by Neil Richard
The Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting at 6:31 pm. Mike Bennett, Chairman, asked everyone to speak into their microphones so everyone could be heard.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Christopher Werle and Richard Granger had no report.
Cathy Binder said she had a nasty head cold and apologized if she had to stop speaking early. She said she met with Wiley Wilson about the decommissioning of the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and the potential for replacing it. Binder said there was a new wrinkle with the nutrient credits for the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. She said there was a limited amount for each river and the Board will do the best they can for King George.
Ruby Brabo added onto Binder's comments saying that she and Penny Gross from Fairfax County raised the issue of nutrient credits and how it didn't make sense to overload one section of water and have no impact. On the 15th and 16th, Brabo attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) meeting. She said the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has chosen to implement stricter requirements than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in regards to WWTPs in Phase III of the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). She said this would be costly to King George and others and that the reductions in Nitrogen and Phosphorus are not achievable nor realistic. Brabo said VACo has already sent a letter opposing the drafted plan. She asked for the Board's consensus to send a similar letter to Governor Ralph Northam and to send a copy of said letter to Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew Strickler. She said it took all of the voices to ensure that local targets were not set and felt this was a similar situation where a unified voice may help. Consensus was reached. [Editor's Note: The final Phase III plan was released 3 days later on August 23, 2019. Jeff Bueche mentioned Phase III in his May 7, 2019 Board report as well as in his response to our questions on his travel expenses.]
Mike Bennett began his report thanking Brabo as well as Binder and others for attending conferences and bringing information back to the rest of the Board. He appreciated the helpful info and said these are the things that they need to get ahead of. On the 13th he attended the meeting with Wiley Wilson with Binder and said they also discussed building a new WWTP at Purkins Corner instead of sending the waste to Hopyard Farm WWTP. He said that the more they talk with the engineering firm the more they realize how complex the issue is. On the 16th he met with Darrell Hertenstein who is proposing a development that would use the Purkins Corner WWTP. He said the Purkins Corner facility currently has a a capacity of about 200 more Equitable Residential Units (ERUs) and said the Service Authority wouldn't be able to sign off on any development that would need more than that. Bennett said that the 200 ERUs left did not include the 10 or 15 ERUs that were set aside for any potential need at a new Courthouse building. He said he talked to Supervisor Jeff Bueche about the two Boards meeting to work out their needs. Bennett said the presentation later tonight was the first part of that but there were many complex factors involved.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Ryan Bogese, Senior Engineer for Wiley Wilson, gave the Board an informational presentation on the potential cost differential between decommissioning and upgrading the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). Bogese said that to decommission both Oakland Park and Purkins Corner WWTPs would cost $9.7 million. To pump the waste from just Oakland Park to Hopyard Farm WWTP is $5.1 million and the general feeling on the Board was that this was a predetermined solution as DEQ will eventually require the closure of the facility and there is no room to upgrade or expand the plant. With Purkins Corner WWTP however, the Board will need to decide which solution is best, decommissioning or upgrading. With enough property to build a new facility at Purkins Corner and to account for potential development in the future, the Board wanted price points on the options.
Bogese said that with a new plant in Purkins Corner, there is another choice to make with the size of the facility. Building a 250,000 gallon per day (gpd) WWTP has more cost up front due to the infrastructure needs but the 500,000 gpd WWTP would be cheaper in the long run. Bennett and Weakley said that if the larger facility is built, the Board should consider the amount of development. Essentially, they said that if the larger WWTP is built and the planned development doesn't happen, then the Service Authority would have wasted money on paying for the extra capacity. Brabo asked if the developments that have already been approved have been factored into the demand that would be placed on Purkins Corner and Weakley said he was working with Community Development to see which of the approved plans were within the Purkins Corner service area.
There was also some discussion about the nutrient loads for both the Potomac River and the Rappahannock River. Being bounded on both sides by Virginia, and being smaller, the Rappahannock River has fewer nutrient credits available and has an increased chance of less credits in the future. Bogese said the nutrient credits could not be purchased in advance and stockpiled and that the state was in charge of distributing them. With Purkins Corner WWTP being in the Potomac River watershed, the general feeling was that pumping waste to Hopyard would cause some potential issues since it is located in the Rappahannock River watershed. Bogese also said that the storm water credits the County had purchased were different than the nutrient credits being discussed.
