March 15, 2022 Minutes

Upper Thompson Sanitation District
Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors
District Administrative Office Conference Room

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, March 15, 2022, 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 March 15, 2022.

Agenda

1. Call to Order. 
2. Pledge of Allegiance. 
3. Roll Call, Absences Excused. 
4. Next Meeting Date: Regular Board Meeting, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. 
5. Agenda: Correction and Approval. 
6. Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. 

7. 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. 

8. Introduction and Open Discussion with Merrick & Company Leadership: Mr. Christopher Sherry, P.E., Chairman, CEO and President and Mr. Michael Martin, P.E., Senior Vice President, Infrastructure – introduced by Mr. Ravel, P.E., Water/Wastewater Project Manager. 
9. Minutes: Correction and Approval: Regular Board Meeting, February 15, 2022. 
10. New Business and Special Orders: 
    1. Update: Phase II - Design of the New Water Reclamation Facility, Lift Station, and Interceptor Improvements Project – presented by Mr. Ravel, P.E., Water/Wastewater Project Manager, Merrick & Company. 
    2. Discussion of the District’s current exposure to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) – presented by Ms. Jurgens. 
11. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Staff: Questions, Comments, Correction and Approval: 
    1. Treasurer’s Report.
    2. Plant Report.
    3. System Development Fee Allocation and Connection Report.
    4. Collection System Report.
    5. Assistant District Manager’s Report.
    6. District Manager’s Report.
12. 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 accommodations 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: March 15, 2022, 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 4:01 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 
Greg Cenac, Treasurer 
Susan Doylen, Secreta1y 
Ronald I. Duell, Vice-Chairman/ Assistant Secretary/Treasurer 

Absent: 
It was moved by Mr. Cenac and seconded by Mr. Duell to excuse the absence of Director Bosch. Motion ca1Tied unanimously. 

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* 
Herny Newhouse, Plant Superintendent* 
Naomi McCracken, Secretary* 

Merrick & Company: 
Steve Ravel, P.E., Water/Wastewater Project Manager 
Mr. Christopher Sheny, P.E., Chairman, CEO and President* 
Mr. Michael Martin, P.E., Senior Vice President, Infrastructure* 
Christine Sednek, P.E., Water/Wastewater Engineer II, Merrick & Company* 

* Joined via web conference call

Next Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on April 19, 2022.

Approval of Agenda

The Board Considered the Agenda. 

It was moved by Ms. Doylen and seconded by Mr. Duell 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 eve1y 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. 

In attendance was Mr. Stewart Squires, of 618 Park River Place, Estes Park. Mr. Squires indicated he is attending the meeting for general interest and did not offer comment on a non-agenda item. 

Also in attendance was Mr. Jonathan Harris, P.E., Associate Resident Engineer and Rocky Mountain and Midwest Construction Services Lead with Carollo Engineers, Inc. of 390 Interlocken Crescent, Suite 800, Broomfield, Colorado. Mr. Harris did not offer comment on a non-agenda item.

Introduction and Open Discussion with Merrick & Company Leadership

Mr. Ravel introduced Mr. Christopher Sheny, P.E., Chairman, CEO and President and Mr. Michael Maiiin, P.E., Senior Vice President, Infrastructure with the Merrick & Company leadership team. 

Due to technical difficulties with the audio Teams Platform connection for remote attendees, the Board discussed and decided to postpone the open discussion with Mr. Sheny and Mr. Maliin until the April 19, 2022, Regular Board Meeting. The Board apologized to Mr. Sheny, Mr. Maiiin, Ms. Sednek and to public attendees, Mr. Squires, and Mr. Harris, for the technical issues and stated they look forward to conversing with Mr. Sherry and Mr. Matiin at the April meeting. Mr. Sheny said he and Mr. Martin will plan on attending the April meeting in person. 

It was moved by Mr. Cenac and seconded by Ms. Doylen to include the Open Discussion with Merrick & Company Leadership: Mr. Christopher Sheny, P.E., Chairman, CEO and President and Mr. Michael Maiiin, P.E., Senior Vice President, Infrastructure on the Agenda for the April 19, 2022, Regular Board Meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 

Mr. Sherry excused himself from the remainder of the meeting at 4:20 p.m.

Approve Minutes from Prior Meeting

The Board reviewed and discussed the Minutes of the Februaiy 15, 2022, Regular Board Meeting. 

It was moved by Ms. Doylen and seconded by Mr. Cenac to approve the Minutes of the Februaiy 15, 2022, Regular Board Meeting as presented. Motion carried unanimously.

