Attendees: Jeff Earl, Brian Stevens, Fred Lavenberg, Kevin Trout, Drew Bulfer, Rich Colbourne, Charlie Windisch.

Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library meeting room.

Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm

1. April meeting minutes were approved.
2. Power washing the reservoir tanks: Kevin trying (unsuccessfully so far) to coordinate with SOS to have the tanks cleaned to remove the built-up manganese. Will try to contact Kevin Knapp (another SOS manager) to arrange a date.
3. Pressure tank repair/replacement: The Lindenwood leak resulted in severe damage to at least one of the six pressure tanks in the reservoir building. SOS is coordinating with Clearwater Filtration Systems to assess. We received an estimate of $14K to inspect/replace all six.  The committee will see if we can repair/replace a couple of the tanks now and defer action on the rest to a later time. Brian will also ask our insurer if any of the costs associated with this can be covered by our policy.
4. Valve replacement: We are on the excavator’s list (Chris Wells) to have this work done this year. Will need to coordinate with SOS once a date is determined.
5. Bill payment status: Marilyn Marshall (via email) said that as of meeting time there were seven households who have not paid the 2qtr bill (was due 1 April). Late notices will be sent out. In addition, 10 households owe an additional $15 as the quarterly fee went up from $235 to $250. Those households will be contacted to arrange payment.
6. The committee also discussed the possibility of buying additional signs which would be put up in case of a boil water notice or (God forbid) another high manganese alert. The concern is that a few households have opted out of being included in the Foothills email distribution list and/or there are tenants living in at least one house. No action was decided on at this time.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm.

Attendees: Kevin Trout, Jeff Earl, Drew Bulfer, Ann Kroll-Lerner, Robert Latovsky, Brian Stevens

Location: Deborah Rawson Library meeting room.

Meeting was called to order at 7pm.

1. Asset Management Plan: Kevin will print a copy of the drawings full scale.
2. Lower building heater has been fixed.
3. Lindenwood road repair: Committee will get Cutting Edge (the excavator) to repair the damaged road edge. The town will not fix it (not their responsibility).
4. Valve inspection: To be scheduled with Chris Wells (excavator) and SOS. Asset Management plan contains the list of valves to be inspected/repaired.
5. Lower building maintenance: Communication wiring entering the building is exposed. Junction wiring box needs to be replaced.
6. Manganese issue: Visit by State (Ray Solomon) showed the system is operating as intended. Suggests the chlorine be only injected pre-filter at a level 1.5mg/L rather than pre and post filter. Backwashing is set to once every five days. Filter size is adequate for our needs.
7. Reservoir power washing: Needs to be done. Kevin to coordinate with SOS.
8. Upper building heater has been fixed (Vermont Gas). If it breaks again it should be replaced with a unit that operates off natural gas as opposed to LP. (Less costly).
9. Green sand filter maintenance: Culligan not receptive to providing routine maintenance. Committee to explore other options.
10. Pressure tank replacement: The Lindenwood leak resulted in a collapsed pressure tank in the reservoir. SOS will bring in a consultant to test/review the remaining tanks (5).
11. Equipment replacement plan: Items listed as end of life (EOL) will be inspected this Fall. Decision to be made whether EOL is accurate or can be put off.
12. Curb stop location: Discussion regarding marking the valves so they can be easily located by SOS in an emergency.
13. ** Bills starting in QTR 2 are $250 **  If you have paid the previous amount of $235 you owe an additional $15.

Meeting concluded at 8pm.

Next meeting: April 15 2025 7pm Deborah Rawson Library meeting room.

Location: Deborah Rawson Library meeting room

Attendees: Chris Laskowski, Fred Lavenberg, Drew Bulfer, Jeffrey Earl, Kevin Trout, Brian Stevens, Ann Lerner-Kroll, Charlie Windisch.

Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm.

