ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 1996 TAG: 9606120060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
Roanoke County residents who want public water or sewer service may benefit from a proposal in which the Board of Supervisors would pay a share of the costs for line extensions.
Utility Director Gary Robertson made that recommendation to the board Tuesday. Supervisors indicated support for the concept but delayed a decision until a later meeting.
Adding customers could eventually help lower water and sewer bills for all county residents, Robertson said, but he added that there would be no immediate effect on utility rates.
Robertson suggested 13 possible expansion projects that could provide water or sewer service to more than 1,000 households. The projects include several in the Glenvar area, where residents have complained for years about the lack of public utilities.
"I could see enormous healing that could be done by this," Catawba Supervisor Spike Harrison said.
Among the greatest needs are water service in Clearbrook and sewer service for Richland Hills, Robertson said.
Right now, property owners who want a water or sewer line must pay for its construction. Typically, Robertson said, 60 percent to 75 percent of landowners in a particular area will agree to pay, and they must cover the costs for those who refuse. In addition, each person must then pay a facility fee - $2,690 for water or $1,500 for sewer - to hook onto the county's system.
Robertson said the county should consider paying the share for landowners who opt out of a project so that participants pay only their fair share. He said the county might also want to step in and pay the difference when a project runs over its estimated cost.
Over the long haul, Robertson said, adding customers could be a way to reduce water and sewer bills in the county. The average residential water bill (for a household using 5,000 gallons a month), has risen from $16.46 in 1991 to $24.11 today. Sewer bills for the same household have gone from $10.93 in 1993 to $15.60.
Robertson noted that half of the county's water expenditures go toward payment on its $73 million debt, and another 10 percent goes to buy water from Roanoke. That means more than half of the expenditures are fixed, and it would be difficult to lower utility bills without adding customers to spread around those costs.
Robertson noted that supervisors have the power to force all landowners to pay their share for a water or sewer line extension, although such action has never been taken. By county ordinance, every landowner benefiting from a line extension can be assessed his share of the costs in cases where at least 75 percent of the property owners have requested it.
But Robertson recommends the county become a financial contributor instead. He suggested extensions should be limited to existing developed areas where a potential health concern exists and where a majority of landowners favor the project.
In all cases, Robertson stressed, property owners would be required, at a minimum, to pay the facility fee.
Robertson warned against using money from water and sewer bills to pay for new lines, saying it would take away from revenue needed to repair and replace existing lines in the system.
Instead, he suggested supervisors set up a reserve fund with $603,500 the county has accumulated in interest income from general obligation bonds issued in 1993. The interest has accumulated because of delays in the closure of the Dixie Caverns landfill.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Graphic: Chart: Roanoke County sewer/water needs.by CNB