Speaker 1 0:00 Okay, great. Okay, so go for it. Speaker 2 0:06 Okay, so where we're at currently is we had two options here to there's two options to get a what they call a CCN, you probably know what that means, it's a compliant Speaker 1 0:33 area, necessity, necessity, Speaker 3 0:36 and Speaker 1 0:40 yes, sir, yeah, Speaker 2 0:41 anyway so there's, there's what they call a, it would be kind of an investor owned, or what they call on, on a a Speaker 4 1:01 like a co-op, Speaker 1 1:04 right, or Speaker 2 1:04 a, you know, water supply corporation. Speaker 1 1:08 Yes, sir, which is Speaker 5 1:09 owned by, Speaker 2 1:14 you know, the like a homeowners association, or you know, whoever, every customer is an owner, and you have a board, and you have so in both circumstances, there's going to be financial backing required, because what the states must be worried about is who can be fiscally responsible for maintaining these things that you know they want to make sure you have an incentive to keep the water clean, and to, you know, all the maintenance up. Speaker 1 1:51 Yes, sir. So, if Speaker 2 1:52 you're not making money, or you're, you're operating in the red, they're not going to want to give you a license, Speaker 1 2:01 right, Speaker 2 2:01 and of course, in City of Waco or McLennan County, it's your, you know, you have to have a CCN in order to subdivide, so I think you already know that part of it. Speaker 1 2:16 Yes, sir. Yeah, it seems like it's somewhat of a lengthy process to get it, I guess, a lot of paperwork, and then just Speaker 2 2:26 so Speaker 1 2:27 other things like that to Speaker 2 2:28 get the CCN Speaker 1 2:30 right, Speaker 2 2:30 so the biggest thing working against us is it takes 18 months, 18 to 24 months to get to CCN once you file all the paperwork, and and we've already started the process a couple times. Our engineers have a lot of the information they need, so what we need to simplify, we're not going to do, probably not going to do the the water supply corporation, I wouldn't think, and even if we do, we've got to have some financial backing, Speaker 1 3:11 right? Speaker 2 3:12 You know, a business or an individual, what we still haven't been able to figure out or get a direct answer on is how much Speaker 6 3:30 liability that Speaker 2 3:35 this person or company would have or exposure, I guess, but they'd have to turn in some good financials, and, and none of this is impossible. I would say our engineer is encouraging us to go through with the process to go ahead and get it, and if we go through the have a water supply corporation, there's actually less needed for financial backing and whatnot. Speaker 1 4:04 I see Speaker 2 4:05 it's, and you know, you can set the rates and adjust them without having to turn in a whole lot of information. If it's, if it's investor owned, then you know they want to make sure you're not gouging people, Speaker 1 4:24 right? Speaker 2 4:24 You're going to have to turn in quarterly financials, and Speaker 1 4:28 yes, sir, Speaker 2 4:30 that type of thing. So I guess Brother Mike was saying that the talk is like an investor own, is that right? Right, I Speaker 1 4:43 think they were at least somewhat leaning towards, I guess, yeah, either that, or maybe this is the same thing, either that, or like, like you're talking about a co-op, but I guess there's some other. Dipped some other options too, I guess. The other one would be selling to Chalk Bluff. Speaker 2 5:08 Yeah, so that was the last option. They have a CCN, and that option would speed up the process, and we could probably turn it around in six to eight months, Speaker 1 5:21 right, Speaker 2 5:21 and be able to sell lots, so that was the most attractive thing about that. I will say, you know, we're, we've talked about putting a, a water discharge system, or just use simple terms, a sewer plant to process our sewer, because we're way over, Speaker 1 5:40 okay, Speaker 2 5:42 capacity, what we have for the fairgrounds, and you know, the crap village, and everything, Speaker 1 5:47 right? Speaker 2 5:48 So that's six to $700,000 ordeal. Speaker 1 5:56 Oh, wow, Speaker 2 5:57 you know, to build one of those, yeah. So, and you would also need an operator, so one of the requirements is going to do to have a water supply corporation or investor-owned, you have to have a licensed water operator, do the weekly testing, and you know, reporting. Right now, we pay somebody $800 a month. Speaker 1 6:27 Oh, wow. Speaker 2 6:28 A guy who's our operator, so he - everything that happens with the water system, he's responsible, I see, for it. So, like, sometimes they put a little bit too much chlorine, I think, than our folks are used to, or like, but you know, I've asked him to dial