2010 Minutes

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 1 p.m.
Broadview Senior Center, Broadview, Montana

In Attendance: Jack Thoreson, Ralph Brewington, Junior and Maggie Conover, Broadview; Lon Sibley (representing Mayor Bill Edwards by proxy), Roundup; Thad Bassett, Melstone; Jim Kalitowski and Tim Cavanaugh, Harlowton; Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator and Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator and by proxy, Jim Schladweiler.

Call to Order: Jim Kalitowski welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order in absence of Chairman Joel Marking.

Approval of Oct. 13, 2010 Minutes: Thad Basset made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Lon Sibley and unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Monty Sealey gave the treasurer’s report in absence of Jim Schladweiler. He presented a bill from Great West Engineering for $6,556.83, leaving a balance of $142,747.14. Lon made a motion, seconded by Thad and unanimously approved to pay the bill and accept the treasurer’s report.

Current Audit Status: Loren Randall, CPA, conducted the audit last week. Monty said they completed everything except the bank balance verification, which should be done within a few weeks. Loren will attend a meeting to report on the audit if the board desires. The consensus was to see the audit report first before making a decision on whether or not to have him attend a meeting.

DNRC Reclamation and Development Grant Program (RDGP) Scope of Work Adjustments: The $300,000 RDGP grant for $300,000 for drilling a production well is not yet under contract, as CMRWA has been unsuccessful in securing match. At the time of application, CMRWA thought the production well would be near the Utica site, but after investigating alternative sites the recommendation is to locate the wellfield at the UBet site near Garneill, so this change needs to be reflected in the Scope of Work. CMRWA will seek matching funds again from the Bureau of Reclamation in April. The group decided that if this request is unsuccessful, they will ask DNRC to use the $300,000 to drill as deep as possible and case the well and finish it when funding is available. Discussion continued on landowner negotiations. Monty and Bob will meet with a landowner near Garneill later in the day in hopes of coming closer to an agreement for drilling on his land. Monty described the options they planned on presenting and told the group they will bring back a proposal to the board before any agreement is finalized. In response to a question from Jim, Monty said that if DNRC approves the amended scope of work and CMRWA uses the $300,000 to drill, it will not be available any longer as match.

Bureau of Reclamation Grant Scoping Meetings Schedule: An environmental assessment will be part of the final feasibility study and public scoping meetings need to be held first. Tetra-Tech will help Great West with this and meetings are tentatively scheduled for Dec. 7 in Harlowton, Dec. 8 in Harlowton and Dec. 9 in Lewistown. Legal notices and press releases will be sent to newspapers in Lewistown, Harlowton, Stanford, Roundup, Billings and Great Falls. Minutes will be taken during each meeting and audio recordings made. Carrie will put a link from CMRWA’s website for comments to Central Montana RC&D’s email.

Promotional Materials Status: Carrie will help Monty with an updated display on CMRWA’s project for the scoping meetings and legislative reception in January. She’s also working with MAP on the brochure and drafted a poster for display at the Montana Association of Conservation Districts meeting in Billings in November.

Legislative Reception with MACD, Jan. 20, 2011: The reception is very well attended. As noted above, an updated display will be taken to the event and brochures will be ready for distribution. CMRWA members are invited to attend.

Other Business:
- Publicity: Bob expressed concern about an Oct. 17 article that appeared in the Great Falls Tribune quoting former CMRWA Chairman Dale Longfellow. Bob said other CMRWA members were also quoted and were optimistic about the project, but Dale’s comments were about “heartbreak” and pessimism about the project being at a standstill. As Dale no longer attends the meetings, the consensus of the board was that he wasn’t an ideal spokesperson. They decided to send out more press releases about the project and its milestones with current officers and their contact information.
- BLM as Reviewing Agency: Bob said the proposed pipeline will skirt BLM, so they need to be asked to be a co-reviewing agency for the environmental assessment. He will fill out a form at the Billings BLM office.
- Preparing for Authorization: Monty talked about the need to be educating Congressional delegation and their staffers about the project in preparation for going for Authorization. The group agreed that laying that groundwork in the next year is vital to the success of the project.

