by Neil Richard
The Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting at 6:30pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
Public Comment began with Kathy Marquis speaking about her recent billing issue. She said she and her husband moved to King George to escape the overcrowding in Waldorf. They both love the peace and quiet but said their builder didn't share the cost of water with them. They were shocked when they got their bill and wanted to express their concerns with being charged over $600 for two months of usage. Marquis said their usage didn't reflect their actual usage as they were nurturing a new lawn which must be maintained but wasn't warrantied by their builder. She said they either needed to water their lawn or pay to have it replaced. She said the sewage portion of their bill was twice as much as their water portion yet shouldn't be included. She said a separate meter for watering lawns instead of the current practice of using one meter for everything would be preferred. She also said that due to some discrepancies in the bill, she would like to see their meter tested to ensure it was working properly and suggested reviewing customer accounts as well. Marquis said she was aware of a rate increase for another ten percent every year for the next five years but never heard a hearing being publicized. She proposed that customers be notified on their bill about upcoming rate hearings. She closed by saying she loved her community and was committed to what it represents.
Sharon Miller was next to speak and echoed many of the same concerns. Miller said she chose King George County to be close to her children and grandchildren and was living on a fixed income. She said the builder told her the lawn and shrubs were not under warranty and she did her best to water them in an effort to keep them alive. She said she previously lived in Prince William County and was eager to get out of the northern Virginia area. Miller said her first water bill was $115 but her last bill was $428 for one person. She asked that the rates be shown on the bill with calculations. Miller asked how they could be charged for putting water in the ground instead of the sewer and felt something was very wrong somewhere. She said tearfully that she has come to the conclusion she may not be able to live here. After investing her life savings to be closer to her kids, she doesn't know how she can stay here with water bills like this.
Christopher Werle then began his report by stating he attended the joint work session on the 19th where everyone agreed, in principal, to build a new Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) at Purkins Corner. On the 20th, Werle created an account on the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) website to begin the process of applying for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program grant. He said the process would require a cost benefit analysis and in order to qualify for the grant, the benefit would need to outweigh the costs. As part of this process, Werle said he needed information on the number and duration of power outages. Werle said he was shocked to learn that the Birchwood Power Facility did not keep track of this information but was able to get the data from Dominion Energy.
Werle then went on to address some of the earlier comments. He said he lives in Hopyard and agreed that the water rates are high and getting higher. He said the five year plan did not have a ten percent rate increase every year for five years but rather only the first year. He said the following four years would only have a three to four percent rate increase. He agreed that a bill of over $600 for two months of usage was ridiculous. Werle said he and his wife are the only users in their house and their bill rarely goes over $200. However, he said they don't water anything. Regarding the large usage amounts, he said a figure that high was possible if they watered their lawns frequently. He said the Service Authority could test the meter but the figure sounded correct. Werle said he was told his sod cost $7,000 and he's been struggling to keep it alive for years.
Regarding the higher sewage costs, Werle said a WWTP simply costs more to operate and maintain. He said that he previously lived in Prince William County and they did get a break on irrigation. By averaging their usage during three winter months and using that as an average for three summer months, Werle said they would be charged only for water, and not sewer, for the amount that went above the average. He said the problem with that for the Service Authority would be a loss of revenue which would mean an increase in rates to make up for the loss of revenue. Werle said he can understand both sides of the arguments on the issue.
Werle said that separate meters, as he was told years ago, was possible but would cost the customer a connection fee for the second meter. He said that on top of this over $8,000 fee, residents would pay a minimum bill even if they didn't use the water on their lawns in the winter. He said that based on what he was told and what he understands, it just wasn't a financially viable solution for a resident to do that. Werle said there was no clear solution to the issue and felt that maybe a work session would be best to address some of the problems.
Richard Granger thanked everyone for coming out to speak and expressing their concerns. He asked that they continue to do so. Granger said that Werle spoke to most of the issues raised and added that they have looked at monthly billing and hope to implement it in the future. He said that as far as he knew Hopyard would continue to be developed and that the crux of many of the issues is the small customer base. He said the fix is to grow the customer base with either commercial or residential customers or both to take on the burden.
Cathy Binder thanked everyone for coming out and expressing their concerns as well. She said she would let Jonathon Weakley give suggestions. She added that she lives on well now but has been a Service Authority customer in the past and understands their concerns.
Ruby Brabo said she attended the joint meeting on the 19th. She said that the Board is looking at a monthly bill however the financial software isn't able to handle that at the moment. She said that a discussion about a second meter may need to happen again to see what the actual cost is instead of just a flat connection fee. Brabo cautioned that it wasn't something they could hand out to everyone. She added that they were getting their financial house in order and the five year plan of increasing rates isn't a guarantee and they would revisit them every year.
