Wastewater from Highway Could Mean Higher County Taxes
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 7, 2013
Cape Charles wants more sewage for its new treatment plant, and if the Public Service Authority gets its way, County taxpayers will contribute.
PSA Chairman Bob Panek told Northampton County Board of Supervisors January 8 that a 1-cent real estate tax increase could help fund sewer infrastructure for commercial properties on Highway 13.
Panek proposes that the Board approve a sewer line from Highway 13 to the new Cape Charles treatment plant.
Additional funding would come from “private capital contributions from the business owners,” Panek told Cape Charles Town Council February 21.
Panek is also Assistant Town Manger for Cape Charles. Reached at Town Hall by the Wave, he was not willing to discuss non-Town business.
Funding could be arranged through a “moral obligation bond,” Panek told the Board of Supervisors. He said that the PSA could arrange primary funding through government bonds.
But local funding is required for debt service on the bonds. There could be a special tax district, a county-wide property tax increase, or connection and availability fees, or a combination of all three.
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In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Panek explained that a proposed first phase of wastewater treatment to the Southern Node (Cheriton) at a cost of $7.5 million is too expensive to obtain funding at present. So the PSA is exploring providing initial service only to Highway 13 businesses, with future service to Cheriton, for $1.5-2 million.
The first phase of the Northern Node, including Exmore and Nassawadox, would cost $11.3 million. That proposal is on hold until Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital closes and a use is found for the hospital building and existing treatment plant.
Panek told Town Council that the PSA held meetings with potentially affected property owners in May, sent them a survey in June, and followed up last fall. He said that Highway 13 businesses expressed interest in having sewer service.
Councilman Frank Wendell said that additional sewer revenues are not worth encouraging new businesses on the highway that would compete with Town merchants. He questioned, for example, why the Town would risk putting Rayfield’s Pharmacy out of business by encouraging a chain drugstore to open outside of town.
“We built the sewage treatment plant at great cost for the benefit of the people of Cape Charles and for future growth here,” Wendell told Town Council. “The Cape Charles Comprehensive Plan specifically states that the town is not interested in encouraging strip development on Highway 13,” he said.
Panek sees access to sewage treatment as benefitting all property owners. But not everyone on the PSA is convinced.
Carl Harris and Granville Hogg wrote a minority report for the Supervisors’ January meeting regarding sewer service for Highway 13 businesses. “While looking to the future is commendable, in this case it is premature and not realistic when considering near-term demand and demographics,” they said.
“Only a few properties will currently receive benefit from over-designed infrastructure, yet there will be additional real estate taxes on property where there has been little or no demand for additional commercial development.”
“Let’s find a means to embrace those that desire service rather than alienate the business community and affected real estate owners through presenting designs that do not match existing demographics. The attitude ‘Build and They Will Come’ has bankrupted communities. Let’s not put Northampton County on that list,” they concluded.
The minority report also stated that a pipeline from the Route 184 traffic light to the Cape Charles treatment plant would contain 500,000 gallons of sewage before anything reached the treatment plant. At a flow rate of 10,000 gallons a day, it would take 50 days to pass through the pipeline.
The worry is that raw sewage contained for a long time in the pipeline before being treated would create a great deal of smelly gasses — an issue the treatment plant is also dealing with due to low flow from Bay Creek.
Hogg was not reappointed to the PSA this year. He has been replaced by Sean Ingram.
The town of Cape Charles has over the past decade or more discouraged any competing development between the downtown and along route 13. Now because we have perhaps overbuilt our new sewer plant, and there seems to be some “empire builders” within the town administration, we are being told we must embrace new ideas to help suport the sewer plant. This is fuzzy thinking, and goes against our master plan, town history, and common sense. This is NOT the time to expand, but rather to wait for the necessary population increase to warrant further sewer expansion. Raise awareness and concerns, not taxes.