1. Minutes from the December meeting were approved.
2. Water bill payment status: 11 households have not paid their 1^st quarter 2025 bill (was due January 1); one household has not paid their 4th quarter 2024 bill nor the first quarter bill (you know who you are). The water bills should be treated like any other utility bill and must be paid on time!
3. Officers were elected to new terms. Kevin Trout was elected  Chairman (aka “president”); Brian Stevens will continue on as Treasurer; Charlie Windisch will continue on as Secretary/Clerk, and Marilyn Marshall as bill collector.
4. Lower pumphouse repairs: The pumphouse building is in desperate need of repairs. The committee received an estimate from Koss Construction (via Drew) to repair wood rot, fix the front entrance and apply vinyl siding to the building. The estimate ($6500) was considered very fair and the committee voted to approve.
5. The budget for 2025 was discussed and approved. Quarterly bills going forward will be $250 (up from $235). It is the first increase in several years and represents a 4.7% increase.
6. Manganese testing: Kevin will contact SOS to request monthly testing for manganese (at least for the next six months) to insure the greensand filter and chlorine pumps are doing their job in filtering out the manganese.
7. Greensand filter maintenance – Kevin to contact Culligan to set up a semi-annual maintenance contract (recommended by SOS).
8. Septic tank pump out – Kevin to contact SOS and P&P to make sure we are on a good schedule (every three years) for pumping out the septic tank. The septic tank holds the manganese and other impurities filtered out by the greensand filter. 

Meeting concluded at 8:10pm

Attendees: Kevin Trout, Drew Bulfer, Brian Stevens, Jeff Earl, Charlie Windisch.

Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library Meeting room

Meeting was called to order at 7:30pm

1. Minutes from the November meeting were approved.
2. Bill payment status: Marilyn (via email): Two households are still delinquent in paying the 4^th quarter bill (was due October 1st). On the positive side, 10 households have already paid the 1^st quarter 2025 bill (due January 1, 2025)
3. Financial status: Overall, JFD #1 is in reasonably good shape, financially speaking. The committee spend a lot of time reviewing each line item in the budget, seeing where we met projections and where we fell short. There were several areas where more dollars need to be allocated for FY 2025. As such, the committee is recommending that the quarterly bill be increased by $15 (from $235 to $250) starting with the second quarter of 2025. Rates have not changed for three years, despite rising labor and material costs. (Note: This represents a 4.7% increase, which the committee felt was reasonable). The FY 2025 budget will be finalized at the January 2025 meeting.
4. Lower pump house repairs: The building is showing it’s age and is in need of improvements. The committee (Drew) will contact several contractors who are all fully insured to get estimates. We anticipate a Spring 2025 start date.

Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library meeting room.

Attendees: Lane Simon, Becca Simon (SOS); Carmen Zwack, Ali Corn, Megan Young (Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division – State of Vermont); Fred Lavenberg, Jeffrey Earl, Brian Stevens, Ann Kroll Lerner, Kevin Trout, Charlie Windisch (JFD #1 Prudential Committee)

Meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm. Introductions were made.

1. A substantial part of the meeting was spent discussing the Asset Management Plan (AMP). East Engineering developed the plan which lists the total assets of the JFD #1 system, including pumps, filters, curb stop locations and estimated ages of the components. The intent is to make this a “living document” that will be updated from time to time. The goal is to identify weak points ahead of time and to be proactive instead of merely reacting to problems as they arise. The purpose of the State attending was to witness that we are a functioning municipality. As a result the loan taken out to fund East Engineering is hereby forgiven.
2. Many topics were discussed with SOS. The highlights were the line breakage which occurred on Arcadia (stuck valve) and lead to a loss of system pressure and the subsequent boil water order. Also discussed was the situation that lead to the high levels of manganese and what was done to correct that (two new chlorine pumps). We are still awaiting the results of the samples submitted to officially lift the high manganese warning, but tests done by SOS indicate the levels are way down. We also discussed testing for manganese monthly rather than quarterly so that we know sooner if a problem has developed.  The greensand filter should also be inspected 2x per year to insure it is functioning properly.
3. Bill pay status: Marilyn Marshall reported that there are still four households who have not paid the 4^th quarter bill (which was due October 1).  The committee will discuss late fees to be applied to delinquent accounts at the next meeting.
4. Financials: Brian reported that repair costs are coming in slightly higher than budgeted but nothing to be alarmed about. Otherwise the financial position looks good. The FY 2025 budget will be presented at the next meeting (December 17).
5. Meeting was adjourned at 9pm.

