Record of Proceedings Kremmling Sanitation District Regular Board Meeting
March 13, 2023
The Board of Directors for the Kremmling Sanitation District met in the boardroom located at 200 Eagle Avenue. The meeting was called to order by President Noble Underbrink at 6:00 p.m. Directors present: Noble Underbrink, Eric Bradley, Alan Hassler, Dave Sammons and Stuart Heller. Directors absent: None. Staff present: District Manager Rich Rosene, Superintendent Scott Weber, Town Manager Ashley Macdonald and Utility Billing Clerk Caitlin Parks. Audience present: None.
Approval of Minutes:
Sammons moved to approve the regular meeting minutes of February13, 2023 as presented. Hassler Seconded Motion Carried
Approval of Expenditures:
Sammons moved to approve the expenditures presented for the period of February 14, 2023 through March 13, 2023 in the amount of $15,746.35. Bradley Seconded. Motion Carried.
Public Comment:
None.
Engineers Report:
Weber said that he is keeping Nick Marcotte of Element Engineering in the loop on how the ponds are doing.
Operators Report:
- Weber said that the hearing for Duff Nicola concerning the sewer tap work done without locates is still on. We have received the check from him for the invoice sent to him with the hours worked on the issue and the cost from Simon Services for the camera work to verify that no damage had been done to the sewer main. Weber said as soon as the check clears the bank, he will cancel the hearing. The camp trailer behind the store does not have any sewer discharge attached.
- The compliance labs were sent to ACZ Laboratories on March 1st and he thinks the results will be close to our limits and could go either way. He thinks that the April results could be worse than March, but we will have to wait and see. The results are better than last year. This year we are at 19 to 20 mg/L of ammonia and our permit limit is 18.9 mg/L. Last year in March we were at 30.9 mg/L and at 35.6 mg/L in April. Underbrink commented that last year was a difficult year and he feels there have been marked improvements in our operations. Weber said that last year at this time the water temperature was -2 degrees C and this year we are at 0 degrees C. Last year we were also receiving septage at this time. The water temperature on April 25, 2022 was 5.1 degrees C and on May 24, 2022 it was 10.1 degrees C with 17.1 mg/L of ammonia, so things do look better this year.
- Weber said that pond B is opening up and is about 75% clear of ice. He is pushing the blower pretty hard right now but it is doing alright. The ice in pond C is still about 10 inches thick and they have put in some homemade diffusers from the manifold and there is a 10-foot diameter spot opened up.
- Weber talked to Thom Yoder today and left a message for Nick Marcotte about the septage station startup date. He feels that we can’t start receiving septage until we get to at least 4 degrees C, as that is the minimum temperature that the bugs will start being active, and they are best at 30 degrees C, which we will never see. Our highest temperature last year was 19.6 degrees C in August. He would like to set a start date next month as the haulers need to enter into 12-month contracts with outside the county haulers around then. He feels we can open up for septage when we get between 5 and 10 degrees C, which should happen in April or May. He would like to look at a limit on the amount of household septage coming in and have them document the origin of the septage. One of the companies does only household and the other does both household and porta johns. He is confident we can handle the household septage but would still want to monitor the quantity and sample it periodically. Heller asked if we would take any porta-john waste and Weber said no.
- Weber would like to shut them down in the fall before they add any deicer to the loads. Underbrink asked if the companies could haul some to us and have some taken to Denver. Weber said he thought the contracts were pretty much an all or none deal. The consensus of the board was for Weber, Yoder and Marcotte to set criteria for accepting septage: the minimum influent temperature, volume limits per truck or day, etc. and to let the board know what these are.
- Weber said that they plan to pull a dome or two this summer and look at the air hoses to see if they need to be replaced. Bradley said that as long as we were going to rent a crane to lift them out, we should consider doing several from each pond to get a better sample. Underbrink suggested looking into a pontoon-based crane or hoist as compared to the cost of a truck crane. Weber said he is planning to check the depth of sludge in the ponds with our sludge-judge equipment this summer.
- Weber said he will be attending the Colorado Rural Water Association conference in early April and will be meeting with Yoder and Marcotte to talk over operations. He said that he is working with Mason Zamora to get him ready to test for his small systems license.
Managers' Report:
Update on reuse water franchise agreement with the town:
- Rosene asked town manager Macdonald to bring the board up to date on the agreement. She said that the town is going to be discussing reuse water with the school board, along with a number of other issues. There won’t be any rate discussions at that time. The franchise agreement is still under review.
- Macdonald said the town had a basic water rate study done during the water treatment plant needs assessment and it came back with some eyebrow raising numbers. She said the town wants to do a more comprehensive utility rate study and recommended that both water and wastewater be included. She is getting proposals for a study as the town board wants some additional options to consider. The reuse water rates can be included in the franchise agreement, with the caveat that the rates are subject to change once the rate study is completed. Rosene said that the budget this year included a rate study and it makes sense to do a joint study. The reuse water rate would include operations costs for the sanitation district and the rest to the town to offset their loss of water fund revenue.
Update on fund discrepancy issue with town:
- Rosene said he hasn’t completed this yet as some of the statements he got from the previous town treasurer weren’t for the correct months. He also said that the deposits on the statements don’t match the town check as multiple items may be included on a deposit and the bank doesn’t take an image of the deposit slips to show the breakdown. He will continue to work on this.
Discussion and Action on participation in Low Income Household Water and Wastewater
Assistance Program (LIHWAP):
- Rosene asked town manager Macdonald to give the board a brief description of the program and what the town is doing. Macdonald said the town became aware of the program recently when one of their customers came to them. It is similar to the LEAP (Low-Income Energy Assistance Program) to help low-income families with energy bills. Macdonald said it helps individuals and families with the difference between what they can pay and what is owed on the bill. Parks said the program requires individuals to sign up for funding assistance to pay their water and wastewater bills. Macdonald said the program is set to expire in April, but the program may be extended as other programs have been. The program receives the application and determines eligibility, so the town and district don’t have to ask any personal questions of the applicant. The board felt it should table any further discussion until the April meeting and see if the program is going to be extended.
Update on May 2 election:
- Rosene said there were two self-nomination forms submitted for the four-year terms and none for the two-year term. The two-year term will need to be appointed at the May meeting as that is the first meeting following the election date.
Business Item
Resolution No. 2023-3-1: A Resolution to Cancel Election and Declaration Deeming Candidates Elected: Rosene said that since there were no more self-nominations than vacancies, the election can be cancelled by resolution and the two candidates can be deemed elected. The new terms will begin at the May board meeting.
Sammons moved to adopt Resolution 2023-3-1, A resolution to cancel election and declaration deeming candidates elected. Bradley Seconded. Motion Carried.
Adjournment:
Sammons moved to adjourn at 6:54 PM. Hassler Seconded
Meeting Adjourned
Signed:
/s/ Richard A. Rosene
Secretary