Next Meeting Date and Location: There will be no December meeting due to the scoping meetings and the holidays. Due to some other scheduling conflicts, the next meeting date will be the first Wednesday of January (rather than the regular meeting date of the second Wednesday), Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. in the Roundup City Chambers. With no other business the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by:
Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 1 p.m.
Harlowton Library, Harlowton, Montana

In Attendance: Lon Sibley, Roundup; Jack Thoreson, Broadview; Thad Bassett, Melstone; Jim Kalitowski and Jeff Sell, Harlowton; Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Rick Duncan, DNRC; Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator and Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator.

Call to Order: Jim Kalitowski welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order in absence of Chairman Joel Marking.

Approval of Sept. 8, 2010 Minutes: Thad Basset made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Lon Sibley and unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Monty Sealey gave the treasurer’s report in absence of Jim Schladweiler, with a balance of $156,934.06. Another $149,000 hasn’t been drawn from DNRC for this year’s appropriation. It was also noted that CMRWA is in DNRC’s base budget for 2012-13 for another $298,000 for the next biennium, pending approval by the Montana Legislature. Bills were presented from Great West Engineering, $7,450.09 and Hubble, Ridgeway, Unmack and Westveer law office for Jim Hubble’s work on landowner negotiations. Monty said they are still negotiating with landowners near the proposed wellfield site and have a meeting scheduled for later this afternoon. Lon made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report and pay the bills, seconded by Thad and unanimously approved. Information is also being put together in preparation for the annual audit to be conducted in early November.

Contract Documents:
- Bureau of Reclamation: Monty gave a rundown on the Bureau of Reclamation award to CMRWA for work on the appraisal for the benefit of CMRWA members who weren’t at the last meeting. He said CMRWA has a signed contract and was granted up to $200,000. Of that amount, $10,000 will go to Reclamation.
- Great West Engineering: A contract has been signed with Great West Engineering for continued work on the Scope of Work with Bureau of Reclamation appraisal and feasibility.
- DNRC Grant: The $300,000 DNRC grant for the production well awarded a few years ago isn’t under contract, but CMRWA will get it under contract soon. A draft of the Scope of Work is being prepared. CMRWA members discussed applying to Reclamation in the next round for Funding Opportunity Announcement set to open April 2011 for funding for the production well to match the DNRC grant. If that application isn’t successful, CMRWA may have to use any unspent funds for feasibility, drill as deep as they can with those existing funds, case the well and finish drilling when they get more funding. The final option would be to complete the feasibility without the test production well, then drill the well once construction dollars are received. The group discussed the money spent to date exploring alternatives and the data that points to drilling the wellfield in this area.

Landowner Negotiations Status Report: Bob said they are still negotiating with a landowner at the preferred test production well drilling site. Both Bob and Monty said the landowner is very open to the project, but his attorney has not been responding to CMRWA’s attorney Jim Hubble, which has slowed the negotiations. They also have visited with the leaseholder of the State Lands parcel that could be an alternative for drilling. The leaseholder also owns land adjacent to the site and CMRWA would need to get access through his property. They will meet with this individual after the meeting today to continue negotiations. The group agreed to continue negotiating with both of these individuals.

Phase II Feasibility Report: Bob presented Phase II Feasibility for the project, which evaluated pipeline, storage, controls and disinfection alternatives. The full report will be available on the CMRWA website at www.centralmontanawater.com. A summary of the report includes:
- 25 pipeline alternatives evaluations and the preferred alternative as the High Waterline with Roundup Bypass;
- Steel and concrete tank alternatives, with concrete preferred;
- Pumping alternatives evaluation, with the preferred method begin to pump directly to the Judith Gap tank with a booster required only at Lavina to lift water to Broadview;
- Control system alternatives evaluation, with the preferred alternative being a radio network controlled by SCADA system (using a laptop to control remotely);
- Disinfection alternatives evaluated, with the preferred method of chlorination with addition of chloramines to accommodate water staying in the pipeline for longer periods of the time. The maximum length of time is 40 days, but the most common length is less than 20 days.
- Total Cost Preferred Alternative is $104 million; an annual operations, maintenance and replacement cost of $774,000 and projected monthly household rate of $43.40. Bob explained the disparity of cost among various reports already released is due to contingency requirements by Reclamation. He noted that these numbers are very conservative.

