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CCSA reports fewer delinquencies, outlines response to new Virginia law; rate hearing set for Aug. 20
Summary
At the Aug. 6 meeting Lee Coffelt reported CCSA has reduced delinquent accounts from $95,000 to $53,000, has identified counsel to assist collections, reported repairs and alarm fixes at the water tower, attributed an odor to plant conditions and said a public hearing on rate increases is set for Aug. 20 at 9 a.m.
Lee Coffelt, speaking for the Boyce County Sanitary Service Authority (CCSA), told the town council on Aug. 6 that the authority's delinquent-account workgroup has reduced the total outstanding balance from about $95,000 to $53,000 and has identified a law firm recommended by the county treasurer to assist with new collection options.
Coffelt said CCSA declined a second request from the owner of 112 N. Greenway to move a water meter after the property owner failed to appear at the authority's public comment session. The authority also reported that it has installed or reactivated a meter at an otherwise unmetered property in town and that the account was brought up to date.
On plant operations and security, Coffelt said repairs and security upgrades at the town water tower continue following a June break-in and trespassing; the intrusion alarm problems have been resolved with the alarm company. He added that a recurring high wet-well alarm at the Virginia Avenue lift station stopped after set-point changes late in July.
Coffelt summarized a briefing by Mark Imboden on a new Virginia law that took effect July 1, 2024 (identified in the meeting as Virginia House Bill 906 and Virginia Senate Bill 480). The council was told the law narrows when utilities such as water and power can be terminated — for example, prohibiting shutoffs on days when temperatures are at or above 92 degrees Fahrenheit or at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, on Fridays, weekends, state holidays and the day before state holidays, and during any gubernatorial state emergency — and requires termination policies be published in full in English and Spanish. CCSA is coordinating with the county administrator and county attorney to revise its water and sewer termination policies and procedures to comply with the law.
The authority also addressed public reports of a persistent sewage odor. Coffelt said the calls appear to be related to the treatment plant on Howard's Lane and to weather conditions (high humidity and extreme heat), and the meeting record quotes, "There is no leak." Coffelt said CCSA is awaiting a meeting with the newly identified attorney to pursue additional collection options.
A public hearing on proposed rate increases was announced for Aug. 20, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.; the meeting record lists the hearing location as 'Government.'
