A Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District, (the “District”) was held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. 

Attendance: 

A regular meeting of the District was scheduled in compliance with the laws of the State of Colorado, with the following directors in attendance: 

• Karen Morgan, President  
• Roger Wendell, Vice President/Secretary 
• Philip Hardinger, Treasurer 
• David Wiechman, Director 
• Arthur Martinez, Director  

Also present were: 

• Dylan Woods, Title 32 Attorney 
• Josh Stanley, District Manager, GMWSD 
• Sam R. McKay, GMWSD 
• Jesse Daveport, GMWSD 
• Doug Pavlich, GMWSD 
• Dave Garner 
• Guests 1 and 2 
• Brian 
• Ludmila 
• Other Guests 

Call to Order / Declaration of Quorum: 

Noting a quorum of the Board, Director Morgan called to order the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District at 6:30 p.m. 

Directors & Disclosure Matters: 

None. 

Approval of/Deletions from the Agenda: 

None. 

Public Comment: 

Members of the public wishing to address the board during the public comment period are asked to indicate the agenda item number or public comment period next to their name on the sign-in sheet. Members of the public will then be recognized by the Board as each agenda item is undertaken. 

• Dave Garner: Discussed transparency and engagement with the public, requesting that district residents be quickly and more fully informed on district matters. He suggested providing more details for certain agenda items and adding more information to agenda packets. 
• Guests 1 and 2: Expressed concerns about fee rate increases, the cost of infrastructure, and the effects of changes on long-time residents. They also echoed the sentiment of wanting more transparency from the district. 
• Brian: Commented on transparency and increasing fees, acknowledging the importance of repairs but expressing concern for the proportion of monthly bills that are service and IRF fees. He also praised the district’s customer service.  
• Ludmila: Greeted the Board and expressed appreciation for the addition of the pledge of allegiance and commented on the city council meeting and comments made about the GMW Board. She expressed concern about potential environmental dangers at the ravine and lack of action from Lakewood.  

Approval of Minutes: 

a. October 28th special meeting minutes 

• The Board briefly discussed the October 28th special meeting minutes and the correction that was made to “legal matters.” (20:54) 
• Director Wendell MOVED to accept the October 28th meeting minutes. Director Morgan seconded, following discussion and upon vote the motion PASSED unanimously. (21:55) 

  b.   November 11th regular meeting minutes 

• Director Wendell MOVED to accept the November 11th meeting minutes. Director Morgan seconded, following discussion and upon vote the motion PASSED unanimously. (23:54) 

Financial Matters: 

The Board reviewed the November 2025 Daily/Monthly Operating Expenses & Capital Expenditures. (24:31)  

Director Hardinger MOVED to approve the operating expenses and expenditures, as well as the unaudited financial statements for the period ending November 30, 2025. Director Wiechman seconded. (25:00) 

Mr. Pavlich and Mr. Stanley clarified various financial items in response to questions from Director Wendell and Director Martinez, including credit card fees, fence repair expenses, time deposit maturity, and non-compliance penalties. (25:20) 

Returning to the motion, motion PASSED unanimously upon vote. (33:55) 

Public Hearing on 2026 Budget 

1. Resolution regarding 2026 budget 

• Mr. Pavlich reviewed highlights of the budget with the Board, including the change from tiered structure to a flat fee and the increase in the IRF fee. He also clarified specific cost increases, such as Denver Water increasing rates. (34:19) 
• Mr. Pavlich expanded on what the service fee covers, which includes employee, legal, office, and contracted repair costs. (37:51) 
• Director Wiechman reviewed common distribution of expenses, explaining that a large portion of expenditure comes from the transportation of water and sewer, not the product itself. He described reasons for investing in high financial reserves and noted the reserve should be higher based on predicted costs of replacements. (39:27) 
• Director Morgan added to Director Wiechman’s explanation and echoed that the district is “playing catchup.” She expanded on how the district is handling the replacement of overdue pipes and how the budget has been adjusted to even out the distribution of fees with the shift to a flat rate. (43:02) 
• Director Morgan expressed appreciation to those who have reached out and stated the Board will work on increasing transparency and public outreach. (47:50) 
• Director Wiechman MOVED to approve the Resolution for the 2026 budget. Director Wendell seconded, following discussion and upon vote the motion PASSED unanimously. (49:38) 

