Following Fleet Maintenance Open House, Town Council Discusses Logistics Surrounding Utility Disconnection

The Front Royal Public Works Department put its best face forward on Tuesday, November 12, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for an open house showcasing their newly improved and much larger Fleet Maintenance Building where vehicles come for repair and equipment is stored. Offering a tour, Don McPaters and Lonnie Murphy, both of whom serve in the department, highlighted some of the things, like the flush truck, that are points of pride. Everywhere on display were worthy investments of taxpayer dollars, returning to the citizens in tangible ways the value of their trust.

On display at the Fleet Maintenance Building, Front Royal has a lot to be proud of. Town Manager Joe Waltz gives a picture next to the flush truck. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

A work session of the Town Council followed the open house at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall at 102 East Main Street. It began with a presentation from Director of Community Development and Tourism, Lizi Lewis, explaining to the council the progress her department has made in terms of planning a dedicatory sign to former mayor John Marlow, whose name will become prominent as what is generally known as “the Gazebo” in downtown Front Royal eventually becomes the John Marlow Plaza.

The council then heard from Purchasing Manager Michelle Campbell and Finance Director B.J. Wilson about a handful of budgetary concerns, followed later by the Planning Director and Zoning Administrator, Lauren Kopishke, presenting a short-term rental on the one hand and a special-use permit for a proposed development on East Criser Road on the other. She was assisted by the Deputy Zoning Administrator, John Ware, in making the presentation for the Criser development to the council.

Toward the end of the meeting, Town Manager Joe Waltz presented two requests for out-of-town water and septic service in the corridor for industrial use. He also presented a request from Downtown Front Royal, Inc. (DFRi) to install a new “Downtown Front Royal” sign at the intersection of Main Street and Commerce Avenue in the Town’s right-of-way on Town-owned property.

Above: a large tire changer. Below: Don McPaters of public works stands next to a small tire changer.

To magnify a point that Wilson made to the council, for the past four months, staff has been laboring to adjust to a change in state code regarding the disconnection of utilities in the case that a residential account is in arrears. On July 1, the new code went into effect, changing not only the circumstances under which disconnection is appropriate but also the window of time in which a residential customer’s account can remain in arrears before service is terminated. It dramatically lengthened the amount of time that elapses in that window of opportunity; Front Royal was accustomed to disconnecting service after ten days of delinquency, but now the Town will have to allow forty-five days before taking such a measure. It also established stipulations about the forecasted temperature within twenty-four hours following the disconnection.

For example, if electric service is being withdrawn, it cannot be withdrawn if the forecasted temperature for the next twenty-four hours is at or below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit or at or above ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit.

Lonnie Murphy of Public Works stands next to a truck that services water and septic for the town.

Although the Virginia Municipal League and the Municipal Electric Power Association of Virginia protested the changes, Waltz explained that he thinks they are intended to help people who cannot pay their bills in the dead of winter, perhaps referring specifically to the stipulation on gas utility disconnection, that when the temperature is at or below thirty-two degrees, disconnection is disallowed. As the council collectively grappled with the relevant sections of state code, which were included in their agenda packet, as well as the proposed edits to the Town code and a policy and procedures document that also needs the council’s approval going forward, the consensus was that the change could be negatively impactful, increasing the Town’s bad debt. Mayor Lori Cockrell expressed that while some people might benefit, and she certainly does not want to be cold-hearted to somebody in the dead of winter, the reality is that everyone else will have to pay. Councilwoman Melissa DeDomenico-Payne noticed the at or above ninety-two-degree cut-off for the water disconnect but no provision for colder temperatures. Thus, the rules do not seem to entirely make sense.

The proposed ordinance amendment will go to a public hearing at the council’s regular meeting on December 9, along with the new operational policy that also needs the council’s approval. Until the amendment passes into law, the Town cannot disconnect in any way, presenting a burden as twenty percent of the bills the Town issues require delinquency follow-up.

Having discussed the possibility of using a more convenient, immediate, electronic method of payment to offset delinquency, the council moved on to other matters and then went into a closed session at 9:05 p.m.

Click here to watch the Town of Front Royal Work Session of November 12, 2024.