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Henry County to appropriate $6 million to PSA for Commonwealth Crossing waterline
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted to transfer $6 million from county general funds to the Public Service Authority to allow the PSA to accept a $3.3 million principal-forgiveness grant and low-interest loan to build a redundant water line to Commonwealth Crossing industrial park.
Henry County supervisors voted 6-0 on Aug. 26 to appropriate $6 million from the county’s general fund to the Public Service Authority to support construction of a new water line to Commonwealth Crossing.
The funding will allow the PSA to accept a Department of Health package that includes $3,300,000 in principal forgiveness and a loan for the remainder of the roughly $8.5 million project, officials said. The new line is intended to provide redundancy and additional capacity to serve existing and future industrial tenants and to extend public water access to roughly 265 nearby residences.
The PSA representative told the board the new line would run from the Horsepasture area to Commonwealth Crossing, increase capacity for the industrial park and bring public water to residents who currently rely on private wells. The presentation said more than half of nearby private wells had coliform bacteria in water-quality tests and that many residents reported low yields or no water.
Supervisor Bridal moved the appropriation; the board approved the motion unanimously. The board’s action is intended to let the PSA take advantage of the grant and the low-interest loan and to address the PSA’s current financing obligations so the project can proceed.
The presentation said the project will create another 80-acre developable site (Lot 3) and that the grant writing was done by PSA staff. County documents provided to supervisors described the financing as $3.3 million in principal forgiveness and a loan that together cover the estimated $8.5 million cost.
The board did not adopt project-level construction contracts during the meeting; supervisors approved the appropriation to enable the PSA to move forward with the financing package. County staff said project design, permitting and schedules will follow PSA procurement and Virginia Department of Health requirements.
Background materials supplied to the board identify Commonwealth Crossing and the PSA as the lead implementers; the board’s appropriation does not itself authorize construction contracts or change any land-use approvals.
County staff will return to the board with further details on procurement and project timelines as they become available.
