ACSA greenlights force main contract, conditions construction on developer milestones

The Amherst County Service Authority voted June 11 to award the construction contract for the Route 210 portion of the Gateway sewer project to Tony Construction and set conditions before advancing other parts of the project.

ACSA staff presented an update tracing the Gateway project from an initial estimate of about $7.7 million to redesigned, phased work now estimated near $3.06 million after cost-saving steps. Staff said the authority subdivided the work into three subprojects — a pump station, a force main across the developer’s property, and a force main along Route 210 — and recommended awarding project number 3 (the Route 210 force main) to Tony Construction for $351,834.

Staff noted the authority had secured a $1 million ARPA subrecipient agreement with Amherst County to contribute to the project and had hired Hirt and Profit for engineering work (contract value $183,000). Two bids were received for project 3; the low bid was substantially under the engineer’s estimate. ACSA staff described continued cost-control work and recommended delaying further ACSA-financed work on projects 1 and 2 until the developer finalizes a site plan and the board of supervisors approves it.

Board members discussed technical and policy issues before the vote. Key points included:

- Line sizing and future use: the proposed force main is a 6-inch poly force main sized to serve the entire Gateway development. Staff said if the authority instead built only for the nine adjacent parcels, a much smaller (2-inch) line could be designed and installed but would likely need replacement if the larger development proceeded later.

- Connection equipment and ownership: speaker(s) said homeowners connecting to the force main would need a grinder pump; current ACSA rules place ownership and maintenance responsibility for grinder pumps with the homeowner.

- Maintenance and hydraulics: staff warned that installing an oversized line without sufficient connected customers could create low-flow conditions requiring flushing devices and a maintenance schedule to prevent blockages.

- Easements and neighborhood service: the board directed that design work include stubs/easement planning to serve nearby subdivisions (including the Marymore area) so the installation can be extended to existing homes if needed.

- Environmental and permitting impacts: staff reported a stream study found a perennial stream through part of the developer’s site, and staff estimated DEQ mitigation and pipe work could add roughly $1.5 million if the original plan required filling or piping of the stream; that finding led the developer to reconfigure portions of the site plan.

Developer update: the project’s developer, identified in the meeting as Mister Morgan, told the board he has revised the plan to preserve more open space, change some unit types and maintain a target of roughly 650 total units across villas, apartment-style senior housing and multiunit residential buildings. Morgan said the project has spent roughly $110,000 on consultants and surveys to date (about $93,500 since August) and that land cost and early design work total about $400,000 (purchase and fees).

Motion and conditions: the board voted to: (1) execute the construction contract with Tony Construction for the Route 210 force main (project 3); (2) place a hold on ACSA construction related to the developer’s property until the developer secures site plan approval and obtains a grading permit/start of dirt work; (3) refrain from entering long-term financing until the developer’s site plan/grading is in motion; (4) authorize ACSA staff to assist the county grants administrator in submitting a SEID 2025 grant application; (5) continue design work but delay ACSA construction until the conditions are met; and (6) include easement and stub planning in the design to enable future service to nearby neighborhoods. The motion was amended on the floor to explicitly add easement planning and passed.

The board instructed staff to pursue additional cost reductions where feasible and noted timing constraints tied to ARPA spend-down requirements (the last invoice must be submitted by November 2026). The board also discussed the financing risk if the authority builds infrastructure and the developer does not deliver customers: unless customers connect, the debt service would fall on the county/supervisors, not on ACSA rate revenues alone.