Discussion also continued about Hobson and its water problems. Several businesses in Hobson are still plagued by nitrates in the water and are working with DEQ. The Town Council voted not to proceed with a planning grant for plumbing the town for municipal water. The mayor has talked with CMRWA about piping water from the Utica Test Well, but the CMRWA noted that without a distribution system in the town, it’s putting the cart before the horse. In addition, if the Utica well becomes part of the wellfield for CMRWA, no construction can be done prior to authorization. The group also discussed the possibility of including the Hutterite colonies along the pipeline as customers.

Bureau of Reclamation – FOA Application, Next Steps: This agenda item was discussed during the DNRC grant agenda item. The first step will be to submit a statement of intent by December or January, in preparation for the FOA grant due in April.

Congressional Authorization – Request: Timing for the request hasn’t changed much since CMRWA formed five years ago. The entire feasibility report will be completed by next summer, but somewhat depends on when and if the production well can be drilled, as the results will be included in the feasibility. The goal of construction could still be 2012, or if the production well is delayed, could be pushed into 2013. The group agreed that they need to talk with Montana’s Congressional staff about timing. Discussion continued about how the upcoming mid-term elections could shift the balance of power and how it would affect CMRWA. The board agreed that CMRWA should be visiting with its Congressional leaders and at the same time be preparing to hire someone for legislative assistance. Rick said the DNRC appropriation can be used for legislative support, but will require more stringent reporting.

Public Outreach:
- Brochure: Sandy Kust with Mid-West Assistance is working with Carrie Mantooth on the brochure and the draft will be completed soon. A photo and proposed pipeline route are needed for the brochure. The board thought they would need a minimum of 1,000 brochures to distribute at public meetings, during the Legislative session coming up, etc. and hope to have the brochure before the Montana Association of Conservation Districts (MACD) convention in early November. Monty said CMRWA can also prepare copy for a 2x4-foot poster to be displayed at MACD. Carrie and Monty will work on that and send it to MACD.
- Tour with Rural Water: Monty was contacted by BKBH law firm in Helena and about inclusion in its tour visiting with state legislators and candidates. Information was sent to them about CMRWA’s project for their slide show.
- Legislative Reception: This reception is sponsored by the MACD in late January and CMRWA will have a display again.
- Lewistown News-Argus Article: Carrie wrote an article on the Reclamation grant award to CMRWA, which appeared in the Lewistown News-Argus and Roundup Record Tribune. (It was also sent to the Harlowton Times Clarion, but it appears they didn’t publish it.)

Other Business: Monty is getting some information on a newly patented method of water treatment that doesn’t use chemicals. He sent a sample of Roundup’s water to the company and is awaiting a response.

Next Meeting and Adjournment: The next regular meeting is set for Wed., Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. at the Broadview Senior Center. With no other business, the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by:
Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 1 p.m.
Roundup City Chambers, Roundup, Mont.

In Attendance: Bill Edwards and Jim Schladweiler, Roundup; Jack Thoreson, Broadview; Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator and Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator; Rick Duncan, DNRC and Sandy Kust, Mid-West Assistance Program. By proxy: Thad Bassett, Melstone; Jim Kalitowski and Tim Cavanaugh, Harlowton.

Call to Order: Treasurer Jim Schladweiler welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order in absence of Chairman Joel Marking.

Approval of Aug. 11, 2010 Minutes: Jack Thoreson made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Jim Schladweiler and unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Jim Schladweiler presented the treasurer’s report. He presented a bill from Great West Engineering for $6,778.07, leaving a balance in checking of $156,934.06.

