The need for infrastructure improvements was confirmed in an
operations report, said Mike Bacon, the water district’s operator
in charge.
By By: Nicole Osborn
The Forest View Acres Water District Board of Directors
discussed how it would like to move forward in making needed
improvements to infrastructure during its Jan. 9 meeting.
The need for infrastructure improvements was confirmed in an
operations report, said Mike Bacon, the water district’s operator
in charge.
Bacon told the board four breaks occurred in the last few
weeks.
One of the breaks occurred on Sierra Vista Road. A pipe that had
been repaired two other times in about the same place burst,
creating a stream. The pipe, Bacon said, was designed to handle
less pressure than the district uses.
He also reported that a saddle formation of the pipe in another
area broke into pieces, resulting in water loss from the district’s
system.
Also on Sierra Vista Road, there was a PVC pipe that ruptured on
the same line as the previous break. A resident told Bacon this was
the fifth break in that area. The fitting on the pipe had been
glued and the glue gave way.
“We’re going to continue having these breaks,” he
said.
In addition to the pipes bursting, Bacon reported the condition
of the concrete floor in the Arapahoe building is
worsening.
Water has been washing out the foundation. The dirt slopes
toward the building, Bacon said, and the engineer needs to have it
slope the opposite way.
The engineering firm that created the original plans of the
building is going to send these to the district so it can correct
the problem, Bacon said.
Water district assistant secretary Richard Crocker said the
board is working on a capital program and is looking at the issues
that need to be addressed within the district.
In going through the 2007 budget, the district generated a list
of capital improvement projects, attached realistic costs to them
and plans to have each lot in the district cover an equal share of
the total cost of projects.
Approval of those projects is expected to take place at the
board of directors’ Jan. 25 meeting.
Crocker said the board wants a minimum cost analysis and design
for the priority projects so at the end of the year the district
can have a plan in place for improvements.
Several residents said they would like to see improvements made
to the district, but they did not vote for the item on the November
ballot. The item would have asked voters to approve the district
increasing its debt by $8 million with a repayment cost of $32
million. Crocker said feedback the board received based on the “$8
million fix” on the November ballot was that it needed to define
what the most important issues are.
In the budget, the money the board put in to go to each of the
top priority projects will be used for analysis and design, Crocker
said. The money will come from the district’s capital improvement
fund.
“Our system is failing,” Crocker said. “There has been virtually
no improvement done to the district in the last 10
years.”
The district’s philosophy is that revenue generated each year
needs to cover the costs of running the district for that year and
includes water delivery, infrastructure and water operations. This
will be reflected in the final budget, said Barbara Reed-Polatty,
water district board of directors’ president.
For example, the board found while creating the budget that $8
per 1,000 gallons would generate enough revenue to cover the cost
of water operations management for that year, she said.
Contact Nicole Osborn at 719-481-3423 ext. 4 or
nosborn@ccnewspapers.com.