News from 7/1/08 12:00am to 10/13/08 12:00am
- October 13, 2008
The October meter reading is now available on the website. The October reading becomes the basis of your usage allowance and billing for the period of October 01, 2008 through September 30, 2009.
- September 21, 2008
The annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for November 7th, 6:00p.m. at the Community Center. We hope to see you there.
- September 1, 2008
The second meter reading has occurred and is now posted on the website.
Are you registered yet? If not, use the "contact us" link to request a new registration link.
- August 5, 2008
The first meter readings happened this last weekend and will be posted on the web site shortly. Look for the next reading in September, along with your usage.
- July 1, 2008
The Company held a Board meeting on June 20, 2008. The following are the minutes:
MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MUTUAL WATER COMPANY
(A California Corporation)Minutes of Meeting of Board of Directors
June 20, 2008A special meeting of the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Mountain Meadows Mutual Water Company, a California corporation (the "Company"), was held at 7:00 p.m. on June 20, 2008, at the home of David Richman in Crowley Lake, California.
Present at the meeting were David Richman, Jeff Wheeler, Blair Hafner, Bill Archibald and Rick Phelps, being all of the members of the Board. Also present at the meeting was Vicky Phelps, Secretary of the meeting (as appointed herein below).
Before the meeting began, David Richman gave the Board members a short tour of the water wells and pump house located next to his house and also gave an overview of the status of the other water wells and the water tank that form the water system for the Company.
David Richman, President of the Company, called the meeting to order at 7:25 p.m.
Appointment of Secretary of the Meeting
As the first order of business., the Board appointed Vicky Phelps to act as Secretary of the meeting and to record the minutes thereof.
Pro-Forma Billing
The meeting began with a discussion of the timing of metered water bills to be sent to customers. David pointed out that last summer all customers received mailings on how much water they were using. It was agreed that, this summer, all customers will receive two pro-forma meter readings to show what each such customer would be paying once metering goes into effect. The timing of readings will be dependent upon final installation of the touch read system.
Each customer will be allocated an annual allotment of 160,000 gallons of water for the monthly rate of $50. This assumes approximately 60,000 gallons for personal use and 100,000 gallons for landscaping. If the customer exceeds this allotment, the customer will pay $4.00 per 1,000 gallons for the next 100,000 gallons of water and $5.00 per 1,000 gallons for any gallons over 260,000 in a year. The billing year will run from October 1 through September 30 of each calendar year.
David explained that the bills that customers receive will show the dollar amount being billed to that customer. The customer will be able to check the number of gallons of water used be either (i) viewing such information on the Company’s website or (ii) checking his/her water meter. Two or three mailings have gone out to customers explaining the new metering system and encouraging customers to sign up for the website. Signing up for the website involves setting a user name and password. David said that, so far, sign ups have been dismal but thinks this will change when customers start to actually receive water bills. In addition to water usage information, the website also has information on Company news, landscaping ideas, and how to read water meters. Rick mentioned that it would be helpful to develop a weekly watering index for customers, but acknowledged that doing so in Crowley is difficult since there is no close index site and that numbers have to be extrapolated from other index sites in southern and eastern California.
David warned the Board that some customers will try to somehow get around the new metering system and/or refuse to pay the increased bills. Currently, there are customers who don’t even pay the $50 monthly fee. These fees can be recovered by the Company either through a small claims action or by receiving all accrued and unpaid fees when the house is sold.
Meter Reading
David Richman mentioned that, since Bob Lavagnino has refused to do the monthly meter readings, and, he is still in the process of trying to find someone to do this. He spoke with the Mammoth Community Water District about helping with this, but the District indicated that it would charge approximately $8,000 per month. As that is too expensive, the search continues. David estimates that it will take approximately eight hours per month to read all 180 or so meters.