Mike Bennett said he also participated in the joint meeting on the 19th. He said that as one of the newer members of the Board, he may not know what he's talking about. Bennett said his wife was the President of the garden club and their water bills are high in the summer. Although irrigation doesn't cost the Service Authority anything at the WWTP, he said the problem is the only way to determine how much sewerage is used is to track how much water is used. Bennett said sewer meters exist but are extremely expensive. He said that maybe an irrigation meter is an option and it would cost money but he wasn't sure how much. Bennett said he thought it was a fair thing to do although some of his colleagues may disagree. He said it would make his water bill less if they used the averaging system described earlier. Bennett said, as a customer, he has a personal interest in this and didn't think the arguments were invalid in any way.
Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, said he concurred with everything said and added that current regulations are to charge for a water connection. He said that based on what the Board said tonight, he would have staff put together some options to discuss in the future. Bennett said it's been a dry summer but there's some time before next summer before making a decision. Weakley said the County Ordinances do allow for drought management and they do have the authority to declare a drought which would mandate irrigation services cease until the end of the drought. He said that has no effect on what was discussed tonight but is just a consideration since there is a water conservation plan that factors in water withdrawal limits. Bennett explained to the audience that the permits to withdraw water limit how much water can be taken out and asked Weakley if there was any update on monthly billing. Weakley said they've looked at one company and they were contacted by another earlier in the day but said the County's financial software would be the driving factor. He added that a monthly bill would be easier to budget for. Brabo explained to the audience that the ground water withdrawal permit limits were set due to the declining levels of the underground aquifer. She said she installed rain barrels to use for watering and suggested everyone consider them as well.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Jonathon Weakley then gave a short report, beginning with an update on the maintenance of the elevated water tanks. He said the Oakland Park tank work is complete and the tank is back in service. The tanks at Monmouth and Arnold's Corner would be next. Weakley also said that the Circle well system had repairs and the UV systems at the Dahlgren WWTP had been fixed. He said this was important because it was one of the items on the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Consent Order and that the repairs had been completed prior to the DEQ deadline. Speaking about the Consent Order, Weakley said that the only items remaining to be completed were the Operations and Maintenance (O & M) manuals and the sewer pump stations. He said the O & M manuals were completed and waiting for DEQ comments. Weakley repeated that his hope is that DEQ would close the current Consent Order and issue a new one with just the pump stations on it.
Weakley continued his report saying that DEQ made a surprise inspection of the Hopyard WWTP. He said DEQ was aware of the repairs being made during their visit to address the issues that were caused by storm damage. Weakley said he was also working on a Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant application for the Purkins Corner WWTP and apologized for not sharing his strep throat during the joint work session on the 19th. He thanked Bennett for taking over and giving his report for him and said that Purkins Corner would need a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the WQIF grant but needed Board permission before seeking that out. Bennett said that it seemed like a no-brainer and everyone concurred. Weakley ended his report saying he met with a developer about the rezoning of the South Hall Project where he discussed the location of potential connections.
The Board went into Closed Session at 7:11 pm and invited Dr. Neiman Young, Eric Gregory, Jonathon Weakley, and Lavita Cobb. They returned from Closed Session at 7:36pm.
Binder made a motion that was approved unanimously that the Board of Directors would send a letter to AQUA to state they would not accept AQUA's unsolicited proposal to purchase assets. Bennett then read a prepared statement citing three major reasons for declining the offer. First, the offer was too low given what the Board felt the Service Authority was worth and was less than what the insurance company covers. Second, the Board has taken recent actions to manage their debt and to obtain a line of credit to address issues. The Board felt the Service Authority has stabilized itself because of this and there is now a plan for both short term and long term expenses and capital improvements. Third, the Service Authority and the County would lose control over water and sewer rates and billing. In addition to these point, Bennett also added that the Service Authority did not initiate the process and they are not at a point where they need to, or want to, sell the Service Authority. Bennett also said that the Service Authority is currently meeting their regulatory requirements and that the offer from AQUA expressly stated there were no guarantees about an increase in future rates. Bennett closed his statement by saying that the Service Authority works closely with the County on future development and planning and that losing control would break that partnership.
The meeting adjourned at 7:39pm.
