- Please read the attached public notice for information the State of Vermont mandates be sent to you as a user of the Jericho Fire District #1.
- This is a notification for your information only. This is NOT a notice to avoid using the water unless you are using it for children less than 1 year old.
- Be advised the State DOES NOT recommend that you boil water to remove manganese.
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Public Notice – 12/13/25 Manganese Result
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Minutes — November 18 2025
Attendees: Brian Stevens, Fred Lavenberg, Drew Bulfer, Kevin Trout, Charlie Windisch
Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library meeting room
Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm
- Minutes from the October 2025 meeting were approved.
- Bill payment status: Marilyn Marshall (via email) reports that 6 households still have not paid the 4th quarter bills that were due October 1st. This represents close to 10% of the Foothills households that are delinquent! Water should be considered a utility – just like Green Mountain Power or Vermont Gas Systems. No one would be 7 weeks delinquent in paying those bills. Please try to pay on time!
- Financial report: Revenue has come in as expected. However, we are about $15K above budget for repairs. Brian has secured a line of credit with the Community Bank in the amount of $25K in case we need additional dollars for the coming year. This line of credit was unanimously approved by the committee.
- Lead testing: One household that showed high levels of level in their water in a September test has skewed the overall results (the other 4 were well below any level for concern). The water for this sample was collected from a tap that was not used very often, and the water had been sitting in the pipes for an unknown amount of time. As such we are subject to additional testing (which SOS is handling).
- Manganese – The high levels have been corrected, and we are back to normal.
- Valve replacements – With the snow and colder weather here, the valve replacement effort will be put off until the springtime of next year.
- Lindenwood paving: Project complete.
- Reservoir pumps: Currently only one of two pressure pumps is functioning. Awaiting parts to repair the second pump. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm. Next meeting: Tuesday, December 16th, 7pm.
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Minutes — October 21 2025
Attendees: Kevin Trout, Fred Lavenberg, Drew Bulfer, Jeff Earl, Charlie Windisch
Location: Deborah Rawson Memorial Library meeting room.
Meeting was called to order at 7pm.
- Bill payment status: Marilyn Marshall reported (via earlier email that 7 households have not paid the 4th quarter bill (was due October 1). Reminders to be sent out.
- Water bill payment slips for 2026: Two bill payment notices will be sent out next year. The first will contain two slips for the 1st and 2nd quarters: at a later point, another mailing will be sent with the 3rd and 4th quarter payment slips.
- Lead in the water: The Prudential Committee was notified that there were high levels of lead in one of the samples taken. These samples (one liter each) were taken from five different homes. Four of the samples were fine. An alert (per State requirements) was sent out via Vermont Alerts to the neighborhood. The Committee is working with the homeowner, the State and SOS to try to figure out what is going on.
- High levels of manganese – The recent routine sample taken by SOS at the well head tested higher than allowed for manganese content. This triggered another alert to the neighborhood. The committee is engaged with SOS to figure out why. Possibilities include incorrect chlorine injection pre-filter and incorrect filter backwashing.
- Lindenwood paving was supposed to start this week. The schedule was possibly disrupted by the recent rainy weather.
- The go ahead was to be given to Chris King (excavating) to remove and replace eight stuck/nonfunctional curb stop valves.
- Brian Stevens was given the okay by the committee to start talks about opening a line of credit with Community Bank. This would serve as a backup in case our reserves dip too low as a result of the ongoing projects.
- Joining Vermont Rural Water Association: The committee recommended it and requested Brian to join.
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Public Notice – 10/21/25 Manganese Test Results
Posted 10/21/25 at 22:05
Our quarterly test results for manganese, taken 9/26/25, indicate that our manganese level is high.
- Please read the attached public notice for information the State of Vermont mandates be sent to you as a user of the Jericho Fire District #1.
- This is a notification for your information only. This is NOT a notice to avoid using the water unless you are using it for children less than 1 year old.
- Be advised the State DOES NOT recommend that you boil water to remove manganese.
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Public Notice – 10/21/25 Lead Test Results
Posted 10/21/25 at 22:32
The State has notified us that September lead testing results of the water system are high.
- 5 locations around the neighborhood were tested and one of them was high.
- The method used to determine the safety level involves averaging the highest two results of the five tests.
- The State’s recommended limit is 15 PPB and the averaged 90th percentile test result was 55 PPB on the high side of Foothills.
- Please review the attached Combined T1 Public Notice form below for more information from the State and the next steps that will be taken to confirm these results or lower values.
- This notification is served for your information. This is not a notice to prohibit water use.
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Minutes — September 16 2025
Attendees: Brian Stevens, Drew Bulfer, Kevin Trout, Charlie Windisch
Location: Deborah Rawson Library meeting room.
Meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.
- Minutes from the August meeting were approved.
- Bill Payment Status: Two households have still not paid the 3rd quarter bill which was due 1 July. Late notices to be mailed. Please note 4th quarter bills are due 1 October. Bills have been sent out previously – there will not be another mailing for this quarter. Please pay on time!
