Castle Rock Water Commission

Todd Warnke, Chair Amy Blackwell, Vice Chair Castle Rock Water Commission Ernie Foerster Meeting Minutes Clark Hammelman Caryn Johnson Don Trujillo Wednesday, June 27, 2018 6:00 PM Castle Rock Water 175 Kellogg Ct., Bldg. 183 Castle Rock, CO 80109 This meeting is open to the public. Three or more Council members may also attend this meeting, during which the items listed herein will be discussed CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL Present 6 - Caryn Johnson, Clark Hammelman, Ernie Foerster, Chair Todd Warnke, Vice Chair Amy Blackwell, and Don Trujillo Attendance 4 - Mark Marlowe, Matt Benak, Jennnifer Thompson, and Melinda Pastore WC 2018-075 Welcome and Introduction of New Commissioner, Don Trujillo Commissioner Hammelman introduced and welcomed new Castle Rock Water Commissioner Don Trujillo, who was recently appointed by Town Council. In addition, Commissioner Amy Blackwell was recently reappointed by Council for another term. Both commissioners were congratulated. COUNCIL UPDATE Commissioner Warnke and Mr. Marlowe provided highlights from the June 19th Town Council meeting. Water items included Fill the Rock (conservation campaign), a Proclamation for Smart Irrigation Month, and an update on the Plum Creek Water Purification Advanced Treatment Project. Proposed Mayor Charter Amendments were presented and Council directed that the amendments be brought back for Council action, anticipating a November 7 election. The Calvary Chapel site development plan was approved. Mr. Marlowe informed the Commission that Castle Rock Water staff met with a group of citizens who expressed concerns with this project (related to drainage), in an effort to address their concerns prior to the Council meeting. The July 3 and August 7 Council meetings have been canceled. COMMISSION COMMENTS Commissioner Foerster asked how Castle Rock Water is keeping up with water usage, given the current high temperatures. Mr. Marlowe replied that last week usage averaged 12-1/2 million gallons per day. The prior week was about 15 million gallons per day, which would be more challenging to keep up with for a sustained period. If water usage stays in the 15-16 million gallons per day range, Castle Rock Water may need to issue a drought advisory around early July. Last year water demand peaked at 16.8 million gallons per day. Changes that were made to the Water Use Management Plan have been very helpful in reducing water usage. Mr. Marlowe provided a brief update on WISE water. Commissioner Warnke Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes June 27, 2018 asked about the well 227 project, east of Matney Park. Mr. Marlowe replied that the emergency work was successful. Commissioner Johnson inquired about the Castle Rock Water monthly report and the new section on projects. Mr. Marlowe clarified this new section is on future projects that may be coming, which have not gone through the public hearing process yet. The commission indicated they liked getting the heads-up in this new section of the report. Commissioner Blackwell said she had a recent conversation with a citizen who had concerns, some of which were related to irrigation and HOA's. She informed him how to report concerns and become engaged with the process. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS WC 2018-074 Selection of Chair and Vice Chair It was moved by Commissioner Hammelman, seconded by Commissioner Blackwell to nominate Commissioner Warnke as the new chair. It was moved by Commissioner Foerster and seconded by Commissioner Warnke to nominate Commissioner Blackwell as the new vice-chair. The motions both passed unanimously. WC 2018-070 Advertising for Open Commission Position The Town Manager's office placed an ad in the local newspaper for the open position on the Castle Rock Water Commission. Applications will be accepted through the end of June, with interviews being conducted in July. WC 2018-073 Approve Minutes of May 23, 2018 Commissioner Blackwell asked if Council Member James Townsend is a voting member of the commission, as his name appeared (as not present) with the vote tally's on the minutes. Mr. Marlowe clarified that as the Council Representative to the commission he is not a voting member. He added that this was likely related to the new software staff is using for commission items, and that he would follow up with his Administrative Assistant on this issue. It was moved by Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Hammelman to approve the minutes of May 23, 2018. The motion passed by the following vote: Yes: 5 - Johnson, Hammelman, Foerster, Chair Warnke, and Blackwell Abstain: 1 - Trujillo ACTION ITEMS (HIGH PRIORITY / TIME CRITICAL) WC 2018-079 First Amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement for Water Service between Town and Dominion Water and Sanitation District Town Council Agenda Date: July 17, 2018 Mr. Benak and Mr. Marlowe presented this item, which seeks Town Council approval of an amendment to the 2014 Water Service Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Castle Rock and Dominion Water and Sanitation District (Dominion). The purpose for amending the agreement is that the final connecting pipeline (the Outter Marker Road pipeline) for the WISE delivery infrastructure has been completed and this infrastructure was not included within Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes June 27, 2018 the original agreement, nor included in the cost of service model to determine the correct water service rate. While Dominion paid their share of this infrastructure, the amended agreement addresses how they will pay for future repair and replacement expenses. The amendment also says that if Castle Rock Water re-treats WISE water, Dominion has to pay their portion of the cost. It was moved by Commissioner Blackwell, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to recommend approval to Town Council. The motion passed by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Johnson, Hammelman, Foerster, Chair Warnke, Blackwell, and Trujillo WC 2018-080 Purchase of Douglas County WISE Reservation Water Mr. Marlowe presented this request to purchase 1,137 acre-feet (AF) of WISE water supply that is currently under reservation by Douglas County. With the WISE infrastructure now in place, Castle Rock has an opportunity to secure additional renewable water supplies. Of the 1,137 AF Castle Rock is proposing to take down, 387.5 AF would be reserved for other County users, but would be available for Castle Rock's use until other County users come forward. This purchase would require Castle Rock to pay $159,250 to Douglas County and $1,531,325 to the WISE Authority in 2019. Since the need for the purchase of this additional WISE water is being driven by growth, system development fees would be used to buy down $3.04 per 1,000 gallons of use for 25 years (the difference in cost between WISE water and our current average cost of production). Mr. Marlowe explained that Castle Rock has the infrastructure in place and there is no risk of securing this water now. The cost is not expected to go down, and other water providers are also interested in this water. The original long-term water plan targeted 105,000 people in Castle Rock, but we now know entitlements bring the Castle Rock long-term population estimate to 145,000-155,00. This gap needs to be filled to meet the 75 percent renewable water goal by 2050. It was moved by Commissioner Hammelman, seconded by Commissioner Blackwell to recommend approval to Town Council. The motion passed by the following vote: Yes: 6 - Johnson, Hammelman, Foerster, Chair Warnke, Blackwell, and Trujillo DIRECTOR FOLLOW-UP AND INFORMATIONAL / UPDATE ITEMS WC 2018-081 Update: Rates and Fees Deliverables Detailed Budget Financial Plans 2019-2023 Mr. Marlowe presented this item, with input from Jennifer Thompson. The good news is that operational revenues are currently projected to be higher than operational expenses. Operational expenses are projected to increase by about 1.5 percent and operational revenues are projected to increase by about 1.9 percent, driven solely by growth. Castle Rock Water is projecting big increases with capital expenses over what was estimated last year, with two main things driving these changes. The first is an increase in the future population estimate (from 105,000 to approximately 150,000). Secondly, the cost estimates were too low and costs have been increasing significantly. As a result, it is likely Castle Rock Water will pursue a rate increase on existing customers of 3 to 3.5 percent, primarily with the Water Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes June 27, 2018 Resources fee, and an increase in developer paid system development fees of 9 percent. This topic is expected to come before the commission several times in the coming months. WC 2018-069 Plum Creek Water Purification Facility Advanced Treatment Town Council Agenda Date: June 19, 2018 Mr. Marlowe updated the commission on this project, which was presented to Council as an informational item on June 19, 2018. To-date, the Town funded a Professional Services Agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering for the project design, and a lease agreement with Intuitech, Inc. for six-month pilot testing. Following a prequalification process, two contractors, Garney and Moltz