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Pine River Times News Paper - Bayfield Colorado 9 March 3, 1997 - VWC engineer Chris Kramer reported a last minute flurry of initial tap sign -ups came in before the Feb. 28 deadline. It cost $100 refundable deposit on a $3,000 tap fee to show where the demand was. Kramer said they had 800 -900 plus another 300 to be processed. The VWC board was to meet Mar. 20. They would work on by -laws and regulations. They are Bob Witt and Steve Pargin representing PRID, Bayfield Chamber president and town planning commissioner Carol Short, SUT Council member Marvin Cook, and Florida Mesa farmer Dick Lunceford. No info on change from motion approved at 1996 annual meeting authorizing PRID to provide front money for the new entity, and that all the new entity's board would be PRID shareholders. Bayfield was objecting to potential overlap of service areas. The county worried about growth impacts. April 7, 1997 - At a progress meeting with the county commissioners, VWC reported 1,165 tap sign -ups concentrated in a diagonal band from Gem Village southwest to Oxford to CR 318. The $100 fee was to be refunded with interest in areas where the system didn't happen. Chris Kramer reported 95 percent of the sign -ups were residential, and 80 percent of those were existing homes. Kramer said they rejected a request for 40 taps from a parcel owner up Texas Creek. Discussion centered on where VWC lines might compete with the town of Bayfield, the tribe, or Durango. Witt said the tribe had been invited to be a one -sixth partner in VWC, as they are in the reservoir. The stickiest issue was the water service area recently claimed by Bayfield. Pre- annexation agreements were discussed. Lunceford and Kramer objected to people who need water being held hostage to that. 1998 - Dam title transfer was the big issue. 1999 - At the annual meeting, Bob Witt reported tap commitments meant the water system initial service area would run from a treatment plant near Bayfield to Oxford and along Hwy. 160 to near Elmore's. They had 350 tap commitments in that area and needed at least 700 to get federal funds released. One shareholder objected to raising the base rate instead of the per acre fee, apparently related to Vailecito Water Company costs. Witt said it was an effort to put the cost on potential water system users. "Ranch land is not going to use taps. That's the reason for doing it this way," Witt said. There was general agreement to accept the increases for now. Efforts to take Vailecito water as an alternative to A/LP were still a concern. January 2000 - PRID shareholders were advised that VWC was close to getting the minimum 920 tap reservations required for USDA funding. Bob Witt reported USDA would provide a $1 million loan and $2 million grant on top of $5 million already committed, but they raised their minimum tap requirement from 700 to 920. Witt commented, "Some people feel we are going to take all the water from Vallecito, that it will take all the water from irrigation. It's such a small amount (2,000 over a full year) we can't even measure it." He said a total 1,500 taps could be sold. http : / /www.pinerivertitnes.com/news.asp ?artid =550 Page 3 of 10 9/3/2008