Town Council poised for first vote on large water-sewer tap fee reductions

The Front Royal Town Council is poised to take a first step at Interim Mayor Matt Tederick’s initiative to dramatically reduce water and sewer utility tap fees at its Tuesday, October 15 meeting at the Villa Avenue Community Center. The meeting date and location were changed due to the Columbus Day holiday and the County Supervisors’ conflicting 7 p.m. meeting time at the Warren County Government Center Tuesday evening.

‘Keep your friends close’ – Interim Mayor Tederick and council at September work session. Can the mayor hold a council majority for swift action on water-sewer tap fee reductions in the face of staff cautions against hasty action? Royal Examiner File Photos/Roger Bianchini

Staff has urged caution in implementing radical reductions in utility tap fees pending completion of a system and rate study that is underway. Another factor is as yet undetermined and climbing water-sewer utility expansion costs for the long-delayed Route 340/522 North Corridor redundant water line project that is looming in the near future.

Council was told last October that a two-year-old total cost estimate of $5.5 million was obsolete due to soaring construction costs. Part two of the bad news received in October 2018 was that Dominion Power’s promised contribution of $3.5 million made in 2011 was worth only $3.1 million in 2018 dollars. So it would seem the Town is facing costs it must cover climbing into the $3 million to $4 million range, if not higher a year later.

Dominion Power Plant Director Ray Sommerfeld urged council to expedite the redundant water line construction project last October. Costs are climbing, council was told.

However Tederick, now a short-timer in his appointed interim mayor’s position with the November 5 election less than three weeks away and the swearing in of the Tewalt-Tharpe mayoral race winner coming shortly thereafter, has put implementation of the water-sewer tap fee reductions on a fast track. That track could see a second, binding vote dramatically reducing those tap fees prior to the swearing in of a new mayor the week after the election.

Framing the changes as a pro-growth initiative, Tederick appears to have garnered the necessary support of the four-person County Republican Committee council majority that seated him in a 4-2 vote May 28, following Hollis Tharpe’s May 2 resignation. That majority is composed of Jacob Meza, Gary Gillespie, William Sealock and Chris Holloway.

And even were Tederick to lose one of those Republican Committee votes, say on an unanticipated conflict of interest ruling from the Town legal department due to Councilman Holloway’s construction business ownership of developable lots in town that would benefit from the fee reduction; or a change of perspective by just one Republican Committee member, a 3-3 tie would be broken by the interim mayor and a 3-2 majority without Holloway’s vote would still hold the day.

A map of Front Royal’s existing water lines and the corridor extension heading north across the rivers in red at upper left. The Town will soon have to undertake construction of a redundant water line to assure backup water to the commercial-industrial corridor is not lost due to a primary line break.

The tap fee reduction initiative comes as council ponders whether to provide central water-sewer to the Crooked Run West project, now altered from commercial to residential development. The out of town tap fee and utility rates are double the in-town charges, so a reduction of the in-town rates would also have a significant savings potential for out of town projects. That is if such a precedent-setting change to allow central water-sewer to be extended into the County strictly for residential development, as opposed to commercially-based projects is ultimately approved by council.

Town staff and elected officials have also been meeting with principals of the Front Royal Limited Partnership (FRLP) to ascertain why residential development on two FRLP parcels, 150 acres and 604 acres, the latter friendly annexed into Town by the County to facilitate residential development along state guidelines in 2014, have not begun. Developmental costs appear to be part of that equation as well.

Tederick has characterized the Town’s water-sewer tap fees as the result of an anti-growth contingent within Town government over the past decade.

A power point on Town rates compared to some surrounding, regional communities prepared by Public Works Director Robert Boyer does seem to indicate Front Royal on the high side, particularly on larger line hook ups, to some other regional communities.

However on typical ¾ inch residential and other smaller lines Front Royal seems in line with communities like Culpeper, Strasburg and Winchester; and lower than Frederick County.
So on first look it would seem that where the Town rates are higher is on larger commercial or industrial hookups, as opposed to typical residential sized lines as Tederick seems to be indicating with his “anti-growth” categorization.

Wonder what Joe thinks? Town staff, including Town Manager Joe Waltz, has urged caution in approaching radical changes to town water-sewer utility tap fee rates until all financial and system variables now under study are determined.

And where the Town does go high on lower end 1-inch and 1.5-inch lines is on sewer hook ups. And one might contend – and we would have asked were Town offices open Monday – relate to the recent, mandated $40-million upgrades to the Town’s wastewater treatment plant, as well as contracted studies of the Town’s Intake and Inflow system (I & I) as upgrades there are under consideration to prevent further State of Federal mandates from coming into play.

Perhaps these issues will be addressed by Town staff prior to Tuesday night’s scheduled vote. And perhaps those bored with berating County officials on a bi-monthly basis over EDA-related issues, will shift their attention the Town’s way as changes impacting future developmental costs and commercial versus residential revenue versus expenditure dynamics are discussed and voted on.

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