Minutes of Regular Meeting of Southern Black Hills Water System Board
Crazy Horse Monument
Thursday, September 28, 2023
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Southern Black Hills Water System was held at the Crazy Horse Monument on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
Chairman Wick called the meeting to order at approximately 1:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL – Board Members present were Wick, Baird, Kraus, Krump, Nase, Seaboldt, and Zolnowsky; Beard and Smith were absent. Others in attendance were Don Peterson.
AGENDA – Motion by Krump, 2nd by Seaboldt to approve the agenda. Motion passed unanimously.
MINUTES - Motion by Seaboldt, 2nd by Kraus to approve the minutes of the August 24 meeting. Motion passed unanimously
For the record, the base rates approved at the August meeting were specifically:
Category Monthly Base Rate for 2024
Phase 1 & 2 Residential $106
Phase 1 & 2 Pasture Tap $87
Paramount Point $75
Spring Creek Acres $75
Rushmore Ranch $87
TREASURER’S REPORT – Don Peterson presented the treasurer’s report for August 2023. The report was reviewed by the board members. Motion by Seaboldt, 2nd by Baird to approve the treasurer’s report and transfer $15,000 from the regular checking account into the RD account. Motion passed unanimously. The check sequence ending August 31 was check #4287 and beginning September 1 was check #4288.
OLD BUSINESS –
Managers’ Report
Mayor Styles of the Town of Hermosa contacted Don Peterson about documenting, and if necessary correcting the clearance between the crossing of SBHWS’s water line from Paramount Point to the SD Hwy 79 Right-of-way and the Town’s sewer line connecting from the area of the Dollar General store to the Petersen development. Insufficient documentation was collected during the installation of the sewer line to be able to verify that the separation of the two lines meets state requirements. Excavation of the crossing will need to be done, and the Town will notify SBHWS when this will be done so that SBHWS can observe the documentation of the crossing.
Reporting requirements for the Lead Service Line Inventory requires physical addresses for customers. For those SBHWS customers whose mailing address is not the physical address, staff will look up physical addresses for the inventory report.
Todd Hoover of the USFS reported to Don Peterson that a survey of the sites of USFS fire observation cameras on private towers in California, New Mexico, and Arizona indicates that the tower owners are not paid any fee by USFS for use of those towers as a platform. Discussion amongst the Board members led to the conclusion that SBHWS should require a fee sufficient to cover both our costs for the access fee charged by USFS for our water line and the provision of power for the camera and its associated communication equipment.
DANR is scheduled to release funding for the Paramount Point / Spring Creek Acres project on October 16. SBHWS can then apply for funds and begin the bid and contract processes for the project; interested parties have been apprised of project work items and projected timeline.
Forms for the customer notification system are being processed for input into the IRIS system; 217 of approximately 500 customers have provided contact information. A second round of requests for contact information is planned for later this fall.
NEW BUSINESS -
For consistency of water rates, the rate Simon pays for water obtained at the Argyle tower hydrant will be set to $4 per 1000 gallons as of January 2024.
Discussion of how to encourage more active participation of board members and prospective members led to the proposal to have a per-diem payment for directors participating in board meetings. Motion by Seaboldt, 2nd by Kraus to provide a payment of $50 for each meeting attended, to be paid quarterly based on the past quarter’s attendance. Eligibility for payment commences with the January 2024 meeting.
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Krump to move into Executive Session at 3:30 pm; motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Seaboldt to move out of Executive Session at 3:55; motion passed unanimously. There were no motions arising from executive session.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS - None
UPCOMING MEETINGS -
The next meeting of the Southern Black Hills System Board will be October 26, 1:00 PM at the Crazy Horse Monument in Custer.
The members’ meeting of the Southern Black Hills Water System will be October 19, 2023, at the Pringle Community Center, starting at 6:30 pm.
ADJOURNMENT - Motion by Krump to adjourn the meeting at 3:56 PM, 2nd by Baird. Motion passed unanimously.
