Please note: This is an unofficial summary provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to represent the official board meeting minutes.
Friday evening’s special meeting of the Timberon Water & Sanitation District ended up being one of the more informative gatherings we’ve had in a long time. It wasn’t a night of motions and votes so much as an opportunity for the community to sit down with our Level 4 Water Operator, Alex Salas, and finally get the bigger picture on what’s happening with our system — past, present, and where we need to go next.
The meeting actually started off a little differently. Director Robb wasn’t there right at 6:00, which meant the board didn’t have a quorum. Instead of sending everyone home, Vice Chair Hardesty used the time to introduce Alex and give the audience a real sense of who he is and why he’s here. It was impressive. Alex comes with a long list of credentials — civil engineer, college instructor, lab analyst, certified Level 4 operator, and years of experience with water systems both in the field and behind the scenes. All of his transcripts and certifications were provided to TWSD as soon as he was hired.
More importantly, he hasn’t wasted a minute since coming onboard. He has been in constant communication with the office and the field crew, helping them navigate the maze of state requirements and technical challenges we’ve been facing. Everyone in the room could tell that he has already built a strong working relationship with the staff.
Once Director Robb arrived and the quorum was restored, the board formally opened the meeting and turned things over to Alex for a Q&A session.
Alex walked through three big items that need immediate attention:
(1) Replacing the storage tank flagged in the Sanitary Survey,
(2) Tackling our water-loss problem, and
(3) Moving forward with the new fence design for the water plant.
On the tank replacement, he explained that the state won’t approve a poly tank, we’ll have to replace the old one with a metal tank. That prompted questions from the audience, including one from Arden about Tank 3, the big metal tank that’s currently out of commission. Alex explained what the state looks for, and why certain materials are off the table.
The water-loss discussion got quite a bit of attention. Alex has a few approaches in mind, from pressure testing with Travis and JoeBob to possibly bringing in another specialized contractor. He made it clear that he’ll bring the board several options to consider so the district can take real steps toward bringing those numbers down.
On the fence design, he noted that the drawings are already done — and amazingly, the Sanitary Survey people approved them on the first try. He gave a shoutout to Leo for that, which was well deserved. The fence is considered a security issue, so as soon as the board is ready, he wants to get bids out.
At this point, the discussion broadened into the bigger picture. Vice Chair Hardesty mentioned the upcoming Administrative Order hearings in December, which deal with violations going back to 2022. Alex and GM Case will be handling those meetings, and they already have documentation showing that several of the issues have been cleared up. Alex noted that he’s evaluating the entire water system to find ways to make it more efficient, and he’ll bring ideas to the board as he develops them.
Vice Chair Hardesty made it a point to say how much he appreciated the progress he’s seeing now that Alex has built such a good rapport with the field crew. Chairman Cruey added that Alex has already opened communication with the state again, and that things finally feel like they’re moving in the right direction.
The audience had several questions and comments. Arden asked about the ultra-filtration system for the surface water, which led to an instructive discussion about the goal of getting the surface-water plant online early next year. There was more back-and-forth on technical details like SCADA, reporting requirements, and flow meters.
Audience member Tim asked about the main well. Chairman Cruey said the new equipment is here, but the crew ran into an electrical issue. They’re planning to pull the equipment again on Monday and reset it, hoping to have everything back in by Tuesday so the water-testing process can start.
Audience member Harmony acknowledged the tremendous efforts of the TWSD crew keeping water in the tanks, and appreciation of the community’s patience during all of this, which led right into a well-deserved round of applause for GM Case, who has been the one tracking down certified pipe, coordinating repairs, and keeping the wheels turning during what has turned into a pretty intense emergency.
The meeting wrapped up after some final conversation about audits, grants, and upgrading system controls. It was a very open, positive, and informative evening.
The board adjourned at 6:45 PM, and folks lingered for a while afterward, clearly relieved to finally have real information and a sense that progress is being made.