WELD COUNTY, Colo. — The water district that has served the Town of Firestone for nearly 60 years will cancel its contract with the town in 2028, citing an "unworkable and financially unsustainable" partnership with the town's management and board of trustees.
The Central Weld County Water District (CWCWD) is responsible for providing drinking water across 250 square miles in Weld County, including about 64,000 people. However, on Friday, the water district announced that its board of directors had voted unanimously to cancel the contract for water service for the Town of Firestone, which had a population of 16,000 as of 2020. As required in the current agreement, CWCWD said it notified the town three years before the end of the contract.
After Aug. 21, 2028, the town will be "solely responsible for all water service operations to its residents and businesses," CWCWD said.
Denver7 is working to connect with Firestone leadership to hear their side of the story and possible alternatives for the town. The mayor told Denver7's Allie Jennerjahn on Friday, "At this time, I have no comment." Anchor Jessica Porter has also reached out to the Firestone city manager and the town's communication team.
Once, and if, we hear from them, we will update this story.
Recently, town leaders raised concerns with Denver7 about being billed incorrectly under a 1974 contract agreement between CWCWD and Firestone. The agreement reads that the town will pay the established water rate schedule or the monthly minimum charge — whichever is greater. Firestone Mayor Don Conyac told Denver7 that the town was asked to pay both. However, the CWCWD is arguing that the agreement did not require a formal amendment to establish a new rate structure, which was adopted by the water district's board of directors on Sept. 17, 2009. The town was notified about the change on Sept. 30, 2009 and the new rate structure went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010, CWCWD's website reads. For the following 15 years, the town had paid its bills to the water district, CCWD said.
A letter from CCWD to the town manager explains the two charges on the bill as mentioned by the mayor:
“It is unfortunate that despite our efforts to communicate and maintain a future-focused, mutually beneficial relationship between the Town of Firestone and the Central Weld County Water District, we have faced persistent and unnecessary obstacles,” said Stan Linker, CWCWD general manager. “These ongoing challenges have also created an immense financial burden for our District and made it impossible to sustain a partnership.”
This decision came after years of "mounting challenges" with — and lack of trust in — the town's management and board of trustees, CWCWD said. The parties' relationship had "shifted drastically" since 2018, CWCWD said, and led to increased resources and time to address issues and legal disputes. The water district noted issues such as "conflicting interpretations of our original service agreement and stalled efforts to negotiate a new one, disputes over billing practices and refusal to pay monthly water bills in full."
The water district's website has published an in-depth account from its perspective of the diminishing relationship, including town leadership's inaccurate statements and copies of correspondence and missed town payments.
The contract cancellation was "one of the most difficult decisions the board has ever made," CWCWD wrote on its website.
“Cancelling the contract has never been our preferred course of action — and it still isn’t — but it has become necessary,” Linker said in a press release. “The Town’s lack of cooperation with us, and numerous lawsuits over the years, have become a huge distraction for the Board of Directors and our entire staff, pulling energy away from other important District priorities. Our focus must remain on delivering safe, reliable and affordable water service to ALL of the communities we serve and all of our retail customers.”
CWCWD said anybody with questions should contact town leadership.
Bobby Matthews, Firestone resident, spoke with Denver7's Jessica Porter on Friday and said he was extremely upset about the development. With three housing construction projects being built in the town, he wonders who will buy a house that may not have access to water in a few years.
"Firestone went from 1,000 people — in that 10-year period — to over 10,000. There was a new rate structure because of... infrastructure and stuff," Matthews said. "They put in (that) Firestone agreed to it and paid that for 15 years, and then all of a sudden they decided no, they weren't going to do that. I don't know what the board and town manager want... I would say that's very typical of our board and our town manager — their models. They speak with one voice. They never answer questions... The citizens just feel powerless to do anything because they don't listen."
He urged the town to pay the bill "in an honest, clear fashion, and settle it."
A citizens meeting in Firestone is planned for Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Carbon Valley Library.
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