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 October 15, 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 6:30pm.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
Public Comment began with Kathy Marquis speaking about her recent billing issue. She said she and her husband moved to King George to escape the overcrowding in Waldorf. They both love the peace and quiet but said their builder didn't share the cost of water with them. They were shocked when they got their bill and wanted to express their concerns with being charged over $600 for two months of usage. Marquis said their usage didn't reflect their actual usage as they were nurturing a new lawn which must be maintained but wasn't warrantied by their builder. She said they either needed to water their lawn or pay to have it replaced. She said the sewage portion of their bill was twice as much as their water portion yet shouldn't be included. She said a separate meter for watering lawns instead of the current practice of using one meter for everything would be preferred. She also said that due to some discrepancies in the bill, she would like to see their meter tested to ensure it was working properly and suggested reviewing customer accounts as well. Marquis said she was aware of a rate increase for another ten percent every year for the next five years but never heard a hearing being publicized. She proposed that customers be notified on their bill about upcoming rate hearings. She closed by saying she loved her community and was committed to what it represents.
Sharon Miller was next to speak and echoed many of the same concerns. Miller said she chose King George County to be close to her children and grandchildren and was living on a fixed income. She said the builder told her the lawn and shrubs were not under warranty and she did her best to water them in an effort to keep them alive. She said she previously lived in Prince William County and was eager to get out of the northern Virginia area. Miller said her first water bill was $115 but her last bill was $428 for one person. She asked that the rates be shown on the bill with calculations. Miller asked how they could be charged for putting water in the ground instead of the sewer and felt something was very wrong somewhere. She said tearfully that she has come to the conclusion she may not be able to live here. After investing her life savings to be closer to her kids, she doesn't know how she can stay here with water bills like this.
Christopher Werle then began his report by stating he attended the joint work session on the 19th where everyone agreed, in principal, to build a new Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) at Purkins Corner. On the 20th, Werle created an account on the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) website to begin the process of applying for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program grant. He said the process would require a cost benefit analysis and in order to qualify for the grant, the benefit would need to outweigh the costs. As part of this process, Werle said he needed information on the number and duration of power outages. Werle said he was shocked to learn that the Birchwood Power Facility did not keep track of this information but was able to get the data from Dominion Energy.
Werle then went on to address some of the earlier comments. He said he lives in Hopyard and agreed that the water rates are high and getting higher. He said the five year plan did not have a ten percent rate increase every year for five years but rather only the first year. He said the following four years would only have a three to four percent rate increase. He agreed that a bill of over $600 for two months of usage was ridiculous. Werle said he and his wife are the only users in their house and their bill rarely goes over $200. However, he said they don't water anything. Regarding the large usage amounts, he said a figure that high was possible if they watered their lawns frequently. He said the Service Authority could test the meter but the figure sounded correct. Werle said he was told his sod cost $7,000 and he's been struggling to keep it alive for years.
Regarding the higher sewage costs, Werle said a WWTP simply costs more to operate and maintain. He said that he previously lived in Prince William County and they did get a break on irrigation. By averaging their usage during three winter months and using that as an average for three summer months, Werle said they would be charged only for water, and not sewer, for the amount that went above the average. He said the problem with that for the Service Authority would be a loss of revenue which would mean an increase in rates to make up for the loss of revenue. Werle said he can understand both sides of the arguments on the issue.
Werle said that separate meters, as he was told years ago, was possible but would cost the customer a connection fee for the second meter. He said that on top of this over $8,000 fee, residents would pay a minimum bill even if they didn't use the water on their lawns in the winter. He said that based on what he was told and what he understands, it just wasn't a financially viable solution for a resident to do that. Werle said there was no clear solution to the issue and felt that maybe a work session would be best to address some of the problems.
Richard Granger thanked everyone for coming out to speak and expressing their concerns. He asked that they continue to do so. Granger said that Werle spoke to most of the issues raised and added that they have looked at monthly billing and hope to implement it in the future. He said that as far as he knew Hopyard would continue to be developed and that the crux of many of the issues is the small customer base. He said the fix is to grow the customer base with either commercial or residential customers or both to take on the burden.
Cathy Binder thanked everyone for coming out and expressing their concerns as well. She said she would let Jonathon Weakley give suggestions. She added that she lives on well now but has been a Service Authority customer in the past and understands their concerns.
Ruby Brabo said she attended the joint meeting on the 19th. She said that the Board is looking at a monthly bill however the financial software isn't able to handle that at the moment. She said that a discussion about a second meter may need to happen again to see what the actual cost is instead of just a flat connection fee. Brabo cautioned that it wasn't something they could hand out to everyone. She added that they were getting their financial house in order and the five year plan of increasing rates isn't a guarantee and they would revisit them every year.
