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OCN > 2406 > Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, May 20 – Audit of 2023 budget shows financial health

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District, May 20 – Audit of 2023 budget shows financial health

By James Howald

In May, the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District (WWSD) board heard an audit presentation of its 2023 budget from Uli Keeley of Prospective Business Solutions. The board awarded a construction contract for well equipment and site work required by a new well at the Central Water Treatment Plant (CWTP). It heard updates on other projects, comments from residents, and operational reports.

2023 audit gets “unmodified opinion”

Keeley told the board that the audit process was smooth and efficient due to the preparatory work done by Office Manager Cory Lynch and District Manager Jessie Shaffer. The audit report determined that “financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects.”

In her summary of the district’s finances, Keeley said total assets including capital are $86 million and total liabilities are $16 million. The district’s net position (the difference between assets and liabilities) was $67 million at the end of December 2023, an increase of $489,000 over the previous year.

Keeley said the most significant change over the previous year was that several projects were not completed by the end of 2022 but were completed in 2023 and therefore became depreciable assets in 2023. Costs associated with WWSD’s participation in the Loop water reuse project were also new items in the 2023 budget.

Board President Brian Bush asked Keeley why leases of two portions of the Woodmoor Ranch were represented as an asset in the audit report. Keeley said the Governmental Accounting Board (GASB) had changed the rules concerning leases. Keeley explained that land leased out is a receivable and GASB requires such land to be on the statement of net position and on the statement of liabilities.

Bush said he was concerned the footnote covering this issue made further leasing of ranch land a “done deal.” He said any further leases would be new agreements. Keeley said it was difficult for her to make the accounting for the district’s current leases concise and clear under the new rules. Shaffer suggested that the footnote be amended to highlight the minimum amount that the district might earn from any future leases.

District lawyer Erin Smith pointed out the board could accept the audit report with direction to staff to clarify the footnote. Keeley said the report had not yet been sent to the state.

The board voted unanimously to accept the audit report with the provision that staff will clarify the current lease with Enerfin Renewables LLC and to review the updated report at the next board meeting.

Construction contract awarded

Shaffer introduced Josh McGibbon and Kelsey Traxinger, both Project Engineers at JVA Consulting Engineers, to tell the board about bids received for installation of well equipment and site work at the well under construction at the CWTP. The well will produce water from the Dawson aquifer.

Traxinger said three bids had been received: Hydro Resources had bid $192,610; Meraki Engineers had bid $245,954 and Moltz Constructors had bid $310,510. She said Hydro Resources had submitted the lowest bid and had experience working on other projects, including wells, for the district. She recommended the board accept the bid from Hydro Resources. Shaffer suggested adding $28,000 in change order contingency funding to the contract. The board voted unanimously to award the contract to Hydro Resources.

Project updates

McGibbon and Traxinger took advantage of their time before the board to provide updates on other projects JVA is managing for the district.

The Well 22 building on County Line Road is nearly complete, the downhole equipment has been installed in the well, and asphalt was laid the week before the board meeting.

Four meters for a sewer flow model study were installed the previous week and will gather data about sewer flows for the next four weeks. Peak sewer flows typically occur in May. The data collected will be used to determine which sewer lines should be replaced to increase capacity.

The design of an additional water storage tank adjacent to the South Water Treatment Plant is 30% complete. The next step is submission of the plans to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for a review that typically takes five to six months.

Two residents question new meters

During public comments, residents Charles and Laura Curtin told the board they did not want the new water meters the district is implementing installed in their home due to their concerns about 5G and radiation. They asked to be allowed to continue using one of the water meters that the district is replacing.

Laura Curtin said she was insulted and threatened by the district staff who came to her house to update her water meter. She said she asked the installers for technical information about the new meters and was refused. Her husband sent the district an email requesting information about the new meters. They intend to present the information the district provides to the Mayo Clinic and Harvard University. Curtin said she has heard the new meters may cause speech issues in children and growths on the sides of women’s heads.

Bush said the personnel issues raised by the Curtins were not proper for a board meeting. He asked Shaffer to discuss the behavior of district staff with the Curtins in a separate meeting. He said technical information about the meters would be provided to the Curtins. He asked Shaffer and Operations Supervisor Dan LaFontaine to explain how the new meters had been selected.

Shaffer explained that battery life was the main issue with the older meters, which were originally installed in 2006. Those meters use spread spectrum radio technology to transmit water usage data back to the district for billing purposes. The new meters, which are more robust, use the cellular network to transmit data, using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology not 5G. LTE is a wireless data transmission standard that is a part of 4G mobile networking. The new meters transmit only data, not voice or video, Shaffer said, and are compatible with the AquaHawk back-end software that the district is using for customer billing.

LaFontaine said the district had reviewed products from all the meter manufacturers and had chosen the meters they are installing because they are safe and regulated by the Federal Communication Commission. The old meters are failing, and new parts are not available, he said.

Charles Curtin said he was concerned the water usage data the district collects for billing could be a violation of his privacy and could make his house more likely to be robbed if the district’s database were hacked.

Bush said the advantage of the new meters, which transmit data four times a day, is that they can detect water leaks before a large amount of water is lost. Shaffer pointed out that the meters only transmit a meter ID; the address is not transmitted. A robber would not be able to determine an address from the data transmitted by the meter. He added that on occasion the new meters have been installed on the exterior of the house to address customer concerns or connectivity issues.

Operational reports

LaFontaine told the board that in June the district would add water stored in Woodmoor Lake to the water delivered to customers. One of the district’s treatment plants would process lake water and the other would process groundwater so blending could be used to manage any taste and odor issues resulting from the use of lake water. He said he would use email and the Pipeline newsletter to notify customers of the transition.

District Engineer Ariel Hacker said the project to build a pipeline to convey water from Well 22 to the CWTP was out for bid.

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The next meeting is scheduled for June 10 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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