Board Minutes August 12, 2025
The Board of Directors of the Snake River Water District (SRWD), Summit County, Colorado, met at the district offices at 0050 Oro Grande Road and via online Zoom conference on August 12, 2025, for their regular quarterly meeting. The meeting was called to order by Scott Price at 3:59 p.m.
ROLL CALL
The following members of the Board of Directors were present at the meeting, constituting a quorum: William Bergman - President; William Bowerman - Vice President; Randy May - Treasurer; Scott Thisted - Secretary; Stephen Bushkuhl - Assistant Secretary. Also present: Craig Bolt - Board Candidate; David Stelzer - Board Candidate; Vic Kassel - Constituent; Scott Price – District Administrator; Ron Mentch – Superintendent of Operations; Donna Svenson – Financial Manager; Alec Bry – Lead Engineer; Joe Norris - CEGR Attorney; Jon Drees - Project Manager.
CONSIDER APPOINTMENT TO FILL VACANCIES ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr. Price noted that Mr. Norris had emailed a legal report as a supplement to the packet. In his report, he described why the board needed to reappoint Mr. May, Mr. Bushkuhl, and Mr. Thisted. Additionally, two new eligible constituents, Mr. Stelzer and Mr. Bolt, were willing to be appointed to the Board. Mr. Bergman motioned to reappoint the current board members and the two new members. Mr. Bowerman seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER BOARD OFFICERS
Mr. Bergman expressed his willingness to continue serving as President until he sells his home in Keystone. Mr. Price let the Board know that Mr. Bowerman is going to be moving his permanent residence outside of the district and will be resigning his position as Vice President following the meeting. There was discussion of what the different officer roles entail, particularly the Treasurer role, to inform the new board members. After discussion of officer positions, the Board considered to the officer positions as follows:
William Bergman - President
Scott Thisted - Vice President
Randy May - Treasurer
Stephen Bushkuhl - Secretary
Craig Bolt - Assistant Secretary
David Stelzer - Assistant Secretary
Mr. Bergman made a motion to approve the new officer designations. Mr. Bowerman seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA
The board reviewed the consent agenda, which included the approval of the minutes from the Regular Meeting of May 22, 2025, the minutes from the special meeting of July 17, 2025, and the transaction reports for May, June, and July.
Mr. Bushkuhl motioned to approve the consent agenda in its entirety. Mr. Thisted seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
RATIFICATION OF CONTRACTS
Mr. Norris provided an overview of contract modifications related to ongoing projects for Quality Water Management and a rate increase for Mr. May’s Project Management and Owner’s Representative services.
Mr. Norris explained that the Board can ask Quality Water Management to accomplish projects that are out of scope of the Administration Agreement. These projects are written as task orders with a not to exceed dollar amount. QWM invoices monthly the actual time of work performed against the task orders. Three task orders were presented as #5 PFAS, #6 Master Plan, and #7 Cybersecurity.
Mr. Bushkuhl motioned to approve the three Quality Water Management task orders as presented by Mr. Norris in his memo to the Board. Mr. Thisted seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Norris explained that Mr. May had not increased his rates since 2017 and from his professional opinion, that even with the rate increase, the Water District is receiving a great deal on his services.
Mr. Thisted motioned to approve the rate increase for Mr. May as presented by Mr. Norris in his memo to the Board. Mr. Bergman seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Norris stated that the Board should consider approving an amendment to agreement with excavating contractor Stan Miller. Mr. Price briefly explained that the original contract had a limited scope to install a rough temporary road to the new storage tank site for $48,000. The amendment of the contract will expand the scope substantially to install the permanent road and pipeline to the new tank for a cost of approximately $1,500,000.
Mr. Bowerman motioned to approve the Stan Miller contract amendment. Mr. Bolt seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE
Mr. May provided an update on the major capital projects underway. Work continues on the road and pipeline for the new water storage tank, with Stan Miller as the contractor. An exemption from the Forest Service allows blasting to proceed during the current fire ban, provided that enhanced safety measures are taken. Site work to date includes tree removal, rough excavation, and topsoil storage. The tank designer now has the soil boring results and is preparing a proposal for design work based on those conditions.
Mr. May also reported progress on the Base 2 water plant treatment improvements. One key aspect is to replace the chlorine gas system with a safer alternative. This project requires temporary shutdown of the Base 2 facility in the fall, during which Base 3 will handle water production for the District.
ADMINISTRATOR’S DISCUSSION ITEMS
Mr. Price stated that the water rights lawsuit has been fully resolved and dismissed, successfully securing the District’s water rights.
