders with developing a second phase agreement that would identify how stakeholders would share the costs for construction of improvements and maintenance. The second phase would occur in spring 2020, and a budget offer is expected in the 2021-2022 Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) cycle to address Fort Collins Utilities’ share. Discussion Highlights: Board members commented on and inquired about various related topics including whether the $300,000 cap was realistic for the study and WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 06/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 consultant (Ms. Connor stated the estimate is $120,000 for the consultant for the initial study, and the City would be invoiced for one-fifth of that amount); a suggestion of lowering the cap to $200,000 and not rely on the consultant to solve the problems; Ms. Connor mentioned the time sensitivity: Natural Resources Conservation Service/United States Department of Agriculture (NRCS) could do a cost share of up to 65% of the capital improvements cost of more than $20 million if local governments respond in a timely manner (by spring 2020). This item is scheduled to go to Council on July 16, and project will start immediately afterward. Board Member Ortman moved that Water Board recommend City Council adopt an agreement with the stakeholders of the Boxelder B-Dams to develop an approach for construction of upgrades and maintenance of the B-Dams in the upper Boxelder Watershed up to a maximum of $50,000. Board Member Tarry seconded the motion. Discussion on the motion: None Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously, 8-0 • 2019 Fee Updates (Attachments available upon request) Strategic Finance Director Lance Smith provided an overview of the fee updates; he noted this is the same presentation he and Utility Rate Analyst Randy Reuscher are giving to about 15 other boards and commissions. 2019 fee updates include Development Review fees, Electric Capacity fees, Water Supply Requirement fees, Wet Utility Plant Investment Fees (PIFs) and Step III of the 2017 Capital Expansion Fees. Coordination of City Council-approved fees began in 2016 to provide a more holistic view of the total cost impact. Previously, fee updates were presented to Council on an individual basis. After the 2019 fee update, fee phasing will be completed with regular two and four-year cadence updates beginning in 2021. Discussion Highlights: Board members commented on and inquired about various related topics including rationale behind the fee update; capacity; whether the Planning Department will not allow development if the water supply is not adequate for the landscaping plan (e.g. build 40 housing units on a 1-inch tap); the lack of affordable housing; whether adding additional customer classes has been considered in relation to Water PIFs; landscaping options (xeriscaping, shared green space, etc.); refining the way the Water PIF is calculated for 2020; annual water allotment; ENR index (Engineering News Record), which is calculated by inflation factor, and how accurately WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 06/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 does it reflect the actual plant value (Mr. Smith mentioned master planning that includes how much the plant would cost if built today); observation about recent information about how a new home brings four times the water it actually uses, which is high, and the need to regularly revisit how much the City requires of new development. Board Member Bovee moved that the Water Board support the proposed 2020 Wet Utility fee updates for Water PIFs, Wastewater PIFs, Stormwater PIFs, and the Water Supply Requirement fee and recommend approval of these fees by City Council and for 2021 consider classes for PIFs and revising the water supply requirement fee to reflect reduced demand. Board Member Kenyon seconded the motion. Discussion on the Motion: None Vote on the Motion: it passed unanimously, 8-0 7. OTHER BUSINESS a. Update on floodplain variance request public hearing last month: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) received funds for the project; they’ll address the stormwater fee; they’re considering how to design and construct the project, possibility of collaborating because the City did a conceptual plan four years ago, which would require building the Kechter Road overpass (and would require flow consolidation project to be built and improvements to County Road 5). b. Additional funding for the Drake Water Reclamation Facility (DWRF) sidestream project is going to City Council for a second reading; expected to be approved. c. Update on daycare floodplain variance request: Community members are appealing the Planning and Zoning Board approval of the project, which is related to zoning (land use), not floodplain. The appeal is scheduled for the July 2 City Council meeting. d. The City’s Poudre River Whitewater Park grand opening is scheduled for mid- August. It is currently closed to the public due to safety hazards during construction; trespassing is prohibited. Kayakers have requested access in July, which the City is reviewing. e. Boxelder B-Dam Upgrades project. A board member inquired about the Boxelder floodplain and Poudre River, and whether the non-county parties have gravel pit reservoirs in that area or could they be developed? Staff replied that it cuts right through the middle of Wellington. The peak flows in the B2 and B3 dams are four times as much as the Poudre River. WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 06/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 f. Water Board Work Session on August 1. Scheduled topics are Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) review and Water Supply Vulnerability Study. A board member expressed appreciation for staff’s great work on this project and hopes they promote and televise the findings. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS None 9. ADJOURNMENT 7:06 p.m.