Bureau of Reclamation Application Results: Monty Sealey updated the group on CMRWA’s application to Bureau of Reclamation that was submitted in July requesting $800,000 to finish the feasibility and drilling costs of the production well. CMRWA was selected for funding at the appraisal level for up to $200,000. Monty and Bob said they were baffled why they received appraisal and not feasibility funding, as the appraisal report has already been approved. However, after discussions with Chris Perry of the Denver office and Reclamation staff that morning in Billings, it appears they can address the appraisal objectives that will also serve to complete the feasibility (with the exception of publishing.) The letter announcing the selection from Reclamation said, “…they underlying appraisal investigation did not satisfy the additional requirement to emphasize program objectives regarding renewable energy use, water and energy conservation, environmental benefits, and use of innovative technologies, as described in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).” Bob said those objectives can all be tied to the environmental assessment, water conservation plan, etc., that will be needed to complete the feasibility. CMRWA’s cost to finish the feasibility without the well will be about $300,000.

The next round of Reclamation funding may be as early as December, and CMRWA will request funding for the production well near Garneill – a key component to the project. In the meantime, costs for the production well will be verified. Discussion continued that because of the downtrend in the economy the drilling costs may actually be less than anticipated.

Jack made a motion, seconded by proxy vote and unanimously approved to complete the objectives as outlined by Reclamation in the FOA and CMRWA spend the money to complete the feasibility except for publishing and the production well.

Contract Issues with Great West Engineering: Jack made a motion, seconded by Bill and unanimously approved to have Great West Engineering prepare a contract amendment for the work on the Reclamation grant and feasibility study. Bob will draw it up and send it to Monty who will then have CMRWA board members review it.

Other Business:
- Rick Duncan of DNRC updated the group on the status of other regional water projects in Montana and discussion continued about the DNRC grant for $300,000 earmarked for the production well.
- Sandy said MAP will do an updated CMRWA brochure. She and Carrie will work on it and incorporate the location of the potential pipeline, a map of all regional water projects in Montana, emphasize that this will be a deep groundwater source and no conventional treatment will be required, bullet points of what’s been completed to date, etc.

Next Meeting Location: The next meeting is Wed., Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. at the Harlowton Library.

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by:
Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
August 11, 2010
Harlowton, MT

In Attendance: Ron Teig, Harlowton; Bill Edwards, Roundup; Jim Schladweiler, Roundup, Rick Duncan, DNRC-Helena; Bob Church, Great West Engineering, Helena; Thad Bassett, Melstone; Monty Sealey, Roundup

The meeting was called to order by Sec./Treasurer Schladeweiler. Minutes from the July 14 meeting in Roundup were handed out. Motion by Edwards, seconded by Bassett to approve the minutes, with a corrected check book balance; motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Schladweiler gave a report of the financial condition of the Authority. With the current check to Great West Engineering in the amount of $19,188.18, the bank balance for the Authority is $163,712.13. Motion by Edwards, Seconded by Bassett to approve the bill and the Treasurer’s Report.

Audit Contract: Sealey reported he had a contract for audit and tax preparation services with Loren Randall, estimated between $3,900 and $4,500 for the period between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Edwards moved, seconded by Teig to accept the contract with Loren Randal; motion carried. Sec./Treasurer Schladweiler signed the contract.

Address Information: Sealey requested updated contact information from attendees. He stated that his computer hard drive had crashed a few days ago and DNRC was unable to recover any information.

Landowner Negotiations: Bob Church explained the status of negotiations for the new well site. We have been told we will hear from one party early next week. There is reason to believe that an agreement will be reached. As a “Plan B”, Church described that there was some State land in the vicinity that would serve the same purpose, in case negotiations fail with the private landowner. That State land has a County road leading up to a corner, though an access agreement with the adjacent landowner would have to be reached to make it accessible. The group was asked whether we should move forward with negotiations for the Plan B. Moved by Edwards, seconded by Bassett to move forward with that effort; motion passed.

BoR Status: Bob Church explained about the application to Bureau of Reclamation for funding for the Feasibility Work and related water well. Church reviewed the printed summary of that request. He was informed by the Billings Office for BoR that they believe a ranking decision has been made and that the status of our application, and others, would probably be announced by the third week of August. Hopefully the decision will be positive, as we have worked and waited for more than two years to get to this point. We will need to have a major discussion with all concerned parties if this application is not successful, to determine if and how we would move forward with the overall project.