New Business and Special Orders

Update: Phase II - Design of the New Water Reclamation Facility, Lift Station, and Interceptor Improvements Project - presented by Mr. Ravel, PE, Water/Wastewater Project Manager, Merrick & Company:

Regarding the design of the New Water Reclamation Facility, Lift Station, and Interceptor Improvements Project (Project), Mr. Ravel noted the following updates following the Februa1y 15, 2022, Regular Board Meeting:

• Wapiti Lift Station (WLS): 
  • Discussions and workshops occurred with the design team and District to discuss the proposed WLS site and WLS force main layouts. 
  • The proposed layouts will be further developed for use with a site location application for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and for use with Larimer County planning and building department review and approval. 
• Water Reclamation Facility (WRF): 
  • Discussions and workshops occurred with the design team and District to discuss the proposed WRF site layout and process equipment.
  • Site Location Application - The site location application is under review by the CDPHE. No additional comments are anticipated and CDPHE indicated they expect to issue the approval by March 18, 2022. Preliminary and final design may proceed without prior site location application approval. 
  • WRF Site Layout - Alternative WRF site layouts including structures and roadways have been developed and are under review by the District and design team. A workshop is scheduled for March 11, 2022, to review the final layout. 
  • Architectural alternatives for the WRF site and administration building have been developed and a review workshop is scheduled with the District for March 18, 2022, to review alternatives. 
  • A solids handling review workshop was held on February 21, 2022, to review equipment preferences, layout, and facility s1zmg. 
  • WRF Membrane Procurement - Membrane information requests have been provided by membrane suppliers including preliminary budget, equipment, and membrane design information. A membrane procurement review workshop was held on February 28, 2022, with the District. Membrane procurement documents are under development for review by the District at a workshop scheduled for March 22, 2022. The membrane procurement package will be advertised for receipt of proposals following review and approval by the District. 
  • Electrical, Instrumentation, and Control - A workshop was held on February 22, 2022, to review the sites and discuss electrical, instrumentation, and control items. A second workshop to review the sites and discuss electrical, instrumentation, and control items is scheduled for March 23, 2022.
• Fish Creek Lift Station (FCLS) Site Acquisition and Layout: 
  • Discussions and workshops occurred with the design team and District to discuss the proposed FCLS layout and site location alternatives. 
  • The proposed layouts will be further developed for use with a site location application for the CDPHE and for use with Larimer County planning and building department review and approval. 
  • Final FCLS site decisions will be completed over the next three weeks following review of alternative site layouts and alternatives. 
• Specifications for Construction - A draft version of the overall project Contract Forms (Division 00) and General Requirements (Division 01) of the specification have been developed and will be submitted to the District for preliminary review in the next few weeks. Technical specifications (equipment, trenching, structural, mechanical, electrical, etc.) will be developed as the project proceeds.
• Drawings for Construction - General (G) sheets, detail (D) sheets, and other miscellaneous sheets have been developed. Additional sheets (equipment, trenching, structural, mechanical, electrical, etc.) will be developed as the project proceeds. 
• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) - The District is awaiting comments from the USBR regarding coordination requirements for the environmental assessment (EA). A coordination call was held with the USBR on Februaiy 17, 2022. Coordination with USBR will continue to determine the location of the WLS, WLS Force Main, and modifications at the existing wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). A meeting with the USBR is scheduled for March 17, 2022. A special use application will be submitted following finalization of the WLS and WLS force main design. 
• Western Area Power Authority (WAPA) - A coordination call with WAPA was held on March 3, 2022. Coordination with WAPA will continue regarding the status of the power line removal project. The power lines are expected to be removed by December 31, 2023. 
• Town of Estes Park-The WRF site will require a water main extension along highway 34. The WLS and FCLS will require new water services to replace the existing water services. 
• Larimer County-Two (2) meetings have been scheduled with Larimer County on March 14, 2022, to 1) review the WRF and lift station planning and permit requirements including: 1041 permitting; limits and extends permitting; zoning; planning department permits; and 2) floodplain permits. 
• Estes Park Sanitation District (EPSD) - EPSD's engineer, Diamondback Engineering, is reviewing the treatment requirements for EPSD and will provide a summary to UTSD for use with short- and long-­term planning. A presentation by UTSD to the EPSD Board is tentatively planned for April 12, 2022. 
• Financial Planning-
  • The project needs assessment (PNA), and prelimina1y engineering report (PER) will be submitted to initiate the CDPHE I Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority (CWRPDA) process.
  • A letter of interest will be submitted to Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) to initiate the WIFIA process. 
  • The application and preliminary engineering report (PER) will be submitted to initiate the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) application process.
• Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) - A draft CMAR request for proposal (RFP) was submitted to the District on March 1, 2022, for review. 
  • A CMAR RFP review workshop was held on March 9, 2022.
  • The CMAR RFP will be advertised for receipt of proposals following review and approval by the District.
• 30% Design Submittal - documents are being developed that will be included with the 30% design submittal (drawings, specifications, cost opinion, and schedule update).

Adding to the above noted Project activity, Mr. Ravel stated a meeting was held with the Larimer County Flood Plain Manager to discuss the Project and new site layout. 

Mr. Ravel said on March 14, 2022, there was a meeting with the Larimer County Planning Department regarding Project components for future review and approval such as each site's stormwater, flood, architecture, and site development requirements. 

Mr. Ravel also reported on March 11, 2022, a WRF site layout review meeting occurred, and a final site layout has been determined for the initial flows and build out flows. Additionally, a site layout and force main alignment design for the Wapiti Lift Station has been determined. The site layout for the Fish Creek Lift Station is developed; however, the property acquisition is in progress and not finalized at this time. 

