BY DONNIE JOHNSTON
Culpeper supervisor Steve Nixon summed up last night's Board of Supervisors-Town Council joint meeting on water and sewer in this way: "At the last meeting, I thought we took one step forward. This time, I think we've taken three steps back."
Supervisor Sue Hansohn wasn't quite so pessimistic, but she also left shaking her head. "I don't think we agreed to anything here tonight," she said.
Town Councilman Jim Risner disagreed. "I think we're just getting down to the details of an agreement, and they're tougher."
It was Risner, however, who last night balked at the single most important issue that had been agreed upon at the two governments' January meeting--triggers that would determine when the town could bring county land into its corporate limits.
The county is trying to bargain with the town by agreeing to nonhostile annexations over the next 25 years in exchange for the town putting its water and sewer facilities into a regional authority.
Last month, the majority of the Town Council seemed ready to accept some economic criteria that would trigger the town taking in new land. The members' only concern seemed to be that any new town land be fully developed by the county and capable of paying for any services the town needed to provide.
Between meetings, the town and county staffs came up with a formula that seemed fair. The town could bring in any parcel of contiguous land when it generated $5.70 per square foot in sales and BPOL taxes.
But almost immediately after that formula was presented, Risner balked, saying that he was not comfortable with just using a financial formula to trigger town expansion.
Mayor Pranas Rimeikis agreed. Both felt that the most prudent way to go was to let boundary adjustments follow the water and sewer service area, a plan that had been discussed and rejected last fall.
Meanwhile, the county was not happy with a Town Council suggestion that if an agreement is made--and this one must be blessed by a multi-judge panel in circuit court--that it could be revisited in five, 10 or 15 years. "I don't think the judges are going to go for that," Supervisor Tom Underwood said.
At times the meeting became contentious, with Hansohn trying to pin the Council down on how much revenue it would lose by turning its assets over to an authority and exactly how much the water and sewer plants were worth.
Supervisor Bill Chase then became frustrated when no direct answers were forthcoming. "I've heard three questions asked here and there have been no answers to any of them. I'd like to hear those answers before we move on."
Hansohn also assured the Town Council that "we're not trying to steal your assets."
At the end, Supervisor Steve Walker suggested that the only thing the two sides had agreed upon was that a referendum (needed before any town assets can be transferred) be held in November.
But Supervisors' Chairman Brad Rosenberger pointed out that even that wasn't firm because the suggested language read "November 2010 or later."
They meet again March 4.
Donnie Johnston:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com