Other Business: Sealey had been at a meeting in Lavina recently and talked to Mayor Kojetin about a representative from Lavina for our meetings. The Mayor indicated that he was keeping up with the progress of the group, through minutes, etc., however, he did not have a representative to send. They are generally supportive of the effort, though do not necessarily feel the need to attend all the meetings.

Sealey also mentioned that he had been contacted by a reporter from the Great Falls Tribune, who was working on an update about Montana Regional Water Projects. He asked that she send him notice when the article comes out, so the Authority will see it. The reporter seemed to be very interested and well informed about the projects, and was trying to bring the public up to date about current activities.

Next Meeting: The next water authority meeting will be in Roundup on September 8. The meeting was adjourned.

Submitted by; Monty L. Sealey, Project Administrator

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 1 p.m.
Roundup City Chambers, Roundup, Mont.

In Attendance: Jim Kalitowski and Tim Cavanaugh, Harlowton; Bill Edwards, Roundup; Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator and Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator. By proxy: Joel Marking, Roundup; Jack Thoreson, Broadview; and Thad Bassett, Melstone.

Treasurer’s Report: Bills were presented from Great West Engineering through June 25, 2010, for $6,976 and Westwind Web Solutions for CMRWA website, $396.92. Jim Kalitowski made a motion, seconded by Tim Cavanaugh and unanimously approved to accept the treasurer’s report and pay the bills as presented.

Engineer’s Report: Bob Church with Great West Engineering updated the group on the following:
- Bureau of Reclamation (BoR): Bob met with BoR representatives in Billings towards the end of May on a couple of additions needed before approval of the appraisal report. Bob gave those in attendance the Addendum #1 to the appraisal submitted in June and explained the additions including: sections on the State’s financial support of the project ($1,606,000 to date), activities to date and total spent ($1,135,000) summary of the median household incomes for incorporated towns in the project area and their current cost of water, summary of projected cost of water with the project, an alternative funding strategy and demonstration of urgent and compelling need for the project. A letter of approval was received July 9, 2010.

Bob also prepared the full proposal requesting funds for feasibility from BoR which was due July 13. Members received a copy of that $800,000 request to BoR. Total cost for the completion of the feasibility phase including a test well near Garneill site, is $1.6 million. Recipients should be announced in August of this year and there will be about $2 million in funding for 17 western states. Much of the feasibility study has already been completed, but the main tasks will be the test well near Garneill, various studies including environmental, hydrology, socio-economic, real property, a public involvement process, project management, BoR technical review, value planning study and DEC and certification reviews by BoR. CMRWA will contribute $720,000 in match and in-kind expenses of another $80,000 (these items include DNRC grant for test well and expenses on feasibility incurred after Oct. 28, 2009).

Bill Edwards made a motion to accept the Addendum #1 to the Appraisal Report and submission of the full proposal for the feasibility request to BoR, seconded by Jim and unanimously approved (including the three proxy votes – Monty had talked to them prior to the meeting.)

Bob will have his office send these documents to Carrie to upload on the CMRWA website.

Landowner Negotiation Status: Bob said CMRWA’s legal representation Jim Hubble said that negotiations have ceased with one of the two landowners near Garneill. The other option will be drilling a test well on state land in the same area, but Bob and Monty will ask Hubble to contact the landowner’s attorney immediately and continue negotiations.

Next Meeting: The next meeting will be Wed., Aug. 11 at 1 p.m. at the Harlowton Library.

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by:
Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
June 9, 2010, 1 p.m.
Roundup, MT

In Attendance: Brianne Rogers, Sen. Baucus Rep., Bozeman; Kip Gjerde, Bureau of Reclamation; Lenny Duberstein, Bureau of Reclamation; Rachael Court, Sen. Tester Rep., Billings: Pam Higgins, MAP; Rick Duncan, DNRC; Monty Sealey, Central MT RC&D; Jack Thoreson, Broadview; Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Lon Sibley, City of Roundup; Jim Schladweiler, Roundup by Proxy; Thad Bassett, Melstone by Proxy.

There was not a quorum of board members and no Authority Officers present at the meeting. The meeting was called to order by Monty Sealey. Attendees introduced themselves. The May minutes were held until the July meeting.

