Mayor
Town Council
Town Manager
Asst. Town Manager
Treasurer
Town Clerk
Code Enforcement
Town Planner
Public Works/Utilities
Harbor
Library
Police
Welcome to the official Town of Cape Charles Newsletter. This publication is available by submitting your email address to gazette@capecharles.org or by contacting the Town Office at 757-331-3259 x10.
The purpose of this electronic newsletter is to pass factual, informative and timely information to the citizens of Cape Charles and to any other individuals who have a business, property, travel or historical interest in our Town.
The information contained in this newsletter is considered to be the "official word" on the Town’s activities as noted by our Town Manager. The Cape Charles Gazette is a news source which reports upon weekly events, upcoming Town activities, articles of interest to our citizens, Town projects, safety & security issues, and emergency announcements.
We hope that you will enjoy receiving the Cape Charles Gazette.
For additional information please visit the Town’s website at http://www.capecharles.org/or contact us at gazette@capecharles.org.
References to external websites are for information purposes only. The Town makes no representation as to the accuracy of information on such sites, and reference to such sites is not intended as an endorsement by the Town of any materials or opinions expressed on such sites.
SPECIAL GAZETTE
PUBLIC INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENT
THE ANNEXATION AGREEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 25, 1991
On January 28, 2009, Mr. C. Oral Lambert, CEO, Bay Creek Resort & Club had a letter published in the Eastern Shore News titled "Bay Creek Clarifies Water-Works Obligation". The Town of Cape Charles has refrained from publicizing the details of our discussions with Bay Creek Resort & Club during the process of attempting to settle the obligation under the Annexation Agreement. We have, however, reported on the status of these discussions at Council meetings, including billing for their share of costs incurred, so that both the council & the public would be informed about this most important issue.
Bay Creek Resort & Club has now chosen to make their argument public information. Consequently, the Town of Cape Charles believes it’s appropriate to make the Town’s argument also public so that the citizens have balanced information available to them. The statements made by Ms. Davis, and cited by Mr. Lambert, are based on "public information" and available to ALL citizens via the Freedom of Information Act. The Town will not address specific council decisions since this distracts the public away from what we believe to be the "real" issues regarding this subject. In that regard, Mayor Sullivan has requested the posting of the following letter that was sent to Mr. Richard Foster on January 5, 2009:
January 5, 2009
Mr. Richard S. Foster
Owner
Bay Creek Resort & Club
1 Club House Way
Cape Charles, VA 23310Dear Mr. Foster,
This is in reply to your letter of December 11, 2008, in which you provide your opinion of when Bay Creek is obligated to pay for their share of wastewater treatment capacity expansion and ask what is expected of you to indicate movement on this matter.
The Town has previously addressed the issue of when Bay Creek is obligated to pay several times, both in meetings and in correspondence, including our September 12, 2008 letter. We do not agree with your opinion that payment should occur only when the existing plant reaches permitted capacity; i.e. 250,000 gallons per day (GPD). The Annexation Agreement states, "Brown & Root agrees to pay the cost of the physical expansion of the Town’s sewer and water treatment systems, i.e. collection, distribution and treatment, to accommodate the additional treatment demands of the Brown & Root Property beyond the limits of the Town’s current permitted capacities."
It is clear that the Annexation Agreement defines what Bay Creek is obligated to pay for, i.e. accommodation of additional treatment demands beyond the limits of current permitted capacities, not when. In this regard, we agree that Bay Creek bears no responsibility for replacing the existing capacity. That is why we have discounted the Bay Creek share by half (34% vs. 68%), in recognition that the first 250,000 of the 500,000 GPD capacity of the new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represents replacement of existing capacity. As you know, 68% represents the share of projected treatment demand beyond current permitted capacity that is attributable to Bay Creek property subject to the Annexation Agreement. If we were only building new capacity, the Bay Creek share would be 68% instead of 34%. We have explained this in our letters of July 11, 2008 and September 12, 2008.
