Southeastern Colorado Water Activity Enterprise Minutes September 15 2005

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SECWAE September 15, 2005 3 RECORD OF PROCEEDING and email it out on September 22. The next AVC Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for September 27, at 10:00 a.m. in La Junta. Chairman Long reported the SECWCD has contributed up to $50,000 for the Conduit project, and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District approved at their Board meeting on September 14, to also provide $50,000 toward the Conduit project. RESTORATION OF YIELD: Mr. Hamilton reported the Board directed the Water Acquisition Committee to meet, discuss, and report back to the Enterprise Board on the status of the ROY Committee's review and Board of Water Works' contract to purchase the Stonewall Springs Ranch. The Water Acquisition Committee met September 8, at which time the draft cost sharing agreement was presented. Also discussed was Aurora's involvement, primarily the Excelsior Ditch shares, and the distribution of the percentages of the participants. The appraisal for the Stonewall Springs Ranch will be completed by September 23. Also, Mr. Broderick said the Board would be mailed a copy of the Black & Veatch Study. The next Water Acquisition Committee meeting is scheduled for October 7, at 11:00 a.m. at the District office. LEGAL REPORT: Lee Miller reported he has continued meeting with attorneys for the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District (LAVWCD) (Peter Nichols), Board of Water Works of Pueblo (Bill Paddock), Colorado Springs (David Robbins), and Aurora (Mark Pifher) to discuss reaching an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to address LAVWCD's opposition to the PSOP legislation. The attorneys' drafting group met on August 30 to work further on a draft IGA and a presentation to the full committee on the attorneys' efforts to prepare a draft IGA. The full committee met on September 6; the District was represented at this meeting by Jim Broderick, President Stealey, Bill Long and Lee Miller. At that meeting, the attorneys made a PowerPoint presentation of the conceptual outline of the IGA, which focuses on the PSOP legislation, implementation of the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a land fallowing and water leasing program, and water quality issues, for the purpose of receiving guidance from the principal negotiators on the direction the attorneys were taking. The attorneys met again the following day to discuss the guidance provided at the meeting, and to plan further work on the IGA. The attorneys have scheduled further working sessions on September 21, 28 and October 19; the full committee is scheduled to meet again on October 25. Mr. Hamel said it is hard to get 25 -30 people's schedules all aligned to schedule these meetings. President Stealey said this is a slow moving process, and praised Lee Miller for doing a good job through this process. The next PSOP Committee meeting is scheduled for September 28, at 10:00 a.m. at the District office.