by Neil Richard
The Service Authority began their meeting on time at 5:30pm. Annie Cupka, Vice Chair, noted that Cathy Binder, Chair, was en-route from Washington D.C.. Binder had been representing King George County at the National Association of Counties (NACo) but should be back in time for the upcoming Supervisors meeting.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Jim Morris reported that he attended the budget work session on the 27th.
Allen Parker said he attended the same budget work session and added that the budget was coming along well. He said a lot of the heavy lifting was done by the previous Board of Directors. Parker also said that Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, has done a great job getting things in order as well.
Michael Bennett also attended the budget work session on the 27th and appreciated the citizens on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Bennett also received a draft copy of the Environmental Assessment (EA) associated with the Fairview Beach Riverbank Stabilization Project. He said the draft EA did not need any more comments from Federal agencies and, once approved, grant funds should be released for the project. Bennett shared more good news, the project would not face a time of year restriction because of fish spawning. He said because the river was wide enough, once the contract was approved by the County, construction could begin.
Annie Cupka shared that she attended the budget work session on the 27th as well and thanked everyone who participated in the process.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Jonathon Weakley then gave the Board a summary of the proposed Lease Agreement with Sprint to use the Monmouth water tower to house antennas. Weakley said the lease would give the Service Authority $2,500 per month with a two percent (2%) annual increase. He said the initial lease was for five years and it would automatically renew for an additional five terms at five years each for a total of 30 years. Weakley said that Sprint would like to construct a small building inside the fence line to house some of their equipment and that they would also need to cut access holes in the tower to run their communication equipment. He said the antennas are about four feet high and the tower is about 160 feet so the entire structure would be short enough to be exempt from required aviation lighting. He said he originally included the lease revenue in the budget for next year but decided to remove it because the lease payments will not start until construction begins within 18 months. Weakley said that the "up to 18 months" phrase made him reconsider including it in next year's budget figures.
Bennett asked how this lease agreement compares with the agreement with KGI Communications. Weakley said the KGI agreement is to place equipment on the Oakland Park and Arnold's Corner water towers and they bring in $1,000 per month for each site. He said the agreement allows KGI to use the towers for free the first year and the Service Authority would pay for the electric needed to run the equipment however the Service Authority would get free internet at four out of five waste water treatment plants. Bennett said one of the reasons the Service Authority worked with KGI was because there was a great need for broadband internet in the County. Cupka added that they are also a local business. Cupka asked Gregory if a public hearing was needed because it involved public assets. Gregory said that certain Service Authority equipment is owned by the County and some is owned by the Service Authority. He said because of the history of how the Service Authority developed over the years, it was a little complex but in this case, there was no need for a public hearing because the tower was owned by the Service Authority. The Board approved the lease.
Weakley then proceeded to give a short General Manager's report. He said that Tonka Water Systems had reviewed the filter media and operations at multiple locations and would be submitting an evaluation report later in the week. Weakley said he also received a letter from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding documentation on the abandonment of wells at Arnold's Corner and Presidential Lakes. Weakley said he asked for additional information because he wasn't sure if the DEQ letter meant they were directing them to abandon the wells or if they assumed the wells were abandoned because they had been taken offline. Weakley said he was considering bringing the wells back online to meet the needs of potential future developments. Bennett asked if he had let DEQ know the wells may be brought back online to meet the needs of the developments and Weakley said he had not because the developments were only in the discussion stage and not approved.
Weakley continued his report saying that the revised Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manuals had been submitted to DEQ for all five waste water treatment plants. He added that a response had been sent to DEQ regarding the questions on the pump stations along with the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER). Weakley said these two items were the last two on the DEQ Consent Order. Bennett asked Gregory what the process would be on the Consent Order once the O&M Manuals were approved and all that was left was to address the pump stations. Gregory said DEQ may leave the Consent Order open until the pump station issues were resolved as it may be easier than amending the Consent Order and easier than closing the original Consent Order and opening a new one just for the pump stations. Weakley said he has been in contact with DEQ Enforcement staff through this process and they have already been working towards amending the Consent Order to reflect only the pump stations once everything else had been resolved.
Cupka thanked Weakley for his report and thanked the staff in the audience for coming to the meeting as well.
The meeting adjourned at 5:55pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Mike Bennett (Citizen)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jim Morris (Citizen)
Allen Parker (Citizen)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on March 4, 2020 at 6:00 pm at Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
The Service Authority began their meeting on time at 5:30pm. Annie Cupka, Vice Chair, noted that Cathy Binder, Chair, was en-route from Washington D.C.. Binder had been representing King George County at the National Association of Counties (NACo) but should be back in time for the upcoming Supervisors meeting.
