COLORADO CITY METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
In an ironic twist of fate, the fact there was not a quorum present for the Colorado City Metropolitan District board meeting on September 20, left attendees feeling much more informed than in most regular meetings.
The meeting on the 20th had been rescheduled from the normal CCMD meeting date of the second Tuesday, September 13, because District Manager Jim Eccher was on vacation.
Many residents turned out for the meeting on September 20, largely due to a great deal of social media posts the previous week concerning a sewage spill and the pending loss of another 2 ½ feet of water storage at Lake Beckwith.
The disappointment and anger was clear from the attending residents, when Chairman Neil Elliot announced that the lack of quorum prevented the board meeting from taking place.
However, the residents were much happier when they were informed that Elliot and Director Greg Collins would be happy to stay and conduct an open forum to hear what everyone had to say.
The format of the open forum was casual, with Elliot, Collins, and Eccher providing responses to residents' questions and concerns.
Elliot led the forum and gave everyone a chance to talk, some on more than one issue, and, in return, speakers were respectful of each other and the directors.
Former CCMD Director Bob Cook led the speakers, expressing his concerns about the pending loss of 2 ½ feet of water storage. Cook stated that there was a September 15 date for paperwork to be turned in to the state from CCMD that was not met. He stated he had talked to a state water official and they had agreed to extend the date to October 1, but a plan had to be turned in by then or the community would lose water storage.
Eccher responded that he had sent the paperwork to the state the day before (September 19).
Mike Bennett spoke regarding the sewage spill and the possible contamination from the lime used in that area; and later expressed frustration about the Applewood Park still not being done.
Brandie Chartier asked, “When is enough, enough?”
She is frustrated about not having potable water, receiving water test failure notices only in the water bills and not in a timely manner, Applewood Park not being completed, and about a fire hydrant she has been waiting eight years to have fixed.
Chartier commented that she has brought several issues to CCMD board meetings, but quit coming because she felt no one wanted to hear her concerns.
Andy Aranbula introduced himself as a fairly new resident, having lived in Colorado City since June of last year. He expressed concern about the weed/algae problems in Lake Beckwith and asked what was being done about the issue.
Aranbula stated he attended the meeting to get to know the board, not to beat them up about the way things are, but to learn about how things are handled.
Aranbula stated, “I feel like I am lost. I don’t know what is going on here. The CCMD websites really don’t tell us anything. If you are testing water, I would like to know if the tests fail. There needs to be some checks and balances. We need answers and we need to see some results.”
Collins stated that most of the issues the CCMD faces have resolutions, but the sin- gle biggest problem is money.
Collin’s comment led to a discussion of grants being sought and recommendations on how to obtain grant writers to help.
Niki Chartier stated she had been coming to CCMD meetings on a regular basis, but stopped coming because she was highly disappointed. She thanked Collins and Elliot for hosting the open forum and allowing residents to speak.
Chartier also stated she is dismayed by the constant building in the community when the infrastructure is known to be failing. Later in the discussions, she asked if the Environmental Protection Agency has been contacted regarding the sewage spill.
Vance Hulben, the resident that discovered the sewage spill, asked why the sewage had not been cleaned up yet and why there had not been anything done to block that area from public access. He also asked if people in that area had been notified of the spill/leak, and if the water in those homes had been tested.
Dennis Kahrs, a steadfast CCMD meeting attendee, stated that if residents would attend the CCMD meetings regularly they would know what was going on. He relayed that most of the questions being asked were about issues that have been discussed at recent board meetings. Kahrs also asked about CCMD hosting another community slash/limb burn day.
Steve Baudet also expressed a wish to see more people attend meetings and get involved. He stated that he felt there were problems with the meetings, and that a code of conduct needs to be enforced during the meetings.
Ken Mills expressed concern about the water storage issue and said he sincerely hoped CCMD was taking the proper steps to comply with the October 1 deadline.
Jim Beach asked about the CCMD web page being updated. He stated the last minutes showing were from July meetings. Eccher and Collins explained that they had just completed signatures on more recent minutes and would have them updated soon.
Spencer Corey stated he lives in the area between Little Raven and Red Cloud near the sewage spill. He was not satisfied with the cleanup of the spill, wanted to know why it was not detected by CCMD inspection, and asked what was going on regarding infrastructure repairs or updates.
Collins explained that he had requested that tap fees be raised because CCMD needs to have matching grant money for infrastructure repairs. He explained that collected tap fees are infrastructure funds only.
The proposed tap fee increase was voted down during a recent CCMD board meeting.
Other issues discussed were the Colorado City Postal Service, the use of volunteers and interns by CCMD, the Utility Director position that CCMD is seeking to fill, better communications from CCMD to residents, including the possibility of hiring a communications person, and more community open forum meetings.