He summarized the announcement of EPA intentions to modify the April 2024 PFAS regulations, which includes extending the compliance deadline from April 2029 to April 2031. A primary option for remediation of three contaminated wells is to drill new replacement wells in the Base 3 area to locate uncontaminated source water. Another option is to construct a new treatment facility for removing the PFAS. SRWD is awaiting a final report from AE2S evaluating various filtration media for PFAS removal. Recommendations in that report will drive preliminary engineering design for the treatment facility.
To date, the District has been awarded approximately $500,000 in PFAS-related grants. Additional grant applications will be submitted to seek funding for the 100% design completion by spring. Class action litigation against PFAS manufacturers may also result in unrestricted funds being available to the District in the next 1–2 years.
Mr. Drees summarized findings from the July 16 CISA cybersecurity assessment, which revealed that only one of ten evaluated domains exceeded maturity level 1, with two at level 0. The District’s goal is to raise all domains to maturity level 1 by completing 94 identified tasks. Current priorities include finalizing a written cybersecurity plan by the November board meeting, developing an incident response plan, conducting vulnerability scanning, and securing operational technology systems.
SUPERINTENDENT’S DISCUSSION ITEMS WATER PRODUCTION AND UNACCOUNTED WATER
Mr. Mentch reported that overall summer water production has been higher than average, largely due to increased outdoor irrigation demand during the recent dry spell. A large leak in the Winterset area precipitated a replacement of several water mains in the area. Mr. May showed the Board photos of pipes replaced that had significant holes and corrosion. Mr. Mentch noted that while total production numbers are within expected seasonal ranges, there has been a modest rise in unaccounted-for water.
A service line leak was recently located by the Water Works West team using their newly acquired leak detection equipment. This equipment has enable faster deployment without needing to schedule a contractor. However, Mr. Mentch cautioned that leak detection during summer months is more challenging because irrigation and high system usage create constant background noise in the water lines. The team will continue monitoring flows closely and perform targeted leak surveys.
REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF YEAR-TO-DATE FINANCIALS
Mr. Price presented the District’s year-to-date financial statements. Per the Board’s direction at the May meeting, The special formatted spreadsheets for a previous Treasurer has been discontinued, and the standard QuickBooks-generated reports are being used. Mr. Price noted that both summary and detailed financial statements were included in the packet.
Mr. Price explained that the QuickBooks reports use slightly different labels for data. For example, “Ordinary” appears where the Board is accustomed to seeing “Operating”. The bottom line calculation is now labeled “Net Income”, and the Board has previously seen the label “Change in Net Position”. He welcomed any feedback and requests for improvements. Everyone expressed their approval of the new formats.
Mr. Price led the Board in a discussion and review of revenues, operating expenses, and capital project expenditures. The Net Income (Change in Net Position) was more than $4 million above budget because the capital projects for System Improvements are currently about $3.5 million under budget, but the large invoices will start getting paid in the third quarter. The Net Operating (Ordinary) Income was 25% above budget because Operating Revenue was 4% above budget and Operating Expenses were 5% below budget.
Mr. Bergman pointed out that the District expects much lower Tap Fee revenue going forward because land is unavailable for new large developments. Mr. Price explained that the auditors directed that grant revenue would appear as Other Income, and the PFAS expenses would be reported as Ordinary Expense.
Mr. Bolt motioned to accept the financials as presented. Mr. Bushkuhl seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
PRELIMINARY GUIDANCE ON PREPARING THE 2026 DISTRICT BUDGET
Mr. Price invited the Board to provide initial input on priorities and considerations for the 2026 budget cycle. Items discussed included anticipated costs for completing PFAS treatment design, continued cybersecurity implementation, and ongoing capital projects such as the new tank and annual water main replacements. Mr. Price explained that the draft budget in the packet includes the 12% increase in Water User Fees and a baseline 5% increase in expenses.
Board members discussed potential changes to operating costs, including speculation regarding inflationary pressures for next year. While no formal budget decisions were made, the Board had no significant changes to make to the first draft of the 2026 budget. Mr. Price stated that he would continue reviewing and revising the draft as new information becomes available. The formal approval will occur at the November meeting.
BOARD DINNER AT KEYSTONE RANCH - SEPTEMBER 26
The Board discussed an appropriate location to host the next Board Dinner. The event will be an informal opportunity for Board members, staff, and guests to socialize outside of the formal meeting structure. An alternative to the Keystone Ranch was discussed because the restaurant is under the management of the golf pro, which has caused quality to greatly decline.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
There were no additional board comments.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Bushkuhl, seconded by Mr. Bowerman. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 5:32 PM.