Thursday, June 16, 2011—New BOD members and officers, Annual Bill, etc.

The annual meeting of the Brazos Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association (BMDWCA) was held on Sunday, May 29, 2011. At that meeting, Ron Stafford, Mike Valdez, and Paul Walenciak were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Directors. Immediately following the meeting, the Board elected new officers: Clay Kilmer, President; Mike Valdez, Vice-president; Deej Bannister, Secretary; Rubel Martinez, Tresurer. Past-President Tom Petersen’s report to the Association at the annual meeting is posted on the website

By now, you should have received your annual statement. All fees are due on June 1, 2011. You are reminded that delinquent accounts are subjected to various penalties, including having a lien placed on your property and losing your membership; see the Rules and Regulations for details. If you have not received a statement, it is because we do not have your complete contact info, so you should contact us immediately.

Thursday, September 2, 2010—New Well, Delinquent accounts

Our new well has now been online for about a month. The well is producing some bubbles, which you may notice in your water---this is normal and harmless and should disappear as the well becomes more developed. Finally operating the well is the culmination of a process started by Board member Ron Stafford about three years ago. System operators Levi Sandoval and Bidal Martinez and Board member Clay Kilmer have played a significant role in bringing the new well into operation. The new well is not operating a full capacity because our current demands are being met, so this new well should provide for our water needs for the foreseeable future. We will have the old well #1 available as a back-up.

With the approval of the minutes of the July 18, 2010 meeting at the August 29 BOD meeting, tough new rules regarding delinquent accounts have gone into effect. A complete set of the governing rules under which the BMDWCA operates can be found on the website. You are especially encouraged to review section VI of the rules and regulations. The rules will be applied retroactively after a grace period, so members with delinquent accounts are encouraged to pay their accounts as quickly as possible before the members’ water is locked out, the account is turned over to a collection agency, and a lien is put on the property.

Thursday, August 26, 2010—Next meeting, Delinquent accounts

The next meeting of the Board of Directors (BOD) will be held on Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 8:00 A.M. at Irv Lindemuth’s cabin in the Brazos. The agenda has been posted here.

At its July 18, 2010 meeting, the BOD approved tough new rules regarding delinquent accounts, including a $50 penalty each month, lock-out of service after 2 months, turning over the account to a collection agency after 4 months, and placing a lien on the property after 12 months. These changes are in accordance with the NM Sanitary Projects Act and will be posted on the Governing Rules once the minutes of the July 18 meeting are approved at the next meeting. The rules will be applied retroactively after a grace period, so members with delinquent accounts are encouraged to pay their accounts as quickly as possible.

Friday, June 18, 2010—Annual meeting, Next meeting, etc.

The President’s annual newsletter and presentation at the annual meeting have been posted here.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 8:00 P.M. at Ron Stafford’s cabin in the Brazos. The agenda has been posted here.

Members are reminded that they must use their own stop-and-waste valve to turn the water to their cabin on and off. Members should not use the valve at the meter can without first contacting a member of the Board of Directors. If you do not have a stop-and-waste valve, or if it is inoperative, you should consider contacting a plumber to have one installed as soon as possible.

Friday, April 23, 2010—Annual Billing, Annual Meeting etc.

The annual billings have been mailed out to members. If you have not received your bill, please contact irvl@att.net as soon as possible to make sure we have your correct mailing address on record. You are reminded that your account becomes delinquent after June 1, 2010, and will be assessed late fees. The Board of Directors is increasingly concerned about delinquent accounts and will be considering more aggressive action in the future, including lock-out of service, turning accounts over to collection agencies, and cancellation of membership.

President Tom Petersen’s annual letter will be mailed soon. Tom’s letter will provide you with an update on system status, the new well, BOD activities and nominees, etc. The letter will also be posted on this website when available.

Be sure to mark Sunday, May 30, on your calendar as the date of the BMDWCA annual meeting, which will be held at the Brazos Volunteer Fire Department at 1:00 PM. The annual meeting is a great opportunity for members learn what is going on and to interact with the Board of Directors. Ballots will be counted and newly elected BOD members will be announced.

Thanks mainly to system operator Levi Sandoval, we’ve made it through the winter without any major service outages. We encountered a major line freeze on Falls Creek Road in an old heavily clogged galvanized distribution line that dates from before the most recent system upgrade in the early 90’s.

Minutes from some recent BOD meetings have been posted.

News Flash--October 12, 2009

The commissioning procedure for the new well is nearing completion.

The New Mexico Sanitary Projects Act, under which the BMDWCA is incorporated, has been posted.

Some recent meeting minutes have been posted.

The Board of Directors will meet on Sunday, October 19, at 8:00 AM. As always, members are welcome to attend.

