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Council authorizes conveyance to Giffen/US Pipe as part of Blackwater Creek tunnel project; second reading set for December
Summary
Council approved a property conveyance and MOU terms to facilitate the Blackwater Creek combined-sewer overflow tunnel project, with closing tasks targeted for mid-January and a second reading scheduled in December.
The Lynchburg City Council voted unanimously, 7-0, Nov. 28 to authorize the conveyance and related actions needed to support construction of the Blackwater Creek combined-sewer overflow (CSO) tunnel and associated property agreements with Giffen Pipe Products Co., LLC (referred to in staff remarks as Griffin/US Pipe).
City staff summarized a memorandum of understanding signed Nov. 3 that outlines parcel transfers, temporary construction easements and other rights needed for the project. Tim Mitchell, a city staffer, told council the MOU fast-tracks items necessary to bid the tunnel project in mid-January and to meet an ARPA funding timeline. The MOU makes the city the recipient of a parcel from US Pipe for the tunnel, while conveying another small city parcel to US Pipe; appraisals provided in the staff summary valued the city parcel at $20,000 and the parcel to be conveyed to US Pipe at $24,000. Staff also noted the city currently receives about $600 per month from the parking lot on the parcel being conveyed and that the conveyance would end that revenue stream.
Mitchell said closings for the initial three transactions are expected by mid-January and that related tasks—vacating part of Adams Street, granting easements through city property for employee parking, and cleaning up a parcel where Seventh Street does not connect to Adams Street—are planned to be complete by June 2024. The council-approved motion authorizes the conveyance contingent on the MOU and requires a second reading in December.
No members of the public spoke in opposition during the public hearing; staff said there were no voicemail comments. One council member praised the action as helping a long-standing downtown business remain viable.
Council approved the ordinance on first reading with unanimous support; the transaction requires a second reading in December before final conveyance.
