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Louisa County approves 10-year MOU with Water Authority and authorizes purchase of shared right-of-way equipment
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Louisa County Water Authority to share ownership and maintenance of a skid steer, mulcher and brush hog; the Water Authority will provide $160,000 toward the purchase and the county will fund the remainder via internal transfer.
The Louisa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with the Louisa County Water Authority on Feb. 3 and authorized county staff to proceed with purchase of a skid steer, mulcher and brush hog for shared easement maintenance.
County Administrator Goodwin told the board the memorandum would allow the water authority to fund $160,000 toward the equipment purchase while the county retains ownership and will handle routine maintenance; the MOU sets a 10-year term and requires operators to be trained and certified. “I think this is a significant savings over having an outside party perform these services for us,” Goodwin said.
The MOU describes shared responsibilities: general maintenance requests will be handled by county staff; costs for major maintenance attributable to one party’s usage would be paid by that party. The agreement also allows the county to use the equipment for other county needs (parks and recreation, general services) without charging the water authority for county-directed work. Either party may terminate the MOU under the contract’s termination clause.
The board discussed the history and scale of the authority’s right-of-way needs: the water authority currently manages about 61 miles of water and sewer right-of-way, some of which has not been cleared in years and involves complex terrain. Board members said renting outside contractors had been expensive — Goodwin noted a private contractor quoted about $8,000 per mile for clearing and estimated at least 20 miles would need work — making the shared-equipment approach fiscally sensible.
Supervisors moved and seconded the resolution and then voted to authorize general services to proceed with the purchase and the internal budget transfers necessary to accept the water authority funds. The motions passed unanimously.
The MOU includes a shared-maintenance schedule and training requirement for personnel who will operate the equipment. The county will retain title to the equipment while the water authority’s contribution will be recorded as funding in the county budget per the accompanying resolution.
