Mayor Proto Flip-Flops on County Sewage Issue

Mayor Proto takes oath of office. (Wave photo)

Mayor Proto takes oath of office. As president of the Cape Charles Business Association he opposed treating wastewater from commercial users on Route 13. But as mayor he has bought on to the idea. (Wave photo)

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

September 15, 2014

What a difference being mayor makes. Just seven months ago when George Proto was president of the Cape Charles Business Association he wrote a hard-hitting letter to then-Mayor Dora Sullivan, chastising her for failure to answer his questions about processing county sewage at the town’s new treatment plant. “My original questions have yet to be answered after almost 6 months,” he wrote.

Proto and the Business Association were concerned that running a sewer line to Route 13 would promote commercial competition on the highway. “There does not appear to be any significant benefit to the Town of Cape Charles from the proposed connection,” Proto wrote to Mayor Sullivan.

Now Proto is mayor, and acting Town Manager Bob Panek has convinced him, along with all other members of Town Council except Frank Wendell, that piping commercial sewage from Route 13 into town is a good idea. Panek’s argument is that (1) the income received will reduce town utility bills, and (2) if the town doesn’t take the sewage, the county will eventually build a plant elsewhere – perhaps on the Webster property in Cheriton — and the town will have forever lost the opportunity to operate a regional treatment plant.

Panek oversaw planning of the town’s new sewer plant, which with some modifications is large enough to treat all the wastewater in the lower part of the county, were there some means to get it there. Meanwhile, the fixed costs of the plant are eating the town and its ratepayers alive.

Town Council agreed September 11 (Wendell dissenting) to negotiate an agreement with the County’s Public Service Authority to accept wastewater for 1.5 cents per gallon. All Council members agreed that PSA customers must also pay the town a substantial facility hookup fee, even though Panek has opposed such a fee, fearing it would drive away potential customers.

As Business Association president, Proto had urged that the sewer line project be put on hold “until certain significant questions” were answered. The first question was, “What is the projected benefit to the town from the Route 13 sewer line?”

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At a Town Council work session September 11, Panek said the sewer pipe would “promote economic development,” but Councilman Wendell quoted from town and county comprehensive plans to emphasize that highway commercial development was explicitly not wanted:

The county will also encourage that commercial growth be centered in existing towns, and commercial operations along the main US 13 corridor will be discouraged. (County Comprehensive Plan page 7)

Citizens stated that they wanted commercial growth in town rather than on Route 13. (Town Comprehensive Plan page 7)

Council member Chris Bannon disagreed with the comprehensive plans. “We have no space to take much [new business] in town. Where are you going to put the stores in town? If the town takes off we have cutesy stores that are seasonal. The bigger stores will go out to the county. We’ll have our little shops,” he emphasized.

Proto’s next question was: “Are there any technical benefits to the Town (e.g., reduction of the smell that occurs from time to time?)”

No technical benefit has been cited.

Proto’s next question: “What is the mid- to long-term plan for wastewater treatment in the county in the immediate vicinity of Cheriton and areas north and south of 184 on Route 13?  For example, as we go forward would the plan be to connect Cheriton and additional Route 13 commercial property to the same or via a second PSA line going into Cape Charles?”

No answer has been given.

Proto’s final question: “”When do we need to expand the capacity of the existing plant, and how do these scenarios affect timing for that?  More importantly, how would the expansion be paid for, given it would likely need to be made sooner if the existing plant supports connections out in the county?”

Last year, Councilman Wendell requested a legal opinion on a similar question – whether providing sewage treatment to the PSA would affect the Annexation Agreement under which the developer of Bay Creek is required to share the cost of sewer treatment expansion. The answer came in a memo (CLICK) from then-Town Manager Heather Arcos but written by Panek, stating that [unnamed] legal counsel “has reviewed and concurred [with Panek’s conclusion] that the Town MAY [emphasis added] be able to obtain payment under the Annexation Agreement if part of a plant expansion is to accommodate increased demand at the annexed property or if part of the plant capacity is reserved for the annexed property by the developer.”

The September 11 work session included the following exchanges:

FRANK WENDELL: The cost for sewage treatment in the PSA district should not be less than in the town. If anything it should be more. How do you address that?

BOB PANEK: I don’t. They’re just two different animals.

WENDELL: Is there any instance where a new business on the highway would pay less than a new business in town? That’s the concern that we have.

PANEK: I can’t answer that question, Frank, because I don’t know what the PSA rate will be.

