2024-11-15T02:53:52-07:00 2024-06-30 990 2023-07-01 946083333 WILSHIRE HEIGHTS MUTUAL WATER COMPANY WILS 6026190390 P O Box 174 Santa Rosa CA 95402 Gail Fadenrecht Secretary/Treasurer 6026190390 2024-11-12 1 2023 2024-10-15 13:58:12Z Gail Fadenrecht 551 Wikiup Drive Santa Rosa CA 95403 223940 0 X X 1959 CA WHMWC distributes safe and inexpensive well water to 41 neighborhood shareholders in the Wilshire Heights subdivision. We seek to provide the lowest prices possible with very little contracted labor. We are a volunteer-run company with no salaried employees. 3 3 0 15 0 0 0 223634 306 0 0 223940 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 54254 0 54254 0 169686 182404 353015 9750 10675 172654 342340 X WHMWC provides well water to 41 service connections. Following the 2017 Tubbs Fire, 32 shareholders use water for homes and construction. We maintain and repair the equipment and lines, we comply with state and federal requirements, sampling monthly, submitting quarterly drought reports, annual water quality and status reports; and this year, surveying and reporting lead and copper content of all water lines and service connections. We also pursued and obtained Firewise Certification, a tremendous community effort for the benefit of our water company neighborhood and surrounding homes, nearly 200 homes. The certification and its retention requires continous efforts to maintain defensible vegetation spaces and fire hardened home exteriors. There are no water company costs associated with the Firewise Certification efforts. All work is volunteer led. Our revenue/expenses include a misdirected payment of $11,241, which we immediately paid back, from the issuer for the Fire Victims Fund. 1 1 53284 201534 22406 Our largest expense and program is maintaining the distribution system, which involves employing a certified operator to take monthly water samples for testing, making repairs of the equipment and water lines, paying PG&E for electricity to run the pumps, paying laboratory fees for the sample testing, enlisting a certified backflow operator to inspect all service connections annually, purchasing propane for the generators and undergoing annual generator inspections and maintenance in preparation for PG&E power outages, predominantly during red flag events. The most inconsequential costs are the administrative expenses which include insurance, fire district taxes, postage, envelopes and PO Box rental. 0 0 0 The water company was very active in seeking Firewise Certification which required canvassing the community, holding meetings to educate residents in resiliency, surveying the extent of vegetation management and home hardening by individual homeowners, and submitting an application to the national National Fire Protection Association. Certification was awarded to our greater community, Riebli-North Firewise Community, in recognition of our compliance with fire safety standards. All work was volunteer led and there were no expenses or revenues. In some cases, the designation has reduced the insurance premiums for some of our residents. 0 0 0 53284 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22100 201840 0 0 0 X 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CA X Gail Fadenrecht 6026190390 551 Wikiup Drive Santa Rosa CA 95403 X Nick Hohler President 5 0 X X 0 0 0 Mike McGie Vice President 1 0 X X 0 0 0 Gail Fadenrecht Secretary/Treasurer 10 0 X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Private community water distribution company 221310 223634 223634 0 0 0 0 0 0 223634 306 306 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 223940 223940 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36615 0 2058 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1385 Parts and supplies for repairs 665 State fees, dues, and fire district taxes 1615 Refunds: Return of misdirected $11k FVT payment and $675 deposit return upon sale of parcels 11916 54254 0 0 0 30656 70 150066 351906 0 0 600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1082 1039 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 182404 353015 7200 7200 0 0 2550 3475 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9750 10675 X 0 0 0 0 172654 342340 172654 342340 182404 353015 X 169686 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 Form 990, Part III, Line 2 WHMWC shifted volunteer efforts from grant procurement for vegetation management on the streets of our neighborhood for egress during a wildfire to seeking and obtaining Firewise Certification, which continues vegetation management on a individual residential scale, with education and promotion of defensible space and home hardening. Form 990, Part III, Line 3 This year WHMWC did not have a county grant for vegetation management. The majority of our income in FY2023 was the grant to clear brush and weeds away from all access roads to enable clear passage for automobiles in the event of a wildfire. This year, our "extracurricular" activities involved organizing our water and surrounding neighborhood community to qualify for Firewise Certification, to fortify our community's ongoing efforts to create defensible space around our homes and ensure our homes are fire resistant. Since the vast majority of our homes are new construction, these rebuilt homes are constructed to ward off ember penetration and resist radiant heat exchange from a wildfire. