2024 Annual Membership Meeting Minutes Freeman Creek Pipeline Water Association

2024 Annual Membership Meeting Minutes

Freeman Creek Pipeline Water Association

Freeman Creek Pipeline Water Association (FCPWA) annual meeting was called to order by President Steve Walb at about 09:00 AM on July 6, 2024 at the Vallecito Church Tent. Secretary Steve Personett counted households present and proxies received and determined a quorum was present and the meeting was qualified. (29 households present and/or proxies received.) Walb presented the agenda and a motion to accept the meeting agenda was made, seconded, and approved. Personett read the minutes from the prior year (2023) annual membership meeting.Treasurer Marilyn Lang reported on the annual cash inflows and outflows for the fiscal year 7/1/2023 to 06/30/2024. The expenses for the period totaled $55,629 including $40,995 for water system repairs, line replacements, and upgrading the road to the filter house (capital costs). The operating costs to provide water totaled $14,634. FCPWA ended the year with $13,373 with about $13,000 of 2024 dues still to be collected. The 2024/2025 normal operating expenses are estimated at $14,425. Holding back a reserve of $9,448 for the unexpected, leaves about $2,500 for this coming year’s projects.

Marilyn also reported that she is searching for electronic options for receiving payments.

Motion to accept the Secretary’s and Treasurer’s report was made, seconded, and approved.

Steve Walb introduced our new water operator Drew Barber who gave his Water Operator’s Report:

• The water lines from the tanks to the Y Box were replaced.

• The terrace at the filter house was widened and stabilized, and the road access to the filter house was improved.

•  The springs provide more water per minute than our equipment can process. FCPWA equipment can process 20 gallons per minute. The system can ideally process about 28,000 gallons per day. The water the system can process will also be impacted (reduced) by the filters. As the filters get plugged the processing rate is reduced. 

• The quality of the water is very good.

• Next critical project: Improve bleed ability for upper Ho Hum 

• A workday needs to be scheduled to clean the area of the upper spring 

• Discussion on fire hydrants. FCPWA currently has two fire hydrants: one on Hummingbird, and one on Freeman Park. Another scheduled for upper Ho Hum. 

• Need to rethink water scheduling for lawns, flowers and gardens. If association members have a system on timers, maybe they should be encouraged to water between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM. The watering schedule has been shortened to two hours but the time to water has been expanded to6:00 AM to 10:00 AM on your scheduled day (but still limited to 2 hours for each property). The watering schedule for each area is posted at the mail boxes.

Discussion of additional potential future water projects – in order of current priority:

• Improve bleed ability for upper Ho Hum. 

• Line replacement from Y Box to Taylor Box 

• Place 3rd and final Hydrant at Taylor Box 

• Line replacement on upper Ho Hum

Grants. Marilyn Lang has applied for grants and could use research help. A $90,000 grant has been applied for but as of this date no determination has been received. She believes most of the money being given seems to be going to larger water systems.

Steve Walb reported on the requirement (by the state of Colorado) for FCPWA to identify the materials used to supply water from the FCPWA system to the individual properties. Concern is lead and lead joints.

After contact with most of the property owners, he believes there may only be around 8 properties that have galvanized service lines or unknown material service lines. This report is due to Colorado in October.

Motion to accept the Board’s Reports was made, seconded, and app

Walb announced that the board has decided that beginning next year the annual water dues need to be increased by $100, to $750 annually. This is due to the increase in water processing costs over the last 6 or 7 years since the last dues increase. (Costs of chlorine, filters, testing, etc.)

The FCPWA Bylaws require an annual meeting on the Saturday of the 4th of July Holiday weekend. To be valid, an annual meeting requires a majority of the households to be represented in person or by a proxy.

Attendance at the annual meetings has been declining, therefore the suggestion to change the bylaws to a different date for the annual meeting. The FCPWA Board suggested the 2nd Saturday in July and Proxies were mailed with this date, Discussion at the annual meeting questioned this date as opposed to a different date. Because the 16 households attending the meeting were not a majority of the households in the FCPWA system a different date could not be selected. The resulting vote on changing the annual meeting to the 2nd Saturday in July was approved by a vote of 27 to 2.

Motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and approved about 10:10 AM.

Minutes are prepared and submitted by Steve Personett

Secretary Freeman Creek Pipeline Water Association