Construction, were invited to submit formal proposals for the project under a Guaranteed Maximum Price Construction Management (GMPCM) type project. Following review of the proposals, Garney was selected as the top-ranked contractor for the project. The next step in the process is to fund a pre-construction services agreement between Garney Companies, Inc. and the Town. Garney's proposal for the preconstruction services is priced at $158,840. The signing of this agreement does not commit the Town to a full construction contract with Garney. WC 2018-078 Chatfield Update (no memo) Mr. Marlowe shared good news with the commission, as the last cost estimate on the Chatfield Reservoir project brought the cost down by approximately $3 million. WC 2018-072 Commissioner Amy Blackwell Project (no memo) Commissioner Blackwell updated the commission on a volunteer project she recently completed for Castle Rock Water, as part of her MSU Denver Water Studies Certificate Capstone Project. The project included a survey of ten Douglas County garden centers and nurseries, as it relates to the availability of the nearly 400 plants listed on CRConserve.com and listed in Town code. Four of these garden centers included big box stores, and if the plants are not available on-site they may be available to order through their websites. Fortunately, throughout the county most of the plants are available. Mr. Marlowe said this is great work and a great tool. Castle Rock Water is considering how to best communicate this information to people and incorporate it into the conservation website. Also under consideration is how to connect with the stores and motivate them to carry these plants (perhaps free advertising on the website). The link to the Dougco Xerics Locator spreadsheet, prepared by Commissioner Blackwell, can be viewed at http://bit.ly/DougcoXericsLocator. WC 2018-071 Well 227 Change Order Mr. Marlowe informed the commission that an emergency change order for the Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes June 27, 2018 Founder's Arapahoe Well 227 Drilling and Completion Project was approved by Town Council on June 5, 2018. This change was to the contract with Hydro Resources - Rocky Mountain, Inc. The change order cost was $373,591.33, which increased the project cost to $1,863,956.33. This was needed for emergency services that were reaming out the upper 750 feet of the hole and installing twenty-inch casing from below the surface casing, to a depth of 750 feet to stablize the upper section of the hole. If no other issues arise, the emergency work and project completion are expected by early August. WC 2018-076 July - Smart Irrigation Month Town Council Agenda Date: June 19, 2018 Mr. Marlowe informed the commission that Town Council approved a Proclamation that July 2018 is Smart Irrigation Month. This was to increase awareness of the value of water use and a growing demand for water-saving products, practices and services. This initiative draws attention to the importance of using water efficiently. WC 2018-077 Fill the Rock…with water savings! Mr. Marlowe updated the commission on the July conservation challenge, "Fill the Rock". The program is designed to increase water conservation awareness and action. A calendar with daily tips will be provided to residents. Those who wish to participate can log onto CRconserve.com weekly and complete a form identifying which tips they have completed. At the end of each week, these entries will be included in a drawing for prizes. For every entry, Castle Rock Water will "fill" the rock with water savings. COMMISSIONER MEETING COMMENTS Mr. Marlowe addressed a few additional items with the commission: 1. The Town has received additional interest regarding a potential RV dump station. The station that was at the Town's Public Works service station was closed due to cost and security concerns. Contractor bids were received previously for building a new, secure facility, which would cost approximately $250,000. At the time, it was decided not to proceed because we did not want customers to subsidize it. Now, the Town is proceeding with a Facebook survey in the coming weeks to determine how many customers would be willing to pay for an annual pass to use a dump station (which would be for residents only). 2. The annual consumer water quality report will be out this week. Castle Rock Water has no non-compliance issues and Mr. Marlowe will send the report to the commission when it is complete. 3. A new Castle Rock Water sign was installed in front of the offices located at 175 Kellogg Ct. Commissioner Warnke thanked Mr. Marlowe for emailing the commission a Washington Post article regarding water use across the country.