Metro – May 2, 2018

EL RANCHO FLORIDA METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING – May 2, 2018

 

The El Rancho Florida Metropolitan District held their regular monthly meeting on May 2, 2018 at 6:00 PM.   The following Board members attended the meeting:

Steve Swisher – President
Robin Boucher – Vice President
Mike Arries – Secretary
Jim Belcher – Director

Also, present for the meeting were: Robert Ludwig and Tom Riley – water operators; Rex Emenegger – grader operator, Marsha Moreland – administrator The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM.

MINUTES:

The April 4, 2018 minutes were approved.

WATER REPORT: 

Now that the water is coming into the system this spring the turbidity is changing a bit.  Filters are being changed more frequently.  Robert will be testing for nitrates in the next week.  There is a 5% water loss for April.  He has added 5 more feet to the tank’s water level after having the calibration pressure sensor tested.

Steve met with Ken Charles and Ken has agreed to be the grant writer for the DOLA grant at a contract amount of $500.  The District will apply for a Level 1 Impact Grant for $200,000 with a match by the District of $200,000.  The grant money should cover the rest of the cul-de-sacs, Sundance Circle and the LPAWD hydrant installation.  The grant cycle is August now for a spring bid in 2019.  The District will be demonstrating oil & gas impacts in the grant application.

La Plata Archuleta Water District (LPAWD) – Bud Smith is working on a ‘bullet list’ for a meeting with LPAWD to draw up an agreement between the two districts as an ‘emergency beneficial water supply’ use plan.  There would be no taps fees required by either party. Cost for the engineering would run about $9,872 for the bid process on the hydrant connection with LPAWD.

Robert informed the board that surface water rights should be looked into as another ‘source’ of water for the District if need be.  The District should file with the Division Engineer for an emergency supply plan.  Steve is to meet with Amy Huff on filing with the Division.  Legal fees could run approximately $1,000.

Tom Riley is training a helper for when he becomes the ‘Operator in Charge’ of the system.  Robert Ludwig is going on a ‘contract’ basis for the District in September as Tom takes over as the District’s official water operator.  The new guy will be reading the meters this month for Tom while he is out of town.

ADMINISTRATION:
            1. Accounts Payable – A motion was made, moved and passed approving the payables.
2. Accounts Receivable – The Board briefly discussed the delinquent accounts.  Marsha has made calls to those who are delinquent and payment should be forth coming.

  1. Officers of the Board will be appointed in June.  Steve feels he may have someone to fill the vacancy on the Board and will have a definite answer for the June meeting.  Robin Boucher will have to conduct the June meeting in Steve’s absence.

ROAD REPORT:
Rex, Bob Schmidt and Donna will be fluffing up the roads in preparation for the mag application on this coming Tuesday.  Desert Mountain will have a 24’ sprayer bar that will go down the roads one time.

Rex needs a decision on the ‘bumps’ before the mag application.  There are areas of wash boarding happening before and after the ‘bump’.  The Board agreed to having two speed bumps on Ranchos Florida Drive and to see how they hold up after the mag application.  The orange barrels are to be put in the center of the main roads as well.  Rex encouraged the Board to call in to the Sheriff’s Department for ‘increased speed enforcement’ in El Rancho Florida Subdivision by La Plata County.

COMMON AREAS:
Jim Belcher does not see an increase in the prairie dog population in the subdivision as yet.  He will continue to monitor the situation.

Spraying of the weeds will be done as soon as they begin to appear.  The idea is to get them early before they flower and turn to seed.

Update on the storage building for the subdivision’s boards to hold meetings in – Rex stated that the electrical came in at twice the amount originally thought.  He will be working on getting more information before the next meeting.  The Metro Board clarified that the intended of ‘use’ for the building is to hold meetings in and NOT to be used for personal business by the residents.  The Metro Board is still expressing a concern for the security of the District’s files.  The Metro Board still has not decided to go forward with the ‘cost share’ of the building with the HOA.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Mike Arries, Secretary