Forest View Acres Water District, September 11 and September 14: District hires manager and fills board vacancy
By John Heiser
At a special meeting, Sept. 11, the Forest View Acres Water District (FVAWD) board of directors, consisting of John Anderson, Brian Cross, and Barbara Reed-Polatty, voted to hire Special District Management Services, Inc. (SDMS) of Lakewood, CO to provide district management.
At the special meeting Sept. 14, the board voted to appoint Eckehart Zimmermann to fill the vacancy created by the Aug. 1 resignation of Tom Guenther, former president of the district. About 15 district residents attended the Sept. 14 meeting.
The board vacancy created by the Aug. 24 resignation of Kevin Lonergan, former vice president of the district, remains to be filled by appointment. The board urged interested district residents to submit a letter of interest by Oct. 1.
Deborah McCoy, President of SDMS, served as facilitator at the Sept. 14 board meeting. She said SDMS manager Kammy Tinney, who was unable to attend the meeting, would be the manager for the district. McCoy urged residents who have operational or management questions or comments to contact SDMS at (800) 741-3254.
Background
The late Hugh Nevins established the FVAWD in 1957 to provide water to 27 homes. Currently, FVAWD provides water service to 280 residences in the Red Rocks Ranch, Clovenhoof, Villas, Sundance Estates, and Shiloh Pines neighborhoods in unincorporated El Paso County. A five-member board of directors governs the FVAWD. The district has a contract water operations manager, Dan LaFontaine, who is responsible for maintaining the equipment and infrastructure and for managing all aspects of water delivery.
In February, a warrant was issued for the arrest of former contract office manager Patricia Unger on charges of embezzling more than $212,000 in district funds. That amount was subsequently increased to $315,000. Unger surrendered to authorities Feb. 16 and was released on bail awaiting a preliminary hearing, which was initially scheduled for April 18 and then postponed to May 19. The May 19 hearing was continued to allow time for mediation and completion of the audit by Sheri Betzer, a forensic auditor, hired by the district’s attorneys. Mediation sessions were held July 8 and August 19. At a court appearance Sept. 22, Unger rejected the negotiated mediation agreement. Unger’s preliminary hearing on the criminal charges is now scheduled for Oct. 13, 10 a.m., Division 4 at the El Paso County Courthouse.
The district has filed a civil suit against Unger and her husband Dennis to recover the missing funds and associated costs. The rejected mediation agreement was intended to address the civil and criminal aspects of the case.
Election of officers
The board unanimously elected the following officers: Reed-Polatty, President; Cross, Treasurer; Tinney, Secretary; Anderson, Assistant Secretary.
Zimmermann appointed to fill vacancy
Reed-Polatty reported that letters of interest were received from Zimmermann and Ketch Nowacki. Each of the candidates described their background and answered questions. After an executive session called to discuss personnel issues, the board unanimously voted to appoint Zimmermann.
McCoy noted that Cross and Zimmermann must run for election in May 2006. The terms of Reed-Polatty and Anderson expire in May 2008.
Operations manager report
Some highlights of LaFontaine’s report:
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| During August, the plant that processes surface water produced 17.88 gallons per minute for 18.3 days for a total of 471,300 gallons. For the first eight months of 2005, the surface plant produced 10.38 million gallons. |
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| The Arapahoe well produced 101.67 gallons per minute for 14.7 days for a total of 2.15 million gallons. For the first eight months of 2005, the Arapahoe well produced 8.61 million gallons. |
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| Total monthly system usage was 2.61 million gallons bringing the total for the year to 18.99 million gallons. Total monthly sales were 2.02 million gallons. The water loss for the month was 591,026 gallons or 29.3 percent. |
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| All bacteriological sampling and reporting requirements of the Colorado Department of Health were satisfied. |
LaFontaine reported that on Aug. 31 a coupling on one of the fiberglass filter pressure vessels split and blew apart. He said, "Some parts were embedded in the ceiling." The resulting leak damaged the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) that controls the well pump. He said the VFD must be replaced at a cost of $3,000 to $5,000.
Billing report
Some highlights of Cross’s billing report for August:
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| The district billed 282 accounts for a total of 2.02 million gallons of water. |
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| Total billing was $25,592. Of that, $5,282 was billed for past due accounts, $7,254 was billed for debt service, and $13,056 was billed for administrative and water usage fees. The average per account not including billing for past due amounts was $72.02. |
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| The debt service funds go to pay off an $880,000 bond issued in 1995 and a $45,000 loan obtained in 2004. |
Financial report
Cross’s financial report showed an operating account balance of $29,006, a debt service account balance of $5,003, and a contingency account balance of $1,501.
Invoices paid
The board unanimously approved checks totaling $28,789 for a variety of bills including $12,254 as a transfer to the debt service account, $4,316 for LaFontaine’s services, $3,272 for electricity, $2,560 for part-time contract bookkeeper Anne Bevis’s services, $2,500 to Henkle Drilling leaving an outstanding balance due them of $14,053, $1,500 to forensic auditor Betzer leaving an outstanding balance due her of $6,491, and $1,000 to law firm Petrock & Fendel leaving an outstanding balance due them of $41,522.
Schmidt inclusion
Inclusion of Schmidt’s 40-acre parcel was deferred.
Public comments
District resident and former board member Jeff Dull questioned the legality of using debt service funds to pay bills. McCoy said, "I would say no," but added that she would check the bond documents.
Genelle Deavenport asked about the status of the $45,000 loan obtained in 2004 and whether that should have been submitted to district voters for approval. McCoy said she would research the matter.
Meeting day, time, and location set
The board unanimously approved a change so the regular monthly meeting will be held on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at Grace Best Elementary School.
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The next regular board meeting will be held Oct. 5 at Grace Best Elementary School, 66 Jefferson St. in Monument. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to check the date, time, and location by calling the district at 488-2110.