It seems to me this plan is not good for Cape Charles businesses and not good for the environment. And what about the commercial areas at the marina and the golf course developments? If we want more commercial development, we should encourage it in those areas. That would bring more folks, not just sewerage, off the highway and into town. It would also encourage the development of the two parts of our community the new water treatment plant was built for and intended to serve.
I need to correct some misinformation in the article and address some concerns expressed in the two comments.
The first phase of the Southern Node could be implemented with about half a cent of the current general real estate tax rate, not one cent. This is clearly stated in the presentation.
While Mr. Hogg titled his comments to the Board of Supervisors as a “minority report,” it is no such thing. Mr. Hogg was not a PSA Board member at that time. His term of office had expired months earlier. Additionally, Mr. Harris did not co-author these comments. He has stated that he had no knowledge of the document until it was submitted to the BOS by Mr. Hogg. The assertion that the PSA is over-designing the capacity of the proposed collection system is just not true. If the BOS decides to proceed, the PSA would have it designed to service existing flows with a modest capacity for growth.
The comment that “we have perhaps overbuilt our new sewer plant” is without context. When the regulations were changed due to the new Waste Load Allocation (WLA) for nitrogen and phosphorous discharge, the Town Council was faced with a choice — have on line by January 1, 2011, a compliant plant of either 500,000 gallons per day, or 250,000 gallons per day (same as the existing plant). Choosing the smaller plant would result in forfeiting the additional Waste Load Allocation. The state provided this choice because of the anticipated growth in Cape Charles at that time. The Council chose the smaller capacity (again, same size as the old plant) because of the downturn in growth projections. Yes, our plant is at about 50-60% of capacity, but if the Council had chosen even a smaller plant it is likely that the state would have reduced our Waste Load Allocation. And it is highly likely that it would not be increased in the future due to the goal of reducing the Total Maximum Daily Load of pollutants in the Bay. Consider that situation when Bay Creek has about 2,700 residential units to go and full build-out of the Town would require a capacity of 750,000 gallons per day.
The concern about commercial development on US 13 also needs a bit of context. There are 85 parcels commercially zoned in that area, and there is nothing that Cape Charles can do to prevent their development with on-site septic systems. Do you know that the County has already permitted development of a hotel at the corner of US 13 and Parsons Circle to be serviced by a septic system with a mass drainfield? The reason the hotel was not built is the downturn in the economy accompanied by tight credit. These parcels will eventually be developed as the economy improves and population expands. Without central wastewater service they will all have on-site septic systems, just upstream of our drinking water wells. Yes, there is a confining layer between the groundwater and drinking water aquifers but, if breached, contamination could occur from a poorly functioning septic system.
Finally, for the record, the writer never contacted me at Town Hall to discuss this topic, which is clearly Town business. This is fairly complicated stuff and I’ll talk with any citizen for as long as they want; just call in advance to make arrangements.
DORIE SOUTHERN REPLIES: Mr. Panek’s comments are welcome, but are cause for their own clarification. First: The PowerPoint slides which I relied on to report his presentation are anything but clear regarding a tax increase. Readers may view the slides for themselves at http://www.co.northampton.va.us/gov/minutes/01_08_13.pdf. The slides begin on page 4, and the Minority Report begins on page 40. Second: According to Mr. Hogg, his two-year term on the PSA technically expired last July, but he continued to serve, assuming that he had been automatically reappointed. Not until December was he even asked to fill out paperwork for his reappointment. Not until the January 15 PSA minutes is there mention that “Mr. Ingram was recognized as the newly appointed PSA member, replacing Mr. Hogg.” In the same minutes, Chairman Panek refers to the “Minority Report” without mention of his claim above that “it was no such thing.” (See http://www.co.northampton.va.us/gov/wastewater/psa%20mins%201-15-13.pdf) Thirdly and finally, I did contact Mr. Panek at Town Hall, but before I could mention the PSA he told me not to call him at work, and hung up.