Attendees: Brian Stevens, Jeff Earl, Drew Bulfer, Kevin Trout, Ann Kroll Lerner, Charlie Windisch

Location: Deborah Rawson Library meeting room

Meeting called to order at 7:05pm

1. Bill payment status: Marilyn Marshall (via email) reported 12 households are delinquent in paying the 3^rd quarter bill, and two households are delinquent in paying the 2nd and 3rd quarter bills. Delinquency notices to be sent out.
2. Financial report: We are slightly over budget at this point but not a cause for concern. The electric bills (there are two – one for the lower pump house and one for the upper reservoir house) were discussed. For the past three months the lower pump house bills are considerably higher than a year ago. The committee needs to discuss this with SOS to find out why. Earlier this year, the upper house bills were higher than expected, but this was due to issues with the pressure pumps not working properly.
3. The upcoming November meeting was discussed. The State will send a representative to observe the meeting. This is required to close out the asset management plan (AMP) that was approved. In addition, SOS is required to attend the meeting. The committee will use this opportunity to ask questions to SOS as communication with them is sometimes difficult.
4. Several households have complained about blackened filters and manganese staining. SOS is trying to “dial in” the correct chlorine levels, necessary for the greensand filter to operate correctly and filter out the manganese. A system flush is scheduled for this week which should help purge any build up. The committee also needs to understand how often manganese is tested for and the status of the chlorine addition.
5. Valve replacement. Several shut off valves need to be replaced. The outlook is next spring/early summer. (Post meeting update: Charlie has called Chris Wells to ask if we can get on his calendar for next year).

All for now. Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19 at 7pm.

Location: Deborah Rawson library meeting room.

Attendees: Drew Bulfer, Brian Stevens, Fred Lavenberg, Jeff Earl, Kevin Trout, Charlie Windisch

** There is a small tree down on the access road to the pump house. Looking for a neighborhood volunteer with a chain saw to take care of this.

** Someone dropped off a bag of garbage near the gate entrance to the pump house. If anyone is headed to the dump and wouldn’t mind taking this bag along, it would be greatly appreciated.

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm

1. The minutes from the July 2024 were approved.
2. Bill payment status: Marilynn reported (via email) there are a few households delinquent in paying the third quarter bills. She is working with them to resolve this.
3. Financials: Brian Stevens led the committee through the financial status. Expenses are running as projected, as is the expected income.
4. A new propane heater has been installed in the pump house. It’s up and running with no issues – ready for the cooler temperatures.
5. The holding tank near the pump house is due for a pump out. (This tank holds the manganese and other impurities that the greensand filter catches). Charlie to call P&P Septic to arrange to have this done.
6. Approximately six shut-off valves need to be replaced. This work will be scheduled for next year. The committee will contact Chris Wells.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm

Attendees: Brian Stevens, Fred Lavenberg, Kevin Trout, Drew Bulfer

Charlie Windisch

Meeting was called to order at 7:12pm

1. The minutes from the June meeting were approved.
2. Bill payment status: Marilyn Marshall (via email) reported that 10 households are now delinquent in paying the third quarter bill (bill were due July 1). Late notices will be sent out.
3. Financials – Brian took the committee through the spreadsheets showing income and expenses. Overall, dollars are coming in as expected and expenses are what was projected. We are in good shape financially.
4. Greensand filter maintenance – We do not have a maintenance contract in place with Culligan. The committee will discuss further with SOS and Culligan to see if this is something that should be in place. (There was a flare up in the manganese levels last September which necessitated a visit by Culligan to service the filter. More information needed).
5. Asset Management Plan – A visit in the fall will be made by the State representatives to tour our facility. No firm date yet.
6. Valve replacement – Committee will contact Chris Wells (excavator) to have this work done in the Spring of 2025.
7. Pump house heater replacement – A new propane heater is needed for the pump house. The committee did receive an estimate earlier in the year. Charlie to contact Patterson Fuels to revive this effort.

Meeting ended at 8:20pm

Attendees: Jeff Earl, Drew Bulfer, Kevin Trout.

Location: Deborah Rawson Library meeting room

Meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.

1. Minutes from the April meeting were approved.
2. Bill payment status: No update was available at the time of the meeting. Third quarter bills are due July 1st.
3. The asset management plan completed by East Engineering has been made available on the water system page of the neighborhood website. Foothills Water System
4. Consumer Confidence Report was sent out. The Sep 2023 high levels of manganese which were rectified later in the quarter by Culligan were discussed. The committee will reach out to Culligan to get set up for regular maintenance of the green sand filter.
5. Valve replacements – Several curbstop valves need replacing. The committee will reach out to SOS to get a list of curb stops needing maintenance.
6. Clutter cleanup – Some members of the committee will ad-hoc clean up waste around the buildings. A work day will be planned for September that will involve painting the well house. The committee will reach out to the neighborhood for volunteers to participate. More details around this forthcoming.
   
   

Meeting ended at 7:40pm