County operations staff reported that new pumps recently installed at one lift station (referred to in the meeting as “the triple chair”) are operating and that programmers and contractors still need to finish setup before full operation.

Brandon (operations staff) said he expects the system to have redundancy once programming is complete and the state issues the full operating permit; Sunrise (the contractor) has submitted a request and issued a temporary operating permit. Brandon said he would prefer to wait for the full permit but that the system can be run under the temporary authorization if needed.

Staff reported that the project preserved existing drives and motors during pump replacement, which reduced replacement costs; the meeting included a reference that preserving hardware saved approximately $30,000. County staff also identified an accessible water storage tank with an approximately 8,000-gallon capacity that had previously been buried and is now accessible for maintenance.

On system performance, staff reported recent flow measurements: one intake produced about 60 gallons per minute, the triple-chair location about 70 gpm (with some recent slowing), and the Forest Service spring about 15 gpm. Staff and commissioners discussed the Puffer spring collection box: multiple inlet/outlet points, some clogged collection inlets and the need to rework the spring collection area before considering wholesale piping replacement.

Brandon said meter installation has been slower than expected due to access to private units; he estimated it may not be completed this calendar year and suggested scheduling broader installation work next summer. Commissioners asked how meters would be handled for condominium buildings; staff said most condo units have individual shutoffs and that meters for some developments will be handled through homeowners associations.

No formal action was taken; staff will continue programming work, pursue the full operating permit and schedule meter installations.