June 5 Meeting Sets Out Priorities

Meeting with Souder Miller Details Upgrades for Project Remainder

President Wade Cornelius opened the meeting at 6:35 p.m. He began by asking if those present all knew each other, as introducing attendees at every meeting sometimes seems unnecessary. Thirteen people were present, including Treasurer Rob Campion’s son, Josh, who did not sign in as a participant. Marty Howell, an engineer representing Souder, Miller and Associates, was present, as at our meeting in February, he had been tasked with getting some prices for various improvement elements the association might undertake to use the remainder of the Capital Outlay funds available. Also present were board member Patrick Stafford, Campion, and Secretary Beth Morgan, Mark Sechrist, Deborah Stafford, water operator Henry Torres, Skip and Martha Trego, Randell Mellor, and Brian Walker.

The first topic of business was the approval of minutes from the February meeting. Morgan noted that she did not consider them ready for approval as only one person, Patrick Stafford, had read them. However, for those who had not attended or who did not remember, the secretary undertook a brief summary. She noted that at the February meeting the board was informed that it had around $250,000 remaining to spend, and Howell was going to get some prices on items the board was considering for various improvements. One of the things that had been discussed, engendering a lively meeting back in August, was replacing the meters at individual properties. Some individuals were up in arms at the prospect that the board might also consider charging on the basis of usage and not the current flat fee. She noted that at the time, the board had decided to let that lie and considered other measures, such as paving the road. Estimates had been given for different types of paving and for different stretches of the road, one at approximately $100,000, and the other at about $200,000.

Morgan noted that in February the board had also considered improvements to the well house, to protect the well, including weatherizing the building, automating the chlorinator, and putting probes on the tank to warn them when water levels dropped—this is ongoing as part of the work done by electricians recently--air conditioning, the electronics, installing a Plexiglas shield to protect electronic components from water leaks, bracing a pipe, and screening certain inlet pipes to keep rodents and snakes out. These are most of the things for which Howell was supposed to get prices. She also mentioned that she had yet to do the minutes for the meeting during which elections were held in April, but noted that that meeting was lightly attended, no nominations had been received, and that she and Cornelius had been reelected by acclamation. She noted that those minutes would be forthcoming. She said that she preferred to have minutes read by at least two board members, and the minutes from February had only been read by Stafford. The president vowed to read the February minutes prior to approval, even though there will be more than one set to deal with at a time.

Henry Torres said the float is still being worked on, partly because laborers cannot get phone service up here. Stafford said they could rent a satellite phone or a hotspot for a day to get the phone service they need, as he felt the completion of the float and the auxiliary plug for the chlorine system had been dragging on for far too long. Torres said he had been told the contractor wanted to finish off the tank first, then deal with the chlorinator. He also mentioned the need to seal the building to keep dust out of the chlorinator pump and the computer board for the skid for the variable speeds: it has to be clean. The water operator reported that we had been written up for not testing for asbestos, by a new Environment Department employee. During Torres’ recent illness, he said he had lost some memory, but he did not recall ever having had to test for asbestos before. The president ennumerated the items for the board to follow up on, and then, Morgan asked whether coating the building with foam on the outside would take care of the dust issue. Torres indicated that he thought it would.

Torres said that we only get 27 gallons per minute out of the well, slightly more than half what we used to get. Stafford said that we used to get 52 or 54 when we had the six-inch casing. The well driller had indicated that we’d have adequate pressure, but when Torres showed him a picture of the water coming out of the pipe, he got no response. “It’s because of the size of the well-casing,” he said, “it’s small.” Stafford then wanted to know if we are still at 65 pounds pressure. He didn’t think it was as pressurized as it should be. Morgan indicated she felt water pressure was generally adequate.

The board moved on to the Treasurer’s Report, by Rob Campion. “Something’s going right,” he said. The Association has a balance of $33,613.56. Inflow exceeds outflow. He indicated that two water users have balances due. One had sent in a payment that was held by the post office for five days. He indicated he is not concerned about that one, but Mo[rris Williams] had been given a notice of intent to disconnect. He has an outstanding balance of $1,000. Campion said Williams had paid only two bills out of the last 10 months. He said he had taped a notice to Williams’ fence and put one in his maibox, and that he had found the notice from the mailbox crumpled up and put into the water association mailbox recently, indicating he had received it but perhaps was not happy with it. He had been given a deadline by which to pay, after which, if it is disconnected, he will be required to pay a reconnection fee to have the water turned on again or seek another water source. The president and the water operator reiterated the items needed to complete the work at the well house. These include sealing the well house against dust, the chlorine auxiliary plug, the call about non-asbestos, the element for the probes, the lighting, and air conditioning.

