August 1, 2024 – 12:30 pm MDT
Type of Meeting: Regular annual meeting of HWUA Membership
Location: Estes Park Public Library
Meeting Facilitator: Don Piepgras
Board Members Present: Don Piepgras and Ralph Turner
Call to order at 12:35 pm by Board President Don Piepgras
Agenda items:
- Approval of the 2023 Annual Meeting minutes. We did not have a quorum, will have to vote
on this next year. - Treasurer’s Report: Don Piepgras reported that there is currently $7,756.43 in the checking
account at Estes Park Bank, $812.83 in the savings account at Estes Park Bank, and
$242,077.06 in the Fidelity account. Don also went through and highlighted expenditures that
have been made so far this year including the High Altitude Overflow Valve. - Election of Board Members: Don Piepgras named the current board members along with the
addition of Tom Kirsch. Since the quorum has not been met, no vote was taken. - Cross-connection: Don Piepgras reported that everyone is in compliance and then continued
on to read notes provided by Jim Redman. They read as follows:
In order to continue to monitor potential cross-connection issues for properties within the
Hondius water district, the Hondius Water Users Association, Inc. (“Hondius”) will
perform the following ongoing procedures:- a. Hondius surveyed all property owners within the Hondius water district in 2023 to
identify all potential cross-connection issues and will retain the returned surveys and
information regarding inspections done for properties in connection with that effort. - b. When Hondius becomes aware of a change in ownership of a property within the
Hondius water district (e.g. through change in directed billing information for the
property) or a property initiating service within the Hondius water district, Hondius
will provide new owner with information regarding cross-connection and backflow
prevention and will obtain an acknowledgement from the owner regarding whether a
potential cross-connection exists. - c. For property owners with identified potential cross-connection issues that have been
resolved by methods other than use of a backflow prevention device (e.g. use of air
gap), the property owners will be surveyed periodically by Hondius to determine that
the method continues to be in place. Such surveys for such properties should occur at
least every 3 years. - d. Include information on the Hondius website (hondiuswaterusers.org) regarding cross-
connection and backflow prevention.
- a. Hondius surveyed all property owners within the Hondius water district in 2023 to
- Update on System Performance and Water Quality: Bill Harvey reported that everything on
the system is going well. He had difficulties at the beginning of the season and he also stated
that there are a couple of minor leaks on Chickadee that need to be repaired.
There was a question raised about the National Park’s work being done on High Drive and
whether or not is could affect the Hondius system. Don Piepgras responded that Hondius’
water lines are on Upper High Drive and are not affected by the work that the park is doing.
Bill Harvey reported that RH Water and Wastewater has been trained on the correct
installation of meters.
Water Quality: Don Piepgras reported that water samples are taken every month and sent into
Colorado for testing. Every test this year has come back with no issues.
CDPHE Inspection: Don Piepgras reported that last August an inspection was done to make
sure everything is in compliance with state regulations. No violations were found in the
inspection.
Bill Harvey reported that the tanks will need to be resealed again. The product used to seal
the tanks has to be used at a certain temperature. This will possibly happen at the end of this
season before it gets too cold. - Reminder of Service Line Responsibilities, Including Shared Service Lines: Don Pipegras
went over the fact that service lines are the sole responsibility of the homeowner. Hondius
Water Users Assoc. takes care of the main line and the homeowners take care of the service
lines. - Other Business: Don Piepgras brought up the petition to develop the Tanager Road PID is
going to be on the November ballot. The PID would transfer the road maintenance of
Tanager Road and several others west to the National Park to the county. Penstemon Drive is
a concern for Hondius because a water line runs down the middle of the road. The water line
is very shallow and at some points you can actually see the water line. Hondius will need to
address this concern if the initiative passes. - Adjournment: Meeting ended at 1:26 pm MDT.