The town of Cape Charles has indeed overbuilt their sewer plant, as witnessed by its only needing 50-60% of its capacity to serve the town fully. Bob Panek and the PSA were unsuccessful in convincing the populace of Cheriton, nearby non-incorporated areas, and the Board of Supervisors of the need for the “southern node” back when there was free money falling from the sky in the form of grants. Panek’s current push for another version of the southern node received less than a 50% interest level, even from the few commercial businesses near Cheriton, along US 13, the prime target audience. So now Panek and his empire building wants to stick all of Northampton County with additional real estate taxes to fund his pie in the sky plans for sewer treatment that isn’t even close to being needed. The populations of Cape Charles, Cheriton, and Northampton have all been declining for over 30 years. We don’t need more capacity, we need less. We also don’t need higher real estate taxes. What part of no don’t you understand?
The plant is too big so now everyone in Northampton gets to pay higher taxes? I sure hope not! Bob Panek and his pie in the sky ideas… Bob is great when he is spending someone else’s money. We do not need to go out to the highway with the sewage plant — that’s all there is to it. People BEWARE…if Mr. Panek is involved something bad is getting ready to happen. Mr. Panek was the main push in GIVING AWAY OUR HISTORIC SCHOOL to a developer!
This sewer thing is screwy. If the people who would have to pay for it don’t want it, and the highway businesses aren’t signing up to pay for it, and I don’t want my county taxes to go up to pay for somebody else’s sewers, then who’s pushing this thing?
The guys who sell sewer lines? Somebody who wants to get rid of what’s left of Cape Charles’ downtown business district? Salesmen who want to start flipping property again? Anybody know the answer?
OK, time to correct some additional misinformation.
At the time the Southern Node was originally planned, there was not sufficient “free money falling from the sky in the form of grants”. The grant/loan ratio needs to be about 82/18 for a system in Cheriton to yield affordable service rates; i.e., 1.5% of Median Household Income, or about $42 a month. The ARRA stimulus funding had dried up and the best ratio of grants/loans that could be expected from federal and state agencies was 30/70. Clearly, a grant/loan ratio of 30/70 doesn’t cut it. That is exactly why the BOS and PSA pulled the plug on the project. Take a look at the PSA presentation to the BOS at their Work Session of January 23, 2012, available on the County website.
I’ve already commented on the contention that Cape Charles “over built” the new plant. The Town Council made a perfectly rational decision to build a 250K gpd plant (same size as the old plant), in the face of 2,700 un-built residential units in an approved PUD and other newly planned development around the harbor, coupled with the prospect of a future tightening of Waste Load Allocations. To do otherwise would have been extremely short sighted, or would have signaled a sudden shift to a “no growth” policy.
Why are we so self limiting? Give Mr. Panek some credit for having a vision at least. We all can control to some extent what gets built on Rt. 13. I for one, think we need to get an emergency medical center built there. Are you willing to put your health and maybe your life in jeopardy and waste precious moments by waiting for an ambulance to take you over the bridge for good health care in Virginia Beach? So what if a hotel is built? I think we will need it! But we sure can use less dollar stores too! I will pay higher taxes for what we absolutely need. We are a teeny weeny town. We can’t even be designated as a small town compared to other towns in Virginia and Maryland. We can afford to grow from a teeny weeny town to a small town that meets its needs for its citizens.
I am very concerned about all the negativity directed toward our Assistant Town Manager and neighbor “Wastewater Bob Panek.” When have you ever known a public official actually asking for waste! Usually it’s the other way around. Yes, it appears that the new wastewater treatment plant has excess capacity and needs more waste to process efficiently. Wastewater Bob is trying to correct the situation and dutifully serve the people of Cape Charles. I commend Wastewater Bob for his commitment to the task. Citizens of Cape Charles, Wastewater Bob is doing his part; now it’s time for us to do ours. Support our local merchants. Have a healthy meal at your favorite eating establishment and send your contribution to Wastewater Bob and pat yourself on the back for job well done!
I too commend Mr. Panek for his understanding of the hydrodynamics of a properly functioning wastewater treatment facility. Too few people know and understand how those systems work. For obvious reasons!