On 7/21/13, Southlake
Park Services held a public meeting at the well. All shareholders
were invited to attend. The meeting began approximately 7:10pm and
lasted about one hour.
Board Members Present:
John Hattan, Jim Giffin, Christine O'Hara, Peggy O'Brien, Arthur
Mitchell
Residents Present:
O'Hara, Hattan, Giffin, Butler, Temple, Kelley, Ziegler,
Dominey, Wells
Christine presented a
quick overview of the previous year. Compared to last year, 2012-2013
has been fairly uneventful. There were a couple of minor leaks and
mechanical failures, but nothing as significant as last year. The new
pump and well have been working reliably. Monthly as well as
quarterly water tests have all been turned in on-time and are being
posted publicly to the SLPS blog.
Tim Temple and Jim
Giffin expressed concern about installation of meters. Thus-far,
eleven meters have been installed, and five additional meters are
waiting to be installed. Meters cost about $185 with installations
running $100-$200. The meters are being installed because TCEQ
stated that they are required, and we were cited (but not fined) for
not making efforts at metering houses. The current thinking is that
we can avoid a fine if we can show that we are making a continued
effort towards getting meters installed on all the houses. Jim and
Tim feel this is not an appropriate response, as TCEQ's
recommendation does not fit with their published rules regarding
flat-fee wells. The consensus of the board was that we will reassess
the metering situation if we can get something in writing from TCEQ
stating that meters are not necessary for SLPS's flat-fee structure.
Water usage this summer
has been lower than this time last year, thanks to a wetter and
cooler July than in 2012. The new well has been able to keep up with
demand, but the secondary pumps are running 24/7. We will not be
changing the current conservation steps, as this situation could and
likely will change as we move into August and September.
In November-December,
we will be scheduling a tank-cleaning that will likely put us on
municipal water for 10 days while it is being done.
Some residents
expressed concern over the current price increase of SLPS water.
Peggy O'Brien detailed some of the expenses by SLPS compared to its
income. Some of the expenses, specifically the new well-loan and
payment of past fines, will be retired over time. Tim Temple
expressed concern that past fines were being paid with current income
and not by the board members responsible for the fines.
SLPS currently serves
five vacant houses, four of which have the water shut off. There was
some concern about loss of income for those houses should the number
of vacant houses increase.
Angie and David Butler
expressed concern about water usage and how some of the newer and/or
upgraded properties are using water disproportionately despite all
members paying a flat fee for water. There was discussion of houses
and irrigation and quality of lawns, but no actions or votes were
taken.
Christine proposed that
residents become more active with the well, as every resident is a
part owner of the well. Specifically she asked for more residents to
help take action when there is a leak.
Tim Temple and Robert
Ziegler expressed a desire to join the SLPS board.
