Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
It's time for some answers
It is time for Angler Development and the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors to stop teasing and enticing and tell us what they are about.
If Angler wants to build a $100 million sewer and water facility it needs to tell us who said facility will serve, why such a monstrous capacity is needed, and exactly how much it will cost the county.
The board of supervisors needs to stop the secretive closed session meetings, the not-so-veiled messages of “don’t’ worry about it”, and cavalier decisions that by-pass voter input.
Think about that. This is the most expensive public undertaking in county history and it is being done without a single citizen vote being cast. Until earlier this week, it was being done without the submission of a plan or a plausible explanation.
Yes, the closed sessions have been legal. That does not make them correct or in the county’s best interest. At this point, the only one served by closed session is Angler, which claims it does not want to scare off potential investors.
What potential investors? There are no investors, according to Angler. There are lenders.
Angler and the BOS tell us the facility will be paid for by tap fees, or the amount charged to bring a residence on line with the facility. The tap fee amount most often mentioned is $30,000 – that is what it would cost for sewer line access, wastewater treatment, and water. That has skillfully been broken down into three fees. Buying one without the other two would be foolish.
At that rate some 3,000 houses are needed to pay off the $100 million. Who builds these houses? Where will they be built? When will they be built? Are owners of existing homes figured into this? Are those owners expected to abandon well-septic systems and go this much into debt.
Think about that. A homeowner in Brandy Station buys a tap for $30,000. A few years later he learns not enough taps have been sold so, as a county taxpayer, he helps shoulder more financial burden.
Project manager Steve Vento said he has almost 2,000 tap fees already sold. Does that mean a pledge to buy or payment upfront?
Supervisor Tom Underwood, the only one thus far who wants the negotiating process to be done in public, said the Angler proposal turns over ownership to the county after five years. At that point, the county owes Angler any existing balance on the original $100 million.
In essence, Angler is taking on no risk. It is borrowing the money to build the facility, recouping what it can, and passing leftover debt on to the county.
The economy is sour and from all indications will remain that way until 2010.
Why should we not believe Angler has found a debt-free way to take on a major project during these hard times? Who besides Angler says such a facility will cost $100 million to build? What is the exact route the pipelines will follow, and what proposed projects and parcels will be served?
We have not heard enough about Brandy Station and Willow Run and Culpeper Crossing in the talks and sales pitches. These areas obviously will benefit. Hundreds of acres in that area are zoned commercial and industrial. Is there something afoot that depends on this sewer and water facility?
Why would BOS even entertain a proposal that carries enough risk to bankrupt the county?
During one month the talk is eliminating teaching positions and school activities in the name of budget balancing. The next month the talk is about buying into this project and its enormous debt. The $100 million is enough money to send every child in the county to the most exclusive private school in the country.
And citizens are supposed to let this happen without all of the information? Without any of their input?
Sorry. It simply doesn’t work that way.
And because it doesn’t, we invite Angler and the BOS to bring a copy of the business plan to a meeting with the editorial board of the Culpeper Times. We will ask for answers to these questions because we believe the citizens of Culpeper County deserve nothing less.
You must be logged in to post a comment.