Pursuant to C.R.S., §32-1-903, notice is hereby given to the members of the Upper Thompson Sanitation District Board of Directors and to the general public that the Board will hold its regular meeting, which is open to the public, at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at the Upper Thompson Sanitation District Administrative Office, 2196 Mall Road, Estes Park, CO, 80517. Individuals who wish to address the Board via public participation may do so “in-person”, via telephone, or virtually through online participation, facilitated by the Microsoft Teams platform. Members of the public wishing to join the meeting via online or telephone participation, please email a request for the meeting link or telephone number to Ms. Gina Moore, Secretary to the Board, at gina@utsd.org by 2:00 p.m. on April 18, 2023.
Agenda
- Call to Order.
- Pledge of Allegiance.
- Roll Call, Absences Excused.
- Next Meeting Date: Regular Board Meeting, Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
- Agenda: Correction and Approval.
- Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest.
- Public Forum: An opportunity for presentation by the public to provide information to the Board of Directors on any non-agenda item. Note: The Board cannot take any action on non-agenda items but may direct staff to include the item on a future agenda.
Public Comment on Agenda Items: Public comments will be heard by the Board at the conclusion of the presentation of the agenda item. Persons addressing the Board shall first be recognized by the District Manager or Board Chairman and may speak only one time per agenda item. Speakers shall state their name and address for the official minutes, address comments to the Board as a Body, and shall be allotted three (3) minutes for public comment. - Minutes: Correction and Approval: Special Board Meeting, April 4, 2023.
- New Business and Special Orders:
- Update: Phase II - Design of the Water Reclamation Facility and Lift Station Improvements Project – presented by Mr. Ravel, P.E., Water/Wastewater Project Manager, Merrick & Company.
- Consideration for Adoption: Resolution No. 2023-04-01 – A Resolution Authorizing District Manager to Execute Documents and Take Actions as Owner’s Representative of the District – presented by Mr. Bieker.
- Reports of Officers, Committees, and Staff: Questions, Comments, Correction and Approval:
- Treasurer’s Report.
- Plant Report.
- System Development Fee Allocation and Connection Report.
- Collection System Report.
- Operations Manager’s Report.
- Assistant District Manager’s Report.
- District Manager’s Report.
- Adjournment.
Upper Thompson Sanitation District (District) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry, and in employment or in any program or activity conducted by the District. The District will make reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with known disabilities. If any person has a disability and requires a reasonable accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact District Manager, Mr. Chris Bieker, three days before the event via email at chris@utsd.org, or telephone at 970.586.4544, or dial 711 to connect with Relay Colorado.
Record of Proceedings
Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of
Upper Thompson Sanitation District
Held: April 18, 2023, at 4:00 p.m., at the
District Office, 2196 Mall Road, Estes Park, Colorado
Call to Order
A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Upper Thompson Sanitation District, Estes Park, Colorado, was called to order at 4:06 p.m. and held as shown above and in accordance with the applicable statutes of the State of Colorado with the following Directors present and acting:
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Attendance
Board of Directors:
Jack Reed, Chairman
Susan Doylen, Vice-Chairman/Secretary
*Kent Bosch, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Ronald I. Duell, Treasurer/ Assistant Secretary
Christopher Eshelman, Director
Staff:
Chris Bieker, District Manager
Suzanne Jurgens, Assistant District Manager
Gina Moore, Financial Officer
Matt Allen, Operations Manager
Nathanael Romig, Collection Superintendent
Sheryl Panzer, Customer Accounts Manager
*Naomi McCracken, Secretary Gained the meeting virtually at 4:06 p.m. and "in person" at 5:01 p.m.)
Guest:
Steve Ravel, P.E., Water/Wastewater Project Manager, Merrick & Company
*Joined via web conference call
Next Meeting Date
The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on May 16, 2023, at 4:00 p.m.
Approval of Agenda
The Board considered the Agenda.
It was moved by Ms. Doylen and seconded by Mr. Eshelman to approve the Agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is a topic of discussion at every Board meeting to address potential conflicts of interest that may arise as new agenda items are introduced. District Directors who have disclosed potential conflicts of interest can vote as issues arise.
Public Forum
Mr. Reed opened the meeting for public comment.
Mr. Reed explained the Public Forum is an opportunity for presentation by the public to provide information to the Board of Directors on any non-agenda item. He further explained the Board cannot take action on non-agenda items but may direct staff to include the item on a future agenda.
Regarding public comment on Agenda Items, Mr. Reed provided the following statement:
Public comments will be heard by the Board at the conclusion of the presentation of the agenda item. Persons addressing the Board shall first be recognized by the District Manager or Board Chairman and may speak only one time per agenda item. Speakers shall state their name and address for the official minutes, address comments to the Board as a Body, and shall be allotted three (3) minutes for public comment.
Two members of the public joined the meeting, via web conference call. One member of the public joined the meeting in person.
In attendance via web conference call was Mr. Stewart Squires, of 618 Park River Place, Estes Park, and Ms. Caltha Crowe of 1070 Crestview Court, Apartment 2, Estes Park. In person attendance was Mr. Matthew Poust of 71 Pinyon Trail, Estes Parle Mr. Poust is a reporter with the Estes Park Trail Gazette. Mr. Squires, Ms. Crowe, and Mr. Poust indicated they were attending the meeting for general interest and did not offer comment on a non-agenda item.
