Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of the VDRMDWCA Board of Directors

Vista del Rey Mutual Domestic Water Consumers’ Association

The Lord’s Ranch, Oct. 18, 2017

VDRMDWCA Board Member Rob Campion, standing in for President Wade Cornelius, called the meeting to order a few minutes after 6 p.m. New residents were attending, so Campion asked those present to introduce themselves. He began, stating his name and describing where he lives, followed by Patrick Stafford, another board member, and Alfredo Holguin noted that he was attending the meeting on behalf of Souder, Miller, and Associates, engineers, who are preparing a preliminary engineering report for the water association.

Henry Torres, the water operator, then introduced himself, as did Beth Morgan, VDRMDWCA secretary. Jeanette and Shane Wohlfert then noted that they are new residents at 240 Vista del Rey, and Bill and Beth Rittenhouse, also attending, have recently purchased 230 Vista del Rey. Treasurer Jana Melvin was present, as was Josh Campion, Rob Campion’s son. The Wohlforts apparently have had some coyotes at their place behaving boldly. How long individuals had lived in the area was discussed, with Campion here for about three years, Stafford about 10, Morgan since 2000, and Mrs. Melvin for about 32 years. Asked if Mr. Melvin was still running cows, she said no, but the lease went to someone else, who is running cattle on the BLM property.

Minutes from the quarterly meeting of July 27, Campion noted, had been approved online. During that meeting, the board signed the contract to accept with Souder, Miller, and Associates to prepare a Preliminary Engineering Report. However, Morgan noted that the minutes from the subsequent meeting Aug. 2, 2017, was primarily for signing the Notice to Proceed. Minutes for this meeting had not been approved, Morgan said. Stafford made a motion to approve these minutes, seconded by Jana Melvin. The vote to approve was unanimous.

Stafford noted that we have trailed behind High Valley Farms, a subdivision approximately ½ mile south of Vista del Rey, but that we had obtained a grant to determine the status of our water system to identify potential problems and areas of concern for replacing parts of the system as they age, or for digging a new well, if necessary. Ours was a $50,000 grant from the Local Government Planning Fund of the New Mexico Finance Authority. Stafford noted that, based on findings, we will determine whether we will pursue additional grant funds to plan improvements or expansion to the system.

Morgan noted that the board will probably pursue a state or state and federal grant combination to fund any changes it may deem necessary. Stafford noted that the current grant is only for the preliminary engineering report. It should help us to prioritize any necessary measures in the future. Morgan noted that the association is eligible for funding, because mutual domestic water associations are considered public entities. Additionally, by virtue of the subdivision’s zip code, it falls into an area classified as a colonia, for which special funding is available.

Morgan added that the board is trying to be proactive. Residents were without water for about eleven days when the pump seized up two years ago. That required the association to put a new casing into the well and replace the pump. This mishap was quite expensive—Mrs. Melvin noted that it had cost us $25,000, but because we had $17,000 in the bank, we recovered more quickly than we might have. Thus, the goal is to avoid situations like that in the future. Additionally, after the well was cleaned out that time, residents experienced high levels of uranium and radionuclides. That cleared up after a couple of months. He noted that Stafford noted that we had had lightning strikes seven or eight years ago. He indicated that our water operator keeps it treated for us. As a result, we installed a lightning rod on the top of our tank. Stafford noted that a primary concern is that our system provides only a limited amount of water pressure, averaging 38-40 pounds of pressure.

Jeanette Wohlfort noted that her mother serves on the water association board in Hachita, which formed when an individual who inherited the system chose not to operate it. They started out in debt. Holguin stated that these are normal issues that arise in any water association’s typical ongoing operation. Campion indicated that Torres is a certified operator at a fairly high level; he is well-qualified to oversee the system, in that regard. Generally, Stafford said, we take in more than we spend. Although, sometimes we do have to ask members for additional funding to pay for a necessary repair. The secretary noted that we do not always have enough in our account to cover whatever expenses were generated.

This discussion led into the treasurer’s report, in which Mrs. Melvin noted that association ended the second quarter June 30 with $6,096 in the bank. Since then, it took in $3,750 and spent $3,984.56. Currently, the bank balance is $5,861.62. Asked whether we had a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, Stafford moved to accept it, and Morgan seconded it. The motion was passed unanimously.

The association then moved on to the water operator’s report. Torres began by stating that he had worked for the City of Las Cruces. The highest certification is a IV; he is a level III. He added that he had sought the help of the Rural Water Association recently to install a new 4-in. line in the pump house, and he happily announced that our system is operating well. Torres said that we have five pressure tanks operating and one in reserve. The low pressure in the cycle is 30 psi, and the high end is 60. We can’t go too high, because the lines can’t handle more than that, Torres said. We have had a problem with blowing the fittings in the pump house. However, the new line doesn’t have the same type of fittings; it’s just a straight line with taps, Torres said, so the chance of that is reduced. An electric line that had been lying on the floor has been put back where it belongs, and Parmeter came to check it after the electric company blew us out a couple of times. The one in reserve had blown a bladder a couple of times, but it has been fixed.

A month or so ago, the electric company was blowing the breaker. Torres noted it was after 5 o-clock on that particular day. He had reset it and it was fine after that. Mr. Parmeter had come out and checked it and said that the pump is drawing different amperages on its various legs, but it still seems to be working well. One could take it in to Turner to be rebuilt. When the Rural Water Association representative came, they tapped the wrong line for sampling at the well head. The RWA representative will come again to correct that. He noted that our water is fine but it’s hard.