The bottom line of the presentation from Bogese was the cost difference between the different options on the table. The first option, to pump Purkins Corner waste to Hopyard Farm WWTP, which would require an upgrade at the Hopyard facility, would cost between $7.4 and $8.6 million. The second option, to replace the Purkins Corner WWTP with a 250,000 gpd facility, would cost between $7.1 and $10.2 million. The third option, to replace the Purkins Corner WWTP with a 500,000 gpd facility, would cost between $9.9 and $14.1 million. Bennett said, based on the costs given, that regardless of which option they took it would cost between $7.1 and $8.6 million.
Jonathan Weakley then gave his General Manager's report. Weakley said the Purkins Corner water tank has been painted and is being filled with water. He said once the water passes quality testing, it will be placed back into service. Weakley said the Oakland Park tank is currently being painted. He said lead and copper sampling letters and kits had gone out to homeowners participating in the program and that the Walnut Hill developer has a few items to correct before the Service Authority took ownership of the infrastructure. He told the Board that the meter reading software and hardware will no longer be supported after 2021 so he would be submitting a capital request to replace those. Regarding the WWTPs, he said that Dahlgren is operating within permit requirements but is still not under the limit for the grant. The only other facility to be outside of the permit limits is Purkins Corner. Weakley said repairs had also begun on the UV system at Dahlgren. Bennett asked how many items were left on the Consent Order from DEQ and Weakley said only a couple of items. Bennett asked about closing out the Consent Order and opening a new one with just those remaining items and Weakley said that had been discussed with DEQ but wasn't sure if it was the best solution yet. Weakley also said he had a conference call with Davenport regarding the debt refinancing and said that Federal law required a $50,000 draw down. He apologized to the Board for the late notice on this unexpected draw down but said he only just learned about it.
With that, the Board then went into Closed Session at 7:23 pm and invited Gregory, Young, and Weakley to attend.
While they were behind closed doors, Supervisor Jeff Bueche noticed that the King George County flag was hung on the pole upside down. After some searching, he and IT Director Chris Dines found some tools to correct the issue. After some discussion with Deputy Shriver, they also rearranged all three flags to display them correctly.
The Board returned from Closed Session and adjourned immediately thereafter at 8:00 pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Board of Directors)
Jonathon Weakley (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Chairman, Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on September 3, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
The Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting at 6:31 pm. Mike Bennett, Chairman, asked everyone to speak into their microphones so everyone could be heard.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Christopher Werle and Richard Granger had no report.
Cathy Binder said she had a nasty head cold and apologized if she had to stop speaking early. She said she met with Wiley Wilson about the decommissioning of the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and the potential for replacing it. Binder said there was a new wrinkle with the nutrient credits for the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. She said there was a limited amount for each river and the Board will do the best they can for King George.
Ruby Brabo added onto Binder's comments saying that she and Penny Gross from Fairfax County raised the issue of nutrient credits and how it didn't make sense to overload one section of water and have no impact. On the 15th and 16th, Brabo attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) meeting. She said the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has chosen to implement stricter requirements than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in regards to WWTPs in Phase III of the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). She said this would be costly to King George and others and that the reductions in Nitrogen and Phosphorus are not achievable nor realistic. Brabo said VACo has already sent a letter opposing the drafted plan. She asked for the Board's consensus to send a similar letter to Governor Ralph Northam and to send a copy of said letter to Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew Strickler. She said it took all of the voices to ensure that local targets were not set and felt this was a similar situation where a unified voice may help. Consensus was reached. [Editor's Note: The final Phase III plan was released 3 days later on August 23, 2019. Jeff Bueche mentioned Phase III in his May 7, 2019 Board report as well as in his response to our questions on his travel expenses.]
Mike Bennett began his report thanking Brabo as well as Binder and others for attending conferences and bringing information back to the rest of the Board. He appreciated the helpful info and said these are the things that they need to get ahead of. On the 13th he attended the meeting with Wiley Wilson with Binder and said they also discussed building a new WWTP at Purkins Corner instead of sending the waste to Hopyard Farm WWTP. He said that the more they talk with the engineering firm the more they realize how complex the issue is. On the 16th he met with Darrell Hertenstein who is proposing a development that would use the Purkins Corner WWTP. He said the Purkins Corner facility currently has a a capacity of about 200 more Equitable Residential Units (ERUs) and said the Service Authority wouldn't be able to sign off on any development that would need more than that. Bennett said that the 200 ERUs left did not include the 10 or 15 ERUs that were set aside for any potential need at a new Courthouse building. He said he talked to Supervisor Jeff Bueche about the two Boards meeting to work out their needs. Bennett said the presentation later tonight was the first part of that but there were many complex factors involved.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Ryan Bogese, Senior Engineer for Wiley Wilson, gave the Board an informational presentation on the potential cost differential between decommissioning and upgrading the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). Bogese said that to decommission both Oakland Park and Purkins Corner WWTPs would cost $9.7 million. To pump the waste from just Oakland Park to Hopyard Farm WWTP is $5.1 million and the general feeling on the Board was that this was a predetermined solution as DEQ will eventually require the closure of the facility and there is no room to upgrade or expand the plant. With Purkins Corner WWTP however, the Board will need to decide which solution is best, decommissioning or upgrading. With enough property to build a new facility at Purkins Corner and to account for potential development in the future, the Board wanted price points on the options.
