SALT LAKE COUNTY

SERVICE AREA #3 – SNOWBIRD

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES

December 11th, 2023

9567 E. By-Pass Road

Snowbird, Utah 84092

ATTENDES:                 

                                    Dave Richards, Chairman

                                    Tom Prosek, Vice Chairman

                                    Chris Bremer, Trustee

                                    Kasey Carpenter, General Manager   

Bryauna Alderin, Office Manager/Clerk

John Brindle, System Operator

 

                                       

The Salt Lake County Service Area #3 Board of Trustees meeting was called to order by Chairman Richards at 12:02 pm.

 

PUBLIC HEARING- Chairman Richards opened the public hearing at 12:02 pm. Let it be noted that there were no public present on site or remotely.

 

Resolution 2023-5 Water and Sewer 5% rate increase – Chairman Richards stated that over the last 4 months there has been a lot of discussion regarding the three rate increase options 10%, 5% and 0%. Chairman Richards verified Vice Chairman Prosek was still in line with moving forward with the 5% increase as discussed in the November meeting and Vice Chairman Prosek confirmed he was. Mr. Carpenter stated the only feedback received was from resident Mr. Buselli, Ms. Alderin briefly spoke over the phone with him. Mr. Buselli raised concerns regarding the 5% rate increase and asked that a copy of the 2024 proposed budget be emailed to him, he also stated he would try to be present at this meeting. Ms. Alderin stated the few other residents to call with questions were all understanding of the rate increase after Ms. Alderin explained the reasoning behind it. Mr. Carpenter discussed he has been in contact with Snowbird’s CFO Mr. Russel and Snowbird’s President Mr. Fields regarding the 5% increase on treated water and the 40% increase for untreated snowmaking water, neither had any official comments concerning this. Chairman Richards motioned to approve Resolution 2023-5 (Rate and Development Policy Resolution no. 21). Trustee Prosek seconded the motion and it carried.  A copy of Resolution 2023-5 is attached to the meeting minutes.

 

AMENDMENT OF THE 2023 SALT LAKE COUNTY SERVICE AREA #3 BUDGET and 2024 BUDGET HEARING AND APPROVAL- Chairman Richards stated that over the last 4 months there has been a lot of discussion regarding the 2024 proposed and 2023 amended budget, Chairman Richards commends the team for the hard work put into the budget process. Vice Chairman Prosek found an indiscretion in the operating budget on line item 7560 Engineering Consulting, budget is $5000.00 and only showing $1000.00 in the split columns. Mr. Carpenter corrected this issue during the meeting. Thank you, Vice Chairman Prosek, for the catch. With no other comments from the board, Chairman Richards made a motioned to approve Resolution 2023-6 amendment of the 2023 budget and adoption and certification of the 2024 budget. Vice Chairman Prosek seconded the motion, and the motion was carried. A copy of the 2023 amended and 2024 approved budgets are attached for review.

 

Public Hearing- Chairman Richards closed the public hearing at 12:12 pm.

 

Meeting Minutes approval –With Chairman Richards call dropping from the November meeting he will abstain from the vote. Vice Chairman Prosek made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 20th, 2023, Board meeting. After some technical difficulties Trustee Bremer seconded the motion by phone and the motion carried; A copy of the minutes is attached for review.

 

2024 Annual Meeting Schedule discussion- The Board briefly discussed the proposed 2024 Annual Meeting Schedule for Service Area Meetings in which regular board meetings are held every third Monday of the month, with the exception of the January and February meetings which will be held the 3rd Tuesday of the month and the December meeting, held the second Monday of the month due to the public hearing for the budget process. General consensus was this schedule will work. Mr. Carpenter stated in the event of a conflict with trustee work schedules, to notify the Service Area with sufficient notice. With a change to the March date from 19th to 18th Chairman Richards made a motion approving the corrected 2024 Annual Meeting Schedule. Vice Chairman Prosek seconded the motion and the motion carried. A copy of the 2024 Annual Meeting Schedule is attached to the minutes.

