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OCN > 2501 > Triview Metropolitan District, Dec. 16 – Study reveals water and wastewater rate increase; administrative/utility offices pursued

Triview Metropolitan District, Dec. 16 – Study reveals water and wastewater rate increase; administrative/utility offices pursued

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Triview Metropolitan District (TMD) meeting, the board received a presentation from Raftelis Financial Consultants on a proposed financial plan to maintain a 10-year revenue stream, authorized the acquisition of property to build administration and utility department offices, and approved the terms and conditions of a lease/purchase loan to construct the district’s administration/utility operations building.

The board heard about costs increasing for the 1.5-million-gallon water tank installation project and awarded a bid from Kiewit Infrastructure for the site development portion of the project. The board discussed seeking voter approval to fund the Higby Road improvement project and heard about a second water main break under Forest Lakes Drive.

The board held an executive session pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes 24-6-402(4)(a), for the purpose of determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategies for negotiations, and instructing negotiators as it relates to potential development incentives and intergovernmental agreements.

The district is still waiting to hear if Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) will move ahead and build the Northern Monument Creek Interceptor pipeline. The project was a point of discussion during the executive session. See FLMD article on page < 7 >.

Raftelis water fund enterprise study

District Manager James McGrady introduced financial consultants Andrew Rheem and Theresa Jurotich of Raftelis and said the team had conducted another study to determine the district’s path to remain financially solvent over the next 10 years.

Rheem said the study findings presented are focused solely on the water enterprise fund, and next year the study will focus on wastewater. Raftelis conducted a study in 2021, and the 2024 study updates the previous findings. The proposed recommendations in January will be for implementation on Feb. 1, 2025. The district staff have also requested an alternative rate structure for the residential water tiers that will be designed to generate the same revenue.

The study suggested the rates increase by 10% in 2025, then by 6% every year from 2026 through 2030, and by 5% every year from 2031 through 2034. The projected revenues pay the debt service after operations and maintenance expenses have been paid. The legal requirement on the existing loans is 110% or 1.1 times the annual debt service, so for every dollar in debt service the district is legally required to have $1.10 in revenue after expenses, he said.

The study also accounts for a 12% price increase in 2025 from Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) to convey, treat, and deliver the district’s water via the Northern Delivery System (NDS). The district will receive additional water via the NDS, and then a 6.5% increase has been identified per year over the next four years. The district anticipates other costs for ongoing repairs and replacement, change cases to obtain the district’s water, and other projects to increase in cost. The rate increases are small, frequent adjustments that will be level and not bounce around over the next 10 years, according to the study. For example, the typical residential customer with a three-fourths-inch meter using about 8,000 gallons per month in 2024 would be billed $117 per month for the water portion only; with the rate applied in 2025 it would be about $129, said Rheem.

McGrady said the district should also look at raising tap fees in 2025 to ensure new growth is paying for itself instead of putting that on the backs of current consumers. The district will meet demand with its own water rights accessed via the entire boxed-in system that includes CSU and the Southern Delivery System, he said.

Vice President Anthony Sexton said the district will not always be able to rely on tap fees to fund projects in the future, like it did with the NDS.

2025 water and wastewater rates/fees increase

McGrady said the board will hold a public hearing at the Jan. 23 meeting. RAFTELIS will present all of the proposed rate increases for 2025 before the board adopts the 2025 water and wastewater rates/fees increase for implementation on Feb. 1, said McGrady.

Survey seeks appetite for bond

Assistant Manager Steve Sheffield said the district worked with Magellan Strategies to create an electronic survey for customers to complete on the district’s website or via email. The brief community survey can be found at www.triviewmetro.com or https://www.research.net/r/TMD_WEB_DEC?ID=[ID_value]].

McGrady said the survey allows customers to provide feedback to the district to help gauge the appetite for a bond question, which if passed would allow the district to issue about $12.6 million for the widening of Higby Road and other capital improvements. See https://wp.ocn.me/v24n11tmd/.

Higby Road design revealed

McGrady presented a PowerPoint of the design for the Higby Road improvements that can be viewed by the public under Higby Road Expansion Project at www.triviewmetrodistrict.com before completing the survey. The proposed bond is not a tax increase but a re-allocation of some of the uses of that for debt service, for a project that will enhance road safety. The project was originally estimated to cost about $6 million, but costs increased and the district does not have the $12.6 million in cash to complete the project, said McGrady.

Director Jason Gross offered to present the design to the D38 Board of Education to let it know what the district is doing for it and explain the financials a little bit to the community. The public can see the value of the safety features and realize that although they are not saving money, approving the bond is not costing them more either. Getting the community on board and presenting to the Town of Monument (TOM) would also be a good idea, he said.

Vice Chair Anthony Sexton said, “It is fine to let the school board know, but I don’t really have an opinion about what the D38 board thinks unless they are ponying up for some of the cost. This is for them and the developers, and the district residents are paying for it, it is truly a great project for everyone attending the school, but only TMD residents are paying for the road. It is important to note this is a reallocation of revenue that costs the taxpayers money, and to say it does not raise taxes is incorrect when there is an opportunity to lower the mill levy without the bond. The district needs to be transparent, and the residents will hopefully see the value and approve the bond,” said Sexton.

