Castle Rock Water Commission

Todd Warnke, Chair Amy Blackwell, Vice Chair Castle Rock Water Commission Clark Hammelman Meeting Minutes - Final-Amended Katherine Redmond Carol Selos John Wright Wednesday, March 25, 2020 6:00 PM Castle Rock Water 175 Kellogg Ct., Bldg. 183 Castle Rock, CO 80109 This meeting is open to the public and will be held in a fully virtual format in accordance with Town Council Meeting Special Procedures during Declared Disasters. This meeting will be hosted online and can be accessed at https://crgov.webex.com. 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 - Clark Hammelman, Chair Todd Warnke, Vice Chair Amy Blackwell, Katherine Redmond, John Wright, and Carol Selos Attendance 7 - Matt Benak, Caryn Johnson, Mark Marlowe, MaryJo Woodrick, Tim Friday, Linda Gould, and Rick Schultz COUNCIL UPDATE Councilmember Johnson updated the commission on various Town Council topics from the March 17th Council Meeting including a resolution for meetings during a disaster, a COVID-19 update, and a resolution to light the star as a beacon of hope during this time. Councilmember Johnson also shared that all items that needed public interaction were postponed. No Motion Necessary COMMISSION COMMENTS Glad to see that we were able to find a way to have the Water Commission meeting and not have to cancel it. Appreciated the Facebook post on the Safety of Water during COVID. No Motion Necessary ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS WC 2020-024 Mr. Marlowe shared the steps that the staff is currently taking to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2014 pandemic supply kits were created and we have checked Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes - March 25, 2020 Final-Amended to make sure they are good to go. Each kit contains: masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and chlorox wipes. All chemicals have been topped off, all gas containers have been filled. All tours of PCWPF have been cancelled and all meetings have been moved to either a conference call or a WebEx meeting. The front lobby was closed on March 16th, Business Solutions has divided the team and some work from home and some come into the office. Staff are taking turns as to who is in the office and who is at home. The Engineering, Stormwater and Water Resources teams are all working from home and only coming into the office if they need to pick something up. Operations department has divided staff schedules some work the first half of the week and the other half works the second half of the week. Those in the office have been spaced out to observe Social Distancing. When traveling staff is limited to one person per vehicle. The SCADA team is working off-site. Meter Services has staggered start and end times so that staff is not in the office at the same time. Staff will not go into customer homes unless it is an emergency. The Town has created a plan for employees and family members that could be ill. Business Solutions has been working on a Customer Assistance program. The program will help both small businesses and residents and be funded from Castle Rock Water’s rate revenue stabilization reserves. As part of the program, no water Shut-offs will be done and late fees, disconnection fees, and not sufficient fund fees will not be charged. The Commission was generally supportive of the Customer Assistance Program. No Motion Necessary WC 2020-023 Approval of the February 26, 2020 Meeting Minutes It was moved by Amy Blackwell and seconded by Clark Hammelman to approve the meeting minutes for February 26, 2020. Vote was 5-0-1, Commission Member Redmond abstained. Yes: 5 - Hammelman, Chair Warnke, Blackwell, Wright, and Selos Abstain: 1 - Redmond ACTION ITEMS (HIGH PRIORITY / TIME CRITICAL) WC 2020-025 Ordinance Amending Section 15.48.010 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code Adopting by Reference as a Primary Code the 2020 Landscape and Irrigation Performance Standards and Criteria Manual Town Council Agenda Date: April 21, 2020 Mr. Marlowe explained that the purpose of this Ordinance is to update the Landscape and Irrigation Performance Standards and Criteria Manual. Mr. Schultz explained the changes that are being requested: a change to the Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes - March 25, 2020 Final-Amended requirement for irrigation systems; removal of Class II Compost as a soil amendment; removal of GreenCo best management practices certification and now require the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) certification; and the largest change is the requirement that all landscape companies designate one or more employees to become QWEL certified and be their QWEL certified responsible party so the companies can be held responsible for following Castle Rock Water’s rules. It was moved by Amy Blackwell and seconded by John Wright to recommend Council approve the Ordinance Amending Section 15.48.010 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code Adopting by Reference as Primary Code the 2020 Landscape and Irrigation Performance Standards and Criteria Manual. The motion was approved 6-0. Yes: 6 - Hammelman, Chair Warnke, Blackwell, Redmond, Wright, and Selos DIRECTOR FOLLOW-UP AND INFORMATIONAL / UPDATE ITEMS WC 2020-026 2020 Rates and Fees Timeline Mr. Marlowe shared that this item is an update on the anticipated timeline to bring items to the Water Commission. Mr. Marlowe also stated that during this study they would be looking at ways to not increase fees and that it is important to stay data drive even in hard times. No Motion Necessary WC 2020-027 Contract for the Drilling, Construction, and Testing of monitoring wells for the quanitification of East Plum Creek and Cherry Creek basin Lawn Irrigation Return Flows (LIRFs) Town Council Agenda Date: Mr. Marlowe shared that this item would not go to Council but that the project is of interest to the Water Commission because it has significant implications for long term water planning. Mr. Benak explained what LIRF water is and that the Town currently receives about 100 acre-feet (AF) annually but with this project the Town has the potential to receive 750 AF annually. To be eligible for this additional amount, the Town must implement a monitoring program that will look at streamflow and groundwater. To be able to do this properly Castle Rock Water needs to drill and construct 26 monitoring wells throughout the Town. No Motion Necessary WC 2020-028 Water Legislation at the State Capitol Mr. Marlowe reported that this item is a summary of current water legislation that staff is tracking. Mr. Marlowe also explained that with the current COVID situation he was not sure how things would turn out since the Legislature is not in session, and it is Castle Rock Water Commission Meeting Minutes - March 25, 2020 Final-Amended unclear when they will be back in session. All items need to be resolved within 120 days which may not happen if the State Legislature is unable to reconvene. No Motion Necessary WC 2020-029 Resolution Approving a Construction Contract between the Town of Castle Rock and Iron Mike Construction, LLC to Construct the Castle Rock Water Administration and Customer Service Building Town Council Agenda Date: March 17, 2020 Mr. Marlowe explained that Iron Mike Construction was selected to construct the new admin and customer service building. Mr. Marlowe also let the board know that staff has spoken with Iron Mike Construction about the option to hold the bid for 30 days. At that time staff will evaluate whether the project should move forward or not due to the COVID situation No Motion Necessary COMMISSIONER MEETING COMMENTS Vice Chair Amy Blackwell asked if there was a status update on Ernie. At this time no-one had spoken with him. Mr. Marlowe will check on him and let everyone know. Commission Member Hammelman felt that this was a good meeting and the format worked well. Commission Member Selos felt that the new format was a good alternative.