With only three of its five board members present at its April 14 meeting, the Estes Park Sanitation District delayed action on two ongoing infrastructure matters — wastewater service for a temporary-use downtown property on Cleave Street and a sewer design plans tied to a Stanley Hotel expansion — while approving routine financial items and hearing updates on operations.
The board voted to approve bills and reviewed March financials, which staff said remained on track with no major surprises. Tony Drees, director of the EPSD, reported no transactions in or out of the Colorado Trust in March and said interest income remained steady at about 3.5%.
Drees also reported the District collected several smaller system fees related to commercial and residential remodels, including work at a new Estes Park tapas bar and the Holiday Inn. The district also invoiced The Stanley Hotel for a hotel addition project.
The first-quarter commercial wastewater gallonage was down about 1.06% from the previous year and about 1.08% below budget, a much smaller decline than earlier monthly flow estimates had suggested.
One of the board’s main discussions centered on a temporary-use site on Cleave Street operated by the Whimsadoodle Foundation where food trucks and art-related activities will operate this summer while a larger redevelopment project is planned.
Drees recently met with Larimer County health department officials after the board expressed concerns with the temporary toileting and handwashing arrangements at the Cleave Street site, which Whimsadoodle is calling the Beetle, during a previous board meeting.
According to Drees, health department officials said the property appears to be operating within current rules, though they raised questions about the extended length of the site’s temporary-use permit.
Health officials reportedly found no immediate concerns because food trucks are regulated separately and are not permanently tied to the parcel.
Staff also met with representatives of the property and said a sink located in a small shed behind storage containers is intended for staff use only, not for the public. A separate self-contained handwashing station is expected to be installed near restrooms for public use and serviced by a portable toilet company.
The board had previously set conditions for allowing sewer service to the site, including payment of a tap fee, payment of user fees, a shared-service agreement, and installation of flushing toilets and hand sinks with running water. Board members stopped short of changing those conditions at Tuesday’s meeting and tabled the issue for further discussion until next month, when the full board is expected to be present.
Board members said they want to continue monitoring the site through the summer and may revisit whether district approval should be tied more closely to temporary-use permit renewals through the town.
The special district also reviewed sewer plans for a proposed expansion at The Stanley Hotel and raised concerns about a design that would route a new sewer line through four manholes estimated to be nearly 20 feet deep.
Davina Gladson, collections superintendent for the EP San, said those depths would create long-term maintenance and safety problems and could make the line effectively unserviceable with the district’s existing equipment. Gadson told the board that she had proposed an alternate alignment that would keep the line shallower, but the developer’s engineering team did not want to pursue that option.
The board did not take formal action on Tuesday on the matter, but staff said they would return to the applicant and outline two options: redesign the line or accept responsibility for maintaining it as a private service line rather than infrastructure the district would take over.
Until the issue is resolved, Gladson said the district will not sign off on the sewer plans, which means building permits tied to that portion of the project cannot move forward.
In other business
In other business, the board approved placing the district’s original deed for the wastewater treatment plant property on permanent loan to the Estes Park Museum, where it can be preserved and displayed as a piece of local history. The deed was signed by F.O. Stanley on August 3,1940. Drees wants to frame a copy of the deed for display at the EP San offices.
Operations staff also reported one sewer plug during the month, the district’s first in about two years. The blockage, caused by “flushable” wipes, occurred in an 8-inch main near Fall River. Staff said the problem was reported quickly, contained before it reached the river, and resolved in less than two hours. The incident was reported to the state, as required.
Crews also completed the first phase of the Stanley Avenue sewer replacement project, replacing clay pipe with PVC, installing a new manhole and reconnecting multiple services. Staff said the work generally went smoothly, though some hand digging around utilities slowed completion.
At the treatment plant, staff reported routine maintenance, including repairs to clarifier hardware, pump lines, a valve, and electrical components in the headworks system. A new dissolved oxygen probe has also been installed, and the district is still waiting for delivery of a long-delayed phosphorus analyzer.
Administrative staff reported a busy quarter that included billing, tap transfers related to property sales, building permit reviews and quarterly closeout work. Board members also discussed growing public interest in online bill payment. Staff said the district does not yet offer online payments, though the option is expected to be included in a future billing software upgrade.