by Neil Richard
The Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting a few minutes later than normal as they waited for Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, and Eric Gregory, County Attorney pro tempore, to arrive. The meeting began at 5:36pm. Dr. Young would arrive about five minutes later.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Jim Morris reported that he met with Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, and other Service Authority staff on the 27th.
Allen Parker had no report.
Annie Cupka said she was still looking for a citizen to serve on the Service Authority Budget Advisory Committee.
Mike Bennett said he was thrilled to be back and said most everyone was still looking for a citizen to serve on the Service Authority Budget Advisory Committee. He then provided an update on the Fairview Beach Riverbank Stabilization Project. He said the County and the Service Authority worked together to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for $2.3 million to help with the project. Bennett said the process is currently stalled while FEMA awaits feedback from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). He said that Chris Werle gave him an update that the NMFS staff had completed the report and passed it along to management who was expected to review it in the next two weeks. From there, it was expected that FEMA would finalize the report within 60 to 90 days and then it would go out for a Request For Proposals for construction. Bennett said it was likely that the construction wouldn't start until after July 1st as that the was end of the spawning season for sturgeon but was hopeful it would start at some point this summer.
Bennett continued his report stating that Werle would continue as an employee of the Service Authority as a senior consultant to the General Manager and would earn $1 (one dollar) per hour for his services. Bennett said Werle wasn't in it for the money but that was what Werle wanted to do. To put it mildly, Bennett said, it's a pretty good deal for the Service Authority. Bennett said that Werle has a lot of experience and institutional knowledge and felt that, if the rest of the Board didn't object, Werle should continue to act as the point of contact for the project. The Board approved.
Cathy Binder had no report.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had not arrived yet and therefore had no report.
Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, gave the Board an update on the current state of the Service Authority. Weakley said there were plans to meet with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to discuss the ground water withdrawal permits for Dahlgren and Hopyard. He also said Tonka Water was scheduled to come out to review the filters this month. Weakley said the remote monitoring systems for some of the sewage pumps were installed. He said the new systems would act as alarms and would also provide real time data and daily reports. Bennett added that out of the 35 pump stations, none were in compliance with DEQ and the Service Authority felt that this was the low-hanging fruit for repairs and upgrades. Weakley said that there are just under 30 pump stations that still need to be addressed and as many as possible would be completed with this year's money. Weakley also said that many of the sanitary sewer overflows were a result in a lack of an alarm at a pump station so the early warning system would allow staff to react ahead of time. Weakley also said that Wiley Wilson visited the Purkins Corner facility to map out the wetlands area. He said the Service Authority has not committed to an engineering firm to do the construction yet but this was part of the process. Weakley also said that the Service Authority had signed an agreement with KGI Communications for their broadband internet equipment to be installed at Arnold's Corner and Oakland Park. In exchange, the Service Authority would get free internet for four Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) and KGI would not have to pay rent for the first year. Weakley said that Sprint has also reached out to install equipment in Monmouth. Weakley said that once KGI starts paying rent, it would be $1,000 per site per month. Weakley then thanked Patti Norris-Barker for her hard work in tracking down information and submitting claims for an insurance claim at Oakland Park and Hopyard WWTPs that sustained storm damage. Weakley said about $53,000 was reimbursed to the Service Authority between the two claims.
Bennett added that he wanted to make a comment on the last meeting's report. He said he wanted to commend Weakley, Tim Maceijewski, Dean Hoagland, and everyone else on staff for getting the Service Authority into compliance with DEQ for the year. Bennett said it was nip and tuck at the end of the year but wanted to give kudos to Weakley and his staff for their hard work.
Closed Session began at 5:57pm and Weakley, Young, and Gregory were invited. Gregory joined when he arrived a few minutes later. They returned from Closed Session at 6:50pm.
Once back in Open Session, the Weakley recommended the Board approve an agreement with Hertenstein Investment Group. He said the Board has been working with Hertenstein, the Planning Commission has heard the initial case, and there were questions about the ability of the Service Authority to handle the increased demand from the development. Weakley said that he felt the financial commitment was fair and it would improve the services offered. With that, the Board approved the agreement with Cupka standing by her previous statements and abstaining. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Darrell Hertenstein made a charitable contribution to Project94 in December 2019.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE - Upon review of the drafted agreement, Hertenstein Investment Group agrees to prepay the connection fees for roughly 150 residential units at a price of $3 million. Because of the limited existing capacity at the Purkins Corner WWTP and Courthouse water system, the Service Authority agrees to expand capacity to meet future demands for this projects and others in the future.]
