$78,000 Later, Route 13 Sewer Project Put on Hold

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

June 29, 2015

In a stunning defeat to proponents of a sewer pipe from Route 13 to the Cape Charles treatment plant, the Northampton County Board of Supervisors voted June 22 to put Public Service Authority plans on hold. Citing higher priorities, including emergency medical services and the public schools, Supervisor Granville Hogg made the motion, which carried in a 3-1 vote. Supervisor Larry Trala was opposed, noting that the PSA had been working on the project for quite a while.

Supervisor Larry LeMond expressed impatience with the Town of Cape Charles for its failure to reach an agreement with the PSA about the cost of services. He reported that the town wants to condition a sewer deal on whether the county gives the town a say on what kinds of commercial activity would be allowed just outside town limits.

PSA Chairman John Reiter told the Supervisors that engineering studies for the project were 40 percent complete. The PSA has paid almost $78,000 to date, including $8,000 for a study of possible use of the Bayview facility which had been requested by the Supervisors.

Reiter reported that negotiations with the Town of Cape Charles were still in progress, citing differences over how much should be charged per gallon of wastewater and whether there should be a connection fee. Reiter said that an agreement was close on the per-gallon cost. But he complained that the connection fee could cost $750,000, adding considerably to upfront costs.

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Reiter said the project could cost over $3 million depending on the outcome of negotiations with Cape Charles, and would treat approximately 15,000 to 20,000 gallons per day of wastewater.

Because the PSA has no taxing authority, it needs the county to back its bonds and to levy county taxes for the project.

After meeting stiff resistance to a special tax district last year from commercial property owners, the PSA recommended that the county split the cost of the project. Half the cost would come from from a special tax district and the remaining half would be funded by a county-wide tax increase. That arrangement was expected to double taxes on properties in the special tax district but “would not be noticeable” to other county residents.