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Commission approves $70,000 study to evaluate closed Katroli wastewater facilities
Summary
The Leesburg City Commission approved a $70,000 task order to study whether portions of the closed Katroli wastewater site can be adapted to provide about 1.5 million gallons per day of sewer capacity, a move proponents said could save the city millions over future expansion cycles.
The Leesburg City Commission voted to authorize a $70,000 engineering evaluation to determine whether parts of the shuttered Katroli wastewater facilities could be repurposed to expand the city's wastewater capacity.
City staff told the commission the study, to be performed by Half Associates under a task order, would assess whether Katroli's effluent site and a 1.5 MGD plant previously used to process produce waste could be adapted to treat municipal wastewater, estimate retrofit and upgrade costs, and provide an engineer's cost estimate to compare a new-build alternative versus adapting existing infrastructure. "We have 9 MGD capacity in our system now and we're averaging about 7 MGD; this is a decadal issue," the city manager said, arguing the diagnostic could inform long-term planning.
Commissioners debated the timing and risk of spending the study money while Katroli has not publicly committed to selling the property. One commissioner warned that paying for a study now could be ‘‘the cart before the horse’’ if the asset is not for sale or the owner’s asking price is far above market. Supporters countered that a $70,000 diagnostic is modest compared with potential expansion costs, which staff placed in the tens of millions. "If we spend 70 and beat it by half, I think that's a gamble you want to take," a commissioner said in support.
Proponents said deliverables will include an assessment of usable capacity, retrofit cost estimates, and a market-value estimate that would allow the city to judge whether purchase and rehabilitation make financial sense. Staff also noted the report can be halted if the sale does not proceed.
The commission approved the task order in a recorded vote, 4–1. Under the approved authorization, staff will execute the task order with Half Associates and return findings to the commission when available. The study period discussed on the dais was roughly 90 days for the initial evaluation and reporting.
Next steps: staff will proceed with the contracted evaluation and report back to the commission; no purchase decision was made at the meeting.
