Albemarle commission recommends some cell tower changes, but not all

Albemarle County:

“Albemarle officials consider changes to the approval process for communications towers in the county, some residents are asking that key protections be maintained.

‘Right now, you’re being asked to rule on a decision that will make it easier to place cell towers in established neighborhoods and if you agree to these changes it will have a significant impact on Key West in particular,’ said Bob Toplin, who lives in the Key West neighborhood.

Toplin’s comments came during a recent public hearing before the Planning Commission. Staff wanted input on six distinct changes to the ordinance that governs how and where cell towers can be built. In recent years, industry officials have been asking the county to streamline the approval process so more towers can be erected to satisfy growing demand for mobile data services.”

~Writes Sean Tubbs of Charlottesville Tomorrow

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Carroll to extend natural gas lines

Carroll County:

“The Carroll County Industrial Authority (IDA) agreed at its meeting May 5 to extend the natural gas distribution system to Water and Center streets in Hillsville to pick up more customers. Andy Jackson made the motion to approve the extension, with the project cost not to exceed $30,000. The vote was unanimous.

It was noted that a lot of the expansion work would be handled by Carroll County employees. Earl Hagee, natural gas pipeline and utility specialist, told the IDA that 10 customers are now hooked to the system and that he was receiving calls daily from potential customers. Hagee said Mohawk is the largest customer, using about five million cubic feet a month.

Some of the other customers include the Carroll County Governmental Complex, Carroll County High School, and Classic Creations in the Carroll County Industrial Park. The new STEM Agriculture Lab under construction at the high school will also be hooked to the system after it’s completed.”

~Writes Larry Chambers, Carroll County public info

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Broadband authority wants to add connections more quickly

Nelson County:

“The Nelson County Broadband Authority is considering ways to escalate the speed of installations on and demand for the county’s network. According to a report provided by Baylor Fooks, of Blue Ridge InternetWorks, to the authority at its April 8 meeting, construction for each project is averaging more than 60 days.

 

‘This is a major obstacle to success and a source of a lot of frustration from customers,’ he said.

According to Fooks, installation for all customers in the Paul’s Creek area took six months to complete, and the recent installation at North Branch School took several months, as well. ‘There is no way to get accurate progress information from the contractor,’ Fooks said.”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of the Nelson County Times

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Firehouse, new citizens group compete for Manassas water tower

City of Manassas:

“The Manassas City Council voted this week to give the city’s 100-year-old water tower a six-month lease on life. After the waiting period, the council will discuss again whether to demolish the locally iconic blue tower, which says ‘Welcome to Manassas’ to motorists approaching the city’s historic center but requires costly upkeep and plays only a small part in the city’s modern water system.

Anticipating an upcoming need for costly repairs, the Water and Sewer Department has sought permission to tear down the tower, which processes only a tiny fraction of the city’s water but costs an estimated $10,000 per year to operate. The Architectural Review Board contested the utility’s request, and it is now up to the council to determine whether the 1914 structure is worth saving for its historic merit. Residents have sent letters and started a 600-member Facebook group in an effort to convince the council of the tower’s significance to their city.

Now, Stephen Hersch, who has led the citizen effort, says that the group is moving beyond Facebook posts. He is leading an effort to incorporate a nonprofit organization that would purchase the tower from the city.”

~Writes Julie Zauzmer of the Washington Post

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Supervisors discuss options for utilities district

Caroline County:

“The Caroline Pines subdivision will eventually need to upgrade its aging water line. The question remains—how will they pay for it? The Board of Supervisors discussed options at its April 8 meeting and will explore the matter further in future work sessions.

Caroline Pines is already set up as a utility service district. This allows the board to increase the real estate tax rate on residences within the service district. The board can also establish a separate water user rate for the district’s customers. The goal in either case would be to recover the costs of repairing and replacing the utilities infrastructure.

Currently, the residents of Caroline Pines pay an extra $46.67 per month on their water bills, and this additional charge goes toward paying off the county’s availability fee—not toward any future repairs. The board had approved a discounted availability fee of $2,800 per customer for the community, which Caroline Pines residents are paying over a five-year period. The more than 350 customers are roughly two years into that arrangement. The county’s current availability fee is about $8,000 per customer.”

~ Writes The Caroline Press

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Board of Supervisors tables tower decision

Greene County:

“Greene County Supervisors have delayed a vote on a request to construct a controversial communications tower on Dyke Road. At its regular board meeting on April 8, the Greene County Board of Supervisors deferred until May 13 the vote on a request to construct the AT&T communications tower.

The decision came after supervisors listened to 15 people on both sides of the issue speak for 45 minutes and then asked questions of their own. ‘Did y’all have a second best choice?’ Supervisor Bill Martin inquired before asking fellow supervisors to defer the vote. The board voted unanimously to table the motion.

