Foothills residents: Here are the minutes of the December 15, 2020 Jericho Fire District #1 meeting.
Attendees: Chris Laskowski, Chris Lavorgna, Brian Stevens, Ann Lerner-Kroll, Robert Nadal, Jeffrey Earl,
Cody Grimm (SOS), Charlie Windisch.
The Zoom meeting was called to order at 7pm.
- SOS has placed wooden stakes on each homeowners lawn, to indicate where the water shut-off valve is. Residents are asked to leave these in place until the spring. In the event water needs to be shut off, these stakes will save time and effort in locating the valves, especially since the ground will be snow covered.
- Water bills for 1st quarter 2021 have been mailed out. They are due January 5th, 2021.
- We have a few challenging expenses next year (see below). As such, there was a motion to increase the 2nd/3rd/4th quarter bills by $5. The bills have not increased in some time, and this represents an increase of just over 2%. The motion was seconded, and passed.
- There was a lot of discussion on some necessary upgrades/repairs to the water system. The big ticket item is the replacement of the greensand filter/support structure in the pump house (roughly $27K), which after a state inspection last summer was deemed a “must replace” in 2021. We have the option to go ahead and replace with a new filter which is the same as what we presently have, or consult with engineers to see if there is a better option. The board decided to get an engineering opinion to search out the best option.
- A number of curb stop / blow-off valves need to be replaced. The board also want to move the the curb stop for #35 Foothills to the other side of the road (where it will be away from a very congested utilities area). SOS is working to get a good estimate for these repairs, but will probably be in the $5K range.
- Paying for items 4) and 5) above: The board will investigate several options. One is to take out a loan; another is to look into aid dollars available from the state for small water districts. SOS to send information to the board on the state aid.
Next meeting: 7pm January 21, 2021. Meetings are open to all Foothills residents.
- Charlie Windisch, Secretary