Campion also noted that with the cash on hand, the board might consider getting a four- or five-month certificate of deposit (CD) with attractive interest rates. He also stated that he had run into Doreen Gallegos, the state representative who assisted the association in getting Capital Outlay money. She inquired about our progress, to which Campion indicated that we were not finished with it. She indicated that we had better spend the remainder of the Capital Outlay funds soon or it could be taken away. As this had been reported earlier, the secretary noted that as the reason for asking when the current meeting should be held. Campion indicated the first payment on the loan portion of our funding from the Colonias Infrastructure Board had been $722, and since then, we had gotten bills of $361, which Campion stated he believes is the actual monthly amount. Morgan noted that she was under the impression the association would not be charged any loan payments until one year after the project was complete. The board had asked Howell to check on that in February. He said it should be in the grant agreement.

Howell, representing SMA, was called on to discuss the incomplete work on the system. He presented a written funding analysis, which shows how much funding is left, which he indicated was about $265,000, or as stated in his analysis, $265,733.76. It also shows costs for items of interest. One of the amenities the board had asked about in February was an auxiliary generator, to keep the well going if the electricity went out. That, originally priced at just over $11,000, had gone up to $60,000 (this is for a 60kw unit). Howell said that price is not unusual. He also indicated that, if the association got a generator, another $56,000 would be required to wire the building for connecting it. The reason the cost went up so much is that the original estimate was for a generator only to run the booster. He asked for an estimate for one that would run the well pump, the booster pump, the lights, etc., (which is about the same size as a folding 6-ft. table, set up). Torres noted that if the association had a generator of that ilk, he would be concerned about security.

Foam insulation was estimated at $5,900; interior lighting at $4,518, a water shield for the booster skid at $750, foam panel installation on the interior of the building at $5,488, and stabilizing a pipe that is not firmly anchored, $1,724. A drum for the chlorine, formerly estimated at $225, went up to $3,726; meters to be read manually, initially estimated at $248, rose to $4,208. Sampling stations’ installation at the ends of the roads, estimated at $3,200, remained the same. Mobilization costs initially estimated at $1,117, more than doubled, assuming the association goes for all the improvements mentioned, at $2,508. Howell indicated that the total for these improvements, at $98,663, does not include the $56,000 to install the generator connection. If we should select some but not all of these items, Howell said that the mobilization fee would be 3 percent of the cost.

A Mountain gave the board an estimate on the road, “but at the last board meeting, that was not what you directed me to do,” Howell said. Stafford said he had a great interest to do something with Santana Road. The engineer stated that A Mountain had given the association estimates on road paving some time ago, but that the board did not seem interested at the previous meeting. Morgan said she thought the estimates had been about $100,000 for one type of road treatment, and $200,000 for another. Stafford told Mark Sechrist he has a 15 kw backup generator that runs his whole house when needed. Probes and sensors, Campion noted, had already been committed to and paid for, as well as the hookup for the chlorine auxiliary plug, which Torres confirmed was already paid for. He added that the board had, in essence, determined to build the hotbox itself.

The president noted there were 10 items the board was considering for which A-Mountain had given us estimates, and he asked if we could go down the list and make some decisions.

1. Foam insulation, exterior, $5,900 (yes)

2. Generator—initially estimated at $11,200. Rob Campion made a motion to allow the president approve up to $50,000 for a smaller, less expensive generator and a connection to service it; the motion did not come to a vote, as other considerations came into play. (The one A-Mountain suggested would cost $60,000. Whether the association could afford a simpler version was discussed. Campion made a motion to allow the president to spend up to $20,000 for a generator. He said he would put the electrical costs in a second motion. He later amended his motion to allow Cornelius to spend up to $50,000 for a generator and related electrical costs. Stafford said he thought the fact that we have three new transformers out here more or less eliminates the need for a generator. Campion noted that we must spend the capital outlay money, or it will be taken away from us. He said he prefers the water, but suggested that we also must have the electricity to get it to us. Stafford said residents have always had electricity or it was repaired within 24-48 hours.)