it back some, but he's got to operate in the levels he feels like is safest, and there's really nothing we can do about it. It's his license at stake. Speaker 1 6:58 I see. Okay. Speaker 6 7:00 So, Speaker 1 7:01 so, do you know the qualifications for getting a license? Is that a pretty long process? I mean, is that no? No, it's Speaker 2 7:08 not. Actually, I've said for a long time that I, and I brought it up, and deacon meetings, and been asking for years if any young person would, could go take a two day class, and then take a test, you know, the state puts on even their PSTC to become to get class D water operators license. Speaker 1 7:35 Oh, wow, and Speaker 2 7:36 you know, and they could take on other customers too. We wouldn't be the only water company that they're testing for, so it'd be a good thing to have. I don't have time to do that, and you know, I went and got my license, and, and, but it's like, you know, there's software that you can use, I'm sure, to make it go faster, but it's a lot of paperwork, and I said, for me, I just didn't have the time to keep up with it, so there's guys that you know do it for a living, and so our water operator has probably 10 different water systems that they help manage. Speaker 1 8:24 Okay, Speaker 2 8:25 same type of thing. So the chlorine injections, and you know, testing the water and turning the reports in. Speaker 1 8:33 I see. Do you have any idea? Just roughly, like, how much time does that take? How much time does that take him to do ours per per month? Is it a few hours or a day, or Speaker 2 8:46 it's probably all together probably two hours a week, so probably eight hours a month. Speaker 1 8:56 Okay, so not really that bad. Speaker 2 9:00 No, not that bad at all. Speaker 1 9:02 So we had some, Speaker 7 9:03 especially, Speaker 1 9:04 go ahead. Sorry, Speaker 2 9:05 especially if they have it already set up on their laptops, or did they just punch the information in, and all you know makes all the new calculations, and Speaker 1 9:16 right? Okay, Speaker 2 9:17 how many gallons have been pumped, and Speaker 1 9:19 I see Speaker 2 9:20 that Speaker 1 9:21 makes sense. Speaker 2 9:22 How much chlorine been used? Yeah, so I don't think I think it would help, and it would be good for someone to get that license, and they could do some other water systems, and Speaker 1 9:36 yeah, Speaker 2 9:37 and even work part time to sell it's one of our people, but to save money or be as a business venture, starting with our water system would not be a wise investment or a career path, Speaker 1 9:53 right? Speaker 2 9:55 So I can see them getting the license, and then maybe. Working for some of these other water companies, and learning how it's done, and then you know, add us to their list of customers, and you know, there's brothers that do the septic or, you know, aerobic system inspections, and they have to get licensed to do that in my book, it'd be the same type of thing, somebody who had that license and just kind of puts it on their on their schedule, like just like they're checking septic systems, check the water system. Speaker 1 10:35 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 10:36 So, jumping forward to what I was talking about, a future sewer plant, we would also need an operator for that, and that would be more involved, and then if we, if we were to sell our water plant to Chalk Bluff, then we'd have to create a business entity and do all the same thing for the sewer plant, and Shark Bluff definitely wouldn't want to buy the sewer plant, they don't want any part of it. Speaker 1 11:07 Okay, Speaker 2 11:08 so essentially we would own and operate the sewer, which would involve more work and more maintenance than the water, and then someone else would own the water, so honestly, the only benefit to selling the chalk bluff, I think, is that we'd be able to sell a lot sooner, but if there's any way folks can hang on another 18 months to two years, then we can have our own CCN licensing, Speaker 1 11:41 right, Speaker 2 11:42 and you know I've become really good friends with the engineer, and there's a lot of trust there. Speaker 1 11:47 Yes, sir, Speaker 2 11:47 and I know he would, he would help us. So I personally hope that we can push it through, Speaker 1 11:55 yes sir, Speaker 7 11:55 and become our own corporation. Yeah, Speaker 2 12:02 exactly. Now I know that you know Chalk Bluff was only offering 250 for the system. The reason that is, is that's the going rate to buy a water system. Speaker 1 12:15 Okay, Speaker 2 12:16 now you know it costs us more than that, and part of it is maybe not half of that, but probably 200,000 of it was running new water lines from our main lines to people's individual houses, Speaker 1 12:33 