Monticello secondary water system will run out of water in coming days

by Anna Adair
With water levels dropping and use continuing to be high, the secondary water year will end sooner than usual for residents of Monticello.
Nate Langston, Public Works Supervisor, gave a water report in which he reported that the current water intake has been consistently below average. Culinary use has also been below average, but secondary water use has been above average. The report was presented at the September 25 city council meeting.
Langston reports that the city pumped 32 acre feet of water out of Loyds Lake in September. Langston said use is approximately 1.5 acre feet per day, and wonders if the city should pump until the normal October 15 secondary cut off day or shut it down early.
Langston said Loyds Lake is at 1,200 acre feet of 3,600 capacity, or 33 percent. He said that once the conservation pool of 500 feet is taken out, there is only 700 acre feet left for the city. Average annual use for the city, between culinary and secondary, is approximately 630 acre feet.
Langston said the goal is to not pump past the end of September. Current intake off the mountain barely keeps up with treated water use at the current time.
Councilman Craig Leavitt asked about wells around the city. Langston reported that every well is working with the exception of the cemetery well and the rangers station well. Some wells are pumping significantly less water per minute than in the past.
The council decided to let the secondary system run until the pond is dry and no longer pump water from Loyds Lake. They thought that if residents are conservative, they could get another two weeks of watering.
In regards to secondary water metering, City Manager Pehrson reported that the Water Conservancy District seemed to be in favor of the City using $29,000 a year to meter the larger water users in the city, but would like to see the city meter all the residential users at one time, using their money as seed money to obtaining other funding for the project.
It is estimated that installing secondary meters for residential users would be a $1 million project.  Langston said they hope to meter the large users next summer.
The council discussed the future of the City Triathlon. Assistant City Manager Greg Westfall presented the council with a report on the triathlon participation and costs.
The council questioned the growth of the program, with only 61 participants in 2012 and an estimated loss of $2,825 for 2013.
The council said there are many hours spent by UDOT, Highway Patrol, Police Department, Sheriff’s Office and the city office that are not counted in the costs.
Westfall reported that from the economic development standpoint, there are only two local teams that participated in 2012, but only one hotel room rented by participants, according to their research.  
The council voted 3-0 to discontinue the triathlon and will look for other creative ways to bring visitors to town.
The council received and approved a purchase of fire equipment for $22,473. The equipment needed is fire turnouts (hats, boots, pants, coats) as they have a 10-year life from the date of manufacturing. 
Pehrson said that there would be liability insurance problems if there was an accident and expired turnouts had been used.  
The city included the cost of the equipment in a CIB (Community Impact Board) grant request, but is unsure if it will be funded at this time.
Pehrson asked if the council is willing to pay the entire cost if the CIB does not fund the request. The PTIF for fire has a balance of $198,000 with another $30,000 going into the fund this budget year.
Pehrson said that when Blanding City purchased a new fire truck, they only needed to put $165,000 into it. As a result, Monticello should have plenty of money in the account for a new fire truck, even if they have to pay the entire $22,473 from city funds.  
The council agreeed to purchase the equipment.
The council held a public hearing on the sale of the Meteorological (MET) Towers. Leases on the three towers expire on October 15.
City Manager Pehrson said they would like to advertise them for sale as of that date.  In public comment the council was asked if there had been any grants used for the towers that would prevent a sale, to which Pehrson said there were not.
The council voted to approve putting the towers up for sale on October 15.
In other business, the council approved accepting bid proposals for the City Attorney contract.
They also approved the purchase of a $16,000 mower, using money from savings and paying it back using the same payment that is used currently for cart leases at the Hideout Golf Club, which expires in March, 2013.
Pehrson said they did not need to purchase carts for another two years and could pay for the mower before that time.
The mower is a previously-leased 2009 model with only 900 hours of use from a high-end country club. It comes at a significant savings compared to the price of a new machine at over $43,000.