by Neil Richard
Some of the King George County Service Authority Board of Directors had to do some gentle pushing to make their way into the Board Room before the meeting began. The overflowing audience was there in large part to voice their support for the upcoming Second Amendment Sanctuary proposal at the Board of Supervisors meeting later.
The meeting opened at 6:30pm with a resoundingly loud Pledge of Allegiance. Chairman Michael Bennett said that Ruby Brabo would be a few minutes late. He then joked that he was happy to see so many people excited to hear about water and sewer which garnered laughs from the audience.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Christopher Werle reported that he reviewed the final Preliminary Engineering Reports (PERs) from Wiley Wilson regarding the pump stations and Purkins Corner. He also met with Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, on November 26th to review updates and personnel issues.
Richard Granger and Cathy Binder had no report.
Michael Bennett said he met with Weakley, Gregory, and Darell Hertenstein regarding the particulars of Hertenstein's proposed Villages project. Bennett said that a lot has been discussed at public meetings in the past and in particular he wanted to call attention to the figure of $9 million he had used to quantify the income the Service Authority could realize from the project. Bennett said that the figure was based on a full build-out of 450 units. He said that the amount was incorrect and overly optimistic. He said that Hertenstein has committed to 200 apartment units and because apartments have a different connection fee, his previously quoted amount of $9 million was wrong. He said that the exact amount isn't known yet but the 250 other units would be about $5 million in revenue when fully built. This didn't include the 200 apartment units and didn't include the commercial connections. In the end, Bennett said the exact figure would range between $5 and $9 million but more research was needed to get an exact figure. Bennett said it was his fault and that Hertenstein isn't to blame for the wrong figures being used. Bennett just wanted everyone to be realistic with figures going forward.
Even though Ruby Brabo arrived a few minutes late, Bennett gave her an opportunity to give a Board report. She had none.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Next on the Agenda was the approval of the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) PER. Weakley reminded the Board that he had solicited proposals from three firms but Draper Aden declined. Between the proposals submitted by Wiley Wilson and Dewberry, Weakley recommended Wiley Wilson. He also said there was a question regarding the language between the two submissions. The Dewberry proposal said they would complete and submit the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant application while the Wiley Wilson proposal said they would assist in the process. Weakley said he asked for clarity and Wiley Wilson said they could submit the grant application to the Service Authority to submit to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or Wiley Wilson could submit it to DEQ directly. Weakley said that in the past the Service Authority has submitted applications on their own but the bottom line was Wiley Wilson could do it either way.
Bennett said he wanted to make sure they clarified the language between assist versus submit. He also said that because DEQ required it, they would be getting three different design proposals even though the Service Authority had already picked the design they wanted. Brabo asked if the designs could be used in the future for another location and Weakley said it would be possible. Brabo said she was asking because the design plans for new fire stations were similar so the County could save money. Weakley also said that by using similar designs to what already exists at other facilities in King George, it makes it easier to maintain since all the equipment and spare parts are similar but it's also cheaper because personnel can be shifted to other WWTPs without additional training. Bennett said the timing to get to the end of the process is about six months. The Board approved the PER.
Next was a discussion on the Title Search process needed for the pump stations. Weakley said the Board had authorized him to seek out a company to complete this task and he found two of them, but only one seemed suited for the task. He said this company, ERM, specialized in utility easements and right of ways. The request would look back 60 years to ensure that any existing easement or right of way would be captured even if it was in place before the Service Authority existed. Bennett said it sounded like the proposed fee was within Weakley's authority to use so he advised him to go ahead as he so desired.
Weakley then gave the Board an update on the Utility Billing issues the Service Authority faced. He said that billing is a lifeline of the Service Authority as it is how they get revenue. Some of the issues experienced in the past include late billing, zero billing, and over billing. Weakley said that customers have also requested online billing and monthly billing. He said that after discussing the issue with Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, and other County staff members, the easiest solution appeared to be outsourcing the billing to another company. Weakley said he looked at two different companies and one appeared to be the best. They offered online payments, direct withdrawals, electronic billing, and customer support. Weakley said that the Service Authority would need to upload a file with the needed data and that was it. Weakley said there would be challenges with the current meter reading schedule as it currently takes three weeks to read all the meters in the County. He said only about ten percent of all meters are automatic while the rest are either touch read or manual read. This means that some data needs to be entered manually, which could be a source for incorrect data, but more importantly it would be hard to meet the monthly billing turnaround time. He said he was considering adding more employees to read the meters faster in an effort to get the process down to two weeks.
