Spotsylvania supervisors agreed last night to create two special service tax districts to help Silver Cos. build critical roads near the under-construction Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center.
"We did not look forward to asking the county for this assistance," said Chris Hornung, Silver Cos.' vice president of planning and engineering. Originally, Silver Cos. agreed to pay for the $16 million in road work immediately, and have it done in time for the 126-bed hospital's planned opening in May 2010 near Massaponax.
Hornung said Silver Cos. and other businesses are finding it very challenging to get any credit because of the economic downturn, so they need the county's credit to ensure the work is finished. By creating the service districts, the county would issue general obligation bonds for the road work, including a bridge over Interstate 95, extending Spotsylvania Parkway past the hospital and building Hospital Boulevard to connect with the parkway. He said only Silver Cos.-owned commercial land is in the two service districts, called Lee Hill West and Lee Hill East. Currently, the commercial property is mostly undeveloped.
"Right now, loans are nearly impossible to get," Hornung said.
The Lee Hill West district will have a real estate tax rate of 75 cents per $100 of assessed value, tacked on to the 62-cent rate commercial and residents pay annually. The Lee Hill East district will have a rate of 33 cents per $100. The length of the districts is estimated to be 25 years. The county will also institute a fee on 60 of the 92 acres, at $50,000 per acre, to help pay the debt service.
The public hearings were held jointly with the Planning Commission for a quicker process. Both boards voted 6-0-1 to approve the districts. Supervisor Benjamin Pitts abstained from voting because he said he had a financial interest in one of the projects. He did not say what the project is and he left the room during the hearing.
Four residents spoke, and all urged supervisors to prevent residential property from ever being taxed for these improvements. The current ordinance says the district boundaries can be changed "from time to time." County Attorney Jacob Stroman said that by law, the county cannot tie the hands of any future boards by including that language in the ordinance.
"To me that's like having a back door to anything that is possible," said Marty Work, a resident who lives in the Massaponax area.
Al King, a Fawn Lake resident, said the county is already coming close to reaching its debt capacity.
"If we are giving the Silver Cos. the benefit of the county's credit rating, what are they going to do for us?" he said.
The county already has a Massaponax Service District and a Harrison Crossing Service District that taxes only commercial property to pay for new road work in those areas. Supervisor Hap Connors said those two service districts have been a success.
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com