There were no amendments to the Agenda.
There was no Public Comment.
Jim Morris reported that he attended the budget work session on the 27th.
Allen Parker said he attended the same budget work session and added that the budget was coming along well. He said a lot of the heavy lifting was done by the previous Board of Directors. Parker also said that Jonathon Weakley, General Manager, has done a great job getting things in order as well.
Michael Bennett also attended the budget work session on the 27th and appreciated the citizens on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. Bennett also received a draft copy of the Environmental Assessment (EA) associated with the Fairview Beach Riverbank Stabilization Project. He said the draft EA did not need any more comments from Federal agencies and, once approved, grant funds should be released for the project. Bennett shared more good news, the project would not face a time of year restriction because of fish spawning. He said because the river was wide enough, once the contract was approved by the County, construction could begin.
Annie Cupka shared that she attended the budget work session on the 27th as well and thanked everyone who participated in the process.
The Consent Agenda was approved.
The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report.
Jonathon Weakley then gave the Board a summary of the proposed Lease Agreement with Sprint to use the Monmouth water tower to house antennas. Weakley said the lease would give the Service Authority $2,500 per month with a two percent (2%) annual increase. He said the initial lease was for five years and it would automatically renew for an additional five terms at five years each for a total of 30 years. Weakley said that Sprint would like to construct a small building inside the fence line to house some of their equipment and that they would also need to cut access holes in the tower to run their communication equipment. He said the antennas are about four feet high and the tower is about 160 feet so the entire structure would be short enough to be exempt from required aviation lighting. He said he originally included the lease revenue in the budget for next year but decided to remove it because the lease payments will not start until construction begins within 18 months. Weakley said that the "up to 18 months" phrase made him reconsider including it in next year's budget figures.
 |
| Jonathon Weakley reviews the proposed Sprint lease agreement. |
Bennett asked how this lease agreement compares with the agreement with KGI Communications. Weakley said the KGI agreement is to place equipment on the Oakland Park and Arnold's Corner water towers and they bring in $1,000 per month for each site. He said the agreement allows KGI to use the towers for free the first year and the Service Authority would pay for the electric needed to run the equipment however the Service Authority would get free internet at four out of five waste water treatment plants. Bennett said one of the reasons the Service Authority worked with KGI was because there was a great need for broadband internet in the County. Cupka added that they are also a local business. Cupka asked Gregory if a public hearing was needed because it involved public assets. Gregory said that certain Service Authority equipment is owned by the County and some is owned by the Service Authority. He said because of the history of how the Service Authority developed over the years, it was a little complex but in this case, there was no need for a public hearing because the tower was owned by the Service Authority. The Board approved the lease.
Weakley then proceeded to give a short General Manager's report. He said that Tonka Water Systems had reviewed the filter media and operations at multiple locations and would be submitting an evaluation report later in the week. Weakley said he also received a letter from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding documentation on the abandonment of wells at Arnold's Corner and Presidential Lakes. Weakley said he asked for additional information because he wasn't sure if the DEQ letter meant they were directing them to abandon the wells or if they assumed the wells were abandoned because they had been taken offline. Weakley said he was considering bringing the wells back online to meet the needs of potential future developments. Bennett asked if he had let DEQ know the wells may be brought back online to meet the needs of the developments and Weakley said he had not because the developments were only in the discussion stage and not approved.
Weakley continued his report saying that the revised Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Manuals had been submitted to DEQ for all five waste water treatment plants. He added that a response had been sent to DEQ regarding the questions on the pump stations along with the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER). Weakley said these two items were the last two on the DEQ Consent Order. Bennett asked Gregory what the process would be on the Consent Order once the O&M Manuals were approved and all that was left was to address the pump stations. Gregory said DEQ may leave the Consent Order open until the pump station issues were resolved as it may be easier than amending the Consent Order and easier than closing the original Consent Order and opening a new one just for the pump stations. Weakley said he has been in contact with DEQ Enforcement staff through this process and they have already been working towards amending the Consent Order to reflect only the pump stations once everything else had been resolved.
Cupka thanked Weakley for his report and thanked the staff in the audience for coming to the meeting as well.
The meeting adjourned at 5:55pm.
Meeting Attendees:
Mike Bennett (Citizen)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jim Morris (Citizen)
Allen Parker (Citizen)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on March 4, 2020 at 6:00 pm at Company 1.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
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