The meeting adjourned at 6:52pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Mike Bennett (Citizen)
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jim Morris (Citizen)
Allen Parker (Citizen)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on February 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm at the Sheriff’s Office.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
The Service Authority Board of Directors began their meeting a few minutes later than normal as they waited for Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, and Eric Gregory, County Attorney pro tempore, to arrive. The meeting began at 5:36pm. Dr. Young would arrive about five minutes later.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Jim Morris reported that he met with Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, and other Service Authority staff on the 27th.
Allen Parker had no report.
Annie Cupka said she was still looking for a citizen to serve on the Service Authority Budget Advisory Committee.
Mike Bennett said he was thrilled to be back and said most everyone was still looking for a citizen to serve on the Service Authority Budget Advisory Committee. He then provided an update on the Fairview Beach Riverbank Stabilization Project. He said the County and the Service Authority worked together to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for $2.3 million to help with the project. Bennett said the process is currently stalled while FEMA awaits feedback from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). He said that Chris Werle gave him an update that the NMFS staff had completed the report and passed it along to management who was expected to review it in the next two weeks. From there, it was expected that FEMA would finalize the report within 60 to 90 days and then it would go out for a Request For Proposals for construction. Bennett said it was likely that the construction wouldn't start until after July 1st as that the was end of the spawning season for sturgeon but was hopeful it would start at some point this summer.
Bennett continued his report stating that Werle would continue as an employee of the Service Authority as a senior consultant to the General Manager and would earn $1 (one dollar) per hour for his services. Bennett said Werle wasn't in it for the money but that was what Werle wanted to do. To put it mildly, Bennett said, it's a pretty good deal for the Service Authority. Bennett said that Werle has a lot of experience and institutional knowledge and felt that, if the rest of the Board didn't object, Werle should continue to act as the point of contact for the project. The Board approved.
Cathy Binder had no report.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had not arrived yet and therefore had no report.
Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, gave the Board an update on the current state of the Service Authority. Weakley said there were plans to meet with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to discuss the ground water withdrawal permits for Dahlgren and Hopyard. He also said Tonka Water was scheduled to come out to review the filters this month. Weakley said the remote monitoring systems for some of the sewage pumps were installed. He said the new systems would act as alarms and would also provide real time data and daily reports. Bennett added that out of the 35 pump stations, none were in compliance with DEQ and the Service Authority felt that this was the low-hanging fruit for repairs and upgrades. Weakley said that there are just under 30 pump stations that still need to be addressed and as many as possible would be completed with this year's money. Weakley also said that many of the sanitary sewer overflows were a result in a lack of an alarm at a pump station so the early warning system would allow staff to react ahead of time. Weakley also said that Wiley Wilson visited the Purkins Corner facility to map out the wetlands area. He said the Service Authority has not committed to an engineering firm to do the construction yet but this was part of the process. Weakley also said that the Service Authority had signed an agreement with KGI Communications for their broadband internet equipment to be installed at Arnold's Corner and Oakland Park. In exchange, the Service Authority would get free internet for four Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) and KGI would not have to pay rent for the first year. Weakley said that Sprint has also reached out to install equipment in Monmouth. Weakley said that once KGI starts paying rent, it would be $1,000 per site per month. Weakley then thanked Patti Norris-Barker for her hard work in tracking down information and submitting claims for an insurance claim at Oakland Park and Hopyard WWTPs that sustained storm damage. Weakley said about $53,000 was reimbursed to the Service Authority between the two claims.
Bennett added that he wanted to make a comment on the last meeting's report. He said he wanted to commend Weakley, Tim Maceijewski, Dean Hoagland, and everyone else on staff for getting the Service Authority into compliance with DEQ for the year. Bennett said it was nip and tuck at the end of the year but wanted to give kudos to Weakley and his staff for their hard work.
Closed Session began at 5:57pm and Weakley, Young, and Gregory were invited. Gregory joined when he arrived a few minutes later. They returned from Closed Session at 6:50pm.
Once back in Open Session, the Weakley recommended the Board approve an agreement with Hertenstein Investment Group. He said the Board has been working with Hertenstein, the Planning Commission has heard the initial case, and there were questions about the ability of the Service Authority to handle the increased demand from the development. Weakley said that he felt the financial commitment was fair and it would improve the services offered. With that, the Board approved the agreement with Cupka standing by her previous statements and abstaining. [EDITOR'S NOTE - Darrell Hertenstein made a charitable contribution to Project94 in December 2019.]
 |
| Draft version of the agreement. |
[EDITOR'S NOTE - Upon review of the drafted agreement, Hertenstein Investment Group agrees to prepay the connection fees for roughly 150 residential units at a price of $3 million. Because of the limited existing capacity at the Purkins Corner WWTP and Courthouse water system, the Service Authority agrees to expand capacity to meet future demands for this projects and others in the future.]
The meeting adjourned at 6:52pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Mike Bennett (Citizen)
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jim Morris (Citizen)
Allen Parker (Citizen)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on February 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm at the Sheriff’s Office.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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