3. Interior lighting. The concensus was that the board could pay for and install this for less than the $4,500 estimate, which Torres confirmed.

4. Shield for the booster skid. Estimate, $750. (Cornelius indicated that we would do this.)

5. Foam insulation, interior, $5,500. Campion says, if you do 1., you don’t have to do No. 5, but the board had essentially decided to go for both these improvements.

6. Anchoring for a pipe inside the well house, approximately $1,700. This will be done.

7. Manually read meters, $4,200—especially for detecting against leaks. Brian Williams asked whether this was an exhorbitant amount to pay. The president noted that we had been given an estimate $12,000, and that the greatly reduced amount is not unreasonable. Torres noted that the price of $225 per meter did not sound right, especially if that includes installation. At this time, Sechrist inquired about the possibility of adding a tank, which the board had asked Howell to investigate. He had two things to say: 1. That construction of a new tank would cost all our remaining money, and 2. that the chlorine in water breaks down if it sits too long and degrades into cancer-causing materials. Thus, he said that we could not afford a second tank, and that a second tank is not a good idea anyway. The president then suggested that meters are pending.

8. Stainless steel drum for granular chlorine, estimate was originally $225. This cost had risen to $3,726.

9. Sample station installation (for water testing), estimated at $3,200. Torres said he would prefer three such stations. Howell was not clear whether the price was for two or three stations but vowed he would find out.

10. Mobilizing and demobilizing (A-Mountain’s preparation for getting all their equipment out here, doing the work, finishing the work, and clearing out their equipment.) Howell said that this would be 3 percent of the total cost of all previous numbers. Cornelius estimated this amount at $23,300.

The estimate for the the total amount these improvements would cost was slightly more than $38,300 on a quote from A-Mountain. However, the board was primarily interested in pursuing numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 on the quote provided, as estimated by the president, and with figures from Howell on overlay for Santana Road and chip seal on Vista del Rey. At this point, a discussion about fixing the interior light (No. 3) was launched, but it was determined that we could likely repair this ourselves (approximately $20). Several road work figures were thrown out, but they are all hypothetical, as the figures from A Mountain were six months old. One-and-a-half-inch overlay for all of both streets was about $279,131 with prime coat, and $264,081 without prime coat, which would cost more than the association has left in its grant monies. Howell was asked to get new figures on the road. Cornelius suggested we had a pretty good idea of what to pursue—the items listed previously, and once it was determined “how much road we buy,” as Campion put it, the board could proceed with these portions of the road. The president said that the association could potentially afford overlay on Santana Road and chip-seal on Vista del Rey, plus the other items already identified.

Mark Sechrist asked whether there might be an advantage to making the road narrower. Howell indicated that that does deter speeding to some degree, that and including curves.

The engineer said that he would expect the numbers from A Mountain on the road by the end of the week. Prospects for meeting in the near future were then discussed. Morgan said that she would be gone for several days following the meeting. Howell mentioned that perhaps a Zoom meeting should be considered. The president announced that once Howell got the new figures, the board could proceed with the remainder of the project. He then noted those present could proceed to the open forum portion of the meeting.

Stafford mounted a discussion about whether the system needs culverts where water crosses the road, referring primarily to Santana Road, then to areas at both corners of Vista del Rey at Santana. No decisions were made regarding improving these areas.

Assuming that the costs stay under budget, at Howell’s suggestion, Patrick Stafford made a motion to authorize Cornelius to proceed with all recommendations for which the board has funding. The motion was seconded by Campion and passed unanimously. It was noted that we still need to dig out the silt in the arroyo on the north side of Vista del Rey, west of Santana. Stafford said he would look into getting some rock for that project, for which the concensus was that we could finance that ourselves.

There was some discussion about the owners of the lot next to Shane Wohlfert’s place on the east side wanting to hook up. However, Torres noted there is a connection but no meter installed there yet, and when the hookup fee had been mentioned, they did not pursue it. Sechrist also mentioned that the old road grader needs to be moved and that there is concrete rubble at the corner nearest the Wohlfert’s property.

He also questioned whether the concrete chunks in the arroyo across Santana to the west of Wohlfert’s were necessary and whether it would help to break them up. They do slow down the water, Howell noted, so they need to stay. Several members joked that breaking them up is an idea for someone with a sledgehammer and time on their hands—and that ended that line of inquiry.

Cornelius adjourned the meeting at 7:58 p.m.