Preston Lloyd, attorney at Williams Mullen, told supervisors that AT&T officials chose the Dyke Road location because the site seemed to fit all the criteria mapped out in both AT&T’s regulations and the county’s ordinances.”

~Writes Kane Kashouty of the Greene County Record

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Cell tower proposed off Tide Mill Lane

City of Hampton:

“The City Council will soon act on AT&T's request to build a 145-foot-tall cellular tower in a Riverdale Christmas tree farm on Tide Mill Lane. The proposal is facing opposition from some area residents who see the tower and the technology attached to it as an eyesore in a residential neighborhood.

The Planning Commission unanimously agreed April 3 to recommend the tower at 57 Tide Mill Lane be approved. The Riverdale Regional Civic Association and city planning staff have also backed the request. City staff directs cell tower proposals to areas where fewer residents are affected by the infrastructure.

In 2011, community opposition forced the company to pull its application to build a 120-foot-tell tower at the Elks Lodge, 95 Tide Mill Lane. In 2009, the phone carrier had also submitted and subsequently removed its application for a tower at Burbank Elementary School.

The Riverdale Regional Civic Association opposed both previous proposals. On April 3, the group president Andy Bigelow said the latest site is the best location for the tower. A date has not yet been set for the City Council to act on the proposal.”

~Writes the Daily Press

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Bath-Highland Select Broadband Consultant

Central Shenandoah PDC:

“In January 2014, the Bath-Highland Telecommunications Management Team (TMT) led by CSPDC Regional Planner Robert Huff, solicited proposals for professional broadband telecommunications planning services. A selection committee made up of several TMT members reviewed eight proposals and invited three firms to interview. Consulting Gateway Corporation (CGC), in association with Dewberry Engineers, Inc., was selected to develop the plan. CGC has provided multiple options that the TMT reviewed at their March meeting in order to make service contract recommendations to local officials. 

The TMT is a group of about 30 individuals that have been tasked with improving Bath-Highland broadband services. The TMT acquired state funding  for the preparation of a comprehensive Community Telecommunications Plan, which will include a needs assessment analysis, broadband education and application development, last mile connectivity solutions, preliminary engineering and cost estimates, organizational and operational recommendations, and funding strategies for future implementation projects. The plan is expected to be completed in late summer 2014.”

~ Central Shenandoah PDC

Digital Dead Zones in Albemarle Closer to Getting Service

Albemarle County:

“People living in digital dead zones in rural Albemarle County are closer to getting service. The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will get a presentation Wednesday from the Broadband Task Force. The task force is expected to identify when and how dead zones in the Scottsville, Samuel Miller, and Whitehall districts will be fixed.

‘I understand that we were just recognized, the city of Charlottesville, as being one of the top ten wired communities in the entire country,’ Albemarle County Supervisor Jane Dittmar said. ‘So to drive 15 minutes outside and have people who can't have internet, can't use their cells, or can't get emergency vehicles in there because they don't have that, [it] doesn't make any sense.’

Dittmar says she hopes private broadband service providers and the county can work together. She would like to see effective service everywhere in the county by the end of this year.”

~ Reports nbc29

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Ground broken for new Bland County sewer project

Bland County:

“Bland County celebrated the first day of spring last week by breaking ground on its wastewater project, which leaders hope will help spur economic development in the county… The county has received grants and low-interest loans to pay for the nearly $8 million project. Phase I is about three-fourths of the entire project. It includes three pump stations and the extension of several thousands of feet of line from Bland to the treatment plant in Bastian.

A gravity line pump station will be built on the lower end of the fairgrounds, near the site of Thursday’s groundbreaking. Two other pump stations will be built on Brushy Mountain. The project will serve roughly 200 customers, including Bland elementary and high schools, ABB and Pascor, and the Exit 52 area of Interstate 77.”

~Writes Millie Rothrock of SWVA Today

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Project seeks to smooth way for offshore Va. winds

Coastal Virginia:

“The state is teaming up with Dominion Virginia Power in a research project that is intended to smooth the way for the development of an offshore wind industry. The Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advance Project proposes putting two 6-megawatt wind turbines on platforms designed to withstand hurricane-force winds. The turbines would be located 24 nautical miles (27 statute miles) off Virginia Beach.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced Thursday it is seeking written public comment on the project as it prepares an environmental assessment. It scheduled a meeting for April 3 in Virginia Beach for the public to speak out on the proposal. Last September, Dominion submitted a successful bid of $1.6 million bid to lease nearly 113,000 offshore acres for the development of wind power. Full development of the area could produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 700,000 homes. Besides the turbines, the project would also include cable linking the turbines to the electric grid in Virginia Beach. The project is expected to be operational by 2017. The so-called demonstration project received a $4 million grant from the U.S. Energy Department.”

