Developers and realtors press county on sewer options; board holds closed session on Hopewell/Sussex contracts

Two members of the public used the Sept. 23 Prince George Board of Supervisors meeting to urge county involvement in wastewater infrastructure; later the board entered closed session for legal advice on contracts related to Hopewell and Sussex wastewater options.

Ken Pritchett, identifying himself as a member of the South/South Virginia Association of Realtors and a new county resident, spoke during public comment and said the group "express[es] strong support for the wastewater treatment plant in Sussex County, which would be jointly owned as part by Prince George County," arguing that the Sussex option would strengthen county infrastructure and reduce long-term tax burden compared with paying to connect to Hopewell's existing plant.

Another speaker, Justin Noblin, said he recently purchased a commercial corner at Route 156 and Roughing Road and found development at that intersection stalled by lack of a force-main substation to connect to sewer. Noblin said county policy requires developers to build and donate a substation at an estimated cost of roughly $1 million to $1.2 million, which he said deters private investment. He asked the board to publicly direct departments to research whether the county can structure financing so that new businesses repay infrastructure costs rather than placing the upfront cost on a single developer. Noblin said he had requested a discussion with the county administrator earlier but did not receive the three votes needed to get the topic placed on the board agenda and was seeking the matter to be discussed at a future meeting.

Later in the meeting the board voted to go into closed session under Virginia Code '.2-3711(A)(7) and (8) to receive legal advice and discuss specific legal matters related to Hopewell sewer metering and Hopewell and Sussex wastewater expansion contracts. The board later reconvened in open session and certified the closed session without public disclosure of attorney-client deliberations.

Why it matters: decisions about whether to pursue a joint Sussex facility, rely on Hopewell, or invest in county-funded force-main infrastructure will affect where private development can connect to sewer, the potential pace of commercial growth at key intersections and which parties bear upfront infrastructure costs. Noblin framed the issue as a barrier to small-business tax base growth, while Pritchett and the realtor group publicly favored the Sussex option.

Ending: the meeting record shows public requests for a formal county discussion on funding force-main infrastructure and a board closed-session review of legal matters tied to Hopewell and Sussex wastewater contracts; no public vote on a wastewater path occurred at Sept. 23 meeting.