Downey opposes WSA engineering loan

Bill Downey believes the Fauquier County Water and Sanitation Authority (WSA) should find a way of its own to cover all costs for the phase two, $5 million expansion of the Vint Hill wastewater treatment plant.

But his colleagues on the county board of supervisors disagree.

By a 4-1 vote last Thursday, the supervisors gave the independent authority a $286,000 loan for design and engineering fees for the plant at Vint Hill near New Baltimore.

Downey (Scott District) suggested the interest-free loan could lead to Fauquier subsidizing a big chunk of the plant’s $9 million construction cost.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Downey said of the loan moments before the board’s Dec. 13 decision. "The next board of supervisors will have deliberations on how to fund the $8.5 to $9 million of construction cost. This [loan] is pennies compared to what the next discussion will be regarding this same issue."

Downey and Chairman Harry Atherton (Marshall Distinct) will retire from the board at year’s end. First-term supervisor Richard Robison (Center District) lost his re-election bid in last June’s Republican primary. Their seats will be taken by Holder Trumbo, Peter Schwartz and Terry Nyhous, respectively, beginning in January.

The engineering and design loan would be used for the second phase of the plant expansion that would increase treatment capacity from 600,000 to 950,000 gallons per day.

WSA’s agreement with the county stipulates Fauquier would receive all interest associated with the loan for the "duration of the project."

The Vint Hill Economic Development Authority (EDA) has contributed $214,000 for design and engineering for phase two.

The EDA is responsible for planning the 695-acre former Army base on Route 215.

WSA recently completed the first phase expansion of the existing plant. If all goes according to plan, phase two should be finished by October 2010, according to WSA.

In an interview, Downey said WSA should use its bonding authority to incur the debt to pay for engineering and design expenses, not the county.

Based on WSA’s "track record," he considers the authority a poor risk.

As evidence, Downey referred to a $2.8 million loan the county gave WSA more than eight years ago to build a collection system to provide sewerage to New Baltimore.

WSA "envisioned" the line would be completed in four year. Instead it took seven years to complete.

"It took longer than anticipated," WSA General Manager Barney E. Durrett Jr. said. "It was a lot more complicated and involved that we envisioned" initially.

Durrett stressed that a previous board of supervisors, at the urging of former Scott District Supervisor Larry Weeks, came to WSA about a loan proposal to extend sewer to New Baltimore.

"The county approached us on the issue," Durrett said. "Our end of the bargain was to build the facility. We never agreed to fund it."

WSA uses surcharge fees (more than $500,000) from users to repay the county loan.

In time, Fauquier will get its money back, as others avail themselves of the New Baltimore system, even in the unlikely case that it takes WSA 30 years to repay the loan, as allowed under its agreement with the county.

"Bottom line is we did what we were supposed to do," said Durrett, frustrated with Downey’s complaints. "And they [the county] did what they were supposed to do....It’s done. It’s the first time there’s sewer in New Baltimore, ever."

Durrett said WSA put $1 million of its own resources into the line.

Fauquier also came up with the idea of lending the authority the $286,000 for engineering and design for the phase-two plant expansion, the WSA general manager said.

Supervisor Ray Graham (Cedar Run District), who also serves on the WSA board, takes exception to Downey’s gloomy forecast that the engineering and design loan may be the start of a much larger county commitment to the Vint Hill plant expansion.

"It’s not as bad as Bill characterized it," Graham said.

He has no doubt the New Baltimore sewer line will pay for itself, producing the revenue to clear the authority’s debt with the county.

"Payment [to Fauquier] happens when the [sewer] taps are sold," Graham said. "I wasn’t naïve. I expected it to be over the lifetime of the system."

Just the same, the county’s $286,000 loan to WSA for engineering and design of the Vint Hill treatment plant will be repaid as users help build and join the system, Graham said.

"That’s not a worry for me," he said.

He views Fauquier’s loans for the New Baltimore line and the Vint Hill plant as commitments to economic development.

"The question is, do you want economic development?" he asked, quickly providing the answer with a firm yes.

Atherton said he sympathizes with Downey. The loan "model" to build the New Baltimore sewer line "did not work out as planned," Atherton said. "WSA was certainly culpable for part of that. But it’s also perfectly possible the model wasn’t correct in the first place."

A decade ago, Atherton said he would have agreed with Downey that Fauquier shouldn’t assume debt for WSA projects. And while he remains a little uncomfortable with the practice, "I don’t think we can expect WSA to put its ratepayers at risk to pursue basically [a plant] expansion that is being driven by the county’s comprehensive planning goals."

Atherton doesn’t believe Fauquier will be faced with the prospect of lending WSA money to build the Vint Hill treatment plant. Private-sector demand for sewerage will take care of that, he said.

Chester Stribling (Lee District) views the engineering and design loan as a worthwhile investment in broadening Fauquier’s commercial tax base.

"Will I go deeper than that" and authorize a county loan to help build the plant? "No, I won’t. I don’t know that we can do that" financially, he said. "I don’t know that we can justify that."

E-mail the reporter: ddelrosso@timespapers.com