Town ponders budget, debt service after closed session with 2 E. Main LLC

Council prepares to buckle down on budget and code issues following an hour-plus closed session that included discussion of the Afton Inn with representatives of 2 East Main St. LLC developer. Royal Examiner Photos/Roger Bianchini – Royal Examiner Video/ Mark Williams

At a work session after a multi-faceted Monday night closed session that included a discussion with representatives of 2 East Main Street LLC, the EDA’s contracted redeveloper of the Afton Inn property, the Front Royal Town Council heard staff reports on expenditures tied to its Fiscal Year 2021 Budget and proposed ordinance changes on three items.

Those three items were updates to reflect state code changes on wastewater treatment, including pharmaceutical wastes; removing “environmental services” from the restored name of the Public Works Department and removal of a penalty code for not separating recyclables which no longer are separated, and elimination of distribution of the Town vehicle decal unless it is requested by citizens to make use of County dump sites easier.

As for the budget discussion, the council was briefed by Finance Director B. J. Wilson and Interim Town Manager Matt Tederick on the total cost and annual debt service payments tied to the planned $29 million in capital improvements included in the FY 2021 Budget proposal.

Town Finance Director B. J. Wilson left, and Interim Town Manager Matt Tederick crunch the numbers at Monday evening’s work session.

As best as your humble reporter could follow the flood of numbers, it appears the Town is poised to take on about $1.69 million in annual debt service for four capital improvement projects: 1/ Sewer and Infiltration & Inflow upgrades, $550,000 annually on an $8-million debt; 2/ secondary road paving and improvements, $533,865 annually on a $4.8-million debt; 3/ Secondary water line upgrades to be accomplished while repaving secondary roads, $849,000 annually on a $2.8 million debt; 4/ improvements to the Fleet Management Building ,$111,865 annually on a $1.6 million debt; and 5/ the redundant north corridor water line, $500,000 annually on the approximate $12 million balance of those CIP projects.

Three of the five bond issues were on 20-year paybacks, with the secondary road improvements on a 10-year payback and the redundant water line a 30-year payback. Interest rates at the time of the bond issues will impact those payback totals, but projections were for good rates at between 2% and 2.75%, with one possible zero interest rate coming available.

It was explained that while it is the best bond issue option to make all four through the same financial institution, there will be four separate bonds issued. Some funding will be available through existing utility enterprise revenue streams.

Number, more numbers – council may be thinking as the work session grinds forward.

There was also a discussion of proposed 2% hikes to the Town water and sewer rates to help fund those utility improvements.

At the work session’s end, the discussion turned toward three options on the table for changes to the (540) telephone area code. Those changes may add a second or third area code to our region. Discussion indicated there will be a hearing on the matter in Warren County General District Court on Thursday, March 4.

Also Monday evening, Councilwoman Letasha Thompson queried the interim town manager on spending freezes to the current Town Tourism Budget and future plans for tourism marketing. Tederick recounted his interaction with the Town-County Joint Tourism Advisory Board at its most recent meeting. He told council he looks at that board as a desirable player in one role or another in whatever direction the council chooses to go in with either in-house or outsourcing of tourism marketing in the future.

See all these discussions in this exclusive Royal Examiner video: