Wednesday, April 16, 2025 | 6:00 PM
Olga Community Center
Board Members Present: Pat Boehm, Guy Woods, Geoff Cunard, Paul Groeninger
OWUI Members Present: Grace Gottlieb
OWUI Administrator Present: Aurora Fackler-Adams
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 PM.
2. Approval of Minutes for March
Pat Boehm made a motion to approve the March meeting minutes. Guy Woods seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
3. President’s Report
SWSMP Update:
The current SWSMP document from Barry has been difficult to work with. Geoff is still waiting to hear back from the state and believes the 90-day review window has passed. He spoke with Raquel recently, who confirmed the required documents still needed as described by Dan from EWUA.Intertie Update:
Geoff sought bids for required documents: a project report with checklist, construction documents, and as-builts. Barry quoted $5,000 but cannot begin until June. Geoff also contacted Kenny, the engineer used by EWUA and DBWUA. The project was returned to DBWUA, who will contract Kenny, with OWUI and DBWUA splitting costs evenly.
Bill Hoyt reported it's still too wet to dig for the last pipeline leaks.
Guy inquired about HDR finishing a project they didn’t design; Geoff confirmed HDR is comfortable proceeding.
Grace noted that working with a single engineer is ideal. Geoff stated that our organizational construction guidelines were followed and documentation of this in photo form exists, but has not yet been shared with OWUI by EWUA.Washington Water Trust:
WWT contacted OWUI about purchasing water to support fish habitat through a GiveOrcas campaign. The idea was to open a valve to release water back into the creek, but WWT withdrew due to complications with ecology.
Grace noted OWUI doesn’t fully use its water rights and releasing more at the intake could benefit the creek. Geoff referenced a spreadsheet showing 40 acre-feet passed through the north filter and 35 through the south in 2024. We are already giving a huge amount of water to the creek, so increasing it would only increase flow to the creek slightly.
4. Administrator’s Report
Member Outreach:
OWUI is surveying members for the Water Systems Inventory to gather seasonal residence data and household occupancy. Aurora noted a technical issue with selecting multiple months in the survey.Email and Software Platforms:
Discussion around returning to Google Workspace and purchasing Excel for administrative needs. The board agreed to switch back to Google, with minimal Microsoft usage for Excel. Aurora will complete the switch back and manage maintaining our @olgawater.com email addresses for president and admin.
5. Treasurer’s Report
March expenditures totaled $10,594, including payment to EWUA and a large annual bill.
Only 65% of billed revenue has been collected to date.
Geoff emphasized member outreach regarding outstanding payments should complete by end of April.
Guy asked Aurora to verify EWUA payments; only two have been recorded for 2025, we should have 3 by now.
6. Operator’s Report (EWUA)
No operator present.
7. Operations Report (Pat Boehm)
Tank Maintenance:
Tank scraping on one tank completed and is being refilled.
Grace shared documentation/photos of the process for the board.
Geoff reported that Dan assured the board the scraping is covered by the cost of our monthly payment to EWUA, though tractor rental costs remain.Air Valves:
Dan has been manually releasing air from the air valves, which ideally would do this on their own. Replacing one valve would cost ~$5,000. For now, manual release is more cost-effective.Tank Inspection (LiquiVision):
LiquiVision can clean the tank without full system shutdown and provide inspection and asset inventory.
Cost: $5,079.
Geoff moved to approve hiring LiquiVision; motion seconded by Guy and passed unanimously. Geoff will contact LiquiVision.Meter Replacement:
Pat met with Earthworks for a quote. The pricing for the project would be very high and they are booked out. They suggested that Earthworks' semi-retired employee might do the work at $60/hr, possibly reducing total cost to ~$9,000.
Discussion around standardizing meter/pressure relief valve setup like the one used at Olga Dock.
Pat will meet the contractor (Bob), and if confident, may proceed with a contract.
Grace raised the idea of using meter replacement as an opportunity to inspect service lines.
Pat will confirm whether Bob is willing to handle this as well.
Geoff emphasized the need for a complete GIS-based record of meter locations, names, addresses, and photographs. Aurora will request this from EWUA.
8. Member Input
Grace highlighted the need to plan for federal infrastructure funds that may be closing soon. Guy suggested prioritizing funding for local emergency pipe repairs. Grace clarified that one pipe near Olga ArtWorks has already been replaced and is no longer in use. Pat added that what was initially thought to be a valve issue turned out to be a hydrant problem, now resolved.
Grace urged getting EWUA’s operator reports in time for the annual member meeting.
9. New Business
No new business.
10. Next Meeting
Scheduled for Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
11. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 7:27 PM.
Olga Water Users, Incorporated
admin@olgawater.com