Sealey gave a report of a current bank balance of $53,781.26. The only current bill received was from Great West Engineering in the amount of $12,508.03.Payment of the bill will wait until signatures from two officers.

Bob Church reported that he had talked to Jim Hubble, Attorney, and that Jim was going to follow up with the two potential land owners about access for the next wells. Early indications were that one may want to suspend talks, however, that has not been confirmed. Church also mentioned that the 2+ sections of State Land just NE of the negotiated sites will be adequate for the wells, if access is available. That was confirmed with Mark Cunnae, Hydrologist. Sealey and Church will pursue the rules under which use of the State Land site can be accessed through the State Lands office in Lewistown.

Church discussed the Statement of Interest for Appraisal Investigation Funding, that had been submitted to BoR, as a fall back position should they find significant deficiencies during our Appraisal Report review. That request was for $25,000. That review is currently going on at BoR. The deadline for submission of Feasibility monies through BoR is July 13.

Senator’s Baucus and Testor’s representatives were then asked if we had any knowledge about our appropriation requests. Both indicated that our request(s) did not make it to committee, therefore no funding would be coming from those requests. Congressman Rehberg had previously indicated that he would not support and new funding requests for non-authorized projects. Ms. Court indicated that she had sent me a letter recently about our lack of success in this round of requests.

Pam Higgins from MAP said here and Sandy Kust were going to be in contact with Carrie Mantooth. She thought they could have a draft of the up-dated piece available in August. Sealey said the drop dead time for completion should be for the January Legislative update meeting in Helena, usually sponsored by MACD.

The main discussion of the meeting was with Mr. Duberstein and Gjerde from Bureau of Reclamation. They indicated that the review of our Appraisal Report turned up only four minor revision needs. They suggested that a letter of addendum should suffice for submitting the clarifications needed. The submission should be done within the next two weeks. Bob Church will be on a conference call with BoR on Tuesday, June 15, to discuss the specifics of that addendum. Further discussion about any modifications need to include representation from the Authority Board. Sealey will contact Chairman Marking about appointing a committee to meet right after the 4th of July to review the language of the submission to BoR for Feasibility funding. Part of the issue will be the quest amount.

It appears that BoR has $2,000,000 for this FY for the 17 western state area. They think there are about 30 applications for funding; both Appraisal report and Feasibility funding. Of those probably less than six will be requesting Feasibility monies. The deadline for these requests is July 13. BoR hopes to have a decision on awards by September 30.

Bob Church and Sealey will work on answering the deficiencies over the next two weeks. Then with input from the Committee, the proposal to BoR for Feasibility funding will be completed. If we are unsuccessful for sufficient funding to include the next well in the feasibility proposal, we will probably have to turn back the $300,000 RDGP grant to DNRC. It was noted that 100% of Operations and Maintenance for regional water projects has to be non-federal funds. It was noted that normal funding requests for the capital cost of the projects is 75% of the cost. Rick Duncan confirmed that state statute sets the state’s portion of participation at a minimum of 12.50%. Both funding sources do however, have provision for higher percent of participation is certain income related criteria can be met and successfully proposed. Local ability to pay a portion of the construction costs and all the O&M is a significant part of the feasibility work to be completed. Some of that discussion is required during the proposal to be submitted in July, as part of the ranking criteria.

Overall this discussion with Mr. Duberstein and Mr. Gjerde was very informative and helped clarify the specific steps that need to be completed during the next few months.

Mark Cunnane will soon have a reply to Rick Duncan’s request for an abstract type version of the rational behind the project costs for wells in the project. Duncan also said our draw-down request for the first half of appropriation funds should be coming soon. That request is in the amount of $149,000. That funding is to continue our contract work with Great West and move forward with BoR requests, site acquisition activities, etc.

There being no further business, the group thought the July meeting should be in Roundup on July 14. the meeting adjourned.