Bogese said that with a new plant in Purkins Corner, there is another choice to make with the size of the facility. Building a 250,000 gallon per day (gpd) WWTP has more cost up front due to the infrastructure needs but the 500,000 gpd WWTP would be cheaper in the long run. Bennett and Weakley said that if the larger facility is built, the Board should consider the amount of development. Essentially, they said that if the larger WWTP is built and the planned development doesn't happen, then the Service Authority would have wasted money on paying for the extra capacity. Brabo asked if the developments that have already been approved have been factored into the demand that would be placed on Purkins Corner and Weakley said he was working with Community Development to see which of the approved plans were within the Purkins Corner service area.
There was also some discussion about the nutrient loads for both the Potomac River and the Rappahannock River. Being bounded on both sides by Virginia, and being smaller, the Rappahannock River has fewer nutrient credits available and has an increased chance of less credits in the future. Bogese said the nutrient credits could not be purchased in advance and stockpiled and that the state was in charge of distributing them. With Purkins Corner WWTP being in the Potomac River watershed, the general feeling was that pumping waste to Hopyard would cause some potential issues since it is located in the Rappahannock River watershed. Bogese also said that the storm water credits the County had purchased were different than the nutrient credits being discussed.
The bottom line of the presentation from Bogese was the cost difference between the different options on the table. The first option, to pump Purkins Corner waste to Hopyard Farm WWTP, which would require an upgrade at the Hopyard facility, would cost between $7.4 and $8.6 million. The second option, to replace the Purkins Corner WWTP with a 250,000 gpd facility, would cost between $7.1 and $10.2 million. The third option, to replace the Purkins Corner WWTP with a 500,000 gpd facility, would cost between $9.9 and $14.1 million. Bennett said, based on the costs given, that regardless of which option they took it would cost between $7.1 and $8.6 million.
Jonathan Weakley then gave his General Manager's report. Weakley said the Purkins Corner water tank has been painted and is being filled with water. He said once the water passes quality testing, it will be placed back into service. Weakley said the Oakland Park tank is currently being painted. He said lead and copper sampling letters and kits had gone out to homeowners participating in the program and that the Walnut Hill developer has a few items to correct before the Service Authority took ownership of the infrastructure. He told the Board that the meter reading software and hardware will no longer be supported after 2021 so he would be submitting a capital request to replace those. Regarding the WWTPs, he said that Dahlgren is operating within permit requirements but is still not under the limit for the grant. The only other facility to be outside of the permit limits is Purkins Corner. Weakley said repairs had also begun on the UV system at Dahlgren. Bennett asked how many items were left on the Consent Order from DEQ and Weakley said only a couple of items. Bennett asked about closing out the Consent Order and opening a new one with just those remaining items and Weakley said that had been discussed with DEQ but wasn't sure if it was the best solution yet. Weakley also said he had a conference call with Davenport regarding the debt refinancing and said that Federal law required a $50,000 draw down. He apologized to the Board for the late notice on this unexpected draw down but said he only just learned about it.
With that, the Board then went into Closed Session at 7:23 pm and invited Gregory, Young, and Weakley to attend.
While they were behind closed doors, Supervisor Jeff Bueche noticed that the King George County flag was hung on the pole upside down. After some searching, he and IT Director Chris Dines found some tools to correct the issue. After some discussion with Deputy Shriver, they also rearranged all three flags to display them correctly.
 |
| Despite being displayed right-side-up two weeks ago, the County flag was upside-down. |
 |
| Chris Dines and Jeff Bueche work to correct the error. |
 |
| The County flag now facing the right way. |
 |
| All three flags now properly displayed. |
The Board returned from Closed Session and adjourned immediately thereafter at 8:00 pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Werle (Board of Directors)
Jonathon Weakley (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Chairman, Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on September 3, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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