The Wolforts asked for advice about how to deal with hard water. The fixtures in their house are not in good shape, and while Mr. Wolfort said it appeared that the previous owners had had a water softener, but the Wohlforts weren’t certain it had done any good. Campion strongly encouraged him to use a water softener. Stafford said that while the salt used in some water softeners can shorten the life of septic systems, he had not had to replace any fixtures. Without a softener, Campion said he would trash his hot water heater, fixtures, pipes, etc. Campion said the water hardness was 30, and that that was as hard as any water he’d tested. Stafford said he uses reverse osmosis water for ice and drinking water. Morgan said she uses a potassium-based softener, but noted that it will not completely prevent corrosion of metal fixtures. One brushed nickel faucet corroded right away. However, she had not had to replace any others.

Wohlfort wanted to know if there was any way to make the system “drop stuff out,” but Alfredo Holguin noted that the minerals are “embedded in the water.” In water heaters, there is a “sacrificial anode,” which is supposed to corrode first. These are supposed to be changed every year, but “most people don’t ever check ‘em.” Torres noted that he has been keeping chlorine at the lower end of the scale, so he doesn’t want to lower it much. It could cause problems. To get the particulars of water hardness and contaminants, the public can check it at Drinking Water Watch.

Next on the agenda was Souder, Miller, and Associates’ 60-day progress report. Holguin noted that he has written a draft that is going through the internal review process. It goes through about three senior engineers before they would release it to us. He has been in contact with Mary Finney with NMFA, as our funding would normally expire before the end of the year. She therefore asked Holguin for a schedule so that NMFA would be aware of when SMA expected to be done with the report. He said they expect to submit the draft to us by 10-31, and we have 30-days to comment. Once we return it to SMA, they can make corrections. It should go to the NMED Construction Programs Bureau by the end of December. The bureau then has 30 days to comment. If the bureau takes the entire time, it would go back to SMA at the end of January, at which time, SMA would have another 30 days to make corrections. If the association and the NMED CPB work faster, the schedule could be moved up.

Holguin said that the company will provide us a cost estimate for every alternative offered in the report. He said the main part of the report would be about 45 pages, not including tables, addressing the cost of every alternative offered and funding availability.

Holguin then reported that VDRMDWCA is eligible to apply for colonias infrastructure funding. However, if the association will be applying, it must submit a notice of intent by November 9. That is for a 10 percent loan/10 percent match/80 percent grant. If the association seeks that money, applications will be accepted beginning Dec. 4. Based on what is ask for the association will get a 10 percent loan. They’d want to see that the association has money in the bank, or that it has spent money toward remedying its problems previously. These monies can be used for environmental assessment, design, and construction, although each of these functions is generally considered separately. Holguin noted that associations can apply for a waiver to the match. He added that just because an entity goes through the process of applying for funding does not mean it is obligated to take it, should it be granted.

Asked for an estimate of what it might take to rehabilitate the well and system to the degree that would be required if the association decided to interconnect with High Valley Farms for emergency use, he suggested approximately $110,000, of which the association would be asked to suuply a match of $11,000. High Valley Farms would also have to rehabilitate their system, so that it could supply emergency backup to Vista del Rey. He did note that one can apply for a waiver to the $11,000 match. Neither system is currently able to give that kind of backup without improvements.

Stafford said he is not sure whether we are tapping the Hueco Bolson or the Mesilla Bolson, the depth of the well, nor where we hit water. These things should be revealed when the hydro-geo study is completed by SMA. Mrs. Melvin gave Holguin the questionnaire he had asked her to complete, and noted that it was as complete as they could make it.

Holguin agreed to provide copies of the Notice of Intent to the president, and to Morgan, as she said she would probably complete the form.

Next, the board moved onto to budget for 2018. Ms. Melvin presented a draft budget totalling $14,775, which is to be submitted Dec.1. She noted we would need a copy of the minutes approving the budget, and a resolution accepting it, for the final budget, to be submitted Dec. 31. Morgan stated that, technically, the current meeting should be the last meeting of the year, but noted that it wouldn’t be. This is in light of the need to approve a final budget and to take care of any further business having to do with the Preliminary Engineering Report grant.

The treasurer noted that we need to pay our insurance. She has not seen any checks coming through the account. Melvin reported that the quarterly report is due at the end of October, and said it looks good. The treasurer noted that we are caught up on Henry’s invoices, however, he hasn’t cashed his checks. She also requested membership certificates for properties recently having changed hands. The Wohlforts were charged for a transfer of membership fee of $25, and paid a month’s water fees. Morgan and others stated they did not remember us having charged anyone a $25 fee before, as no one could recall charging that fee in the past. She also noted that she would put the association seal on the membership certificates in question and return them to the individual owners.

Water operator Torres, who is secretary for the High Valley Farms water association board, wanted to know if we could meet and talk about the possibility of connecting the two systems, or potentially merging. The USDA, one of the funding sources for small mutual domestics, is a proponent for merging, he said.

During open forum, the Wohlforts mentioned having trouble with their bank over the issue of road maintenance. While the matter is currently considered the responsibility of the water association, he recommended that the issue be reconsidered by the newly formed homeowners’ association. The bank does not consider road-grader ownership nor a letter from the secretary stating that the water association takes care of road maintenance adequate assurance that the road will be maintained.