WENDELL: We don’t want to offer a disincentive to come into town.

MAYOR PROTO: I agree we don’t want to offer a disincentive . . .. If we make it really convenient and cheap to be out on the highway — do we want to hurt the businesses in town?

WENDELL: When the new sewer plant was built, a lot of grants were predicated on not raising the rates. But we soon found out that rates increases were indeed warranted. I don’t think the public had knowledge of that. That is something that was discovered afterwards.

PANEK: That is absolutely incorrect.

The Wave has obtained a copy of a 2009 letter (CLICK) from Panek that bears out Wendell’s allegation. The letter to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality accompanies a grant application which Panek says “would be of tremendous help” in ameliorating a situation which otherwise would result in charging $76 a month to treat 5,000 gallons of wastewater.

The town got the grant, but the wastewater charge for 5,000 gallons is nevertheless $75.60 for residential customers and $75 for commercial customers – almost exactly the rate Panek threatened if the grant were not obtained.

In addition to serving as acting town manager, Panek serves on the PSA as the town’s representative. Although he no longer is PSA chairman, he still pulls the levers behind the curtain. That is reflected in the following exchanges:

PROTO: I’d go with 2 cents a gallon [sewage charge], period. That’s a starting point – I don’t think we’d get it. Are they going to take that, Bob?

PANEK: I’d say no.

PROTO: I could be had for 2 cents for the first 2,000 gallons and 1.5 cents after that.

SAMBO BROWN: I recommend we reduce the bill $5 a month, which works out to 1.5 cents. Do you think the PSA would agree to that?

PANEK: I would think so.

And so the “negotiation” with the PSA occurred right in town hall, with Town Council actually negotiating with their own town manager.

Meanwhile, Proto did not attend the most recent Business Association directors’ meeting, and the PSA issue was not discussed.

Panek’s slide show on the PSA is available on the town website (CLICK). He concludes that if the town doesn’t play ball with the PSA, it is “likely” that the county would build its own small treatment plant.

Panek has been unmoved by the volume of opposition by county residents to any sewer scheme requiring a special tax district. Voter wrath was reflected last November when County Board of Supervisors Chairman Willie Randall was defeated by Granville Hogg, an outspoken opponent of PSA plans. The Wave reported (CLICK) the roasting Panek received a year ago September at a public meeting in the Cheriton Fire Hall.

Proto seemed unaware of the overwhelming opposition by county residents to PSA plans when he said, “It seems likely that there would be wastewater treatment supplied to Route 13, period. If the county’s going to do this one way or the other, wouldn’t it be better for us to have some influence? Because I don’t think you can shut it down.”

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7 Responses to “Mayor Proto Flip-Flops on County Sewage Issue”

  1. Pete Baumann on September 15th, 2014 8:00 am

    I’ve always favored commercial development out by the light on Rt. 13. I wouldn’t increase commercial zoning, but I would utilize what is available to extent that it is built out. The main reason is that I think it would increase traffic into Cape Charles. Right now, 99% of all traffic passes right on by Cape Charles. However, if more folks stop on Rt. 13, and if the proprietors of Rt. 13 businesses are encouraged to let travelers know that Cape Charles, with its harbors, shops and eateries etc., is just down the road, I think more people will come check us out. As for rates, I’m surprised that commercial customers pay less than residential, and I would charge more for those for whose benefit any pipeline is built, although not so much to discourage them.

  2. Kearn Schemm on September 15th, 2014 8:47 am

    Chris Bannon is outright wrong in his statement, ” If the town takes off we have cutesy stores that are seasonal. The bigger stores will go out to the county. We’ll have our little shops.”

    The facts are different. Anyone who gets into the habit of going to “bigger stores” (Walmart? Target?) on 13 will simply do all their shopping in one place, why come back into the “cutesy shops” to pay higher prices?. The “bigger stores” can carry “cutesy” things as easily as the rest of their inventory. Development on 13 will kill our small shops.

    In a Town Hall meeting last Saturday, Mayor Proto indicated that if properties on 13 were connected to our plant, we might see a reduction in our bills of 1 or 2 dollars. Is a maximum theoretical benefit of $24 per year worth killing our business district? IN fairness to the new Mayor, I got the impression that he was skeptical of the PSA hook-up dream. Let’s hope I am right.

