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OCN > 2404 > Triview Metropolitan District, March 20 – Additional acre-feet of water decreed; escrow agreement approved

Triview Metropolitan District, March 20 – Additional acre-feet of water decreed; escrow agreement approved

By Natalie Barszcz

The Triview Metropolitan District (TMD) board held its regular meeting a day earlier than originally scheduled. The board heard about the district receiving an unexpected amount of additional acre-feet of water decreed from the Arkansas Valley Irrigation Co. (AVIC), approved an escrow agreement with a landowner, received multiple updates on the district’s projects, and heard about the snow removal efforts during the mid-March winter storm that delivered about 24 inches in some areas of the district. An executive session was held to discuss various matters.

Secretary/Treasurer James Barnhart was excused.

Extra acre-feet of water decreed

District Manager James McGrady said AVIC had decreed an average annual yield of about 569.4 acre-feet of water. The district had been hoping for 526 acre-feet and had initially purchased about 435 acre-feet of water. The additional water cost to the district is about $688,775, for a total cost of about $5.9 million for the water rights. The district budgeted for the overage, but will need to make some adjustments, he said.

Escrow agreement approved

Water attorney Chris Cummins of Monson, Cummins, Shohet and Farr LLC law firm said in 2020 when the district purchased the Stonewall Springs Reservoir complex and the Excelsior Ditch and that batch of assets that the district contracted to receive an outlet easement from the east reservoir to be built in the future when the last reservoir is built, but the seller could not deliver. The district escrowed $300,000 in May 2020 at closing to obtain the easement from the landowner to put water in the river. After a series of extensions, $150,000 of the escrow money was released to Stonewall Springs Water LLC because the easement was unlikely to cost $300,000. McGrady finally reached an agreement with the landowner to purchase the easement for $45,000. The final post-closing agreement will release $105,000 to Stonewall Springs Water LLC, and the remaining $45,000 will be released to the district to pay the landowner for the easement, Cummins said.

The board approved the final closing escrow agreement and final release between the Stonewall Springs Quarry LLC and TMD, 4-0.

Northern Delivery System update

McGrady said the NDS total project cost including Segment D is about $22.274 million and Kiewit has earned about $19.687 million, about 88% of the overall project, and the only remaining item is completion of the pump station. The district owes just over $2 million to finish the pump station. The district is expecting substantial completion around July 5. The pump house will contain two pumps with room for a third. Testing of the system is expected in June and then a ribbon cutting around July 10 at the Highway 83 Colorado Springs Utilities water tank.

Vice President Anthony Sexton asked if the project was over budget by about $1 million.

McGrady said not quite because the district had the materials to install the Segment D (Conexus development) pipeline, and Kiewit billed about $200,000 worth of labor for that installation, and the rest was about $500,000 in over runs on the project.

Water movement and exchanges

McGrady said the district began moving water out of the South Reservoir on March 18 and expects to move about 30 cubic feet per second, making a release downstream from the South Reservoir and exchanging water up into Pueblo Reservoir. The goal is to exchange about 1,000 acre-feet out of the South Reservoir to create a “bucket” to capture spring snow melt. The snowpack in the Arkansas River Valley is at about 104% (low estimate) and additional snows and rain over the next six weeks will potentially generate about 120 acre-feet a day.

The district is juggling storage to help capture spring melt and will start releasing water from the Big Johnson Reservoir beginning the first week of April. The exchange will pay the Arkansas Groundwater and Reservoir Association (AGRA) back in water, because all the water in the South Reservoir technically belongs to AGRA, he said.

Note: AGRA is a water utility company located in Fowler.

Sexton said the water exchanges are fictional and never physical.

Cummins said the water is diverted at the upstream source and water is released at the downstream source, and we pretend the water released at the downstream source is what was stored at the upstream source. There are limited windows to complete an exchange, and it must occur when there is enough water in the middle, so that other parties with water rights are not injured when water is taken from the upstream source. It is a complex concept and does not involve actual water molecules, he said.

Assistant Manager Steve Sheffield said that at the direction of AGRA, the district released 100 acre-feet of water into the John Martin Reservoir on March 1-7.

Assistant manager’s update

Sheffield said the following:

• He took a field trip to the Fountain Mutual Irrigation Co. headgate and diversion structures in Colorado Springs to look for potential improvements.