Revenues from Metered Billing; Expenses
When queried by the other Board members, David acknowledged that he has no idea yet how much additional revenue will be generated from the new billing system. He said that, at $50 per month, the Company is not increasing its reserves, but only covering its costs. The new tank and meters cost approximately $300,000. Future capital expenditures will likely include a new well site ($50,000) and third tank when the developer decides to complete the development of his remaining 80 lots. Furthermore, the Company has to increase reserves for general maintenance of pipes, wells and recoating of the existing water tank. Recoating is recommended every 10 years and it has now been 12 years. David estimates the expense of recoating the tank will be $30,000-$40,000. The Company’s water system is now 30 years old and, consequently, maintenance needs will likely increase in the future.
David also explained some recent expenditures by the Company, including legal fees related to the $165,000 contract for the second tank and the county permit requests related to the tank. The existing tank holds 265,000 gallons of water. The second tank will hold 100,000 gallons of water. Apparently, the county thinks the Company should now run a new main water line from well 3 to the water tank and mix water there. David said that additional legal fees will be incurred while he continues to fight the county on this issue.
The Company will also now have to pay a meter reader to read meters on a monthly basis and bills will now have to be sent on a monthly basis rather than a quarterly basis.
Site for New Well
The Board discussed the location of a potential new well. The best location is thought to be somewhere in the meadow, with the preferred spot being adjacent to the sewer pumping site behind the Knadlers’ house. This location already has piping and power in place. Blair pointed out that the well would have to be at least 50 feet from the pumping station. It is anticipated that the water from a well at this site will contain less uranium than the wells in the hills next to David’s house. The Knadlers have no objection to the well site, but in order to locate a well in the meadow behind their house, the Company would first have to obtain an easement from the Sierra Springs homeowners’ association.
David pointed out that, if it is not possible to locate a new well in the meadow, another potential site is on property adjacent to the church. However, that site would be a little close to well 3 which is behind Paul Dostie’s house, off of Elderberry Lane.
Problem with Crowley Lake Mutual
David told the Board members that recently the Crowley Lake Mutual water system, which currently serves 58 customers, went down. Therefore, the Company put those 58 customers on the Company system for eight days until the Crowley Lake system was fixed. The Company charged Crowley Lake Mutual the $50 monthly fee per customer, prorated for the eight days plus $4.00 per 1000 gallons used while on the Company system.
Additional Questions
Bill Archibald brought up several issues. First, he asked if the new three-tier billing system could be easily changed if it turned out that the Company was bringing in more revenues than it actually needed. David responded that the system could easily be changed. Once the new billing system has been in place for awhile and the Board has some concrete information in hand, the billing numbers can be revisited and modified, if necessary.
Bill asked for an explanation of the recently incurred legal fees. The answer to this question is addressed above under “Revenues from Metered Reading; Expenses.”
Bill asked for guidance on how to explain to Sierra Springs homeowners the necessity for an easement for new well 5 behind the Knadlers. It was suggested to Bill that he explain to homeowners that the Company is trying to accommodate the homeowners by providing more water capacity for those who want it. Furthermore, the Company is trying to find a well location with as little uranium as possible and this puts constraints on where a new well can be drilled. The meadow area is thought to have very low levels of uranium.
Bill asked about asking those homeowners who requested an upgrade to a one-inch valve system to pay for the upgrade. Ultimately, there were only about 5 houses that requested the upgrade.
Annexing New Users
David informed the Board that the Company has a policy in place that, if a new user requests to be annexed to the Company’s water system, such user must have something to contribute to the system or such user will not be allowed to annex to the system.
Operation Manual and Engineering Report
David showed the Board a preliminary operation manual and engineering report that has been prepared by Tim Rudolph. David will continue to work with Tim to finalize the manual.
Date for Annual Meeting
The Board discussed the date and time of the annual meeting of the Company in the fall. It was decided that the meeting should be held in late October and preferably on a Monday night. Blair said that she would look into a date and arrange for booking of the Crowley community center.
Company Website
David gave the Board members a brief hands-on overview of the new Company website.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m.