~Writes The Associated Press

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Board OKs tower amendment, nixes scenic protection language

Nelson County:

“After months of deliberation and a lengthy discussion March 11, the Nelson County Board of Supervisors narrowly approved an amendment to the county’s communication tower ordinance. The board approved a repeal of almost all sections of the previous ordinance, Article 20 in the zoning code, and replaced them with new language that will reduce the requirements for a tower’s minimum setback from Virginia Scenic Byways and the Blue Ridge Parkway and serve as a comprehensive overhaul of previous tower classifications.

But the ordinance does not include proposed requirements that Nelson County Planning & Zoning Director Tim Padalino argued would help protect undeveloped mountain scenery in the county.”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of Nelson County Times

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First Proposal in for Water Pipeline

Fluvanna County:

“The James River Water Authority (JRWA) announced its receipt of an unsolicited PPEA proposal to construct a utility system and part of a water pipeline in Fluvanna County on Mar. 7. The Public-Private Educational Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, from which the PPEA proposal draws its name, allows agencies, institutions, and localities to form partnerships with the private sector and work together to complete major projects, according to the website of Virginia Information Technologies Agency.

The proposal was submitted by Faulconer Construction Co., Inc., Timmons Group, and teaming partner MEB General Contractors, to the JRWA, which is comprised of three members from Fluvanna, three from Louisa, and the Louisa County Water Authority. As stated in the inter-jurisdictional agreement passed by the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors last Sept. 18, the JRWA will construct both an intake facility at the James River and a pipeline, ending in a junction, roughly to Rt. 6. This PPEA proposal seeks permission to do just that…

The proposal suggests the system will be allowed by its withdrawal permit to take about 2.85 million gallons per day (GPD) from the James River. Nevertheless, the intake facility will be sized to handle the maximum withdrawal allowed by law, which is 5.7 million GPD. Not included in the public portion of the proposal is the anticipated time frame for the undertaking or its expected cost. Fluvanna and Louisa Counties will equally split the cost of construction, which at one time was estimated to be around $3.5 million, and may since have increased.”

~ Writes Christina Dimeo Guseman of the Fluvanna Review

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Click here for the James River Water Authority Website

Debate Over Lorton Landfill Continues at Public Hearing

Fairfax County:

“The debate over the future of the Lorton landfill continued as community members commented before the Fairfax County Planning Commission at a public hearing on Feb. 27. Over 50 people signed up to speak on the EnviroSolutions application to extend landfill operations until 2040, with the meeting going into the early hours of the morning.

EnviroSolutions, who owns the Lorton landfill, is applying for permission to widen the landfill and continue operations until 2040. EnviroSolutions’ proposed green energy triangle at the site of the landfill, which includes the development of geothermal energy, three wind turbines, and solar panels, was a major topic at the hearing.

Supporters cited the green energy as being beneficial for the county, as well as EnviroSolutions’ commitment to providing the community with $18 million, given out in increments over the course of two decades between 2019 and 2040. Jim Corcoran, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, which endorses the EnviroSolutions application to extend the landfill, said that a green energy triangle will enhance the county’s reputation.”

~Writes Janelle Germanos of The Connection

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Service Authority moves forward with water program

Nelson County:

“The Nelson County Service Authority is approaching a new stage in the process of implementing a program that will help protect the public water supply from potential backflow hazards and drinking water contamination. Called a cross-connection and backflow prevention program, its implementation is a requirement of the Virginia Department of Health.

‘It’s all in the name of public safety and protecting our water supply,’ said George Miller, executive director of authority. According to the department of health, a cross connection is an actual or potential link between a drinking water system and any source of contamination. Backflow is the reversed flow of contaminated or other liquids into a drinking water system.

Miller said the implementation process was started about two years ago when he was directed to go to Albemarle County to check out its successful program. Now the authority is getting ready to survey certain customers in the distribution system to gather information on what is in place and what might need to be installed for the program.”

~Writes Katherine Lacaze of Nelson County Times

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Bedford Weaving drops lawsuit to block SML water project

Bedford County:

“A Bedford business is withdrawing a lawsuit filed last month seeking to halt construction on a massive project to pipe water from Smith Mountain Lake to Bedford and Forest. Bedford Weaving filed an injunction Jan. 7 against the Bedford Regional Water Authority in the county’s Circuit Court. The injunction claimed the entity’s creation as a merged system of the city of Bedford’s water and sewer department and Bedford County Public Service Authority did not properly specify the project as called for in the Virginia Water and Waste Act.

