Clarke eyes income-eligible discounts on connection fees

Tag : Pipe Connection
Clarke eyes income-eligible discounts on connection fees

By Laura Oleniacz
The Winchester Star
Berryville — A request submitted to the Clarke County SanitaryAuthority has county officials mulling over a plan to help low- tomiddle-income families afford water connection fees.
At its meeting Tuesday, the authority denied a request from aproperty owner on White Post Road to extend his connection to thepublic water system at his home to another home under constructionon an adjacent property.
The owner has received monetary assistance from the Southeast RuralCommunity Assistance Project Inc. to build the new home, saidNatural Resource Planner Alison.
"As long as it was two different parcels of land, he wouldhave to pay the availability fee," said Sanitary AuthorityAdministrator Mike Legge.
Each parcel of land is required to have its own connection.
"If you did allow that, you would have a whole subdivisionhook up with no fee," Legge said. "So really, it’sa good policy that’s on the books."
But members of the authority did agree that finding fundingassistance for low- to middle-income residents would be beneficial,although the authority does not have the means to provide thatassistance.
"The [authority] has never been able to have a policy in thatregard," Ian R. Williams, chairman of the authority, said atTuesday’s meeting. "We can’t be giving awayservices that we need every nickel to provide."
The authority discussed bringing the issue to the Board ofSupervisors, which could consider a reduction in the connectionfees for qualified families.
"As far as having a policy on the books that gives low tomoderate families a discounted rate, I don’t thinkthey’ve ever discussed making that a policy," Leggesaid.
Teetor said she would research the idea and bring it to theattention of the supervisors.
"It’s on the list. I will have to research how best toapproach it, so I don’t have a timeline right now," shewrote in an e-mail on Friday.
Supervisors Chairman John R. Staelin said the board would considera request from the authority, but the water and sewer systemsshould be self-sufficient.
"Whenever you give a special deal to one special group, youare asking other groups to pay for it," Staelin said."Certainly if the Sanitary Authority has a question,we’ll be happy to answer it. But generally, we want to havethe system pay for itself."
For a single-family dwelling, the authority charges $13,800 for theinitial connection to the county’s water system. The sewerconnection fee is $16,200.
Teetor said questions of how many individuals are in need ofassistance for connection — many residents in the county haveseptic systems, and connections to the water and sewer systems arelimited — have been brought up and need more investigation.
"It’s asked periodically — there is not a goodfeel for that," she said.
The owner of the White Post Road property had been before theauthority in 2005 with other connection-fee questions.
The owner, John Morton, had saved up to pay what was then a $4,200water hook-up fee and to lay a water pipe under a road.
The water hook-up fee increased to $11,200, and Morton asked to payjust $4,200 with his previous understanding of the fee.
The Board of Supervisors later agreed to a negotiated fee.