Glacier View to vote on wastewater treatment plan

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

Glacier View Meadows residents who own lots on the subdivision's community water system will get a special mail-in ballot this month asking for approval to create a local improvement district.

The district will provide funds to install a modern, low-profile, mechanical wastewater treatment system that will meet state and county water quality discharge standards.

"The state and county agencies that regulate wastewater disposal informed GVM there are existing violations to health and environmental standards due to leach field failure and exceeding the limits allowed for untreated groundwater discharge," said Steve Horsmon, the association's general manager.

If left unresolved, he said, the violations create a public hazard for all residents in the area, devalue property, set a bad example for the community, and could possibly lead to state enforcement procedures, which could include expensive fines.

The ballot measure to create the LID has a number of benefits if it passes, including enabling the association to get a long-term loan at relatively low-interest rates from the state to fund the project, Horsmon said.

This vote pertains only to lots in the fourth, seventh, and upper eighth filings, he said, with each of the 143 lot owners paying an equal assessment whether the lots are improved or unimproved.

Horsmon said the lots served by the community water system in the lower eighth filing are not included in the LID because that system is more than adequate.

The estimated cost of the proposed system per lot, he said, will be $3,300 paid over a 20-year period to fund the estimated $475,000 improvement. The treatment plant recommended to the association as best suited to its needs was also the least costly, Horsmon said, and will be able to accommodate gray water effluent even if all the lots are fully developed.

The GVM community water system leach fields accommodate only gray water, and pumping solid waste will continue be the responsibility of each resident, he said. The goal of this project is to put water back into the land as pure, or purer, as when it came out of the tap.

In 2006, GVM received a $10,000 grant for legal costs from the State Revolving Loan Funds and a $15,000 matching grant from the Department of Local Affairs for preliminary engineering. Stantex Consulting drew up the design model that looked at everything from Preble's jumping mouse habitat to site location and state-of-the-art mechanics.

Horsmon said one wastewater treatment plant will replace three leach fields currently in place. Luckily, he said, the association was recently forced to connect the entire system when a new well was required for the upper eighth filing due to high uranium content in the old one, so no new infrastructure will be needed to send all effluent to one treatment area.

At the July 30 hearing before the county commissioners requesting the LID resolution be placed on the ballot, more 25 GVM representatives spoke in favor of the measure while one resident wanted to explore putting in a private septic and leach field on her land and withdrawing from the community water system.

In general, the public expressed concern for their property values if something wasn't done now. They were also concerned that others in the association not on the community water systems weren't doing their part to keep groundwater pure. Some wondered whether the facility would be large enough for future build-out.

Others favored doing the work as soon as possible to take advantage of the state's loan policies, which could change at any time. They also said the project served the overall good of the association.

Jack Carroll, a resident on the community water system and a member of the GVM Water and Sewer Board, said only when the LID is approved can the community grow safely.

The Nov. 6 election will be by mail-in ballots only. Oct. 9 is the last day to register to vote. Ballots will be mailed around Oct. 12. If property owners are registered in Colorado, have lived in the district at least 30 days, and own property in the district or rent property in the district, they will automatically receive a ballot if they are in active voting status. One is inactive if he or she did not vote in the last general election of November 2006 or has moved. This inactive status may affect several property owners, according to Horsmon.

Property owners who are not sure if they are active or inactive may call the election office at 498-7820 to update information.

If a property owner is registered to vote in Colorado, owns property in the district, but does not live in the district, they must request an absentee ballot at the phone number above. Oct. 30 is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot for the election.