Monday, May 19, 2025

EVMD Board Meeting 5/15/2025 Recap

This is an unofficial summary of the May 15, 2025 Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the EagleVail Metropolitan District produced by EVMD Communications staff. A draft of the minutes will be posted to the EVMD website once they are composed.

Board members present: Hopkins, Barcza, Laughlin, Copeland and Rumford.

Betsy Laughlin and Lauren Barcza were re-elected to the EVMD Board of Directors, and Fred Rumford was elected to fill the vacant seat.

The Board voted unanimously to appoint Joanna Hopkins chair; Laughlin vice chair; Rumford treasurer; Terry Copeland secretary; and Barcza assistant secretary/treasurer.

Public Comment:

EagleVail resident Led Gardner asked the board and staff to re-examine safety issues due to errant golf balls on the 9^th fairway. Former EVMD Chair Tim McGurie congratulated the three winners of the election, saying the election results affirmed the community is moving in the right direction.

Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority Update:

Kim Bell Williams, EagleVail representative to the UERWA.

Water supply reserve (Eagle Park Reservoir is at 77.95-acre feet unrestricted water)
Water conservation
- In 2024, approximately 600 residential properties in our service area had water use in Tier 5 (more than 30,000 gallons per month) for three or more months. This level of use is excessive and unsustainable. It may indicate leaks, inefficient irrigation systems, and/or overwatering. Beyond the financial impact on customers, excessive water use strains our limited community water supply and contributes to long-term water security challenges.
- As your local water providers, ERWSD and UERWA are committed to ensuring a reliable and resilient water supply—today and for future generations. Achieving this goal requires collective action to reduce excessive water use, which is the focus of our new conservation campaign.
- This summer, the ERWSD and UERWA will be working directly with Tier 5, high use customers (including EagleVail residents and communications via EVMD official channels) to help identify the causes of high-water use and offer practical solutions to reduce water waste.
Bolts Lake (1,200 acre feet of water; about a 10-year reservoir buildout)
Rates market comparison

Communications Update:

May focus on openings of the golf courses, and treatments thereof;
Second annual Communications Survey has been drafted and will launch end of May/early June and be open through September;
Monthly Coffee Chats with Steven Barber and a board member resumed in May;
10 kiosks will be installed throughout our parks for enhanced communications;
Greater outreach and comms this summer relative to providing input to the Parks Master Plan – stay tuned for ice cream socials and more!

East End Master Plan Phase II Update and Board Action:

Unanimous EVMD board approval to move into contract with FNF to build a new multi-purpose field, parking, sidewalk and landscape improvements.

Manager Update:

The courts are open!
Opening day for the pool this year is Friday, May 23, 4-8 p.m. The pool will be open 7 days a week this season, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. starting Saturday, May 24 through Sept. 1.
We are moving forward with the installation of seven permanent speed tables in the community. The project is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks, weather depending. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project was completed last month. Additionally, we plan to install a temporary speed table at the west end of the community this year to help determine whether permanent installations are necessary.
Additional upcoming projects scheduled for this summer include adding an additional radar feedback sign, temporary speed table, painting crosswalks, repairing orange delineators along Eagle Road, and setting out the in-street crosswalk signs.
The wildfire and beetle mitigation work has been taking place over the past several weeks. Hugh Fairfield-Smith and team have distributed 2,500 pheromone packets. Later this spring they will continue their mitigation work by hand cutting and thinning of sick, dead and dying trees to include brush and ladder fuels. The thinning helps reduce the severity of wildfire and keep fire from entering into the crowns. The fire crew will stack and pile the dead debris to be burned next winter. The goal is to create resilient communities in the face of wildfire. This project is a significant step towards achieving that goal. We believe that together, we can make EagleVail a safer and healthier place to live.
HPS Community Service Day - We will once again be hosting the HPS 8th graders for our annual community service day on Thursday, May 22. 120 kids will be helping different departments with various projects, from working in the community gardens to helping clean the chairs at the pool. This is a great event and we are happy to help support our local school.
EV Community Cleanup Day - Once again, we will be hosting a free community yard waste cleanup day. The event takes place the weekend of May 17-18. Bags are collected by the maintenance department on Monday, May 19 at no cost to residents.
EV Chipping Day - The District is continuing our partnership with Eagle Valley Wildland and are pleased to announce a community wide chipping program. This new program will help us continue to take a community approach to wildfire risk reduction in Eagle County. Starting in May, they will begin a curbside slash removal/chipping program. The program is scheduled to run throughout the summer.

EagleVail Golf Courses & Parks Management Update:

Brent Barnum reminded that the weather plays a major role this time of year on daily planning and activities. It can be sunny one day and snowing the next. All-in-all, the golf courses came out of the winter well and Brent is pleased with the foundation that has been set. In recent weeks, the team has energized our irrigation system, adjusted our water ways, mowed the greens, tees, fairways, approaches and roughs for the first time, and has accomplished our spring aerification process on the greens. The crew has also been busy cleaning up the courses, detailing the bunkers, and setting up the lower holes and practice range for play.
We opened the practice facility on May 2, and the lower 10 holes (holes 1-8, 11, 12) on May 9. We plan on having all 18 holes open on May 23 along with the Willow Creek Golf Course, as well.
The irrigation systems in the parks have been energized and the process of “ironing out the kinks” has begun. In addition to the irrigation process, Gore Range Landscaping has begun with their spring clean-up programs, aerification, fertilization, and prepping the flower beds for the season.

Golf Professional Update:

Chad Rush said the courses and staffing are both looking great! We had a strong start with golf pass sales early last month then winding down toward late April. This is the current sales report for golf pass sales as of May 6:
Black pass sales – Guest 43, EV Resident 46, Military 3. Total 92
Blue pass sales - Guest 39, EV Resident 54, Military 3. Total 96
Green pass - Guest 25, EV Resident 27, Military 2. Total 54
Twilight pass - Guest 1, EV Resident 6, Military 0. Total 7
Junior pass - Guest 1, EV Resident 10, BMHS 1. Total 12
Total sales through May 8 - $408,350
EagleVail resident Kim Bell Williams thanked Chad and EagleVail Metro District for their strong support of the Battle Mountain High School’s Ladies Golf Team.

Finance:

Overall, revenues trending well. Tracking sales tax revenues that are trending a bit down.

EVMD property valuations recently released with a 7.5% increase in assessed value.

Other business:

Member Copeland called for a discussion around areas the EVMD can potentially address for errant golf ball issues. EagleVail resident Led Gardner joined the conversation with a request to shift the tee box on the 9^th fairway versus removing trees. Chair Hopkins asked staff to circulate a refresher of recommendations from last year, any new ideas and costs.