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Monument Sanitation District, May 21 – Manhole overflow threatens Monument Lake

By Jackie Burhans and James Howald

In his Manager’s Report at the Monument Sanitation District (MSD) meeting in May, District Manager Mark Parker spoke about a wastewater release that required an emergency response from the district and led to a discussion about ownership of the manhole in question. The board heard comments from its auditor on the 2024 draft audit, welcomed Shannon Clark to the board, and elected officers.

Raspberry Point Townhomes manhole fails

Parker told the board that while he was traveling in Arizona in April he was contacted by Cheran Allsup, MSD’s accounts administrator, concerning a manhole that was releasing wastewater. He determined that the manhole was privately owned by the Raspberry Point Townhomes, which are on Raspberry Lane just north of Monument Lake. Parker decided to involve the district in addressing the issue due to the possibility that the wastewater could reach the lake. He called a contractor to clear the service line to the manhole and deal with standing wastewater. He reported the wastewater release to the state and determined that MSD does not have the manhole listed on its maps.

On May 14, the district received another call regarding an overflow from the same manhole. Parker had the service line examined by video camera and found a second portion that needed to be cleaned out. A belly, or low point, in the line was also detected. He called a contractor that got the line flowing a second time.

The homeowners association (HOA) for the Raspberry Point Townhomes believes that the service line and manhole belong to MSD, but there is no documentation establishing ownership, Parker said. The HOA told Parker it had a verbal agreement with a previous MSD district manager that MSD owns the manhole.. MSD has spent $5,000 to $7,000 on the problem, Parker said, adding the total cost is not clear yet because not all the invoices have been received.

Parker said he would continue to work with the HOA to determine ownership and would keep the board informed. He also thanked the Town of Monument and the Triview Metropolitan District for providing equipment that was used to keep the spill from reaching the lake.

2024 draft audit

Derek Watada, of Olson, Reyes & Sauerwein LLC, the district’s auditors, gave the board preliminary results of the 2024 audit. Watada said there were no major issues but noted that some bank accounts were not accurately reconciled and needed to be adjusted. He said the small size of the district’s staff made it challenging to segregate duties but he felt the district was properly mitigating this by having the entire board review the district’s finances.

Watada said the district was handling its accounts payable on a cash basis but its financial reporting on an accrual basis. He recommended moving to an accrual basis across the board and said his company or Haynie & Co., the district’s accountants, could help to make the district’s financial matters consistent. The board voted to approve Watada’s audit report.

Clark joins the board; officers elected

Shannon Clark joined the board at its May meeting, having been sworn in the previous day along with Director Skip Morgan. Clark replaces John Howe, who was term limited after serving two terms. Clark said she had served on the Town of Monument’s Home Rule Commission but had never served on any other board.

The board voted to elect Dan Hamilton to serve a second term as board president and to elect Janet Ladowski to remain as board secretary. Tony Archer was elected treasurer, a role previously held by Howe. Morgan will continue as the board liaison with the Joint Use Committee (JUC), which oversees the Tri-Lakes Waste Water Treatment Facility. The Town of Monument operates the facility jointly with the Town of Palmer Lake and the Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District. Clark will serve as Morgan’s alternate on the JUC.

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Monument Sanitation District meetings are held at 9 a.m. on the third Wednesday of the month in the district conference room at 130 Second St., Monument. The next regular meeting is scheduled for June 18. See https://MonumentSanitationDistrict.org. For a district service map, see https://MonumentSanitationDistrict.org/district-map. Information: 719-481-4886.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me. James Howald can be reached at jameshowald@ocn.me.

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