by Neil Richard
The Service Authority Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors held a joint work session on September 19, 2019 to discuss a single issue; the future of the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). For those that don't know, the Service Authority is slowly recovering from years of mismanagement and poor financial decisions. While the County also has a large amount of debt to deal with, it has a much larger tax base when compared to the customer base of the Service Authority.
Because both boards are separate entities but some members sit on both, the meeting was a little awkward when everyone was arriving and finding a place to sit. Once everyone was settled in, and both groups opened their meetings, Mike Bennett, the Chair of the Service Authority Board of Directors said that Jonathon Weakley, Service Authority General Manager, was sick and would not be attending. Weakley, despite having strep throat and a high fever, managed to compile a presentation of the current situation at Purkins Corner.
Weakley's presentation, given by Bennett, was a solid overview of what most everyone at the table already knew. The WWTP was old and not functioning well. It had already been under Consent Orders from Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Although not included, Purkins Corner was under a DEQ Consent Order from 2006 to 2008, from 2011 to 2012, and again in 2014. This doesn't include the current Consent order that has been in place since last year. Aside from the DEQ enforcement issues, the plant has outlived its useful life and isn't running as efficiently as a newer plant.
The seven Board members also had to consider the upcoming potential for development in the Purkins Corner area. For those that have lived here long enough, it's obvious that the triangle of land between the three major roads, Ridge Road (Route 205), Kings Highway (Route 3), and James Madison Parkway (Route 301), is ripe for development. And with three development ideas floating around in the service area for Purkins Corner, Weakley said the WWTP wouldn't be able to handle the increased load if all of the new housing and commercial units were built.
Weakley's report also gave some options for different technologies that could be used, Single Batch Reactor (SBR) or Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR), as well as two size options, 250,000 or 500,000 gallons per day (gpd). It should be noted that sometimes the size are referred to as 0.25 and .5 mgd or "million gallons per day." As if waste water wasn't confusing enough. Weakley also covered some funding options that included grants, connection fees, a line of credit, and County funds.
As Bennett began his presentation, he gave much of the same information but had a different perspective on things. As an example, he said that the existing design capacity of Purkins Corner was 120,000 gpd and only 70,000 gpd is used. But Bennett said that the potential development would bring 280,000 gpd in use and that didn't include the commercial development being proposed. Bennett also said that the bare minimum expense would be $4.6 million. This was the cost to decommission Purkins Corner and pump waste to the Hopyard Farm WWTP. Bennett reminded everyone that this may be the minimum cost for any decision but it was also the mandated cost by DEQ since they were requiring the Service Authority to take action in some way.
Bennett boiled everything down to three decision points. The first was did the Service Authority, and the County indirectly, want to build a new WWTP at Purkins Corner. Everyone said yes. The second decision was what type of plant and what size. Everyone agreed that the 500,000 gpd SBR was the best option. The last decision to make was how to pay for the project. And that's where the discussion began to dive into the black hole of infinite funding possibilities.
Bennett mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that he had spoken to Darrell Hertenstein who was proposing a development with housing, commercial, and medical facilities in the prime development triangle area. Bennett said that Hertenstein was willing to commit $2 million to the Service Authority in up-front connection fees. Hertenstein said he has operated in good faith with the Service Authority and they have done the same with him. Hertenstein also told Bennett that he wanted to be a responsible developer, especially since he and his family live in King George. Bennett and Richard Granger did caution everyone that even though this was a great offer, the Supervisors still have to approve the development first.
Bennett also reviewed a myriad of potential funding sources. With Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grants, they fund between 35% and 75% of a project and getting the grant isn't a guarantee. Connection fees are about $20,000 per residential connection but they get paid over time, not all up front. Bennett said the Service Authority has an approved line of credit for $15 million but there are many other projects besides Purkins Corner WWTP to take care of. Finally, and the small elephant in the room, was the potential for the County to pay for some of the project because of how important it was to economic development and the future of the County.
All in all, it was a short meeting, maybe 45 minutes, and everyone seemed to be on the same page and in agreement that a new facility was needed. And they all agreed on the size and type of plant. But they still need to determine how they'll pay for the project. That decision was effectively tabled until more information could be gathered on the cost, the grants, and other variables.
