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Dakota Ridge Board of Directors
Meter Pit Meeting
July 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM via Zoom

The meeting was called to order at 12:04 PM.

Board Members Present: Ron Lemieux, Holly Van Deursen, Scott Prochazka, Bill Noyes

Others Present: Garrett Eller, Civil Design Consultants; Andrea Wilhelm and Selena Wathern, Commercial Property Group

With 4 of 5 Board Members present, a quorum was established.

Andrea introduced the intent of the meeting to be to determine how to proceed with the meter pit installation project. Garrett explained that the meter pits in general have a long lead time for procurement and, should the Board choose to approve the project, it should be done quickly to secure the material. Initially, the scope of work was to install 1” meter pits but only ¾” meter pits have been sourced to be available for this season. Discussion occurred regarding the difference in ¾” versus 1” meter pits, if standardizing the size and manufacturer is an important factor, and preferable manufacturers. Garrett noted that there would be some benefit to standardizing however the anticipated future maintenance on the components is minimal, the manufacturers identified are reputable, and therefore standardization is not a great concern. In analyzing the bid received from a local contractor, there were several questions regarding the different financial elements of the submitted bid. The group discussed the significant increase in construction costs over the course of the last two to three years which exponentially increased the cost of the installation over what was initially estimated and presented to the ownership. The Board expressed great concern with the total potential project cost exceeding what was originally estimated. While discussing the contractor’s bid pricing, Garrett noted that he believes the bid received to be competitive and in line with what one would expect for a project of this nature. The potential to decrease the number of meter pits installed this year was discussed but ultimately determined it would likely not decrease the cost per pit notably. The Board questioned what the justification would be to complete the project with the significant increase in pricing and how beneficial it would be in locating potential leaks. The meter pits would provide insight into possible leaks in an owner’s service line but would not identify leaks in the main lines. The cost benefit of the price of the project in its entirety was weighed against the ability the pits would have to identify areas of water loss. CDC previously provided a probability assessment to identify which lots would be of high priority though Garrett noted that the variables fluctuate drastically from home to home, complicating the ability to determine which lots would be most beneficial for installation. Based upon the concerns raised, the Board decided not to complete the first phase of the project this year and to proceed with zoned leak testing in the coming weeks as the second quarter water loss exceeded the established threshold. The previous round of leak testing cost exponentially less than the proposal to install the meter pits this season and identified significant leaks that were repaired which in turn reduced the amount of water loss substantially. Andrea will review the calculated cost of each gallon lost to better understand the cost benefit of the project. The Board will reconvene in the fall to analyze the results of the leak testing, review the justification for the expense, discuss the cost benefit analysis completed by management, and determine if the project should be placed out for proposal again to occur in 2025.

The meeting adjourned at 1:02 PM.

Submitted by,
Commercial Property Group