Smart planning for Culpeper

Steve Vento
Published: June 13, 2008

Last year, a study of our wastewater and water needs in Culpeper County uncovered that the county lacks the reliable sewer and water infrastructure needed for a sound financial future.

Without it, the county can never attract any new businesses with good-paying jobs. And if the county does not act soon, there is a potential that it will lose a large portion of our wastewater allocation and will be reliant upon unproven resources to meet future capacity needs.

To ensure that the current 2011 deadline could be met, Culpeper Utility Partners forged a partnership to work with the county through a public-private partnership. Culpeper Utility Partners will finance, engineer and build the system for the county so it can meet its water and wastewater needs for the next 50 years.

Culpeper Utility Partners offers a breadth of experience developing and constructing major projects throughout the region. Our partners are the leaders in financing, building and engineering public-private infrastructure projects in the commonwealth.

One partner, Angler Development, has been the target of a lot of talk about recent financial challenges. Angler Development, and entities it manages, have a proven track record of completing quality projects across Virginia. Based in nearby Warrenton, we have a strong connection to Culpeper, developing numerous projects here over the past 10 years.

Like every other developer, the slumping housing market has impacted our projects. As we all have seen or read in the news, this market downturn has had its consequences, meaning some of our projects could not move forward and needed to be placed in bankruptcy for reorganization.

One of those projects was Copper Ridge in Culpeper, which was a promising project.

Unfortunately, at the end of 2006 as the market had turned and our builder partner pulled out, we could not find another builder partner for the project.

After fighting on all fronts for more than a year, it was very clear we had absolutely no choice but to place Copper Ridge under the protection of bankruptcy. This was not the path we wanted, but it was the path our legal and financial advisers strongly recommended.

Our Culpeper Crossroads project is a different story. Despite being impacted by the economic downturn, the solid financial strength of the deal is not impacted, only its timing. It is in reorganization, and we expect to file a refinancing plan within the next 90 days. It is anticipated that this new plan will be approved and construction will commence in 2010. 

These are not easy days for many industries. We work hard to be transparent with our partners, financers and the communities we work within. We strive to do the right thing, no matter how hard. And sometimes the right thing is to use the legal system to protect our landowners and financiers.

We could only wish that all of our development projects are as solid as the Culpeper Utility Partners project.

This water and sewer project is very different.

n First, unlike a marketplace project with phased funding based on market conditions at any given time, the Culpeper Utility Partners project has 100 percent financing from day one — meaning no matter what, the project will be paid for and completed with our team of experts.

n Second, those working in partnership on this will not be waiting for the market to sell. They are ready to build right now to meet the challenging deadline that ensures Culpeper County gets the wastewater capacity it needs.

n Third, water and sewer taps will be sold for many uses — industrial, commercial and residential — so this project does not depend on any single sector of the market.

Working with our public-private partnership, the county will get its water system built on time without one dime of taxpayer dollars, and without increasing demand for residential development.

A reliable future water supply and wastewater treatment capacity will bring jobs. Today, employers with good-paying jobs see the talent here, talent that is forced to commute a long way to a job every day. And while these employers would love to tap that talent for good-paying jobs by moving here, they need to see that Culpeper County has a reliable, long-term supply of water and the wastewater capacity before they will move.

The Culpeper Utility Partners project is about Culpeper’s future. We can take the steps today to ensure we have the infrastructure to bring new employers with good-paying jobs for our citizens and at the same time ensure there is a tax base to continue to protect the quality of life here.

Steve Vento is manager of Culpeper Utility Partners, executive vice president of Angler Development and is involved in real estate development projects throughout the region. He wrote this column at the request of the Star-Exponent editorial board.

Call me with questions

If you have any questions, or would like to talk, call me at (540) 905-4480 or e-mail me at .