okay, Speaker 2 12:34 so you know, in covering that expense, if those folks were private homeowners, they would have to pay for a meter tap, and you know, run, have a plumber run the line from their house to the new meter. Speaker 1 12:51 Yes, sir. And the Speaker 2 12:52 church paid for all that, you know. At least I'm saying it out of the number of process to build it, at least 200,000 of it was that, Speaker 1 13:02 okay, Speaker 2 13:03 so we can't really figure that in, so that puts the system at about 500,000 and you know, like I'm working on a project with Brother Warren, where he's developing some lots, and we have to put the infrastructure in, in order for him to sell those lots, so he just, you know, divided the cost of the of the system by all the lots, essentially. If we're, if we're going to be selling lots, then we need to sell, you know, their portion of the meter cap. Speaker 1 13:34 Yes, sir. Speaker 8 13:34 It could be, you know, 15 $20,000 Speaker 1 13:38 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 13:39 I bought land off Fort Graham, and I had to pay Ross. I didn't pay them directly, but the folks I bought the land from figured another $20,000 in the water tap. Speaker 1 13:50 Oh, wow. So Speaker 2 13:52 I paid, so I did pay $20,000 more than what they probably would have asked for if we didn't have to improve the water system, so you know, and they divided it by 10 lots, cost them $200,000 to upgrade the water system. So I'm just saying, you know, you know, your dad could probably shed some light on this too, but it's, it should, the cost of building the water plant and system should, should have gone into the price of the lots, Speaker 1 14:30 right? Yes, sir. Speaker 2 14:31 You know, to cover, so, and I know we've sold some lots, and so, anyway, that's I that's Speaker 1 14:43 the Speaker 2 14:44 so it's selling for $250,000 it's just not worth more than that, Speaker 1 14:52 I see. Speaker 2 14:52 And then we can expand the system, but we can't sell water to anyone Speaker 1 14:59 and. Speaker 2 15:00 Outside of our, like, we can't have an interconnect and sell water to to chalk bluffs, right? Speaker 1 15:06 Yes, we just Speaker 2 15:07 don't have enough. We have enough for hours. Speaker 1 15:10 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 15:11 But it just wouldn't make sense to try to sell water to anyone else, Speaker 1 15:16 right? So that Speaker 2 15:18 we only go ahead. Speaker 1 15:19 So that that was one question I had, as far as the well, or the well we have right now. What's like the maximum amount of water meters we could have on the current, the current setup? About 5050, yeah, about five more than what we have. Okay, Speaker 2 15:37 right now. Speaker 1 15:38 And go ahead. Sorry, Speaker 2 15:40 we could add some more storage and increase capacity a little bit more, but then again, you know, how many more lots are we planning on selling? We could do more. I talked to the engineer about this recently, and you know, there's kind of a rule that you don't want to exceed 85% of your capacity, Speaker 1 16:08 okay. So Speaker 2 16:09 five more would put us at the 85% Speaker 1 16:14 okay. Speaker 2 16:15 But he said with a little tweaking of the system we should probably get another 10 more at least. Speaker 1 16:22 Okay, that makes sense. Because I think I was, I think from what I understand, I guess we need to, if we wanted to, even I guess cover the cost of the Um, whatever we need for the licensing, or whatever it is, we would have to sell, I guess. I think it was 50 water meters, just to break even. From what I understand, is that, is that correct? I think just all the. Speaker 2 16:59 you mean to break even monthly with the monthly income, Speaker 1 17:05 I think, so, or even just, I can't remember what it was exactly, but I think he was even covering the cost of like paying the lawyer with a water lawyer, and in the thing, stuff like that, maybe I could be mixing something up. I wish I could find exactly what I was talking about. Speaker 2 17:26 Okay, yeah, I could actually get you some more specifics, but the cost to get the CCN is not.. it's not going to be that much. Okay, it's. it's more showing good financials, Speaker 1 17:44 right, Speaker 2 17:45 and have the business set up that you know there will be some attorney fees and whatnot, but our engineer can prepare most of that, and he, they've established a number of water systems, so my summarization of all this would be, or summation of all this would be that the system does make some money. We're not in the red every month, but it's definitely not a.. it's a long-term investment. People are gonna need water for life. Speaker 1 18:35 Yep, exactly. If Speaker 2 18:36 the church is trying