The Board of Directors asked questions of Mr. Ravel regarding potential supply chain issues and the consequent timeline delays for the Project. Mr. Ravel explained once the CMAR contractor is engaged, procuring equipment and materials will be a priority. 

The Board also asked the status on the acquisition of the membranes and electrical transformer. Mr. Ravel reported budgetary proposals were received by two membrane suppliers and bidding documents are now being finalized. 

The Board thanked Mr. Ravel for the Project update. 

At 4:44 p.m., Mr. Squires excused himself from the remainder of the meeting. 

Discussion of the District's Current Exposure to Personally Identifiable Information {PII) - presented by Ms. Jurgens: 

Ms. Jurgens stated Upper Thompson Sanitation District is a member of the Colorado Special Districts Property and Liability Pool (Pool). Ms. Jurgens explained the Pool is member-owned, is brokered by McGriff Insurance Services out of Portland, Oregon and provides a gathering of companies to offer risk management insurance.

Ms. Jurgens described how, through the Pool, the District is insured for cybercrime with a per occurrence sublimit and annual aggregate limit of $1,000,000, with a $1,000 deductible. 

Ms. Jurgens said an email was recently received from the Pool indicating the District's need to demonstrate steps taken to prevent and protect the District's IT systems in order to keep the $1,000,000 sublimit beyond the first year. A qualifier for this coverage is that steps must be formally taken, including a cybersecurity discussion with the Board of Directors, record of this discussion in the Minutes, and submittal of these Minutes to the Pool. 

Ms. Jurgens outlined the following items required by the Pool to be discussed with the Board of Directors at a Board meeting and included in the corresponding meeting Minutes: The District's cmTent exposure to Personally Identifiable Information (PII), progress made toward any recommendations or findings in a cyber assessment and next steps the District will be taking regarding cybersecurity. 

Ms. Jurgens reiterated that over the past year District staff have been working with IT consultant, Mr. Peter Manly, of Akamai Systems Consulting and Mr. Dave Sonheim, Chief of Cybersecurity and Supervisor of Region 8 (CO, UT, MT, SD, ND, WY) with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) to enhance the District's cybersecurity. On August 10, 2021, Mr. Sonheim performed a cyber infrastructure survey assessment onsite with UTSD staff and Mr. Manly. The results of the survey assessment were shared with the District and Mr. Manly, and necessary IT upgrades were identified to protect critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks. 

Ms. Jurgens referred to the January 18, 2022, Regular Board Meeting, in which Mr. Manly had presented the District's cybersecurity strategy that included progress made toward recommendations and findings of the cyber assessment and steps the District will be taking regarding cybersecurity. At this January Board Meeting, Mr. Manly did not specifically address the District's current exposure to Personally Identifiable information (PII), which, as noted, is a requirement of the Pool to allow the District to maintain the $1,000,000 sublimit. 

Ms. Jurgens then defined Personally Identifiable Information as information that, when used alone or with other relevant data, can identify an individual. PII is also divided into sensitive or non-sensitive information. PII may contain direct identifiers such as information on a passport, or quasi-identifiers (race, full name, financial information, medical records) that can be combined with other quasi-identifiers (date of birth) to successfully recognize an individual. Non-sensitive PII which is easily accessible from public sources can include zip codes, race, gender, political affiliation, and religion.

Ms. Jurgens emphasized that cybersecurity systems have been implemented by the District to protect employee and customer personally identifiable information. IT systems in place to protect the District's PII data are Enc1yption of all hard drives and all emails that contain PII and password protection of all computers and of all applications that access employee and customer data. 

Ms. Jurgens informed the Board that Mr. Manly has taken appropriate and thorough steps to protect PII throughout all District IT systems. 

In addition to protecting the District's IT systems, Ms. Jurgens referenced the Privacy Policy, adopted by the Board of Directors in May of 2019, which calls out best practices for identity theft prevention and consumer data privacy protection for employees who handle customer data. 

Ms. Jurgens then stated the District implores all staff and Directors to never share passwords or login information, to be aware of scams, such as phishing emails where people ask to verify account information or pose as authorities, or posing as an established vendor, and to avoid using unsecured computers or networks, such as those in public libraries and coffee shops to access sites that require PII. 

Ms. Jurgens concluded that the District maintains strict privacy standards to ensure that PII is never shared without authorization. 

The Board asked questions of Ms. Jurgens and thanked her for the presentation regarding the District's current exposure to personally identifiable information. 

At 4:55 p.m., Ms. Sednek, Mr. Maiiin, and Mr. Harris left the remainder of the meeting. 

At 4:59 p.m. the Board took a fourteen-minute recess. 

At 5:13 p.m. the Board resumed the meeting.

Reports of Officers, Committees, Professional Consultants, & Staff

The Board considered the Rep01is of Officers, Committees, Professional Consultants, and District Staff. 

The Board asked questions of the staff regarding the departmental rep01is. 

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. Cenac to accept the Treasurer's Report, Plant Report, System Development Fee Allocation and Connection Report, Collection System Repo1i, Assistant District Manager's Report and District Manager's Report. Motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

Having no further business, at 5:33 p.m. it was moved by Ms. Doylen and seconded by Mr. Duell to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.