Bennett said they have discussed this in the past but wondered again if meters could be read and billed every other month. Weakley said that's possible and that some other counties do this but he felt more people on the ground reading the meters would be a better option.
Weakley then gave a short, three page, General Manager's Report. The audience appreciated his brevity. Weakley said that the water withdrawal limits would need to be reviewed as more development is proposed in the County. He said currently the Courthouse system has a limit of just over 478,000 gallons per day and used nearly 280,000 gallons per day in November. He said the remaining amount would be important, especially if the proposed development of 1,390 units comes forward for a rezoning request. Weakley said they would also need to check wells that are offline to see if they count towards the permit limits. He also mentioned another significant project in Dahlgren on over 300 acres that would also have an impact on the current withdrawal limits in Dahlgren.
Brabo said that previously King George wasn't under any restrictions but the groundwater management zone expanded to include King George and Westmoreland because of the constantly decreasing level of the underground aquifer. She said it was a bear to get increased limits for Hopyard and Dahlgren and recommend that Werle be included in the conversations going forward as he was engaged in the process before. Brabo said it was not an easy task and it was a big challenge to get an additional ten percent increase for Hopyard.
Weakley said that some of the feedback from DEQ was they wanted a reason for the increased withdrawal. He said they didn't say no but the Service Authority needed to make sure whatever project came forward would not exceed their capacity. Brabo said the challenge is that everyone in the area is competing for the same resource and again wanted to make sure that King George isn't paving over recharge areas.
Weakley finished his report by saying that the pump station PER was submitted and DEQ acknowledged receipt of it. He said they would provide comments at some point in the future. Weakley also said that Dahlgren and Hopyard WWTPs had a DEQ inspection and there were no major issues and those minor issues that were found were being addressed.
The Board of Directors then went into Closed Session at 7:12pm. They returned from Closed Session and adjourned at 7:27pm.
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)
Absent:
Ruby Brabo arrived four minutes late.
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on December 17, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
SUBSCRIBE OR DONATESome of the King George County Service Authority Board of Directors had to do some gentle pushing to make their way into the Board Room before the meeting began. The overflowing audience was there in large part to voice their support for the upcoming Second Amendment Sanctuary proposal at the Board of Supervisors meeting later.
The meeting opened at 6:30pm with a resoundingly loud Pledge of Allegiance. Chairman Michael Bennett said that Ruby Brabo would be a few minutes late. He then joked that he was happy to see so many people excited to hear about water and sewer which garnered laughs from the audience.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Christopher Werle reported that he reviewed the final Preliminary Engineering Reports (PERs) from Wiley Wilson regarding the pump stations and Purkins Corner. He also met with Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, on November 26th to review updates and personnel issues.
Richard Granger and Cathy Binder had no report.
Michael Bennett said he met with Weakley, Gregory, and Darell Hertenstein regarding the particulars of Hertenstein's proposed Villages project. Bennett said that a lot has been discussed at public meetings in the past and in particular he wanted to call attention to the figure of $9 million he had used to quantify the income the Service Authority could realize from the project. Bennett said that the figure was based on a full build-out of 450 units. He said that the amount was incorrect and overly optimistic. He said that Hertenstein has committed to 200 apartment units and because apartments have a different connection fee, his previously quoted amount of $9 million was wrong. He said that the exact amount isn't known yet but the 250 other units would be about $5 million in revenue when fully built. This didn't include the 200 apartment units and didn't include the commercial connections. In the end, Bennett said the exact figure would range between $5 and $9 million but more research was needed to get an exact figure. Bennett said it was his fault and that Hertenstein isn't to blame for the wrong figures being used. Bennett just wanted everyone to be realistic with figures going forward.
Even though Ruby Brabo arrived a few minutes late, Bennett gave her an opportunity to give a Board report. She had none.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Next on the Agenda was the approval of the Purkins Corner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) PER. Weakley reminded the Board that he had solicited proposals from three firms but Draper Aden declined. Between the proposals submitted by Wiley Wilson and Dewberry, Weakley recommended Wiley Wilson. He also said there was a question regarding the language between the two submissions. The Dewberry proposal said they would complete and submit the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) grant application while the Wiley Wilson proposal said they would assist in the process. Weakley said he asked for clarity and Wiley Wilson said they could submit the grant application to the Service Authority to submit to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or Wiley Wilson could submit it to DEQ directly. Weakley said that in the past the Service Authority has submitted applications on their own but the bottom line was Wiley Wilson could do it either way.
