The Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District Board of Directors met in May for the first time, following the May 6 election. New board members Lynne Bliss, Steve Kreps and Walter Porter were sworn in.Kreps presented nominations for board officers, and the board unanimously approved them: Bliss as president; Kreps as vice president; Porter as secretary; Jan Pizzi as treasurer; and Bryan Mendiola as director.During his report, Evan Ela, attorney for the board, presented an easement agreement with Golden West Power Partners (wind farm project) to install an overhead transmission line at the southern boundary of the district, north of Garrett Road. The agreement would require Golden West to pay $1,000 initially and then $4,000 within 30 days to have the option to construct the lines, he said. If the company decides to go forward with the project at that site, they will then pay the district an additional $10,000 plus a certain amount per linear foot, Ela said. The project could net the district about $37,000, he said.ìWe would still own the land, but we would be granting them the easement to use,î Ela said. ìGene (Cozzolino) and I think itís a good way to make a profit off that land.îThe directors unanimously approved the contract.Pizzi presented the board with a local churchís proposal to use the Community Center West to hold two services per month on a long-term basis. Parks and recreation director Shana MacDonald said the services would take place before the center is open for the residents. Ela said the church could use the center now, just like any other group that rents the space short-term; however, a long-term situation would require a policy change. MacDonald presented the parks and recreation report and said she has been planning a casino night in Cripple Creek for June 13. The Rambling Express bus will arrive at 4 p.m. at the Recreation Center East to transport those who want to participate.MacDonald also reminded the board that the community garage sale will be June 20-22 and is $5 per participant.Cozzolino, water/wastewater director for the WHMD, updated the board about the bids he received for installing cameras at the Dane R. Balcon Park. The board had budgeted $15,000 for the cameras; the bid was $9,550 for two 15-foot poles, four cameras and a DVD recorder, with 1,340 hours of recording capability, he said.The poles will be about 15 feet from the monument at the park and positioned so the cameras can record activities at the monument, the playground and also monitor each other, he said. The cameras only record when they see motion, and should have high enough resolution to identify faces, Cozzolino said. The board unanimously approved the bid.During his water and wastewater report, Cozzolino said his crew completed 29 units for the transmitter replacement program, bringing the total completion of phase two to 86 percent. He said the first fixed-network unit that will read the water meters was installed at the Theriot tank, with up to nine units installed throughout the community, Cozzolino said.The distributor who sells the district its sodium hypochloride, the water disinfectant, raised the cost by 4 percent so the district will have to absorb that increased cost, he said.The rate schedule for irrigation of the parks and recreation areas and common areas in the homeowners associations has been revised, Cozzolino said. Currently, the water/wastewater department has covered that cost and the HOAs and parks and recreation department have not been billed for the water. He asked the board if those departments or entities should cover the costs on their own. Bliss said she would like to see the total costs; Cozzolino said he would bring that number to the June meeting.Other updates on water/wastewater: The lift station in Falcon Highlands is still experiencing debris that is clogging the pump, and the district is trying to avoid a costly replacement by removing the debris about twice a month. Also, the emergency bypass at Lift Station 1 was completed, and three trees had to be removed along Meridian Road because their roots were obstructing the sewer main. The district received a grant reimbursement of $5,000 from the Special District Association for a 4-inch pump it installed.The next WHMD meeting will be June 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center West.
