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Town, County agree to water-sewer authority
For the first time, both town and county officials have agreed to move ahead with a joint water-sewer authority.That means that both town and county government surrender their water and sewer decisions, and form an independent body that would handle such issues. Proponents say the measure would take the politics out of water and sewer – and possibly lead to lower rates.
"We've agreed to move forward before, but this is the first time we've been in common agreement," Supervisor Steve Nixon (West Fairfax District) said. "We've had issues before, where each agreed to parts but not all. This time agreement on all parts.
For the town, it means giving up millions worth of water and sewer systems, which provide the town with a major source of revenue. In response, the town will undoubtedly expand to make up what money it would lose, potentially making town residents of many county residents who live near the town boundaries.
Last year, negotiations over an authority made little progress. However, those differences were apparently resolved during the hour and a half meeting both bodies held at the Daniel Center on Tuesday, June 24.
“We've still got a long way to go, ”Pranas Rimeikis said.“is just a start.”
Water and sewer has long been a controversial topic in Culpeper, partly because local officials see it as a means to control growth.
If a parcel of land has the right zoning and meets the subdivision requirements, officials can do little to stop construction. But a lack of water and sewer services means developers can’t build.
The town has more water and sewer capacity than it actually uses, but little land left to be developed. On the other hand, the county has the zoning for almost 5,000 homes, but no water or sewer system to support them.
Officials have worried that a lack of service would stifle economic development by keeping businesses from locating here. Major developments such as the Lowe’s building and the Terremark facility have required special arrangements between the two bodies.
That has led to some bitterness, and kept the county dependent on the other.
Long regarded as one of the most landmark proposals, the authority wouldspend and raise its own money, build its own water and sewer infrastructure and operate within its given areas. The authority could raise rates, borrow money and establish one set of regulations for the entire county. Customers would have one application for services, and one contact for complaints.
The town's demand that it assume more than 3,000 acres of county land all but killed negotiations last year. County supervisors grumbled that town officials were spending all their resources on land acquisition, but spent little time discussing the actual authority. In return, town council argued that they would lose millions by surrendering their water and sewer system to the authority.
“We're not interested in annexation. Otherwise, we'd have done it already, ”Mayor Pranas Remeikis said. “want us (the town) to give up something which improves the county's chances of economic development. Well, we need something that helps economic development within the town. We need someplace to grow.”
Conditions of the agreement remain confidential. But town councilman Jim Risner left little doubt that boundary adjustment would remain a town demand.
“I think the path going forward is good – both on boundary adjustment and the authority,” Risner said.
Officials close to the negotiations said that both bodies wanted to avoid the building boom of the past five years, where rapid growth pushed services and schools beyond what they could handle.
As a result, the new town properties could have a different zoning than the rest of the town, meaning fewer homes, if any, could ever be built. Lessening the tax burden on the possible new town residents could be an issue as well, as many business owners located outside the town expressed concerns about the town taxes they would soon have to pay.
Speaking on Sunday, county supervisor Tom Underwood said that cooperation between the two bodies could only mean good for Culpeper.
"It makes all the sense in the world to plan together," Underwood said. "We were getting closer to the time when it had to happen, clearly both bodies were on divergent paths. We would have met constituent needs, but we would not done as well as we would on the same path."
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