Crazy Horse Monument
Thursday, September 28, 2023
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Southern Black Hills Water System was held at the Crazy Horse Monument on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
Chairman Wick called the meeting to order at approximately 1:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL – Board Members present were Wick, Baird, Kraus, Krump, Nase, Seaboldt, and Zolnowsky; Beard and Smith were absent. Others in attendance were Don Peterson.
AGENDA – Motion by Krump, 2nd by Seaboldt to approve the agenda. Motion passed unanimously.
MINUTES - Motion by Seaboldt, 2nd by Kraus to approve the minutes of the August 24 meeting. Motion passed unanimously
For the record, the base rates approved at the August meeting were specifically:
Category Monthly Base Rate for 2024
Phase 1 & 2 Residential $106
Phase 1 & 2 Pasture Tap $87
Paramount Point $75
Spring Creek Acres $75
Rushmore Ranch $87
TREASURER’S REPORT – Don Peterson presented the treasurer’s report for August 2023. The report was reviewed by the board members. Motion by Seaboldt, 2nd by Baird to approve the treasurer’s report and transfer $15,000 from the regular checking account into the RD account. Motion passed unanimously. The check sequence ending August 31 was check #4287 and beginning September 1 was check #4288.
OLD BUSINESS –
Managers’ Report
Mayor Styles of the Town of Hermosa contacted Don Peterson about documenting, and if necessary correcting the clearance between the crossing of SBHWS’s water line from Paramount Point to the SD Hwy 79 Right-of-way and the Town’s sewer line connecting from the area of the Dollar General store to the Petersen development. Insufficient documentation was collected during the installation of the sewer line to be able to verify that the separation of the two lines meets state requirements. Excavation of the crossing will need to be done, and the Town will notify SBHWS when this will be done so that SBHWS can observe the documentation of the crossing.
Reporting requirements for the Lead Service Line Inventory requires physical addresses for customers. For those SBHWS customers whose mailing address is not the physical address, staff will look up physical addresses for the inventory report.
Todd Hoover of the USFS reported to Don Peterson that a survey of the sites of USFS fire observation cameras on private towers in California, New Mexico, and Arizona indicates that the tower owners are not paid any fee by USFS for use of those towers as a platform. Discussion amongst the Board members led to the conclusion that SBHWS should require a fee sufficient to cover both our costs for the access fee charged by USFS for our water line and the provision of power for the camera and its associated communication equipment.
DANR is scheduled to release funding for the Paramount Point / Spring Creek Acres project on October 16. SBHWS can then apply for funds and begin the bid and contract processes for the project; interested parties have been apprised of project work items and projected timeline.
Forms for the customer notification system are being processed for input into the IRIS system; 217 of approximately 500 customers have provided contact information. A second round of requests for contact information is planned for later this fall.
NEW BUSINESS -
For consistency of water rates, the rate Simon pays for water obtained at the Argyle tower hydrant will be set to $4 per 1000 gallons as of January 2024.
Discussion of how to encourage more active participation of board members and prospective members led to the proposal to have a per-diem payment for directors participating in board meetings. Motion by Seaboldt, 2nd by Kraus to provide a payment of $50 for each meeting attended, to be paid quarterly based on the past quarter’s attendance. Eligibility for payment commences with the January 2024 meeting.
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Krump to move into Executive Session at 3:30 pm; motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Baird, 2nd by Seaboldt to move out of Executive Session at 3:55; motion passed unanimously. There were no motions arising from executive session.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS - None
UPCOMING MEETINGS -
The next meeting of the Southern Black Hills System Board will be October 26, 1:00 PM at the Crazy Horse Monument in Custer.
The members’ meeting of the Southern Black Hills Water System will be October 19, 2023, at the Pringle Community Center, starting at 6:30 pm.
ADJOURNMENT - Motion by Krump to adjourn the meeting at 3:56 PM, 2nd by Baird. Motion passed unanimously.
