Margin favoring maintaining Lake Front Royal Sanitary District broadens

The drama seems to have faded over two years of county management of the Lake Front Royal Sanitary District. On August 21, Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley reported the result of a promised survey of residents and property owner opinions two years into the County’s assumption of management and maintenance duties through the creation of a sanitary district.

Subdivision entranceway improvements are planned following the resolution of ROW acquisition issues. Royal Examiner File Photos/Roger Bianchini

Not only did a one-month extension to allow more surveys to be returned result in a widening of the margin favorable to maintaining the sanitary district, but no one even showed up to claim the survey had been rigged by the County in favor of the sanitary district designation.
As Board Chairman Tony Carter noted in commenting on the 2018 survey result, the January 2016 creation of the Lake Front Royal Sanitary District “was a contentious issue” though he added most of that contentiousness appeared to revolve around “the process” of that creation.

At the time opponents, including some members of the neighborhood Property Owners Association (POA) that had been handling subdivision management and maintenance, asserted that they had been excluded from notice of the January 21, 2016 court hearing at which the sanitary district was created.

This year with 195 of 305 surveys unreturned as of the board’s July 17 meeting, a one-month extension was granted to allow property owners more time to respond. As we reported at the time, as of July 17, 95 of the 110 returned surveys favored continuing the sanitary district designation, with just 11 being filed in opposition.

Just over a month later as of the August 21 Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting, 15 additional responses were received by the county administration. Those additional responses added 10 to the favorable column and three to the unfavorable, with the other two added to the total of six whose responses were viewed as inconclusive.

Infrastructure improvements will include replacement of the Sloat Creek Bridge.

So, the final 2018 survey tally was 105 (representing 124 lots) in favor of continuing the county sanitary district designation, with 14 representing 15 lots in opposition and the six counted as mixed responses.

This year’s final 84% to 11% result favoring maintaining the sanitary district designation presented a stark contrast to the survey distributed following a July 19, 2016 supervisor’s public hearing after sanitary district opponents submitted a petition urging dissolution of the district.
Results of the July 2016 survey presented to the supervisors on August 16, 2016, netted 151 replies compared to the 125 responses this year.

Those 2016 replies showed an 88-63 majority (+25) favoring dissolving the Sanitary District created by Court Order following that controversial January 21, 2016 Court Hearing at which only county officials and supporters of the sanitary district designation were present to testify. When Property Owners were allowed to vote by the number of lots they own – and pay taxes on – that negative 2016 margin increased to 115-75 (+40) in favor of petitioning the Court to dissolve the District.

What a difference two years makes.

Shenandoah District Supervisor Tom Sayre commented that he thought the turnaround was due to county staff’s handling of its management and road and property maintenance duties.

Deputy County Administrator Bob Childress with the help of County Public Works Director Mike Berry, to Childress’s right, have overseen Lake Front Royal Sanitary District management for the county government. Here, Childress addresses road infrastructure improvement plans at a Lake Front Royal Advisory Board meeting earlier this year.

Prior to the unanimous board vote to maintain the Lake Front Royal Sanitary District designation, Supervisor Linda Glavis in whose South River District the subdivision lies, noted that she had voted against it in 2016 because of the public outcry against it – “But now it seems they see the benefit,” she observed.

Dan Murray’s motion, seconded by Archie Fox then passed unanimously.