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 6 The water company has 41 parcels with a water service connection; each parcel entitles the shareholders that own the parcel to one vote. Ownership of multiple parcels entitles the shareholder to multiple votes, in accordance with the number of parcels owned. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 7a All shareholders have the power to elect new officers every year at the annual shareholders' meeting. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 7b All shareholders also have the power to vote and direct the board on important issues and resolutions that extend beyond maintenance and daily operation of the water company. This includes rate changes, by-laws clarifications and modifications, and direction of capital improvements. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 8a The board members rarely have board meetings, usually converse to manage the maintenance and repairs of the distribution system. Sometimes there are casual interactions (emails, phone conversations) among members of the board to share possible proposals for discussion with the shareholders at a shareholders' meeting, as well as delegate and prepare for the shareholders' meetings, delineating the individual board member's role during the upcoming meeting. We have a capital improvement committee which has not met since the 2017 fire, but those meetings in the past were documented with actions required and delegations of duties to move the committee forward. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b To fill out the 990 tax form, the secretary/treasurer relies on the annual financial statements, which are reviewed by the other two officers and the shareholders attending the annual meeting. Under normal circumstances, the reserves of the water company were just enough for emergency repairs, and its annual gross income was less than $50,000/year, so only an abbreviated online form was filed. However, the public assistance provided to the water company since the Tubbs Fire, including the recent grant to reduce vegetation along the roadsides, have inflated our gross income in the last few years, expanding our responsibilities to include filing the more extensive tax form 990. While this is burdensome in that there is no change in the way we conduct the essential water distribution business, the large influx of assistance for wildfire damage and prevention, has likewise expanded the water company's community outreach to ensure wildfire mitigation. We are grateful for the additional funds because they allowed us to hire contractors to remove dangerous roadside vegetation, and we continue those efforts with the Riebli-North Firewise Community. The Fire Victim Trust funds for fire damages have given the water company a nest egg which will kickstart, in the future, the replacement of our very old water main distribution lines. All equipment above ground was replaced after the fire; only the underground pipes remain as before, although leaks and compromised joints were repaired before recommissioning the system in 2018. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 We provide the By-Laws to each shareholder at the time of purchase of the parcel entitling the new owner to a certificate of shareholder ownership. By-Laws are also available upon request. We have no "Conflict of Interest" policies; all positions are volunteer positions with few incentives beyond satisfaction for contributing to the operation of our community water system. The Financial Statements are available at the shareholders' meeting and discussed, particularly noting where costs have risen or changed, and what revenues have been collected. Again, Financial Statements are available upon request. Shareholders own the water company so they are the company, and the board/officers strive for transparency for residents and seek engagement by residents. Form 990, Part IX, Line 11g PG&E: electricity to power the pumps - $5,331. Laboratory Fees: water samples testing - $5,268. Backflow Tests: annual certification - $2,848. Permanent power panel backboard: for upper tanks: $5,398. Certified Operator: monthly service - $3,944. Back-up generator: upkeep - $2,100. Project labor and materials: construction for exposed standpipe retaining wall - $5,574. RH & Sons: clean and seal concrete tank - $5,157. Driveway Asphalt: lower tanks access - $995. Total: $36,615. Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 The liabilities include $7,200 of refundable security deposits, owed to shareholders when they sell their property, and $3,475 of prepaid water service charges. Residents often pay ahead. The total is $10,675.