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Stephens City approves settlement with Frederick Water and repeals groundwater protection ordinance
Summary
Stephens City Council unanimously approved a settlement agreement with Frederick Water to resolve ongoing litigation and, as part of that agreement, repealed the town's Public Water Supply Protection District (the groundwater protection ordinance). The approval was conditioned on identical approval by the Frederick Water board and authorizes Councilman Linden "Butch" Fravel to sign on the town's behalf.
The Stephens City Town Council unanimously approved a settlement agreement with Frederick Water on May 7, 2019, resolving years of disagreements and pending litigation between the two utilities and town. Vice Mayor Jason Nauman moved the resolution, which the council adopted after a closed-session consultation with counsel and staff.
The resolution states the parties entered mediation and approved a term sheet dated Oct. 9, 2018 intended to produce a detailed implementing agreement that would dismiss the town's lawsuit and Frederick Water's counterclaims. Council approval at Tuesday's meeting was conditioned on Frederick Water's prior approval of the identical Settlement Agreement and authorizes Councilman Linden "Butch" Fravel to sign the document for the town.
As part of the settlement framework, the council also voted to repeal the town's Public Water Supply Protection District, also called the Groundwater Protection Ordinance. The ordinance (Article IV, Chapter 22 of the town code) was repealed "in its entirety," a change the council tied to the negotiated agreement with Frederick Water.
Both the settlement resolution and the ordinance repeal passed on recorded unanimous votes. The meeting minutes record the voting members as: Vice Mayor Jason Nauman; Councilmen Ronald Bowers, Linden "Butch" Fravel and Joseph Hollis (who participated by telephone); and Councilwomen Regina Swygert-Smith and Kelly Thatcher.
Mayor Michael Diaz opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. The council entered a closed session pursuant to Virginia Code §2.2-3711(A)(7) for consultation with legal counsel and staff briefings about the ongoing litigation with Frederick Water; the closed session began at 7:19 p.m. and the council returned to open session at 8:23 p.m. After the closed meeting the council certified, per Va. Code §2.2-3712.D, that only lawfully exempted matters were discussed.
Town Manager Mike Majher reported several operational items during the open session, including that the town's Newtown Heritage Festival will be held May 24–25 with a Lenny statue dedication at 11:30 a.m. on the festival's Saturday. Majher also noted completion of a Spectrashield rehabilitation project on seven manholes, planned smoke testing in the Barley Drive subdivision coordinated with the Stephens City Volunteer Fire Department, and that water bills had been mailed with a June 3 due date.
The council approved committee minutes and reports and adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The settlement approval is recorded as conditioned on Frederick Water's identical approval; the town's authorization for Fravel to sign implements that conditional approval pending Frederick Water's concurrence.