McGrady said the residents north of Higby Road, the TOM, and D38 are not contributing to the cost of the road improvements, and the district agreed to complete the project. However, as the project grew, D38 and the town added bells and whistles, such as sidewalks, road widening, islands and additional gutters, adding to the cost. The district receives a portion of the sales tax collected from the TOM from businesses within the district, and as development grows, taps and tax revenue will increase and help bring down the debt service, he said.

The general consensus of the board was despite the safety features the road design will bring, the Higby Road improvements will help expedite development within the district. See MTC article on page < 1 >.

Property site lease purchase approved

The board approved Resolution 2024-15, authorizing the acquisition of a 2-arce property for about $1 million from Santa Fe Park JV LLC to build the district’s administration and utility department offices on a lot north of West Baptist Road. The district is paying cash that was included in the budget for the lot.

Lease/purchase loan proposed

The board approved Resolution 2024-16, establishing the terms and conditions for a 10-year lease/purchase loan from Vectra Bank for about $5.144 million (includes about $1.144 million with about a 4.79% fixed interest rate) to construct the district’s 8,000-square-foot administration/utility operations building.

Water tank project update

McGrady said the cost to install the 1.5-million-gallon water tank at B Plant, St. Lawrence Way, increased beyond the original estimated cost. He said:

  • The district received a $1 million matching grant from the American Rescue Plan Act.
  • The bids received are substantial and the district will need to reconsider its approach to installing the tank.
  • The grant stipulates the project must be awarded to a contractor before Dec. 31, 2024, and the grant must be spent on building the tank by June 30, 2026.

He requested the board award Kiewit Infrastructure for $27,960 to conduct the site development for the project. Site development will continue until the $1 million is spent, but the lowest initial bids to install a tank was about $7 million. Developing the site incrementally may mitigate some of the costs initially bid, and the hope is to pay cash as the project moves along. The project requires a screen wall, landscaping, the re-routing of storm drainage pipes, and a detention pond, and some work could be done in-house, but eventually the site will be ready for a tank, and it will likely cost about $3.3 million to install a tank on a foundation. The site has been cleared and Kiewit Infrastructure will begin site development in December.

Mario DiPasquale, vice president of RESPEC, said costs have increased and the site is challenging behind the existing tank, but the availability of construction companies and materials is limited nationwide. The C Plant tank built in 2016 cost the district just under $1 million with utilities included, on a simple site, and the same type of tank for another client built in 2024 on a similar site cost $3 million, he said.

The board unanimously approved awarding Phase 1 to Kiewit Infrastructure.

Financial update

The board accepted the November 2024 financial report as presented and approved 16 checks over $5,000 totaling about $668,544. The payment to CSU for the conveyance, treatment and delivery of the district’s residential and commercial water was $123,156. Of note was $196,840 to T-Bone Construction for water improvements to the district’s Arkansas Valley Irrigation Canal Company Augmentation Station.

Water utilities update

Water Utilities Superintendent Gary Potter said 96% of the water produced for November was from the NDS with 4% from the wells. The district produced about 15,824 million gallons (MG) of water in November 2024, with almost 13,652 MG billed to customers.

District pinning down water loss

Potter said that unbilled water represents a 10% loss for November 2024, and this was up from previous months. However, the percentage is misleading when compared to the amount of water produced, because the actual amount of water loss was down in November (about 1.6 million gallons) compared to September when about 2.9 million gallons was missing.

The loss is usually higher during irrigation months and can be a combination of leaks and/or some issues with billing and accounting issues, but meters are often a source of unaccounted water. The replacement of a leak gate valve on Talus Road could have been leaking for a while and likely attributed to a good portion of the unbilled water, said Potter.

Sheffield said the district staff are working toward a less-than-5% monthly water loss.

McGrady said he had never compared the gallon loss, only the percentage, and it could be metering that always runs slower than the flow, and it could also be the commercial meters.

Sheffield said it is important to keep pushing the commercial meter switch to the Badger meters; the goal of changing out five meters per week is being achieved.

Water main break

Potter said a second major water main break had occurred on Nov. 23 in a section of pipe on Forest Lakes Drive, the second within months and in close proximity to the first. The repair was made overnight with a contractor and the district crews, and he thanked the operational staff for restoring service to the residents in Forest Lakes Metropolitan District.

Executive session

The board moved into an executive session at 9:02 p.m., pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes section 24-6-402(4)(a), to determine positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, developing strategies for negotiations, and instructing negotiators as it relates to potential development incentives and intergovernmental agreement.

Sheffield confirmed to this reporter that after the meeting returned to the regular session at 9:50 p.m., no action was taken and the meeting promptly adjourned.

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Meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month at the district office at 16055 Old Forest Point, Suite 302. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. For meeting agendas, minutes, and updates, visit https://triviewmetro.com.

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

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