Submitted by Monty L. Sealey, Acting Secretary

CENTRAL MONTANA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY
MUSSELSHELL-JUDITH RURAL WATER SYSTEM
Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 1 p.m.
Harlowton, MT

In Attendance: Jim Kalitowski, Harlo; Tim Cavanaugh, Harlo; Lon sibley, Roundup; Jim Scahladweiler, Roundup; Sandy Kust, MAP; Pam Higgins, MAP; Maren Olsen, Rep. Rehberg’s Helena office; Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Thad Bassett, Melstone; Jack Thoreson, Broadview; Rick Duncan, DNRC; Monty Sealey, Central MT RC&D; Jeff Sell, Harlowton.

The meeting was called to order by Jim Kalatowski, V-Chairman at 1:00 pm in the Harlowton Library conference room. Every one around the room introduced themselves.

March minutes were not approved, as they were not completed and available yet.

Treasurer, Schladweiler gave a Treasurer’s report. The current bank balance for the Authority was $61,457.47. Current bills to Great West Engineering in the amount of $7,686.21 leaving a balance of $53,781.26. moved by Jim S., seconded by Thad B. to accept the report and pay the bills. Motion passed.

Bob Church gave a status report about the fact that BoR has acknowledged our Appraisal Report review has begun. BoR is has also set deadlines for submitting a Letter of Intent regarding submission of a request for Feasibility Funding , assuming that the Appraisal Report is okayed. The deadline for that request is the middle of July. Great West will work on the Letter of Intent and follow up with BoR on the Appraisal Report review. In order to request funding, we have been informed that we need a DUNS number and need to register the authority as a federal Contractor. Bob will help Monty with that request.

Bob will also follow up with legal counsel about responses from landowners regarding the next drilling sites.

A short discussion was held regarding the need to update our handout materials for public meetings. Since Sandy and Pam were attending from MAP, Sealey asked if they would help with putting together an updated format for a brochure. They agreed. Sealey said the Water Authority would cover the printing costs.

Rick Duncan from DNRC noted that we need to submit a Quarterly report about activities for the 1st Qtr., 2010. He also asked why the Appraisal Report talks of the need for 5 wells at a cost of $10,000,000. Could we survive with less. What is the rational behind the numbers. Bob Church will check in with Mark Cunnane, Consulting Hydrologist, about that issue and report back.

The next meeting will be in Roundup of June 9. No other business; meeting adjourned

Submitted by: Monty L. Sealey, Acting Secretary.

Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 1 p.m.
Harlowton Library, Harlowton, Mont.

In Attendance: Jim Kalitowski, Tim Cavanaugh and Jeff Sell, Harlowton; Lon Sibley, Bill Edwards, Roundup; Jack Thoreson, Broadview; Bob Church and Matt Harris, Great West Engineering; Lenny Duberstein and Stephanie Helleckson, Bureau of Reclamation; Rachel Court, Sen. Jon Tester’s Billing office; Liz Ching, Sen. Max Baucus’ Billings office; Monty Sealey, Central Montana RC&D Coordinator and Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator. Thad Bassett of Melstone by proxy.

Welcome and Introductions: Jim Kalitowski welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: In absence of Treasurer Jim Schladweiler, Monty reported a balance of $77,779.55, noting that CMRWA hasn’t drawn down another $298,000 from the DNRC appropriation and another $300,000 DNRC grant for the production well. Bills were presented from Great West Engineering dated Jan. 20, 2010 for $4,645.50; Loren Randall CPA for $3,500 for the audit; and Montana Rural Water Systems 2010 dues of $75.

2009 Audit Report: Monty distributed the audit and said there were no unusual findings. Loren Randall will speak to the group about the audit if they choose, but the group felt it unnecessary. Jeff Sell made a motion, seconded by Jack Thoreson and unanimously approved to not bring the auditor to a meeting.

Landowner Negotiation Status: Bob said he talked to the group’s attorney Jim Hubble after the January meeting and there was nothing new from the landowners’ attorneys. Bob said things have been going well and he’s assuming that no news is good news, but will call Hubble again.

