Shareholders:

There is a lot going on and it is all good!!

At the September Board meeting, the Board of Directors took a number of actions:

Board’s New Annual Meeting Schedule

The Board is required to meet once a year according to the water company’s Bylaws and that meet-ing is to be held in June. Past practice has shown that the Board meets on the same day as the Homeowner’s Association. The Board has considered and evaluated the need for monthly meet-ings and has voted to reformat the yearly meeting schedule and hold regular Board meetings in January, March, May; June in conjunction with the Annual Meeting; September and November. The reduction of the number of meetings translates to less staff time and costs associated with monthly gatherings. Should a need arise to schedule a meeting, due to some unforeseen issue, an electronic meeting will be scheduled, in accordance with the Open Meeting Act [OMA]. The OMA is a set of State statutes that governs the noticing, posting and holding of meetings. We have used this pro-cess before and it is open to the public, like a regular attended meeting.

Search for a replacement member for the Board of Directors

Tom Schneider, one of the current Board members, has moved and is no longer eligible to be on the Board of Directors. A search is underway to identify a replacement to fill Tom’s term which expires in 2019. If you are interested in working on the Board, please let us know.

Progress status of the USDA loan project

The loan program that will include extensive infrastructure repair, re-piping and modernization has started. The engineering group that was successful in the competitive bidding process, MC Engi-neering, has had staff in the BLS neighborhoods conducting preliminary surveys. Measuring road-ways, identifying the utility right-of-way portions of the road side(s) and scoping out the design of the placement of new piping equipment is underway.

Where does the new stuff go?

Some, if not all, of the original BLS lots had small 2” pipe running through the rear of the property, often connected together with a neighbor. An ample system in 1962 but not at all practical today. All of the original lines are earmarked for removal out to the road way and will be fed off of 6” pipes that also power fire hydrants, as a number of hydrants will be added. Over the ensuing fall and winter, most of the preliminary engineering will be completed. Actual construction, with its bidding process(es) will begin in late spring or early summer 2018. Meanwhile, homeowners will be seeing water company staff working throughout the neighborhoods.

TOWN HALL MEETING: NOVEMBER 11th

We are planning on a Town Hall Meeting on November 11th, Veterans Day, at Snowflake Lodge at Noon. I encourage you to attend. At this meeting, the Senior Project Engineer, John Pedri of MC Engineering will be the prime presenter. This offering will give everyone a real insight into the pro-ject and a probable timetable. The time spent will be worth it.

What is all this going to cost me?

The overall costs are covered by the loan. Once a new or replacement service is initiated onto your property, the homeowner is responsible for the connection from the meter to the residence. This is NOT due to the loan but a long-standing water industry standard. I am sure that you have ques-tions about the roll out and the process. I encourage you to bring your questions to the meeting on November 11th.

If you can’t make the meeting, the audio of the meeting will be posted on our website: www.blsmwc.com. If, after listening you have questions, email the Water Company at: in-fo@blsmwc.com or you can call the office at (209) 795-7025.

As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot going on.

Hope to see you on the 11th of November …. Noon !
Bob Maginnis
President
Board of Directors