Council authorizes sewer fund reserves to pay for business park pump station

In its final agenda item of April 16, the Front Royal Town Council agreed to a staff recommendation to utilize Sewer Fund reserves to pay for construction of a wastewater pumping station for the north side of the Royal Phoenix Business Park at the former Avtex Superfund site.

Bids were opened on April 3, with the low bid of $469,382 submitted by GB Foltz Contracting Inc. of Mt. Jackson the recommended selection.  A total of four bids were received, the other three ranging from $516,521 to $930,303.  The initial staff “guesstimate” on the cost of the facility was in the $400,000 neighborhood.

As with the earlier work session choice of using General Fund reserves to make up a $200,000 deficit on the Criser Road Bridge project, the logical choice of sewer fund reserves to build what will eventually be a revenue-generating utility expansion will still leave that reserve above minimum requirements.  The town finance staff summary of the recommendation to fund the project with the enterprise fund reserve estimated a $730,000 surplus remaining above the three-month operational funding requirement.

Unlike the General Fund which can be earmarked to a variety of projects, enterprise funds can only be utilized for the specific utility they are created to finance operations for.  So in this discussion there was an absence of the type of alarm some councilmen have expressed at a preference by some of their colleagues to use General Fund reserves to balance various other capital improvement project budgets.

Planning staff has estimated that the wastewater pumping station will serve about seven commercial pads and 4,200 people on site.  Some sense of urgency was eventually felt by council to move on the pumping station after the first commercial client at Royal Phoenix, ITFederal, broke ground on its first building in late January.

Work is progressing at the ITFed pad one site – above shot was taken April 23; below shot in late January shortly after work began. Photos/Roger Bianchini

Last November council initially expressed some reluctance in footing the bill for a multi-client pumping station, some suggesting that ITFederal build its own wastewater disposal system to serve its own needs.  However, once reminded by EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald that ITFederal had committed $150,000 to the West Main Street extension access road through the site in exchange for not having to build its own pumping station, council relented.

The idea for a multi-facility town wastewater pumping station was broached by former Town Manager Steve Burke as an alternative to each new business being held responsible for building its own.  With hook up fees and utility charges then being available to compensate the Town for its expense; as well as having a utility ready as an enticement to potential business clients it was an idea embraced by the sitting council at the time.