The Alamo Sewer and Water Board met Jan. 9. The board agreed to have an election of officers every two years. The board also approved not needing a second hook-up for the fifth wheel parked on Billy Pulsipher’s business property. The board stipulated that if any permanent structure or primary residence is added to the property in the future, a second hookup will be mandatory.
The board members had a conference call with Farr West Engineering in regards to the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and the board’s list of priorities. Number one is arsenic treatment. The engineer suggested investing in a 400-gallon Sand Filtration System to treat the water.
The board will send the engineer the water quality samples so he can start talking to different vendors and acquire cost estimates. He also suggested an income survey would be good to perform.
The second priority in the PER is a new water tank. Coyote Springs has offered to disassemble the water tank for the district, which lowers the cost of moving the tank to Alamo. The Bureau of Safe Water Management would have to come out and make sure it is safe for drinking water and has the appropriate coating lining the tank. This option will continue to be discussed down the road after the district handles the top priority of arsenic treatment.
The Lincoln County Water Authority has approved funds for a loan to cover the additional tank for Alamo Sewer and Water, but the board would like to continue looking at what grants may be available. If the additional tank is added to the district in the future, it would create a redundant system for the town’s use.
The Sandhill Well’s new pump should finally arrive in the next two weeks. Arsenic samples were taken, with the pump running at both two thousand and three thousand RPMs. The arsenic levels only had a difference of .3 between the two.
An inspection was done on the current water tank and the board received a report which suggested doing an epoxy coating within the next five years. More quotes are being collected to repaint the outside of the water tank, and the school has offered to pay for repainting the panther.
The rate studies are getting started in order to acquire helpful information to make receiving grants for major projects a possibility.
Also, the board approved making a change to the policy manual in regards to customers turning their water back on after Alamo Sewer and Water shuts it off. The wording will be fixed to include everyone, instead of just rental situations, so the district can carry out the consequences of such actions through fines, etc.
Nate Collier reported he passed his distribution test and just needs to apply for reciprocity. The board agreed to cover those costs.
Also, the depreciation account was opened and the board agreed to move $500 each month from checking into the new account. Trevor Laird suggested ear- tagging money in the depreciation account for when the current water tank needs the new coating put on it so the money is there when they need it.
In March, the board needs to designate an auditor for the year. The former auditor is not responding to different forms of communication in response to receiving the rest of the district’s audits along with the box of information given to them. The board plans on sending a certified letter to address the communication issues. The suggestion of finding other options for auditors in the next fiscal year was made. Laird passed his wastewater test and now just needs to accumulate the full experience amount to have his new classifications.
The next meeting is Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