• He attended the Northern Monument Creek Interceptor “kickoff” meeting hosted by Colorado Springs Utilities.

• Made multiple site visits to the NDS pump house (under construction on the east side of Highway 83 at Old Northgate Road).

• Met with Tom Martinez of the Town of Monument (TOM) Planning Department to discuss and obtain approval for a right-turn lane on Leather Chaps Drive for the Bear Creek Elementary school pickup/drop-off improvements. Everyone agrees on the striping of the road, and the project is moving forward.

• Met with TOM Manager Mike Foreman and Public Works Department Director Tom Tharnish to discuss a potential interconnect between TMD and the town.

• Initiated the plan for a new security system at A yard with the district staff.

• Approved construction of a “distribution” trailer to be fully stocked for emergencies and maintenance purposes.

• Since January, the Vac truck and TV van cleaned and videoed 660 feet of sewer line. Three under-drain caps were found to be missing and replaced. The district maintains a parts trailer to replace missing and defective equipment.

Snow removal around the clock

This reporter thanked Superintendent Matt Rayno and the snowplow crews for the phenomenal job of keeping the streets plowed throughout the March 13-15 snowstorm.

Rayno said the snow removal crews worked around the clock during the snowstorm, keeping the streets passable in the district. Crews stayed with it to keep ahead of the storm, with prior budgeting for housing at The Fairfield Inn during major snow events staff operated on six-hour shifts throughout the storm. One truck completed over 300 miles during the snow event, and when a starter went out on a large truck, it was back in service within the day, he said.

Public Works and Parks and Open Space update

Rayno said the following:

• The final preparations are being made for the patching, mill, and overlay of Gleneagle Drive in the Promontory Pointe subdivision.

• An audit of the concrete within the district is underway to assess the condition of sidewalk and curb edging throughout the district. Bids will go out in April for the repairs.

• Street sweeping was completed on Jackson Creek Parkway and Leather Chaps, Lyons Tails, Kitchener, Gleneagle and Sanctuary Rim Drives. The inner district roads are scheduled for sweeping in April.

• The construction of the Burke Hollow Park is scheduled to begin on April 8. The district staff will save about $6,000 by removing the equipment before the contractors install a new playground.

• Enhancements are being made to the trail on Saint Lawrence Way and the Gleneagle Drive swing park.

• Spring preparations for the landscaped areas had begun.

District counsel George Rowley of White Bear Ankele Tanaka and Waldron law firm said the loan with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) had been finalized.

McGrady said the loan extension discussed in October was approved by CWCB to cover additional overages at the South Reservoir. The loan for $450,000 retains the original 2.05% interest rate and is accounted for in the 2024 budget as a reimbursement to the district, and payments will not begin until 2025. See www.ocn.me/v23n11.htm#tmd. The district is exploring the possibility of raising money to construct a slurry wall at the Central Reservoir, and an application for the loan with CWBC is expected to be presented to the board for approval in May.

Rowley said that since the last Legislature session, special district websites are required to be in compliance with full accessibility standards by July 2024. Sites must be available to individuals with disabilities, such as easily readable fonts, text size, and colors. Remediating old documents may be time consuming and removing them may be the simpler option, or employing a third party to correct any issues could ease the burden. Noncompliance could lead to fines, Rowley said.

McGrady said he meets with GroundFloor media, the district’s public relations firm, every other week and it assures the district it is familiar with the new requirements. GroundFloor media receives $5,000 on a retainer per month for producing the district newsletter, public relations and website maintenance. GroundFloor has been pro-active in ensuring compliance and saw the regulations in advance, but he and Rowley would approach the subject again to ensure the district is compliant, McGrady said.

Executive session

The board moved into an executive session at 7:12 p.m. pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute 24-6-402(4) (a), (b), (e), to discuss acquisitions, negotiations, and receive legal advice on: water and land acquisitions, the Highway Users Tax Fund share return, strategic planning, economic development incentives, and change case updates.

Sheffield confirmed the board returned to the regular session at 9:29 p.m. No actions were taken, and the board promptly adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m.

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Meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of every month at the district office located at 16055 Old Forest Point, Suite 302. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for April 25 at 5:30 p.m. For meeting agendas, minutes, and update, visit https://triviewmetro.com.

Natalie Barszcz can be reached at nataliebarszcz@ocn.me.

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