Britton Reservoir project nears completion

by Carol Dunn
CUCHARA — At the September 13 meeting of the Cucharas Sanitation & Water District, General Manager Bob Northup told the board that the new Britton reservoir and road have been built, and there is just a little bit of piping yet to do. A diversion will be finished in the next two weeks, and then Northup said the disturbed area will be seeded and gravel will be spread.
The landowner who donated part of the land to the district so it could undertake the project, Robert Beck, was at the meeting looking after his interest in the new access road to his property. Beck said he is pleased with the road and is looking forward to having road base put down. Director Jim VanLue suggested the road settle over the winter and the class 6 road base be applied next spring, and Beck tended to agree with that suggestion. The board set June 1 as a final completion date for the road. At Beck’s request, the district will draft a formal easement agreement for the access road.
Northup reported that the ISO (Insurance Services Office) inspection was conducted earlier in the week and included the fire station and the district’s fire hydrants. “It came out real well,” Northup said. The inspection results are used in determining fire rating, which affects homeowner insurance rates. According to Northup, a thorough inspection of every aspect of the water system will soon be conducted by the state health department.
Northup also said that the district’s work crew dug up and repaired the leaking pipeline belonging to Red McCombs which runs across Yellow Pine land. “It lasted a couple weeks, and it has now sprung another leak,” he said. Hereafter, the owner is responsible to repair the old, leaking pipeline.
The Cuchara water tank project is pending. “The plans are at the state for approval,” Northup said. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment must review and approve the plans. The district has gotten an extension on its grant to do the project until the end of November, 2014.
Northup described an incident at the Cuchara water plant on August 24. According to a neighbor, around 2:00 am, someone backed a vehicle into the water plant building, causing minor damage.
The district’s old Chevy truck was sold to the only person who submitted a bid to purchase it. Marshall Moore asked about the district’s plans for disposition of its other heavy equipment, and the board was scheduled to go into executive session to discuss those matters toward the end of the meeting.
The budget committee was appointed and includes: Northup, Jennette Coe, Sandy Hackbarth, Treasurer Jim Ludwick, Chairman Art Pierce, with Henry Harnly serving as an alternate. The committee will have a preliminary budget for board review at the October 11 meeting.