December 2023 Board Meeting Summary

The following message was sent to membership on December 8th, 2023:

Hello Mill Ridge Membership,

The Mill Ridge Board of Directors just wrapped up its December 2023 meeting over the weekend.  The minutes for this meeting will be generated soon for the membership to review, but putting those together does take a bit of time.  To keep the membership better informed, we are going to start sending out a shorter summary within a few days of the meeting, outlining the major points discussed.  These summaries will not be as detailed as the full meeting minutes, but will cover the most important discussions, and be available right away for everyone to peruse.

December 2nd Board of Directors Meeting Important Discussions

Mill Ridge Ponds

The empty Mill Ridge ponds continue to be an ongoing issue for the community. 

To recap the situation, the ponds were originally filled from the river through a culvert that was at water-level.  However, after a major storm, the boulders in the river tumbled down, opening the makeshift dam that directed water into the culvert.  The current water level is now far below the culvert, and water no longer flows naturally into the ponds.  The Army Corp of Engineers, which oversees the riverbed, has prohibited any rebuilding of the dam, so a natural flow is no longer an option.

To bring water into the ponds, Mill Ridge installed various electric pumps to pull water out of the river and deposit it into the upper pond, which would then flow down to the lower pond.  This solution was approved by the Army Corp of Engineers, provided no permanent changes were made to the riverbed and the pump was not anchored in.  This solution worked well for the upper pond, as that pond is lined in low-permeability soil and therefore holds water.   The lower pond bed, however, has a higher permeability soil and as a result never truly filled up to previous levels.  The pump was also a high-maintenance solution, as it required cleaning out of debris multiple times a day during the fall.

Since the pump was not working as expected due to the permeability of the soil, Mill Ridge contacted an experienced environmental engineer to provide recommendations.  The engineer met with the board on November 14th and provided two possible solutions: 1) continue using a pump solution with some small pump maintenance improvements and using a liner on the ponds to retain more water, or 2) fill in the ponds entirely. 

Option 1 of using a pump/liner was quoted as $208,950.00, but would likely require additional work in the future as the riverbed and water levels change.

Option 2 of filling in the pond was quoted as $177,840.00

During the December meeting, the Board discussed both quotes and decided that both options were cost prohibitive and would ultimately require a special assessment to complete. 

The Board decided that we would begin re-filling the upper pond using the pump immediately.  Mill Ridge would then contact additional contractors with the environmental engineer’s quotation in hand, to see if there was a scaled down version of the proposal that might work to increase the levels of the lower pond.  Lower cost options like using clay soil instead of a full liner are now being researched.  Note that due to the ponds falling within a flood plain, any construction work is subject to various (somewhat pricey) federal/state/county permits, so it is not as simple as just dumping a few truckloads of clay into the pond to see if it holds.

As an additional aside, many members are concerned that the pond being empty results in additional fire risk.  After speaking with the fire department, they are still able to fill trucks from the third pond, which stays full due to a natural spring.  As a result the additional fire risk of an unfilled pond is believed to be minimal.  So while the pond issue is important, it’s not an immediate hazard.

Water and Sewer Infrastructure Review

Water and sewer infrastructure remains a top priority for the Board.  Penny Hodge is currently casting a wide net to try and find contractors, consultants, and engineers across the state that can evaluate Mill Ridge’s infrastructure and provide estimates and recommendations.  However, expertise is limited in the immediate geographic area, and many of the persons contacted have either not responded, or are backlogged for many months.  Penny has been told by the few consultants that have responded to expect more detailed discussions after the first of the year.  So as those responses come in, the Board will hopefully have more to report and discuss.

Ron Orlowski Retirement and Maintenance Transition Plan

As most of the membership knows, our long-time maintenance manager Ron Orlowski is set to retire on the first of January.  There is no direct replacement for Ron at this time, so the majority of maintenance tasks will be outsourced to various companies. 

The immediate concern is in winter-related maintenance: specifically snow removal, salting of roads, water leak mitigation, etc.  Penny Hodge is working with multiple contractors for snow removal and salting, and is currently getting commitments for competitive pricing and  prioritization of our communities roads.  Penny also has a contractor on call for repairing water leaks throughout the winter.  Finally, in the next couple weeks, Ron will be providing training to office staff and some board members on checking tank water levels, checking and resetting pump-house heating systems, and other winter preventive maintenance tasks.  Staff and board members will perform these regular maintenance tasks daily, and contact relevant contractors when appropriate.

Looking past the winter season: landscaping maintenance, pool maintenance, and other warm-weather tasks will also be outsourced to external companies.  Penny is in the process of identifying relevant contractors and comparing pricing and services for these items.  These contracted services will be discussed in greater depth in the Board’s March 2024 meeting, at which point we’ll be able to share more details.

During this entire transitional period, the Board will be reaching out to membership regularly to confirm that the community’s needs are still being met.  We will also be continually evaluating the cost/benefit of employing an in-house maintenance person versus outsourcing.  If in the future we do hire a new in-house maintenance person, it will be after an extensive search to ensure we have the best candidate for the job.

Final Words

This concludes the major points of discussion during the December 2023 Board of Directors meeting.  If you have any questions, concerns, or any input at all, please reach out the Board.  We’re happy to provide additional details on any of the items mentioned in this summary.

Thank you, and have a wonderful Holiday Season!