Woodland Hills Sanitary District

December 2023 Minutes

Roll Call: The December 8, 2023 meeting was called to order at 6:33pm and was held at the Black Hawk Fire Department meeting hall.

In attendance at the meeting were board members Garry Colasardo, John Knight, Jared Nooney, Peggy Severson and Jim Stewart. Also attending were Lois Lund and Mike Towey from Towey Design Group.

Adoption of Agenda: The agenda was adopted with a 5-0 vote.

Secretary’s Report: The November minutes were approved with a 5-0 vote.

Income Report

November highlights:

• Total revenue was $8,258.63
• Net income was $2,996.39
• There are five past due accounts from October and four unpaid accounts in November.
• We renewed our insurance policy with South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance.

Water Report: A quiet month for the water system. One resident had a service line repaired while another resident suspects a line problem and is arranging for a repair.

Water Loss Statistics	Gallons Pumped	Gallons Sold	Loss Rate
November 2023	527,096	468,600	11.1%
November 2022	455,338	409,900	10.0%
November 2018	377,962	323,700	14.4%
November 2013	443,100	359,677	18.8%
November 2008	650,000	365,610	43.8%

Old Business: None

New Business: None

Road Report: There was a tax deposit of 6,117.02 for November.

At 7:00pm a presentation by Mike Towey began. About 40 residents were in attendance as Mr. Towey reported on the condition and proposed fixes for Woodland Drive and the lanes. The rough estimate to fix drainage and pavement issues on Woodland Drive is $525,000. The road district is solely funded by a property tax that will bring in about $16,000 in 2024. So the funds are insufficient to fund all the desired repairs. One resident described how a Meade County subdivision had some success securing repair money from the county and the board will look into that for our situation.

A discussion ensued about the condition of the lanes. Some of the lanes are in good shape because the homeowners have shared the upkeep cost while other lanes are in disrepair. Some of the homeowners who have kept their lanes in good repair are not willing to spend money to repair the lanes they don't live on. Other lane residents commented that too few people live on a lane to adequately share the cost.

There was general agreement that Woodland Drive will need some work and residents generally agreed on an assessment that would pay for the upkeep. Again, the lanes vs Woodland Drive remained an issue. Mr. Towey will put together a cost estimate to repair all the lanes separate from Woodland Drive. The residents were in general agreement that $50 a month would be a reasonable fee but some lane residents would only agree to pay a fee if the lanes are repaired.

Mr. Towey will put together plans that will show us how much and how fast $50 a month will fix things and the same at $100 a month. A future meeting will be held to continue the discussion.

Board member comments: None.

Resident comments: none

The meeting was adjourned at 7:00pm.

This report was prepared by Jim Stewart, Secretary WHSD.