Mike Bennett said he also participated in the joint meeting on the 19th. He said that as one of the newer members of the Board, he may not know what he's talking about. Bennett said his wife was the President of the garden club and their water bills are high in the summer. Although irrigation doesn't cost the Service Authority anything at the WWTP, he said the problem is the only way to determine how much sewerage is used is to track how much water is used. Bennett said sewer meters exist but are extremely expensive. He said that maybe an irrigation meter is an option and it would cost money but he wasn't sure how much. Bennett said he thought it was a fair thing to do although some of his colleagues may disagree. He said it would make his water bill less if they used the averaging system described earlier. Bennett said, as a customer, he has a personal interest in this and didn't think the arguments were invalid in any way.
Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, said he concurred with everything said and added that current regulations are to charge for a water connection. He said that based on what the Board said tonight, he would have staff put together some options to discuss in the future. Bennett said it's been a dry summer but there's some time before next summer before making a decision. Weakley said the County Ordinances do allow for drought management and they do have the authority to declare a drought which would mandate irrigation services cease until the end of the drought. He said that has no effect on what was discussed tonight but is just a consideration since there is a water conservation plan that factors in water withdrawal limits. Bennett explained to the audience that the permits to withdraw water limit how much water can be taken out and asked Weakley if there was any update on monthly billing. Weakley said they've looked at one company and they were contacted by another earlier in the day but said the County's financial software would be the driving factor. He added that a monthly bill would be easier to budget for. Brabo explained to the audience that the ground water withdrawal permit limits were set due to the declining levels of the underground aquifer. She said she installed rain barrels to use for watering and suggested everyone consider them as well.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Jonathon Weakley then gave a short report, beginning with an update on the maintenance of the elevated water tanks. He said the Oakland Park tank work is complete and the tank is back in service. The tanks at Monmouth and Arnold's Corner would be next. Weakley also said that the Circle well system had repairs and the UV systems at the Dahlgren WWTP had been fixed. He said this was important because it was one of the items on the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Consent Order and that the repairs had been completed prior to the DEQ deadline. Speaking about the Consent Order, Weakley said that the only items remaining to be completed were the Operations and Maintenance (O & M) manuals and the sewer pump stations. He said the O & M manuals were completed and waiting for DEQ comments. Weakley repeated that his hope is that DEQ would close the current Consent Order and issue a new one with just the pump stations on it.
Weakley continued his report saying that DEQ made a surprise inspection of the Hopyard WWTP. He said DEQ was aware of the repairs being made during their visit to address the issues that were caused by storm damage. Weakley said he was also working on a Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant application for the Purkins Corner WWTP and apologized for not sharing his strep throat during the joint work session on the 19th. He thanked Bennett for taking over and giving his report for him and said that Purkins Corner would need a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the WQIF grant but needed Board permission before seeking that out. Bennett said that it seemed like a no-brainer and everyone concurred. Weakley ended his report saying he met with a developer about the rezoning of the South Hall Project where he discussed the location of potential connections.
The Board went into Closed Session at 7:11 pm and invited Dr. Neiman Young, Eric Gregory, Jonathon Weakley, and Lavita Cobb. They returned from Closed Session at 7:36pm.
 |
| Cathy Binder reads the Closed Session statement. |
Binder made a motion that was approved unanimously that the Board of Directors would send a letter to AQUA to state they would not accept AQUA's unsolicited proposal to purchase assets. Bennett then read a prepared statement citing three major reasons for declining the offer. First, the offer was too low given what the Board felt the Service Authority was worth and was less than what the insurance company covers. Second, the Board has taken recent actions to manage their debt and to obtain a line of credit to address issues. The Board felt the Service Authority has stabilized itself because of this and there is now a plan for both short term and long term expenses and capital improvements. Third, the Service Authority and the County would lose control over water and sewer rates and billing. In addition to these point, Bennett also added that the Service Authority did not initiate the process and they are not at a point where they need to, or want to, sell the Service Authority. Bennett also said that the Service Authority is currently meeting their regulatory requirements and that the offer from AQUA expressly stated there were no guarantees about an increase in future rates. Bennett closed his statement by saying that the Service Authority works closely with the County on future development and planning and that losing control would break that partnership.
The meeting adjourned at 7:39pm.
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 October 15, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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Both of the residents who commented have new homes. I wonder why the builders were not assessed a fee to the water debt to help ease the homeowner water deb . Plu . Both were watering landscapin . That water shouldn't be charged sewer as it didnt get in the sewer line . Shrug
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