Kevin Mottley, a Richmond attorney representing Bedford Weaving, filed a motion for a non-suit Friday. When reached Monday, he did not address the reason for dismissal or comment further. ‘We’re dropping the suit,’ Mottley said. ‘It is what it is.’ Bedford Weaving, a company with 115 employees, claimed in the suit the project would increase rates and provide treated water from Smith Mountain Lake that could have ‘significantly greater hardness,’ leading to operational problems. The company was a customer for years of the former city and was folded into the BRWA customer base when the city reverted to a town last year.

Sam Darby, attorney for the authority, argued in a Jan. 24 response seeking to dismiss the case that the authority is granted ‘broad powers’ in undertaking projects beyond those specified in articles of incorporation and added the Smith Mountain Lake plan would not cause ‘irreparable harm’ to the company. Megan Rapp, authority spokeswoman, said Monday the non-suit motion does not come as a surprise. She said BRWA Chairman Elmer Hodge and another board member had met recently with Bedford Weaving leaders to alleviate concerns.”

~ Writes Justin Faulconer of The (Lynchburg) News & Advance

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Mount Jackson moves forward on water project

Town of Mount Jackson:

“Mount Jackson embarked on a project that officials say should improve water quality and help the town prepare for the future. Town Council recently approved a contract with Richmond-based firm Kreye Blankenship Inc. to design and build a facility that would treat the water coming from three of its four municipal wells. Council's action comes about two years after a consultant's report recommended the town take this course.

Town Manager Kevin Fauber said Thursday the firm estimates the project would take about 20 weeks to design the project. The town has not yet received an estimate on when the firm would complete the construction, Fauber said. ‘We would have to coordinate construction so that it wouldn't interfere with our system,’ Fauber said.

The $787,000 project also aims to address problems seen in the water Mount Jackson draws from its municipal wells, Fauber said…Mount Jackson may not need to raise water rates to help pay for the loan the town received that covers more than half of the project cost, Fauber said. Mount Jackson provides drinking water to customers in town and Shenandoah County under a health department permit. The town brought two of its newer wells online in the past two years.”

~Writes Alex Bridges of the NV Daily

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Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors approves sewer regionalization proposal

Isle of Wight:

“The Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors voted unanimously for the county to join with 13 other localities in a regional approach to sewer upgrades at a meeting on Thursday. The measure, which has the support of most of Hampton Roads' localities, is expected to save the county $1 million during the next 10 years, according to documents attached to the agenda for Thursday's meeting.

The Environmental Protection Agency has mandated repairs to the area's sewer system to prevent overflow during heavy rain. A regional sewer authority, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, says it can cut costs if localities empower it to take a regional approach to the overhaul, saving the region as much as $1 billion, but only if all 14 localities are on board.

Frank Haltom, Isle of Wight's director of general services, told the board Thursday that approving the partnership would be a smart move, especially for the wallets of county residents.”

~ Writes Ryan Murphy of the Daily Press

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Click here to learn more about the Hampton Roads Sanitation District

Mount Jackson moving forward with water plant

Shenandoah County:

“Mount Jackson is moving forward with a project to construct a water treatment plant that would add two existing wells to the town’s water system. The project cost is $787,200. It is being paid with a $432,960 30-year loan at 2.5 percent interest from the Health Department’s office of drinking water, plus principal forgiveness, basically a grant, of $354,240.

During its regular meeting Tuesday (Feb. 11), the Mount Jackson Town Council approved an engineering design contract with Kreye Blankenship, Inc., of $73,000 for the project. ‘This project would bring the two wells on line,’ said Kevin Fauber, town manager. ‘Water from the wells would be treated through construction of small treatment plant.’

One well has somewhat high nitrate levels and the other, located in a mountainous area, contains considerable iron, he added. Mount Jackson currently uses four wells, said Fauber. When complete, this project will increase the total number of wells to six, adding two wells to the overall waterworks for the town of 2,000 people.”

~ Writes Jonathon Shacat of The Shenandoah Valley-Herald

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York Supervisors skeptical of regional sewer plan

York County:

“The York County Board of Supervisors remains skeptical of a regional sewer plan proposed by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District. During a meeting Tuesday, the board was told there was still no cost estimate for adopting the plan that consolidates sewer improvement projects under the district. All localities must approve the plan by the end of the month to move forward with a rate study, said Brian Woodward, the county's chief of utilities. ‘How do the powers that be expect a decision on the backs of the taxpayers without knowing what the cost will be?’ Supervisor Walt Zaremba said. ‘They want a blank check.’

The plan leaves systems under local control while placing the burden of high-dollar repairs on the regional body. It means higher rates for residents, but the increases could be greater if the localities decided to tackle the infrastructure work on their own…

The supervisors worry not only that the cost could come back much higher than expected, but also that, because York's sewer system is newer than others in the region, it wouldn't see work done on its pipes and would be subsidizing improvements in older communities.”

~ Writes Ali Rockett of the Daily Press

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