- One of the pumps in the reservoir is not working. The float valve in the pump needs to be replaced, which we expect to happen next week.
- Lindenwood paving – a section of the road (where the leak occurred last February) needs repaving. Chris King has been given the go-ahead to start these repairs.
- Valve replacements: Eight curb stop valves have been flagged for replacement. The committee has received one bid and is awaiting another for this work.
- Joining the Vermont Rural Water Association – The committee agreed to join this organization. The cost is roughly $200 per year. It was felt this was worthwhile in that we would be able to learn from other water systems and share approaches to common problems. Cybersecurity has become a concern and the committee is looking into the security of our system. VT Rural Water Association would be a good resource here.
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Minutes — August 19 2025
Attendees: Drew Bulfer, Kevin Trout, Fred Lavenberg, Charlie Windisch
Location: Deborah Rawson library meeting room.Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm
- The minutes from the July meeting were approved.
- Bill payment status: Marilyn Marshall reported (via email) that three house holds still have not paid the 3rd quarter bill. Late notices to be sent out.
- Pump house: Everything seems in working order there. The dehumidifier is on. There was a question as to whether the pump from the holding tank to the leach field had been replaced. Kevin to follow up with Lance (SOS).
- The committee has decided to put a lock on the access gate leading to the pump house, due to unauthorized cars entering the property. Walk-ins are fine, but no vehicles should be entering. Parking outside the gate to the side is okay.
- Valve replacement – The committee received one very high estimate to replace eight “sticky” curb stop valves. We will pursue estimates from other excavators in the area.
- Financials – Brian was unable to make the meeting, but did send the updated spreadsheets for the committee to peruse. We did not find anything of significance and will wait until next month for a more extensive discussion.
- Junk removal around the pump house – nothing new to report. We will take this up again next month.
- Vermont Alerts – At the end of the meeting, Drew sent out a “TEST” VT alert notice. The aim is to alert the neighborhood as quickly as possible if a boil water notice, for example, is necessary. We discovered some issues with the text messaging (message was clipped) that needs some work. (Note: If you would like to opt in please send an email to Drew with your email/cell phone information if you haven’t already done so).
The meeting adjourned at 8:08pm.
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Minutes — July 15 2025
Meeting was called to order at 7:08pm
- Minutes from the June 2025 meeting were approved.
- Bill payment status: An update was not available at the time of the meeting. Bills ($250) for the third quarter were due July 1
- The “Water Bills Due” sign was stolen over the weekend (was sitting on the lawn of 5 Meadow Dr). If you happen to see it on the side of the road please call Charlie at 802 881-3561
- Financials – We continue to track the FY 2025 proposed budget (actual vs anticipated). Overall we are doing well.
- Pump house – About a week ago the drain to the septic tank failed in the pump house failed, resulting in minor flooding. SOS found the septic tank level was full and a pump to lower the level was not working. The issue has been resolved but the committee does not have a full explanation as to root cause. More information forthcoming, (Note – No impact to the quality of our drinking water).
- VT Alerts – An email was sent to all residents asking for contact information (cell numbers, etc) in preparation for the Vermont Alerts roll-out. The purpose is to provide more timely information (e.g. boil water notice) to consumers of the water system. A test notice will be conducted in the near future.
- Gas meter replacement – Vermont Gas replaced the aging meter at the reservoir with a new meter. The emergency generator was fired up and all systems are working at expected.
- Valve replacement – An estimate was obtained from a local excavator to relace 8 valves. The estimate was much higher than expected. The committee will contact other excavators to get additional quotes.
- Jeff Earl agreed to collect some of the miscellaneous junk around the pump house and make a run to the Chittenden Solid waste drop off facility.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:01pm.
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Minutes — June 17 2025
Attendees: Jeff Earl, Drew Bulfer, Brian Stevens, Fred Lavenberg, Ann Lerner Kroll, Charlie Windisch
Meeting location: Deborah Rawson Library meeting room
Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm
- Minutes from the May meeting were approved.
- Bill pay status: Marilyn Marshall (via email) reported that all households have paid the 2 qtr bills; several still owe the additional $15 that started with the second quarter billing. This $15 will be added to the third quarter bills (which will be due July 1).
- Financial position: We are essentially one half of the way thru the fiscal year, and are on target for spending in almost every area. We did receive $13K in insurance money which covered the expenses related to the main break back in February; this put us back on track.
- Vermont Alerts: Several prudential committee members attended an on-line training session for VT Alerts last Friday. We will be implementing VT Alerts as a way to inform the neighborhood quickly and efficiently when there is an alert regarding our water system (e.g., boil water notice, high manganese levels). More information forthcoming when this will be rolled out.
- Valve replacement: The committee working with SOS to get an excavator on board to replace several valves.
The meeting ended at 7:45pm