Fluvanna puts off Joint Authority decision

PALMYRA- It will be next month before Fluvanna officials decide on a controversial resolution that would allow Fluvanna and Louisa counties to form a joint water authority.

The decision to put off a vote on the matter came on Wednesday after approximately 120 people raised concerns about a joint authority at a public hearing on the matter.

The vote to put the decision off came as the result of a 4-2 vote by the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors who will take up the issue on April 15.

At issue is the creation of the James River Joint Water Authority designed to oversee a pipeline proposed to extend roughly 20 miles from the James River on the southern end of Fluvanna County, north to Zion Crossroads in Louisa County.

The pipeline could draw as much as 3 million gallons of water from the James each day, Fluvanna Public Works Director John Robins said.

Zion Crossroads, where many businesses currently rely on wells, has long been seen by Louisa officials as the center for economic growth for the county.

Creation of the joint authority calls for three representatives from each county to serve on the authority, including the county administrator, a supervisor and a county citizen.

However, opponents of the current plan to establish an authority argue, in part, that because most of the line would extend through Fluvanna that Louisa should not have jurisdiction over its operation.

Leroy McCampbell is a Fluvanna resident who in the last couple of weeks helped gather more than 2,100 signatures from Fluvanna residents against creation of a joint authority. At Wednesday’s meeting, McCampbell submitted that petition, which asked that the question of forming a joint water authority be put to a vote of county residents.

While he’s not against the idea of the pipeline, McCampbell said now is not the time to spend money pursuing the project.

“This is not the time that people are eager about going into debt,“ McCampbell said.

He and other residents also expressed concerns about the power and responsibilities of the proposed authority.

While there was some discrepancy over whether the petition was conducted and submitted in accordance with state law, the board again voted 4-2 not to move forward with putting a referendum on the ballot in November that would have called for a vote on formation of the authority.

For years county officials have looked at the proposed pipeline as necessary to also provide water service the Fork Union area where many residences rely on wells. In addition, the county said the pipeline is needed to improve service to the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, located on the northern end of the county.

The project is currently projected to cost between $45 million and $50 million, which will be split evenly between the counties, Fluvanna County Administrator G. Cabell Lawton IV said.

Both counties’ board of supervisors would be responsible for approving how to finance their respective halves of the project.