The Town is responsible for planning for the replacement of existing facilities and providing additional capacity to accommodate projected growth. In the case of the WWTP, timing is complicated by state regulations that require the Town to meet the specified nutrient waste load allocation by January 1, 2011 in order to maintain the permitted discharge of 500,000 GPD. If we don’t meet the deadline, our waste load allocation will be reduced to the capacity of our existing plant; i.e. 250,000 GPD. Any treatment capacity beyond that will require reuse of the effluent, rather than discharge into the bay. Effluent reuse is significantly more costly than discharge because of the need to build reject storage, pipelines and off-season storage. Our growth projections indicate that the 250,000 GPD capacity will be reached in 2013, only three years after the waste load allocation compliance date. Because of these cost and timing implications, we are currently designing and planning to build a 500,000 GPD WWTP. These planning considerations dictate when the Town needs to incur costs and, consequently, when Bay Creek is obligated to pay their share under the Annexation Agreement.
You state in your letter, "I want to understand what you expect of me? What "movement" are you looking for?" In short, I expect you to pay the bills for the Bay Creek share (34%) of design and construction of the new WWTP as they are rendered by the Town. After application of anticipated grant revenues, we expect the Bay Creek share will be about $3.5 million to $4.5 million. As indicated in our September 12, 2008 letter, absent these revenues the Town will need to consider downsizing the WWTP to minimize the financial risk to existing wastewater customers. This will result in significantly higher costs in just a few years, as noted above, to build capacity beyond 250,000 GPD. The greater portion of these higher costs, 68%, will fall to Bay Creek.
I hope the above provides sufficient information to spur movement on this issue on the part of Bay Creek.
Sincerely,
Dora Sullivan
MayorCopy to:
Council Members
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Charles Stanton from Senator Jim Webb’s Office here tomorrow
Regional Representative for Senator Jim Webb, Charles Stanton, will be at the Cape Charles Town Hall on Friday, January 30, 2009 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM to receive citizen inquiries. The public is encouraged to come out & meet Charles and discuss your concerns regarding the economy, transportation, waterways etc. Coffee will be provided by the Town.
Businesses on Route 13
WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
The Town of Cape Charles will host a meeting at the Town Hall on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM regarding Northampton County’s proposed zoning. This "input" session regards the possible impact on Cape Charles if Route 13 is zoned for businesses.
The speakers at this event will be Supervisor Dave Burden, Tom Bonadeo (Town Planner), Donna Bozza (District 2 Representative on the Northampton County Joint Local Planning Commission) and Mary Miller (Vice Chairperson of the Commission & Chair of the Town’s Subcommittee).
It’s important that the Town of Cape Charles hears your opinions, concerns & ideas. Please make the effort to attend this meeting.
Contact the Town Manager, Joe Vaccaro, at 757-331-3259 x20 or Assistant Town Manager Heather Arcos at 757-331-3259 x12 for additional information.
Broadband Meeting
To the elected officials and staff of Cape Charles, Chincoteague, Onancock, and Parksley:
Todd Christensen and others from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development have asked the Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority to invite the town officials and staff and involved others to a special meeting to discuss new potential fiber optic loops off the new backbone, give you an update on progress and next steps, and explain how DHCD would like the towns to participate in building out the fiber optic network on the Eastern Shore.
Please join us at the Hospice and Palliative Care of the Eastern Shore located at 165 Market Street, Suite #3, Onancock on Monday, February 2, 2009 at 2:00 PM to discuss the potential fiber loops, planning community networks and the latest developments of the Broadband Initiative. An official agenda will be provided this Friday, 1/30.
Adrienne Granston
Administrative Assistant
Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority
Post Office Box 449
Wachapreague, Virginia 23480
Tel/Fax (757) 787-1390
agranston@esvabroadband.net
www.esvabroadband.net
"Anyone can be a fisherman in May."
The Old Man and the Sea
Joe Vaccaro
Town Manager
Town of Cape Charles, VA
757-331-3259 x20
All information contained in this publication is believed to be true and correct at the time of publication.
Not responsible for typographical errors.
If you wish to discontinue receiving this newsletter, please click on the link below.
Unsubscribe
Municipal Corporation of Cape Charles
2 Plum Street
Cape Charles, VA 23310
757-331-3259
Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved.