MSA details Route 11 waterline start, state loan bids and a flow-meter correction; buys 75 Osage Lane for pump station

Marybeth Majerovic, presenting the Morey Service Authority(MSA) quarterly report, told Lexington City Council that permits for the Route 11 waterline improvement project have been issued and construction is scheduled to begin "within the next week or two."

The MSA is also pursuing additional water sources and has asked its engineering team to expedite a comprehensive report originally due in February; Majerovic said the authority asked engineers to deliver findings by December so the city can evaluate multiple surface- and groundwater options rather than rely on a single source.

Majerovic described the authoritys recent funding activity: it has submitted two separate proposals to the Virginia Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (one approximately $13,000,000 for general water improvements and another about $1,500,000 for a backup generator and automated transfer switch). A separate application seeking about $4,000,000 for UV disinfection equipment and nonpotable system upgrades was not funded; Majerovic said the program received roughly $475,000,000 in requests and prioritized projects already within 18 months of start.

"We originally, we are, the MSA engineering team is meeting with the other engineering team that's working on this. We are scheduled to have a report in February. We have asked asked them to expedite it to December because this is kind of a a pretty important, issue that we want to get ahead of," Majerovic told council.

The MSA reported a flow-meter calibration problem that affected billing. Majerovic said staff discovered the meters were not calibrated properly, and that led to a discrepancy where the PSA was billed higher and the city of Lexington underbilled. She said the difference for April through June was "about $62,000" and that the meter was roughly 33% off; MSA has adjusted the amounts going forward and will backtrack once a replacement meter arrives.

Majerovic also announced that the MSA purchased the adjoining parcel at 75 Osage Lane in August to site a raw-water pump station. She said the authority is considering keeping the house on the parcel for training and office use but could subdivide and resell a portion in the future; the purchase price was not specified in the presentation.

On community outreach, Majerovic said MSA staff have increased participation in local events (including career fairs, downtown trick-or-treating and county festivals) and noted that the authoritys water operations manager received an operator-of-the-year award selected by peers.

Council members pressed for timing and technical details: a council member asked when the secondary-source report would be available and Majerovic replied it has been accelerated to December. Another question confirmed the new flow meter is expected to arrive in March and that corrected billing will follow.

The council did not take formal action on the MSA report; the presentation was received for information and staff said they will return with any required follow-up when funding or engineering milestones are reached.