Public Hearing on 2026 Rates and Fees 

1. Resolution regarding the 2026 rates and fees 

• Director Hardinger MOVED to approve the Resolution for the 2026 rates and fees. Director Wiechman seconded, following discussion and upon vote the motion PASSED unanimously. (51:10) 

District Reports: 

a. Maintenance Report 

• Mr. Stanley reported six main breaks in December, noting the increase being caused by the combined effect of weather and old infrastructure. Mr. Stanley also discussed modern standards for pipes, replacement techniques, and average expense of main breaks. (51:58)

b. District Engineering Report 

• Mr. Stanley addressed a sewer spillage at Alameda and Union that occurred the morning prior. He commended the staff for their work in handling the matter while minimizing the effects. (57:58) 
• The Board considered extra compensation for the workers who handled the sewer emergency and decided to consider this incident and a policy for handling similar situations in the future at the next regular meeting. Director Wendell will work with Mr. Stanley to investigate the matter further, define “extraordinary circumstances,” and figure out what the Board’s response should be in preparation for the discussion. (1:00:58) 
• Mr. Stanley reported the blue tank on Hayden Park Hill was taken offline for cleaning and is back and operational. (1:04:27) 
• Director Morgan requested Mr. Stanley compile information on what it may look like to contract everything out in the district to compare with the current circumstances and to what other districts contract out. (1:05:53) 
• Mr. Stanley stated that 1078 S Alkire sent a formal notice for a hearing with the Board regarding their tap application, which will be on the agenda of the January regular meeting. The Board discussed a past hearing with the applicant, hearing presentations with lawyers, and considered the current dispute resolution policy and potential changes to make to it. (1:09:40) 
• The Board reviewed what information must be discussed on record or at the hearing, and what actions are considered “off record.”  
• Mr. Stanley will provide a summary of the issues regarding the tap application for review two weeks prior to the hearing and will request the same from the appellant. (1:22:10) 
• The Board will add an item to the February regular meeting agenda to discuss how the hearing went, how the process can be improved, and what may need amending in the rules and regulations (1:27:11) 
• Mr. Stanley noted he is waiting to hear from Alameda Water and Sanitation district regarding potential development at Alameda and Kipling. (1:28:28)  
• Mr. Stanley provided updates on IRP projects 2025, confirming that 1 is complete and 2 is in the final stage and will likely wrap up by the end of the week. Plans for 2026 projects will be incrementally submitted to Lakewood for review. (1:29:38) 

Directors Matters: 

a.   Update on revenue loss by Director Wendell from The Bend exclusion 

• Director Wendell provided an explanation and overview of revenue loss due to the Bend exclusion. Director Martinez and Director Wendell expounded on reasonings behind decisions made at the vote. (1:31:43) 

b.   Policy and procedure for special meeting updates by Director Martinez  

• Director Martinez remarked on a need to better handle notification of special meetings as some Board members may not be in positions to be informed by the standard means. The Board deliberated adding or updating an existing policy to formalize receiving additional forms of notifications outside of email and the website.  (1:37:00) 
• Director Martinez MOVED to add a procedure to have an additional contact method in place to notify Board members of special meetings outside the normal meetings. Director Martinez agreed to construct a proposal for the next regular meeting, and the Board briefly discussed specifics needing to be considered for the proposal. The motion was not seconded or voted on. (1:41:22) 

c.   Audit engagement letter  

• Mr. Stanley briefly reviewed the audit engagement letter. (1:44:46) 
• Director Wiechman MOVED to engage Crady, Puca & Associates for the audit. Director Hardinger seconded, following discussion and upon vote the motion PASSED unanimously. (1:45:08) 