Approve Minutes from Prior Meeting
The Board reviewed and discussed the Minutes of the April 4, 2023, Special Board Meeting.
It was moved by Mr. Eshelman and seconded by Ms. Doylen to approve the Minutes of the April 4, 2023, Special Board Meeting as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
New Business and Special Orders
Update: Phase II - Design of the Water Reclamation Facility and Lift Station Improvements Project - presented by Mr. Ravel, PE, Water/Wastewater Project Manager, Merrick & Company:
Regarding the design of the Water Reclamation Facility and Lift Station Improvements Project (Project), Mr. Ravel noted the following updates which occurred after the March 21, 2023, Regular Board Meeting:
- Overall Project:
- Meetings were conducted with Garney Construction, Inc.(Garney) to review the Value Engineering (VE) design concepts and Garney's updates to the 60% cost opinion.
- The Project design and funding eff01is were on hold pending review of the VE efforts and 60% cost opinion updates.
- Meetings were conducted with the District to review Project financing and funding opportunities.
- An updated Project schedule including permitting, financing, and design considerations will be prepared for completion of the Project.
- Wapiti Lift Station (WLS), WLS Interceptor, and WLS Force Main:
- The site location application Process Design Repo1i (PDR) is under review by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
- Water Reclamation Facility (WRF):
- The site location application is under review by the CDPHE.
- Larimer County:
- Larimer County is reviewing the WRF Re-Zoning Application.
- A WRF site plan submittal will be completed in the next few weeks as the wetland mitigation plan for the WRF has been completed.
Mr. Ravel reported to the Board that Merrick & Company (Merrick) received a response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding the Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR). FEMA provided an updated version of the FEMA Public Notice that includes language revisions.
Mr. Ravel informed the Board that the WRF site Re-Zoning Application is scheduled to be considered at the Larimer County Planning Commission Meetings on June 21, 2023, and July 10, 2023. Mr. Ravel stated Merrick and District staff plan to attend these public meetings.
Additionally, Mr. Ravel stated Mr. Bieker contacted CDPHE regarding the status of the site location application and received a response that the application is under review. Mr. Ravel commented he and Mr. Bieker plan to follow up with CDPHE on the review process timeline.
Mr. Ravel answered questions of the Board regarding Project funding options and loan requirements with federal and state resources such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), and/or State Revolving Fund (SRF).
The Board thanked Mr. Ravel for the Project update.
Consideration for Adoption: Resolution No. 2023-04-01 - A Resolution Authorizing District Manager to Execute Documents and Take Actions as Owner's Representative of the District - presented by Mr. Bieker:
Mr. Bieker presented Resolution No. 2023-04-01, authorizing the District Manager to execute documents and take actions as Owner's Representative of the District pursuant to Sections 32-1-1001 (1 )(h) and 32-1-1001 (1 )(i) of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
Mr. Bieker explained the Resolution allows for signatory authority of the District Manager for expenditure purposes including registering newly acquired vehicles and equipment on behalf of the District. The Resolution also declares that the District Manager shall have the authority to execute documents and serve in the role of official Owner's Representative for the District.
Mr. Bieker noted this Resolution was prepared by District legal counsel, Ms. Linda Glesne of CEGR Law (Cockrel Ela Glesne Greher & Ruhland, P.C.).
The Board discussed delegating signatory authority to both the District Manager and Assistant District Manager, including adding the Assistant District Manager as an authorized signer on the District's bank accounts.
The Board then directed District staff to draft an additional resolution for future Board consideration, authorizing the Assistant District Manager to execute documents and take actions as Owner's Representative of the District, with the inclusion of signatory authority on the District's bank accounts.
The Board considered Resolution No. 2023-04-01.
It was moved by Mr. Eshelman and seconded by Mr. Duell to adopt Resolution No. 2023-04-01 Authorizing District Manager, Chris Bieker, to execute documents and take actions as Owner's Representative of the Upper Thompson Sanitation District. Motion carried unanimously.
Reports of Officers, Committees, Professional Consultants, & Staff
The Board considered the Reports of Officers, Committees, Professional Consultants, and District Staff.
In addition to the Plant Report, Mr. Allen updated the Board on the completion status of several plant maintenance projects including valve replacements and the cleaning of the grit chamber, aeration basins, and the east and west digesters.
At 4:43 p.m., Ms. Crowe excused herself from the remainder of the meeting.
Adding to the System Development Fee Allocation and Connection Report, Ms. Panzer reported to the Board she is in the process of reconciling Fixture Unit Values/Single Family Equivalents inventory reports from the YMCA with the District's records.
At 4:51 p.m., Mr. Squires excused himself from the remainder of the meeting.
The Board asked questions of the staff regarding the departmental reports.
The Board did not have corrections to the departmental reports.
The Board thanked District staff for preparing the reports.
It was moved by Ms. Doylen and seconded by Mr. Eshelman to accept the Treasurer's Report, Plant Report, System Development Fee Allocation and Connection Report, Collection System Report, Operations Manager's Report, Assistant District Manager's Report and District Manager's Report. Motion carried unanimously.
Adjournment
Having no further business, at 5 :08 p.m. it was moved by Ms. Doylen and seconded by Mr. Duell to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.