Engineer’s Report:
- Bureau of Reclamation: Members of the group met prior to the meeting with Bureau of Reclamation reps. Although the Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 Rules aren’t yet finalized, the Reclamation staff said they are reviewing the Appraisal Report submitted more than two years ago and will give Bob specific recommendations to improve it in hopes that it will get through the process more quickly. Bob said they need to include more on the economics in the appraisal and he will be talking to Reclamation’s economist about it. Lenny Duberstein of Reclamation said the timeline isn’t definite, but the plan is to go through the selection process for projects to be funded by August. There are six similar projects that CMRWA will be competing with nationwide. Lenny said that although this will be a very competitive process, CMRWA may benefit by not having the need for $40-50 million for a treatment plant in the total request, putting project costs on the low end. He said CMRWA is “poised well to get into the program.” Reclamation’s approval of the appraisal will open the door to funding for the rest of the feasibility – typically about $1 million, but CMRWA’s will be less since so much work has already been completed.
- Request to Delegations: CMRWA will once again prepare appropriation requests to Montana’s senators and representative, due March 1. Bob will also resubmit requests to STAG and WRDA. The requests will be about $800,000 for drilling a production well with $300,000 in match from the DNRC grant. CMRWA reps will also work with Rachel to get on a teleconference with Sen. Tester and with Liz for a teleconference with Baucus’ staffers.
- Scope of Work: Bob discussed Great West’s contract with the group and said they’ve maxed out on the appraisal portion of the budget but are running below on the Phase II of the feasibility. Bob will put a request in writing to re-appropriate these budget items and outline tasks. Bob said he and Matt are about 90 percent through the Phase II and hope to have copies of the report at the March meeting.

Agency Reports and Comments: None.

Meeting Schedule with Authority Members: CMRWA members and representatives will focus on getting to Broadview, Lavina and Hobson in the near future to update the councils on CMRWA. They also plan to get out to the public throughout the region and talk about base costs and progress. Monty will schedule the council meetings. Lenny said Reclamation will try and attend as well. They discussed the importance of beginning to gauge how many rural water users may be interested. Originally, they estimated 15 percent rural water users. A tentative date of April 20 at the youth center in Harlowton was set for an informational meeting for the public. Bill will figure out a date for a public meeting in Roundup.

Next Meeting: The next meeting will be Wed., March 10 at 1 p.m. at the café in Broadview.

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by:
Carrie Mantooth, Central Montana RC&D Assistant Coordinator

CENTRAL MONTANA REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Harlowton, MT Library

In Attendance: Bob Church, Great West Engineering; Tim Cavanaugh, City of Harlowton; Lon Sibley, City of Roundup: Bill Edwards, Mayor of Roundup; Jim Schladweiler, City of Roundup; Jeff Sell, City of Harlowton; Jack Thoreson, Town of Broadview; Monty Sealey, Central MT RC&D.

Welcome and Introductions: Secretary/ Treasurer Schladweiler opened the meeting with introductions. A quorum was not present at this meeting.

Approval of Minutes from December 9, 2009: The minutes could not be approved because of the lack of a quorum.

Treasurer’s Report and Current Bills: Treasurer reported a balance in the checking account of $89,853.34. Bills presented included Great West Engineering for $10,519.79; Hubble Ridgeway for $1,554.00. After bills were paid, the reported balance in the checking account was $77,779.55.

Board Issues: It was reported by Sealey that the Audit is nearly completed and a report should be available for the February Meeting. Sealey also noted the need to check in with Lavina and Hobson about replacements for the representatives who have departed.

Sealey handed out a copy of a Proxy form that could be used for those representatives who can not make meetings, so we can conduct business when a quorum can not attend in person. He will e-mail a copy to member representatives.

Land Owner Negotiations: No news is available about the Landowner negotiations. Bob Church will check with Hubble for the next meeting.

Engineer’s Report: Bob Church reported that Bureau of Rec may prefer to do the EA internally. Bob said the estimated cost of $75,000 could take up to 3 years using them. He will try to talk to the Environmental Staffer with BOR about estimated cost and timetable.

Bob also noted that soon the Congressional Delegations will be accepting requests. We need to be prepared to provide those requests. Lenny at BOR thinks we need to include the new well in our planning. We need to find out the deadline for requests, show alternatives and what we need to do. Bob will coordinate that effort.

Next Meeting: The February 10 meeting will again be in Harlowton. Meeting adjourned.