  3. Wayne Creed on September 15th, 2014 2:40 pm

    That pesky Annexation agreement with Brown & Root just won’t go away. Panek’s full court press to run pipe out to the highway hardly seems altruistic, and instead seems to be more an effort to deflect the shame and embarrasement caused by his waste water blunders—but there’s something else. According to the so-called ‘legal opinion’ posted here (is this a legitimate legal opinion, or did they just download it from Legal Zoom?), if we do run pipe out to the road, and the excess use forces expansion, than Bay Creek is off the hook, as it would render the annexation agreement meaningless. This is a very dangerous game, even for Bay Creek. If the new Rt. 13 development pushes the plant towards capacity, how will Bay Creek address the need for additional plant expansion, which will be required for the remaining phases of the gated community’s build out? Who will pay for the additional expansion? If it’s Bay Creek, the $5 million they could have paid up front to cover the need for ‘future’ growth, may now triple. Of course, that won’t happen—in the end, the hapless citizens of old Cape Charles will have their pockets pilfered to pay for reinforcing the iron gates, as well as defaming what’s left of the Eastern Shore.

    Side Note: It would appear that the existence of Bay Creek’s plans for future expansion would have been enough to trigger the annexation agreement, so why didn’t the Town pursue this in the courts? The Town spent almost $100,000.00 fighting a local grass roots community group that only wanted to keep the old school public, so why wouldn’t they have defended their end of the deal in court when the stakes were so high? Joe Vaccaro seemed game for the fight, but then he was mysteriously fired. Had the town won, it would have wiped out our debt, and we wouldn’t have to be pursuing these stupid PSA dreams just to salve the blisters on Panek’s metaphorical rear end. Who diverted the Town away from this effort and why?

    In this town, the disappointments never seem to end. We had some hopes for Proto (of course, we’ve learned to severely curb our enthusiasm), but he’s turned out to be a bit too much like his predecessor. Like Eminem says, “Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted-one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?”

    We still want to give Mayor Proto the benefit of the doubt, but our advice is to stop listening to them and do what you know in your heart is the right thing (at least what your friends in the business community expected when they elected you).

  4. Deborah Bender on September 15th, 2014 6:17 pm

    From what I have read Mayor Proto is more worried about dogs on the beach than worrying about the rising debt the town is going into day by day. If he believes the report about salaries and more employees needed he is following Mayor Sullivan’s lead. The current Council (excluding Frank Wendell) is dying to blow the annexation agreement and they have been for a long time. I for one would like to know who is going to pay for all the pipes and whatever else is needed to make Bob Panek’s dreams come true? The town already spent a boatload of money running pipes into the development across from my house and I believe five houses are in there. Another one of Dickie Foster’s pipe dreams. How much money can this town throw away on the PSA?

    I have seen with my own two eyes what happens to towns on the Eastern Shore when the strip malls go up. It kills the towns. Wake up Cape Charles business owners and fight the pipe or you will suffer.

  5. Don Riley on September 15th, 2014 6:22 pm

    I expected more of a common sense approach from the candy man. I guess it is business as usual. Hire Frank Wendell for Town Manager!

  6. Bobby Roberts on September 16th, 2014 1:10 pm

    In response to the person who wants to know who’s paying for the sewer pipes from Rt. 13—you are. Months ago the county said they’d create a Special Tax District for those pipes, then said they’d raise taxes for the whole county to fund the Tax District. So Cape Charles property owners will get their taxes raised to help pay for the pipes, that will allow more business on Rt 13, that will probably kill the downtown commercial district. So tell me again, how does Cape Charles benefit from all this?

  7. David Boyd on September 16th, 2014 2:56 pm

    Don’t know if anyone has looked at the Hurt and Profitt report presented to the Board of Supervisors meeting last week. It has a map of the tax parcels included in the Route 13 sewer district along with their reply to the survey on whether they wanted to be included in the proposed sewer expansion. Looks to be something like a hundred parcels who were solicited for inclusion. Of all those polled, a total of 15 responded. 4 of the respondents were in favor of being included and 11 were against it. Let’s see, survey is sent out, gets a response rate of 15%, of that 15%, only 25% are in favor of the proposal.

    That on top of resounding, almost unanimous opposition to this pipe dream expressed in the Cheriton and BOS meetings last year, followed by tossing out the Chairman of the BOS and the Chairman of the PSA.

    Is it not abundantly clear what the public thinks of this boondoggle?

    Oh, and by the way, Bob Panek thinks that “Per capita cost is one interesting metric, but we do not believe it is appropriate for evaluating the proposed project'”.

    In other words, the political appointees don’t care how much it costs you and I. Seems to me it’s time for some public accountability.