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OCN > 2302 > Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Jan. 9 – Board sets rules for new year

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, Jan. 9 – Board sets rules for new year

By James Howald

The Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) board voted on two resolutions in its first meeting of 2023 that define the rules and procedures for the rest of the year. During public comments, the board heard from a resident interested in running for a seat on the board. In his Manager’s Report, District Manager Jessie Shaffer gave the board an update on the El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority (EPCRLWA). The board also heard the timeline to refill Woodmoor Lake and operational reports.

Resolutions address procedures and election

The board voted unanimously to pass Resolution 23-01, which addresses issues required of special districts by the state of Colorado such as providing a map of the district’s boundaries and documentation of the district’s outstanding debts. Attorney Erin Smith told the board that the resolution also specifies that the date, time, and location of board meetings will be posted on the district’s web page and at the district’s office, sets forth the district’s officers and establishes the upcoming election as a polling place election.

The district’s web page is at https://woodmoorwater.com and the district’s office is located at 1845 Woodmoor Drive, Monument, CO 80132.

The board also passed Resolution 23-02, which provides further details about the election, to be held on May 2, 2023, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., using the Woodmoor Improvement Association Community Center (“The Barn”) as a polling place.

Two seats on the board will be filled by the election: the seat currently held by President Brian Bush, who is term-limited, and the seat currently held by Director Barrie Towne, who was appointed to the board and therefore must run in the next election.

Candidates for the seats must file a Self-nomination and Acceptance with the district’s Designated Election Official, Mandi Kirk, by Feb. 24, 2023. Kirk can be reached at MKirk@NortonSmithLaw.com.

Resident announces candidacy

Roy Martinez used the public comment portion of the agenda to introduce himself and announce his candidacy for a seat on the board. Martinez told the board he is retired but had worked as the director of the Water Works Foundation, as a senior staff member at the Water Research Foundation, and at HDR Engineering, as well as at other water-related jobs.

Loop Water Authority to hold first meeting

Shaffer told the board that the EPCRLWA had scheduled its first regular meeting for Jan. 19. The EPCRLWA is an intragovernmental agency formed by WWSD, the Town of Monument, Donala Water and Sanitation District, and Cherokee Metropolitan District to design, build and operate water re-use infrastructure that will treat and convey water from Fountain Creek to customers in the four participating districts. When complete, the infrastructure will give WWSD a way to move the water it acquired when it purchased Woodmoor Ranch to WWSD customers.

Shaffer said the EPCRLWA was working on administrative issues such as choosing a law firm and bank and on technical issues such as defining the water quality testing required to establish a baseline to be used in developing the water treatment requirements.

The first meeting of the EPCRLWA is covered in a separate article on page < 16 > in this issue of Our Community News.

Woodmoor Lake refill timeline

Operations Superintendent Dan LaFontaine, in response to a question from Bush, told the board that the district’s plan was to have Woodmoor Lake fully refilled by May 2024. Currently there is 28 feet of water in the lake, he said.

The construction of the new Lake Pump Station required the lake to be completely drained, which is not typical during the annual cycle of filling the lake during the spring and emptying it during the high demand months in the summer. LaFontaine said water levels in the lake would rise during the spring of 2023 but not to the levels seen in a more usual year, due to the degree to which the lake was emptied to accommodate the upgrade to the pumping station. Then levels would fall again during the summer. By 2024, he said, levels would return to what they were previously.

Highlights of operational reports

  • LaFontaine reported that there were five line breaks in December.
  • Shaffer reported that the district was replacing sewer saddles in the Woodmoor Forest neighborhood of the WWSD service area. Saddles are the connections between sewer main lines and residences.
  • Shaffer said he expected home construction in the Cloverleaf development east of Lewis-Palmer High School would begin soon.

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The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. Meetings are usually held on the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. at the district office at 1845 Woodmoor Drive; please see www.woodmoorwater.com or call 719-488-2525 to verify meeting times and locations.

James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.

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