Bennett said he wanted to make sure they clarified the language between assist versus submit. He also said that because DEQ required it, they would be getting three different design proposals even though the Service Authority had already picked the design they wanted. Brabo asked if the designs could be used in the future for another location and Weakley said it would be possible. Brabo said she was asking because the design plans for new fire stations were similar so the County could save money. Weakley also said that by using similar designs to what already exists at other facilities in King George, it makes it easier to maintain since all the equipment and spare parts are similar but it's also cheaper because personnel can be shifted to other WWTPs without additional training. Bennett said the timing to get to the end of the process is about six months. The Board approved the PER.
Next was a discussion on the Title Search process needed for the pump stations. Weakley said the Board had authorized him to seek out a company to complete this task and he found two of them, but only one seemed suited for the task. He said this company, ERM, specialized in utility easements and right of ways. The request would look back 60 years to ensure that any existing easement or right of way would be captured even if it was in place before the Service Authority existed. Bennett said it sounded like the proposed fee was within Weakley's authority to use so he advised him to go ahead as he so desired.
Weakley then gave the Board an update on the Utility Billing issues the Service Authority faced. He said that billing is a lifeline of the Service Authority as it is how they get revenue. Some of the issues experienced in the past include late billing, zero billing, and over billing. Weakley said that customers have also requested online billing and monthly billing. He said that after discussing the issue with Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, and other County staff members, the easiest solution appeared to be outsourcing the billing to another company. Weakley said he looked at two different companies and one appeared to be the best. They offered online payments, direct withdrawals, electronic billing, and customer support. Weakley said that the Service Authority would need to upload a file with the needed data and that was it. Weakley said there would be challenges with the current meter reading schedule as it currently takes three weeks to read all the meters in the County. He said only about ten percent of all meters are automatic while the rest are either touch read or manual read. This means that some data needs to be entered manually, which could be a source for incorrect data, but more importantly it would be hard to meet the monthly billing turnaround time. He said he was considering adding more employees to read the meters faster in an effort to get the process down to two weeks.
Bennett said they have discussed this in the past but wondered again if meters could be read and billed every other month. Weakley said that's possible and that some other counties do this but he felt more people on the ground reading the meters would be a better option.
Weakley then gave a short, three page, General Manager's Report. The audience appreciated his brevity. Weakley said that the water withdrawal limits would need to be reviewed as more development is proposed in the County. He said currently the Courthouse system has a limit of just over 478,000 gallons per day and used nearly 280,000 gallons per day in November. He said the remaining amount would be important, especially if the proposed development of 1,390 units comes forward for a rezoning request. Weakley said they would also need to check wells that are offline to see if they count towards the permit limits. He also mentioned another significant project in Dahlgren on over 300 acres that would also have an impact on the current withdrawal limits in Dahlgren.
Brabo said that previously King George wasn't under any restrictions but the groundwater management zone expanded to include King George and Westmoreland because of the constantly decreasing level of the underground aquifer. She said it was a bear to get increased limits for Hopyard and Dahlgren and recommend that Werle be included in the conversations going forward as he was engaged in the process before. Brabo said it was not an easy task and it was a big challenge to get an additional ten percent increase for Hopyard.
Weakley said that some of the feedback from DEQ was they wanted a reason for the increased withdrawal. He said they didn't say no but the Service Authority needed to make sure whatever project came forward would not exceed their capacity. Brabo said the challenge is that everyone in the area is competing for the same resource and again wanted to make sure that King George isn't paving over recharge areas.
Weakley finished his report by saying that the pump station PER was submitted and DEQ acknowledged receipt of it. He said they would provide comments at some point in the future. Weakley also said that Dahlgren and Hopyard WWTPs had a DEQ inspection and there were no major issues and those minor issues that were found were being addressed.
The Board of Directors then went into Closed Session at 7:12pm. They returned from Closed Session and adjourned at 7:27pm.
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)
Absent:
Ruby Brabo arrived four minutes late.
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on December 17, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
You can subscribe via email here. You can make a charitable donation here.
No comments:
Post a Comment