A Good Metro District Meeting

I attended the 5/18 Metro District Board meeting. The Board interviewed two candidates for the District Manager job. The Q&A session was active, and both candidates sound interesting. Steve Labossiere was elected President, with Dwight Zemp as Vice-President.

The audience gave a hearty thanks to Bruce Thompson for his four years of service to our community. Very few people understand how many hours it takes to properly perform service on our community boards, and without what are essentially volunteer hours, our community would not function. The next time you see Bruce Thompson, thank him for his efforts. He will continue to advise the Board on water issues.

The District voted to pay down the outstanding balance on it's short-term variable interest rate debt. That's called the "2006 C" bonds". Current interest rate is below 2%. Outstanding balance is $4.8 million. This no-cost prepayment of $1.6 million leaves $3.2 million outstanding in this portion of the Metro District's debt. It has been a long standing practice of the Metro District board to pay down debt as prudent.

The District hired a consultant to look at consolidation with three to four entities, including Castle Pines Metropolitan District (my choice), Parker Water and Sanitation District, Centennial Water and Sanitation District, and possibly the Town of Castle Rock's utility department. (A consolidation with a smaller entity such as Castle Pines Metro is a good first step. Surrey Ridge, Oak Hills, and Beverly Hills should be consulted about their plans for a water future. Once those discussions come to fruition, discussions with a larger entity such as Centennial or Parker or Castle Rock, is a good next step in further consolidation. It's great to see movement on this front again. Regional consolidation by water providers spreads costs across a larger number of people and is a meritorious notion.)

The Board will pursue the opportunity for some additional water storage space at Chatfield Reservoir. Work on the interconnect pipeline with Centennial Water and Sanitation District is proceeding to 90% construction drawings. The Wise Partnership between S. Metro Water Supply Authority, City of Aurora, and Denver Water may be moving faster than expected. Water rights cases continue to move along through the Water Court process. The District's efforts with water conservation were heralded in the S. Metro Water Supply Authority annual report. The Board expressed interest in including rotary sprinkler nozzles in their rebate program, and asked staff to make specific recommendations at the next meeting.

Andy Rhodes opined the District has grown weary of having cups of coffee to talk to the City about nothing much. It's my sense the door is open to discussion, if credible information could be developed by the City. Parks management is something that could be transferred from the District to the Master Association or the Parks Authority, or the City, or one of the other entities the District will speak with about consolidation - if there are any savings or better service levels to be gained from such a move.

I think so far the people of the community have said they want a City, they want the mil levy to stay with the Metro District, they wanted a change in the Mayor's slot, and they want the Metro District to continue its efforts in pursuit of a sustainable water supply. I hope our City Council will move away from focus on the business of the District or area HOAs, and instead refocus its attention on the City. I sure would like to see a capital plan developed, with a thought to how we will perform significant repairs and replacement on the City's assets as they age. When that information is generated, we will have our first real glimpse at the financial status of the City. That would be a good thing in my view.