OCN

Volunteers reporting on community issues in Monument, Palmer Lake, and the surrounding Tri-Lakes area

OCN > 2503 > El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Feb. 20 – Interim workflow manager joins Loop team

El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority, Feb. 20 – Interim workflow manager joins Loop team

By James Howald

In February, the El Paso County Regional Loop Water Authority (EPCRLWA, or the Loop) board voted on an amendment to its agreement with Merrick and Co. that names Mark Valentine as interim workflow manager. It updated its founding document to make it easier for board members to hold discussions among themselves. The board heard an update from Valentine and a financial report from Corbin Fromm, of Fromm and Co. LLC, the Loop’s accounting firm.

The meeting ended with an executive session.

Valentine replaces Kuosman as workflow manager

Nicole Peykov, the Loop’s attorney, asked the board to consider an amendment to the Loop’s agreement with Merrick naming Valentine as interim workflow manager. The workflow manager is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the engineers, consultants, and other specialized advisors who provide services to the Loop. The Loop board decided soon after its inception that instead of having its own staff it would outsource as much as possible to providers and would fund a workflow manager position to coordinate those providers, schedule meetings, and oversee conversations with related agencies such as Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU). The workflow manager position was held by John Kuosman, a water practice leader with Merrick, until he left his position.

The board voted unanimously in favor of the amendment making Valentine the Loop’s contact with Merrick. Board President Jessie Shaffer said the board would decide how to fill the permanent workflow manager position later.

Number of directors increased

Peykov told the board that the departure of the Cherokee Metropolitan District (CMD) from the Loop had created a logistical problem related to quorum and Colorado’s open meetings law. Without CMD, she said, there are only three participating districts and that meant that the presence of just two directors would establish a quorum, triggering the requirement of advertising the meeting 24 hours in advance.

This made it impossible for directors to talk to each other, and Peykov recommended that the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that established the Loop be amended to increase the number of directors from each participating district from one to two. Doing so would require four directors to establish a quorum and would make informal discussions easier to arrange. Peykov said that if more districts joined the Loop, the number of directors per district could be reduced back to one. She explained that this change must be voted on by the board of the participating districts, who are the signers of the IGA.

The board agreed with Peykov’s suggestion and said it would take the issue to the participating districts.

Merrick update

Valentine told the board he had met with companies interested in designing the water treatment portion of the Loop project. He met with Kevin Brown of CMD to discuss how the Loop might incorporate CMD’s Sundance pipeline into its infrastructure.

Valentine said he had met with Forsgren Associates Inc. to discuss how the Loop could share results with CSU, which is conducting a study of indirect potable re-use of water that parallels the Loop’s plans.

Valentine also said he had received questions from the Town of Monument (TOM) concerning the Loop and had sent replies. TOM is still deciding whether to remain a participant in the Loop or switch to another water re-use project led by the Triview Metropolitan District.

Valentine asked the board if JVA Inc. should continue to collect data about water quality. He said JVA had not yet spent all the funds provided for that purpose. The board decided JVA should continue its data collection work.

Financial report

In his financial report, Fromm told the board that the Loop had received its first disbursement of American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funding, in the form of a check for $54,000. The Biden administration’s ARPA law awarded $4 million in startup funding for the Loop to use to conduct technical studies, begin design work, and acquire easements.

But those funds, which are distributed by the El Paso Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), have been slow to arrive. Fromm said he had submitted five more requests for funding to the BOCC. Shaffer said he was glad to see the first disbursement and he was beginning to worry about a funding crunch if the outstanding requests were not acted on quickly.

Executive session

An executive session was held to discuss negotiating positions regarding CMD’s Sundance pipeline, a request for proposals regarding water treatment designs, and the services provided by Merrick. No actions were taken following the executive session.

**********

The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 20 at 9 a.m. Regular meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Monument Town Hall at 645 Beacon Lite Road. Workshop meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Monument Town Hall. Please see loopwater.org or call 719-488-3603 to verify meeting times and locations.

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

Other Loop articles