Please note: This is an unofficial summary provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to represent the official board meeting minutes.
If you couldn’t make it to the TWSD Board meeting at the Lodge on Tuesday, October 13th, here’s what was discussed and decided. It was a good turnout, and it’s always great to see so many community members show up and provide input on the issues everyone deals with in Timberon.
Who Was There
Chairman Derenda Robb called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. The whole Board was present: Treasurer Josh McCurdy, Director JJ Duckett, Director Sherry Tackett and Director Jim Wilcox. General Manager Wendy Case and Board Secretary Nan Thorell were there as well. After the Pledge and the salute to the New Mexico flag, the agenda was approved and they got started.
Manager’s Report
Wendy reported that water loss for August was 79%. September’s number isn’t in yet because they’re still waiting on meter reads. The District produced 6,511,600 gallons in September. They’re also interviewing for a Meter Reader to replace Jerry.
USDA came out on September 16th for its inspection, which is supposed to happen every three years. Wendy said the last one was actually back in 2019. The following inspection was skipped because of ‘hostility in the office’ at that time. With that administration no longer in office, USDA is happy to work with the District again. The District has fallen behind on its USDA loan payments because the payment amount was miscalculated at the start. They’re working out a payment plan with USDA to get caught up.
On a brighter note, Wendy continued, Senator Gallegos has been making calls on the District’s behalf to ask about funding. So far, he’s reached out to the Department of Finance and Administration, District 3 Commissioner Vickie Marquardt, and several construction outfits.
Treasurer’s Report
Josh read the account balances:
- F&S: $152,073.38
- Water Operations: $90,457.43
- USDA Construction: $846.60
- USDA Debt Service: $8,993.46
- USDA Short Term Asset: $175,035.20
- Water Restricted Reserve: $5,161.63
- Standby: $71,157.84
Arden asked why the Restricted Reserve was so low. Josh explained that the District is $116,439 behind on the USDA loan, and that has to be made right.
The minutes from the September 8th meeting were approved as written.
The Dumpster/Trash Committee Is Official
The Dumpster/Trash Committee was put together at last month’s meeting, and this vote made it official under the bylaws. The committee’s job is to research and recommend solutions for trash and dumpster service here in Timberon. Sherry is the Board member on the committee. She’s joined by the GM and community members Steve (who chairs it), Tim and Paul. The vote was unanimous.
Lodge Kitchen Rental
The Board looked at a contract to rent the Lodge kitchen to the Waldon family. JJ asked whether the kitchen area is covered by insurance, and Wendy is going to find out whether the Lodge policy covers it. Until then, the Board agreed the Waldons can go ahead and use the space. The contract itself was tabled until the insurance question is answered.
Grants Update
Anita, the Compliance Officer, wasn’t there so Wendy gave a short update. Senator Heinrich’s office told her not to expect news on the $24 million grant until mid-November. That was all on grants this time.
A Big Thank-You to Kimberly
Kimberly Bufton, a community member and TVFD (District 6) officer, walked everyone through her work on the TWSD Manual of Policies and Procedures, which had been incomplete for quite a while. She retyped and reformatted the whole thing so it’s consistent, and added a cover page, a table of contents, and a revision page. From now on, the revision page will track every change and the date the Board approved it. This manual is the main policy document. The Employee Handbook and the Office Policy Manual will be redone next in the same format.
Kimberly will email the finished manual to Nan, who will send it to the Board and to Wendy. Wendy will pass it along to the Union. The Board and the audience gave Kimberly a well-deserved round of applause. The Board hadn’t had a chance to read the finished manual yet, so approval was tabled until next month.
The Trash Talk
This was the big conversation of the night. Steve presented what the Dumpster Committee found:
- A trash compactor won’t work. Compacting two or three dumpsters into one load would make it too heavy to haul safely down the mountain.
- Nobody else wants the job. Because of where we are and those steep, winding roads, neither of the other two waste companies in Alamogordo is interested in serving Timberon.
- Southwest Disposal is our best and only option. Steve said Southwest works very well with us. Wendy calls for pickup the day before, and the TWSD crew helps with the dump and return.
- No permit is needed. Timberon doesn’t produce enough trash to require one, and we don’t run an official transfer station. TWSD just provides Southwest Disposal a place to park the dumpsters.
The discussion went on for quite a while after that, and plenty of community members offered ideas. In a nutshell: A landfill or incineration came up, but neither seemed like a good fit for Timberon. People liked the idea of a separate spot for big items like building materials, furniture, tires, and appliances, with someone hired as needed to haul them down to town. Other suggestions included raising the trash fee for local commercial and construction businesses, and billing landowners without a metered water account for trash (currently, only metered water and bulk water customers pay the $16.00 monthly trash fee). JJ also shared some history on dumpster issues that the District has dealt with over the years.
This was just a report, so no decisions were made. Everyone seemed to appreciate the information, and the Board thanked Steve for his work.
Playground Gravel
Derenda brought up the issue of mud around the picnic tables at the playground. The area is provided for the community and is also a Roadrunner Food Bank distribution area. Rain runoff collects and makes a muddy mess, and she’d like to see gravel or wood chips put down. Wendy will check with the Otero County Roads Department on availability and cost, and the item was tabled until there’s more information.
Community Q&A Time
- David said he hasn’t had any chlorine residual at his house for over a week and asked what’s going on with the chlorine injection. Wendy will look into it and get back to him.
- Clark asked about the Standby liens. Wendy said things are moving along and several payments came in this week. There’s no news on foreclosures yet, since the attorney is busy with other District matters.
- Arden asked whether there was a report from Alex, our Level 4 operator. Wendy said Alex has been out of town.
The Directors had no remarks, and the meeting adjourned at 6:23 PM.