to recover that 800,000 then they're going to have to just, or 700,000 whatever it cost Speaker 1 18:48 us, Speaker 2 18:48 it's going to have to be divided by the lots, you know, and figured in really the cost of selling the lots. Yes, sir, because for someone to come up with 800,000 no one's going to do that, Speaker 1 19:05 right? Speaker 2 19:06 And you know, I would much rather to go to the group of brothers that are paid 250,000 and you know, I'm guessing from what I talked about to engineer, maybe an additional 25 or so to get it all up up to par for the CCN Speaker 1 19:27 chain, 20 25,000 just yeah, up worth of upgrades, Speaker 2 19:32 yeah, get some upgrades and get some, get some more capacity out of it, Speaker 1 19:40 yes sir, Speaker 2 19:41 you know one of the other things that is not factored in at all is, you know, my labor and is all been volunteers since the beginning. Speaker 1 19:55 Okay, to maintain Speaker 2 19:57 and even to install the system, we had a bunch of high. Open, we did pay some people, but we had a lot of workday stuff, a lot of folks volunteered, and maintaining the system for going on eight years now. I've never charged a cent. Speaker 1 20:14 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 20:15 And so you know, looking at it from a business standpoint, if somebody were to invest to, you know, have a return, I think it will happen, but it would, it would take a number of years before you started getting a return. Speaker 1 20:33 Yes, sir. So, Speaker 2 20:33 essentially, someone has, you know, $275,000 they want to park and you know somewhere, and so with the repairs we've had in the operating cost, and you know it, it breaks even, maybe would would make a little bit of money, and that might be what you heard, yes, selling, if everybody paid a water bill, like the church is our biggest water user, and they don't pay a bill, Speaker 1 21:12 right, Speaker 2 21:13 so the amount of income that the church gets for the water system is is pretty minimal, maybe half, Speaker 1 21:24 yes sir, Speaker 2 21:24 or, or you know, three quarters of the other people actually pay, and it's not - we can't bill people for water because we don't have a CCN license, Speaker 1 21:37 right? Exactly, but we Speaker 2 21:38 can charge them extra on their rent because it's the church is supposed to be the the owner of, you know, of all the lots. Speaker 1 21:51 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 21:52 So, as an owner, they can provide water to all the, Speaker 1 21:56 yeah, yeah. I think we were talking about it. I don't, yeah, I definitely don't think the goal is for anybody to make any money. It's, I think, like you're saying it best, maybe over time they'd make something, but just the ability to kind of have it in house, you know, more or less, that we can kind of have control over it would be, would be great, so I had one other question. So, for I understand we have to get approval from basically, if we're in another water companies, I don't know what you would call it, service area or something, Speaker 2 22:41 service area. Yeah, we Speaker 1 22:42 have to get approval from them to basically have our own CCN. Is that correct? Speaker 2 22:51 Yes. And we've been working on that for probably five years now, and that we pretty much have agreements already. We don't have any of them signed, but we, we can, I can help push that through. I've talked to Ross and Chalk Bluff, and of course, Waco quite a bit through the years, and been the last six months we've been really pushing it, so Speaker 1 23:21 okay, Speaker 2 23:22 that's not going to be that big of a hurdle. I would say, where we're at now is, if a group of brothers is going to own this, then we need to create a business entity and provide contacts, and, and then do a, you know, create the corporation, you know, we already have a Halbert Water Supply Corporation, I think your dad helped us set it up, Speaker 1 23:50 okay, Speaker 2 23:51 but we would need to have what do they call it, not just the bylaws, but basically the business plan, or Speaker 1 24:11 the I think I know what you're talking about, Speaker 9 24:15 basically the way the corporation is going to be set up, Speaker 1 24:18 right? Exactly, Speaker 2 24:19 that would include the bylaws, and include, you know, Speaker 1 24:24 the articles of incorporation, Speaker 10 24:26 exactly the articles of incorporation. Speaker 1 24:29 Yep, Speaker 2 24:30 you know, and how it's going to be set up. Who's going to be, you know, the president, and or, you know, assign those positions, and people will probably have to be voted in. Speaker 1 24:45 Yes, sir. If you Speaker 2 24:46 go with the corporation, you'd have board members, you can have how many