 d.   Discuss hiring a public relations firm   

• The Board deliberated hiring a public relations firm to improve public outreach and engagement. Director Hardinger and Mr. Stanley will investigate if there is a need to hire an outside firm, if current contracts can be modified to accommodate PR elements, and potential firms to hire if that route is pursued. (1:45:32) 
• The Board briefly discussed requesting the 2026 engagement letter from Heidi et al. They will also request quotes for increased level of service and inclusion of PR services. (1:58:18) 

 e.   Consider resolution to amend the order of business for board meetings 

• The Board talked about moving agenda items of guest speakers or presentations to occur before regular business, right after public comment. (2:00:14) 
• Director Morgan MOVED to approve the resolution to amend the order of business. Director Wendell seconded. (2:03:56) 
• The Board expanded on their discussion, with Director Morgan requesting a modification to the resolution to state “this is a modification of the Bylaws section 8C ‘Order of Business.’” They also considered reasons to approve the resolution or to return to the matter in a future meeting. (2:04:04) 
• Upon vote, the motion to approve the resolution FAILED, with Director Wiechman, Director Hardinger, and Director Martinez dissenting. (2:14:32) 

Legal Matters: 

a.   Update on legal response from Lakewood on Comprehensive Plan objections  

• Director Morgan provided a summary of current legal matters and hired attorneys. (2:15:10) 
• The Board deliberated whether there is a legal committee or whether one is needed. (2:20:57)  
• Director Hardinger presented the research he had done regarding densification and the pressure of zoning changes on the board. (2:29:42) 
• Director Hardinger MOVED to have the committee review all the different legal items and present a report to the Board. Director Wiechman seconded. (2:34:16) 
• The Board further discussed the matter, exploring the goals and scope of work, limitations, and considerations of avoiding illegal quorums and breaches of confidentiality. Mr. Woods advised the Board to be mindful of the Open Meetings Law and attorney-client communications and provided his opinion on the issues having a formal committee may present. (2:34:37) 
• Upon vote, the motion to establish a general legal committee comprised of Director Wiechman and Director Hardinger PASSED with Director Morgan and Director Wendell against. (2:43:18) 
• The Board briefly talked about the initiating document for a lawsuit against Lakewood; specifically, starting the rule 57 process. (2:44:06) 

Mr. Wood provided a general legal update on the ravine crossing and the Timmin’s lawsuit. (2:46:49) 

Executive Session: 

• At 9:21 p.m., Director Hardinger MOVED to go into Executive Session. Director Martinez seconded the Motion. The Motion PASSED by unanimous consent. (2:50:57) 
• The Executive Session held pursuant to §24-6-402(4)(b) and/or §24-6-402(4)(e), C.R.S. for the purpose of receiving legal advice regarding Lakewood's response to Comprehensive Plan objections. (2:51:10) 
• The Board concluded the Executive Session at 9:49 p.m. (2:51:45) 

Legal Matters – Action Resulting from Executive Session 

None. 

New Business: 

• The Board discussed showing support and appreciation for petitioners via a letter that will be provided by Director Wendell. The Board also considered that, if a ballot measure or referendum comes from the petitioning, they will do a second resolution of support. (2:52:06) 
• The Board discussed with Mr. Stanley the timing for the Master Plan. They will run a model with the new zoning to get an idea of how the district will be affected and will investigate best methods to limit and target specific areas for development. (2:54:56) 
• Mr. Woods will ask Lakewood Land Partners to join in the request to GSA to release information on the entire reservation capacity. (2:58:01)  
• Mr. Woods clarified what documents the public can request, stating that, in general, anything the Board looks at during a meeting is open to the public as per CORA. (3:00:35) 
• The Board briefly talked about densification. (3:02:52) 

Other Matters: 

There were no other matters to come before the Board. 

Adjourn: 

The meeting was adjourned at 10:02 p.m.