 

 

SYSTEMS OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT-

 

Town of Alta Grizzly communication issue – Mr. Carpenter explained the radio communications for the pumps in the grizzly water system are having loss of signal issues, which could cause issue with grizzly resident water. Mr. Carpenter is in discussion with Mr. Taylor from SKM about a couple of different options to resolve this issue, Option 1: purchase new radios and change the communication loop direct from bay city. Option 2: reutilize an old radio and send only the reservoir levels direct to bay city, all other communications stay on old system. Option 3: try updated programing in the SCADA system to auto pump if the reservoir gets too low. Option 1 would be ideal but is the costliest. Mr. Carpenter stated he has been in discussion with Town Administrator Mr. Cawley and reviewed the options. Mr. Carpenter stated that last he had heard from the Town of Alta they will review options and potentially amend their budget to get this issue resolved.

 

FCC License expiration – Mr. Carpenter stated the Service Area #3 FCC license expired last fall, he and Mr. Taylor from SKM are working to get this renewed. Mr. Taylor suggested a third-party company SKM uses to apply for the FCC licenses at a reasonable cost. Mr. Carpenter stated the Service Area will be moving forward with this company to renew the license.

 

Relocating SCADA access outside the Firehouse- Mr. Carpenter discussed the relocation of the SCADA panel box from inside the UFA firehouse garage to the outside of the building to provide better accessibility to the Service Area, this has been in the Capital budgets for years to complete the move from the fire station. Mr. Carpenter stated he had a meeting with Mr. Taylor from SKM and Mr. Clark from Total Power and Control to start the planning process to complete this project this summer.

 

Meadows Pump station Generator – Mr. Carpenter met with Mr. Clark from Total Power and Control to discuss purchasing and installing a generator at the meadows pump station. Mr. Carpenter is still waiting for an official quote but after discussion he feels good the amount budgeted is sufficient.

 

Sonic Firewall replacement – Mr. Carpenter stated it was found during the October internet outage that the Service Areas current Firewall is 15 years old, outdated and needs replacement. SKM provided a quote of $1000.00 for replacement and 1-2 days labor to get it installed. A replacement firewall has been ordered.

 

Meadows Pump station – Mr. Carpenter discussed how Nickerson came up on December 1st to inspect pump #2 at the Meadows lift station. It was determined to pull pump #2 and motor for possible rebuild or replacement. Mr. Carpenter stated it was not without difficulty as it was snowing and the Nickerson crane was not working, after some ingenuity the pump and motor were successfully removed safely. Mr. Carpenter has not had an update from Nickerson as of this meeting. Mr. Carpenter will keep the board informed of updates.

 

Mid Gad seasonal start up – Mr. Carpenter stated the Mid Gad seasonal water checks are complete and are in compliance for the restaurants opening December 13th. One other issue currently, there is a faulty transducer so there is not a water tank level showing. We will work on getting that fixed.

 

Snowmaking water usage update – Mr. Carpenter stated Alta ski area has not used any water from Bay City for Snowmaking so far. Mr. Carpenter discussed that Snowbird has used 40 million gallons to date approximately 50% of the 80-million-gallon allotment.

 

Source Protection Plan- Mr. Carpenter briefly discussed that the Source Protection Plan is required by the State and must be revised every 5 years. Mr. Carpenter is working closely with Mr. Hawks from Aqua Engineering on this update. Mr. Carpenter stated that in discussion it was found the RAC avalanche mitigation systems installed by UDOT and Snowbird/Alta over the last 3 years do not need to be included in this updated Source Protection Plan. The plan will be completed and submitted to the state by 12/31/23.

 

Treasurer’s Report – Mr. Carpenter reviewed with the Board of Trustees the Balance Sheet Previous Year Comparison report through November 30th, 2023, and the Profit and Loss Budget vs. Actual January 1st, 2023, through November 30th, 2023. These reports are emailed to members of the Board prior to the Board meeting for their review.

 

Approval of Bills paid – Approval of the bills listed on the check detail dated November 17th, through December 7th, 2023, as presented by Mr. Carpenter, and hereby authorized and ratified to be paid by the office manager. Chairman Richards made a motion to approve. Vice Chairman Prosek seconded the motion and it carried. Copies of the approved check detail are attached to the minutes.

 

Adjournment - With there being no further business, Chairman Richards adjourned the meeting at 12:53 pm.

 

Salt Lake County Service Area #3-Snowbird                                      

 

__________________________________________________

Dave Richards/Chairman

 

 

ATTEST: ________________________________________

Bryauna Alderin/Clerk

 

 

DATE: ____________________________________________