members or not. All that would be written up in the original bylaws. So, Speaker 1 24:58 okay, Speaker 2 24:59 that. We would need to set that up pretty quick. That's all my our engineers are waiting on to move, keep moving the process forward. Okay, I've given them a lot of, you know, paperwork and inspection reports and drawings, and so the big question was, Who's going to own this thing? Who's going to run it? Who's going to take financial responsibility? If we go with corporation, it's not going to require as much money as it is, you know, paperwork, and I, I'd be willing to help any way I can, too. Speaker 1 25:43 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 25:44 You've been connecting us with the engineer, and Speaker 1 25:50 that'd be great. So, basically, all black for the corporation is just doing the paperwork, and then obviously it takes you said, you know, 18 to 24 months, Speaker 2 26:02 yeah, for the state to, you know, finally issue the CCN, or it's the utility commission, Speaker 1 26:09 right? Yes, it's not Speaker 2 26:10 the TCQ, it's the Utility Commission, yeah, Speaker 1 26:13 Public Utility Commission, Speaker 7 26:15 right. And then Speaker 1 26:17 just, I mean, then, and then, yeah, so we just need to do that, and then form the form the actual organization, so that's really all that needs, needs to happen, and then I guess get, you know, get it signed off by do so, do we have to have approval from Waco and Chalk Bluff and Ross, or just one of them? Yes, okay, all three, Speaker 2 26:39 yes, and we, and we have, we had an agreement drafted between us and Chalk Bluff, and we had one, an agreement signed between us and Waco. So, the last people on the list would be Ross, Speaker 1 26:56 okay? Speaker 2 26:57 Which I've talked to them, and we need to, I need to send them some information, but we just don't know. I've been hesitant because we don't know which direction we're going. Speaker 1 27:07 I see, Speaker 2 27:08 so and then our engineers are kind of standing by, and I wouldn't say getting impatient, but they're just waiting for an answer. How do we set this up for. so we've actually things have been moving, and then it keeps coming to a stop. Speaker 1 27:25 I say, Speaker 2 27:25 and we're at an impasse again, because they simply ask, well, Whose name should I put down? Are we sticking with Halbert Water Supply Corporation, or what? What business entity? What? And, and I've been waiting for those answers. Speaker 1 27:41 Okay, Speaker 2 27:42 so Speaker 1 27:44 got it. So, basically, kind of come up with, come with that, and we'll be more or less on our way. Speaker 2 27:53 Yes, and and the address of, you know, what the license is going to be, you know all the paperwork will be going to in the contact and and so that like should this we've exhausted all the at least I have I've been dealing with this for years and we can't come up to the same place every time. Speaker 1 28:22 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 28:22 Who's gonna, who's gonna handle the financials on this? Who's going to produce financials, Speaker 1 28:31 right? Speaker 2 28:32 And, like, so this is the impasse every time. So, Speaker 1 28:36 sir, Speaker 2 28:36 I would say we're further along right now than we've ever been. We just need to answer these key questions, and what I could do is I could forward you the email, the last email from our engineer. Speaker 1 28:51 Okay? Speaker 2 28:51 What she was requesting. Speaker 1 28:53 Yes, sir. Speaker 2 28:54 And then I hope I've given you kind of an overall picture. Speaker 1 28:58 Yes or no, it's very helpful. You can Speaker 2 29:04 text me your email, Speaker 1 29:06 okay? That's great. I Speaker 2 29:08 will send it to you, and you can bring it to whoever you need to there, but I say I'm all about us owning and managing our own system. Yeah, I was trying to, I was encouraging them to go the chalk bluff route solely for the sake of time, because I was being told that time was so critical, and we needed to sell these lots in order to pay debt and pay for this system, and Speaker 1 29:42 yes, sir, and Speaker 2 29:43 I'm sure that's still the case, but is is that really what we're supposed to be doing, or can we just be a little bit more patient, and Speaker 1 29:52 exactly, and that's what we're trying to figure out, it's me and me and a few other guys, we're not, I don't think, really having necessarily like you. Say, in the final decision, but we're trying to just at least get some information gathered, as to, you know, so we can hopefully get it, get it rolling, and not, we really need to get it, get it figured out, kind of just hanging over everybody's heads for it seems like a while now Transcribed by https://otter.ai