Forward Thinking Management
About the District’s Management
The District’s management team, Mulhern MRE, Inc, has specialized in serving Colorado’s special districts since 1991. They currently provide management to over 20 local governments representing over $1.4 million in revenues.
Mulhern MRE’s staff works extensively with special districts in providing their management, administration, planning, design, construction management, customer billing, customer service and financial management and provides each of them a dedicated team. That’s what they do for the Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District.
Says principal Pat Mulhern, “We are very proud to be the management team for Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District. By using our expertise on an 'as-needed' basis, the Cottonwood residents get the best of both worlds. They don’t have to pay for unnecessary employees, while they get the experience, contacts, professionalism, and benefits we provide. In the case of the Cottonwood District our management has provided the small community with the unsurpassed water quality and an assurance of its future water supplies that only the larger districts can afford. It means the residents of the District keep their water and sanitation costs down while ensuring the value of their homes.”
Mulhern MRE is also a full-service civil engineering company that develops and operates water and wastewater infrastructure and required services such as water resource planning and design, water and wastewater facility planning and design, and infrastructure development. Its team has an extensive background in all aspects of the engineering of water and sanitation infrastructure to include resource planning, design, obtaining water supply, reuse, drainage, and flood-control projects. In addition they have completed many water supply investigations, floodplain analyses, floodplain improvement studies, and associated facility designs.
Their involvement with local governments and participation in various authorities and committees has helped develop relationships that are important to special districts conducting business The team has long-term experience in working with entities such as Douglas County, Arapahoe County, Denver Water, the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Denver Wastewater Management, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority.
“We are involved in all aspects of special districts to include their formation, administration, financials, customer service and management. Our unique perspective and experience has given us an owner's point of view in implementing infrastructure development and understanding the importance of keeping costs down while ensuring the value of their home," said Pat.
Visit their website at www.MulhernMRE.com.
Meet the District’s Dedicated Management Team
As the management for the Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District, Mulhern MRE provides a dedicated team providing the primary services to the Cottonwood community. In addition, there are three backup personnel experienced in supporting special districts. Meet the Cottonwood management team:
- Patrick F. Mulhern, P. E. – Pat serves as the manager for the District. He has over 30 years of experience in the Denver Metropolitan area with managing special districts, water resources, infrastructure development, drainage and flood control. Nationally, Pat has experience as a Water Resource Manager. In addition to serving as the principal of a Colorado engineering firm, he was also the Engineering and Site Development Manager for a Commercial Development Company in Colorado. Since 1991, he has been the President of Mulhern MRE, Inc. Pat has been involved with water supply development in the South Metro Area since 1984, was the previous Manager of the South Metro Water Supply Authority, and served as President of the Special District Association for multiple years. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master’s Degree in Hydraulic Engineering from Colorado State University.
- Scott Barnett, P.E. – Scott Barnett has been with Mulhern MRE, Inc. for over a decade. He specializes in supporting Colorado’s special districts in the South Metro Area including Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District since 1996. Scott is a Field Project Manager responsible for infrastructure development, operations, maintenance oversight, and construction management. Scott works closely with operations personnel at the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority, who are the people that treat the water for the Cottonwood community. Scott is experienced in the development and operation of wells, pumping systems, water and sanitary sewer pipelines, storage facilities, communication systems and other facilities necessary to provide services to Cottonwood customers. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University.
- Luis Tovar – Luis is responsible for meeting the day-to-day demands of providing services to the Cottonwood community. He prepares the Board Packets for the District’s meetings, reports to the Board on its monthly activities, takes direction from the Board for upcoming months, and follows through on those directives. Luis also completes various planning and system evaluations as needed. As a civil engineer, he has experience in water resources, drainage and flood control. He has a Bachelor’s from the Universidad Santa Maria in Venezuela in Civil Engineering and a Master’s Degree from the University of Colorado at Denver with a focus on water resources. Luis has been working with Mulhern MRE, Inc. in support of special districts since 2005.
- Kelly Conover – Kelly is the primary administrative and customer service representative for the Cottonwood community. She provides administrative support at Board Meetings and is in charge of Cottonwood’s customer service. Kelly is the person the community trust when they have requests, questions, or just need information. She also prepares the District’s monthly billings and manages it’s the District’s website. Kelly has worked for Mulhern MRE, Inc. for over five years in support of the Cottonwood, Inverness, and Stonegate special districts and became the administrative manager for Cottonwood in 2009.
Additional Team Support - To ensure the District’s customers are always taken care of, the other Mulhern MRE employees that backup and support the management team are long-time Mulhern MRE employees, Laurie Tatlock and Niki Bussey.
Financials Team – Steve Christensen and his staff at Inverness Properties provide the accounting and financial management services for the District. A specialist with understanding the unique financial needs of Cottonwood, Steve has been providing accounting services for special districts since the early 1980’s. He has provided the financial services to Cottonwood since 1996 and has effectively managed the financial matters of the District to include the bond issue for construction of the Joint Water Purification Facility and two bond refundings to improve Cottonwood’s debt position after its bankruptcy in the early 1990’s. He prepares the District budgets and tracks its financial position throughout the year with bi-monthly financials presented at Board Meetings. Residents of the area are welcome to attend the Board meetings and to review the financials.