Town, county reach deal

By Nate Delesline III

Published: July 24, 2008

After discussing, tweaking and debating for nearly three hours, Culpeper Town Council and the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors are on the brink of a deal to form a regional water and sewer authority.

The independent authority would manage all of the area’s daily water and sewer operations, setting rates for both town and county customers.

Both groups are set to officially approve the agreement — with Thursday night’s revisions incorporated — at another joint meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at the Daniel Technology Center.

As part of the joint agreement, the town would contribute sewer and water infrastructure to the authority, along with customers. In exchange, the town would roll county land into its borders.

According to a map distributed at Thursday’s meeting, the main area of boundary adjustment would generally extend around the north side of town in an arc from Route 666 to the east side of U.S. 522. Another tract is east of downtown, and another is southwest of town adjacent to Lake Pelham.

Both the town and county had prepared separate documents detailing the agreement. Initial discussion centered on which document to use — the memorandum of understanding prepared by the county, or the joint resolution prepared by the town.

County Chairman Bill Chase dismissed the suggestion to tweak and ratify the town’s resolution. “We feel it puts us back three years,” he said. “The joint resolution actually delays the regional authority.”

The group eventually abandoned the town’s resolution and instead worked through the county’s more specific memorandum of understanding.

Town Councilman Steve Jenkins told the group that whatever the final agreement is called, both sides ought to be bound to it.

“Often, it is the interpretation of the MOUs that has lead to trouble,” Jenkins said.

Supervisor Larry Aylor agreed. “It doesn’t matter what we call it,” he said, “but from a legal standpoint, the two documents are different.”

The troubles they referenced came as recently as February, when a months-long disagreement between the town and county ensued over how to provide a new Rite-Aid store with sewer and water. Over the past five years, other projects have also faced the same fate, stalled for months as the specifics of each ad hoc utility agreement were worked out.

Compromises were reached on numerous areas of disagreement. Elements in the 10-page draft specify that:

- The town will not file to annex any other property in the county for 15 years.

- Both entities will develop land-use plans for areas incorporated into the town.

- Changes to zoning within the adjusted area will be handled by the town and county under their existing procedures.

- The processes of boundary adjustment and creating the joint authority will be separate. County Attorney Dave Maddox explained that boundary adjustments could take up to a year to complete, delaying the creation of the joint authority.

Both groups will agree to a revenue balancing plan that will adjust for the potential financial losses and gains resulting from the boundary adjustment.

Thursday’s meeting was conducted in open session, despite conflicting advertisements. The town had advertised the meeting as closed, while the county advertised it as being open. Less than a handful of non-public officials were present, and no public comments were received.