The Service Authority Board of Directors and the Board of Supervisors held a joint work session on September 19, 2019 to discuss a single issue; the future of the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). For those that don't know, the Service Authority is slowly recovering from years of mismanagement and poor financial decisions. While the County also has a large amount of debt to deal with, it has a much larger tax base when compared to the customer base of the Service Authority.
Because both boards are separate entities but some members sit on both, the meeting was a little awkward when everyone was arriving and finding a place to sit. Once everyone was settled in, and both groups opened their meetings, Mike Bennett, the Chair of the Service Authority Board of Directors said that Jonathon Weakley, Service Authority General Manager, was sick and would not be attending. Weakley, despite having strep throat and a high fever, managed to compile a presentation of the current situation at Purkins Corner.
Weakley's presentation, given by Bennett, was a solid overview of what most everyone at the table already knew. The WWTP was old and not functioning well. It had already been under Consent Orders from Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Although not included, Purkins Corner was under a DEQ Consent Order from 2006 to 2008, from 2011 to 2012, and again in 2014. This doesn't include the current Consent order that has been in place since last year. Aside from the DEQ enforcement issues, the plant has outlived its useful life and isn't running as efficiently as a newer plant.
The seven Board members also had to consider the upcoming potential for development in the Purkins Corner area. For those that have lived here long enough, it's obvious that the triangle of land between the three major roads, Ridge Road (Route 205), Kings Highway (Route 3), and James Madison Parkway (Route 301), is ripe for development. And with three development ideas floating around in the service area for Purkins Corner, Weakley said the WWTP wouldn't be able to handle the increased load if all of the new housing and commercial units were built.
Weakley's report also gave some options for different technologies that could be used, Single Batch Reactor (SBR) or Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR), as well as two size options, 250,000 or 500,000 gallons per day (gpd). It should be noted that sometimes the size are referred to as 0.25 and .5 mgd or "million gallons per day." As if waste water wasn't confusing enough. Weakley also covered some funding options that included grants, connection fees, a line of credit, and County funds.
As Bennett began his presentation, he gave much of the same information but had a different perspective on things. As an example, he said that the existing design capacity of Purkins Corner was 120,000 gpd and only 70,000 gpd is used. But Bennett said that the potential development would bring 280,000 gpd in use and that didn't include the commercial development being proposed. Bennett also said that the bare minimum expense would be $4.6 million. This was the cost to decommission Purkins Corner and pump waste to the Hopyard Farm WWTP. Bennett reminded everyone that this may be the minimum cost for any decision but it was also the mandated cost by DEQ since they were requiring the Service Authority to take action in some way.
Bennett boiled everything down to three decision points. The first was did the Service Authority, and the County indirectly, want to build a new WWTP at Purkins Corner. Everyone said yes. The second decision was what type of plant and what size. Everyone agreed that the 500,000 gpd SBR was the best option. The last decision to make was how to pay for the project. And that's where the discussion began to dive into the black hole of infinite funding possibilities.
Bennett mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that he had spoken to Darrell Hertenstein who was proposing a development with housing, commercial, and medical facilities in the prime development triangle area. Bennett said that Hertenstein was willing to commit $2 million to the Service Authority in up-front connection fees. Hertenstein said he has operated in good faith with the Service Authority and they have done the same with him. Hertenstein also told Bennett that he wanted to be a responsible developer, especially since he and his family live in King George. Bennett and Richard Granger did caution everyone that even though this was a great offer, the Supervisors still have to approve the development first.
Bennett also reviewed a myriad of potential funding sources. With Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grants, they fund between 35% and 75% of a project and getting the grant isn't a guarantee. Connection fees are about $20,000 per residential connection but they get paid over time, not all up front. Bennett said the Service Authority has an approved line of credit for $15 million but there are many other projects besides Purkins Corner WWTP to take care of. Finally, and the small elephant in the room, was the potential for the County to pay for some of the project because of how important it was to economic development and the future of the County.
All in all, it was a short meeting, maybe 45 minutes, and everyone seemed to be on the same page and in agreement that a new facility was needed. And they all agreed on the size and type of plant. But they still need to determine how they'll pay for the project. That decision was effectively tabled until more information could be gathered on the cost, the grants, and other variables.
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Sounds like a good meeting with wise outcomes. Good job all!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim!
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