If you submitted your e-mail address along with your annual dues, but have not received any e-mail from the BMDWCA, please notify irvl@att.net.

News Flash—July 15, 2009

Drilling has been completed for our new well at a depth of 600 feet.

President Tom Petersen’s annual meeting presentation is now available.

News Flash--June 27, 2009

Drilling has begun for our new well. We’ll post pictures soon. As of Thursday morning, June 25, the well was approximately 200 feet deep with about 300 more to go. The well is located on Spruce Lane just north of our existing well #1.

At the annual meeting on May 23, Tom Petersen, DeeJ Bannister, and T. J. Allard were re-elected to new three-year terms on the Board of Directors (BOD). Charlie Lawrence was elected to fill the two years remaining on another BOD position.

At the June 21 meeting of the BOD, all officers were re-elected by acclamation. Continuing to serve are: Tom Petersen, President; Mike Valdez, Vice-President; Rubel Martinez, Treasurer; DeeJ Bannister, Secretary.

If you submitted your e-mail address along with your annual dues, but have not received any e-mail from the BMDWCA, please notify irvl@att.net.

News Flash—May 9, 2009

Preparations are being made for the Annual Meeting, Saturday, May 23 (agenda: pdf or html). Four candidates (pdf or html) have been nominated to fill vacanices on the Board of Directors. The President’s annual newsletter (pdf or html) has been sent to the members.

And, don’t forget, your annual dues and fees are due June 1.

News Flash—March 28, 2009

The web site is up and running again after a 3-month outage beyond our control. A progress report on the new well, spearheaded by Ron Stafford, has been posted; be sure to thank Ron for all of his efforts. Recent Board minutes have been posted. If you are anticipating Board assistance in turning on your water, please review our member’s obligations.

News Flash—June 10, 2008

The Association’s annual meeting was held on Sunday, May 25, at the Cliffview Restaurant. Ron Stafford and Mike Valdez were re-elected to the Board for 3-year terms and Bob Kinsey was elected to a 3-year term. New by-laws were adopted by the members present. The budget and financial situation was discussed.

News Flash—April 15, 2008

PRESIDENT RESIGNS

Dave Sainz, president since summer 2006, has regrettably resigned from the Board of Directors due to an increased travel at work and continued demands operating the Brazos Lodge. Under Dave's leadership, the Board made tremendous progress in unravelling a financial mess inherited from previous Boards and in making the system more reliable. The BMDWCA is deeply indebted to Dave for his service. Until a new president is elected by the Board after the May, 2008 annual meeting, Vice-President Mike Valdez will serve as President.

ANNUAL FEE INCREASED

At its April 6, 2008 meeting, the Board of Directors voted to increase the annual fee to $430 for residential users to establish and restore reserves necessary for upgrades and repairs of an aging water system and to prepare for a new well expected to be drilled in the summer of 2008.

NEW RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Board also passed updated and modified rules and regulations at its April 6, 2008 meeting. All members should familiarize themselves with these.

ANNUAL NEWSLETTER

The annual newsletter has been mailed to the members. This includes a ballot to elect new Board members.

ANNUAL MEETING

The annual meeting of the Brazos Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association will be held on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 10:00 AM in the Cliffview Restaurant. Among other action, the members will be asked to approve significant improvements to the Association By-Laws.

News Flash—November 20, 2007

CRITICAL LOW WATER LEVEL—RATIONING POSSIBLE

The Board of Directors regrets to inform you that our water storage levels have decreased to a critically low value due to a recently detected leak that will be fixed as soon as possible, due to one or more undetected leaks for which we are searching, and due to the fact that our spring-fed gallery is no longer producing water. Therefore, we ask you to do everything possible to conserve our remaining water supply: purchase bottled water for drinking, flush toilets only when necessary, minimize dish-washing by using paper plates and glasses, avoid clothes washing. If the water supply usage cannot be balanced by the amount of water being produced by our two operating wells, water will be rationed by turning the water off periodically through the day.

Please check your plumbing to ensure that you are not the source of our leaks. When you are not using your cabin, please turn your water off at the “stop-and-waste” valve. If you need assistance with turning off your water, please contact one of the members of the Board.

Water shortages will continue to be a real possibility until we can bring a new well into operation. So that we can notify you quickly of changes in the water system status, please send your e-mail address to irvl@att.net.

News Flash—July 20, 2007

Much of the BMDWCA web site has been updated. We expect to update the site regularly, so check back at least weekly.

Also, we are building an e-mail distribution list so that we can inform members rapidly of any significant developments that warrant immediate notification. To be included, send an e-mail message to irvl@att.net.