District updates cemetery records, discusses certifying Tietjen well and equipment upgrades

Ramah Water & Sanitation District staff used the March 11 meeting to update the board on operations and property records, including a functioning woodchipper, a newly live cemetery website, and efforts to certify the Tietjen well for connection to the district system.

Operator Flint Tietjen reported the district’s recently delivered woodchipper had an initial starting problem caused by a safety-feature connection, which he corrected; the chipper will process limbs up to about 5 inches in diameter and the board and operator agreed on a safe storage location. Tietjen also said the intern has been useful for office and field work but, because of cultural reasons, the intern cannot enter the cemetery to measure perimeter distances; the operator will secure other help for those tasks.

Secretary Michele Macias said the All Funeral Services cemetery website is live with two links: historical cemetery data and available plots for sale. Customers can view plots online and request a plot, but purchases still require payment by cash, check or money order; online purchase was discussed as a possible future option. Macias also described consulting with state local government finance staff to correctly report a DOT carryforward in LGBMS and said the state analyst and her supervisor provided technical fixes and guidance.

On property matters, Macias reported McKinley County confirmed the district’s deed covered a disputed north portion of the cemetery; the district had previously obtained a boundary survey and a warranty deed from the Merrills to remove uncertainty, and county staff will include those documents in their property notes. The board reviewed a compiled list of district-owned properties and discussed several wells: Lambson (sulfur issues), Clawson (pumps sand; district owns the well but not the land) and the HWY well (on a right-of-way). The board also discussed two delinquent accounts without property ownership ties and limits on placing liens when the nonpaying parties do not own the properties.

Macias reported she contacted multiple engineers about certifying the Tietjen well and then spoke with Dr. John Shomaker, Ph.D., who described the forms required and offered to provide a quote to guide the district through connecting the well and to advise on Zuni River Basin Adjudication implications. Several board members said hiring counsel to clarify adjudication paperwork and water-rights questions would be prudent; the board agreed to move that discussion to a future executive session.

The meeting included routine administrative items—an office-equipment inventory review and the intern’s records work—and concluded with the board approving minutes and adjourning.