Warren County Board of Supervisors approves financing by fire dept., regional airport

FRONT ROYAL—Financing by Winchester Regional Airport Authority and by the Front Royal Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department received approval on Tuesday from the Warren County Board of Supervisors.

Board members on July 16 adopted the two financing resolutions as part of a dozen consent agenda items.

The Front Royal Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department wants to finance up to $1.325 million to buy a 2020 Pierce Velocity Heavy Duty Rescue vehicle and a 2020 pumper from Pierce Manufacturing Inc., through Atlantic Emergency Solutions, said Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley.

“The United States Internal Revenue Code requires that for such financing to be carried out on a tax-exempt basis, the board of supervisors must first approve the financing,” Stanley told the supervisors.

The Town’s volunteer fire and rescue department on June 17 held a required public hearing on the matter.

“A total of nine people were in attendance, all members of the Front Royal Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, there to support the process,” according to a June 18 email from District Chief Larry Oliver sent to Stanley. “No citizens and/or visitors attended the public hearing to ask any questions and/or provide comments.”

BB&T in Winchester, Va., has fully approved the total amount requested by the fire and rescue department, according to Brian Hester, BB&T Small Business Specialist II, who said the bank will use the department’s firehouse location at 221 N. Commerce Street in Front Royal as collateral to secure the loan.

“The company will receive payments totaling $200,500 in direct contributions from the County in fiscal year 2019-2020,” according to Stanley’s item report.

The second financing resolution approved by the County board of supervisors is for the Winchester Regional Airport Authority to purchase a hangar facility and related ground lease from Wells Fargo Bank for $1.25 million.

The facility, built in 2008, consists of roughly 27,000-square-feet of hangar floor space divided between two bays and 4,100-square-feet of office space, according to Stanley, who said the height and width of the doors “make it the only facility at the airport capable of large business-class aircraft storage.”

The airport authority also needs an additional $300,000 to make purchases that include more equipment and installation (estimated at $125,000); construction and project improvement (est. $75,000); and to pay for related administrative expenses (est. $50,000), according to Nick Sabo, executive director of Winchester Regional Airport.

Sabo wrote in a July 8 letter to County officials that the authority is exploring financing options, including the Virginia Airport Revolving Fund through the Virginia Resource Authority, and other suitable lenders.

Warren County had to adopt the airport financing resolution authorizing the debt per the Winchester Regional Airport Act of 1987, which requires each of the airport authority’s supporting localities to approve debt in excess of $500,000.

The total $1.55 million debt is to be repaid by the airport authority, Stanley said, adding that the County board of supervisors’ resolution includes language that stipulates: “Under no circumstances shall the payment of debt service on the bonds constitute general obligation indebtedness or a pledge of the full faith and credit or taxing power of any member jurisdictions (including Warren County).”

At the top of the meeting, Stanley also provided his administrator’s report to the supervisors and summarized efforts at both the Development Review Committee and Tourism Committee and provided updates on building inspections, Crooked Run West and other projects.

Regarding the Crooked Run West project, for example, Stanley said the board held a June 13 work session and learned that the applicant is making changes to its proffer statement and plans to resubmit a traffic impact analysis. He added that a public hearing is anticipated to be held by the board this fall on the project.

The County also is working on a project to replace the outdated fountain at Seide Park with a splash pad, according to Stanley’s report, which noted that the County has received three grants to help fund the project and on June 4 awarded a roughly $94,000 contract to Seaspray LLC. The project completion date is expected this summer, he added.

And H&W Construction is making significant progress on the new Rivermont Fire Station, another example cited in Stanley’s report. This month the company plans to start pouring footers for the building, which is slated for a fall delivery.

In other new business — as part of the supervisors’ adoption of the July 16 consent agenda — County board members also designated Joe Petty as the new Warren County Zoning Administrator, effective July 1.

Petty, who started with the County last year as a zoning officer, “has also been serving as the Deputy Zoning Administrator since February 2018,” according to County Planning Director Taryn Logan, who wrote in a report to the supervisors that Petty “came to the County with prior experience” and “has quickly learned the zoning ordinance, has taken over the approval of residential zoning permits, and has more recently become the staff member in charge of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

“He will handle zoning ordinance amendments and all zoning permits,” according to Logan’s report, which added that “Joe is an asset to our planning department team.”

The video of the Board of Supervisors meeting is [posted in this related story:

Warren County Board of Supervisors appoints new EDA board member