Beyond the Tap: Floyd leaders meet to discuss future of PSA
No funding allocations were approved on Dec. 11, but members of each board agreed that they’d need to work together to secure a future for the locally operated PSA, which provides water to businesses and residences in town, and to County-run properties, including the Industrial Park.
A meeting of the Floyd County Board of Supervisors, Floyd Town Council, and Board of Directors of the Floyd-Floyd County Public Service Authority took place earlier this month, opening doors of communication to forge a path forward for the PSA and its projects.
No funding allocations were approved on Dec. 11, but members of each board agreed that they’d need to work together to secure a future for the locally operated PSA, which provides water to businesses and residences in town, and to County-run properties, including the Industrial Park and Floyd County Public Schools buildings. Everyone agreed that there needs to be more widespread conversations about how the PSA serves every resident and visitor of Floyd County, not only Town interests.
The Charter
The Charter establishing the Floyd-Floyd County Public Service Authority was approved in 1974 to last 50 years. Before it was set to expire in November 2024, an 18-month extension was approved. It will expire on April 22, 2026.
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Mayor Will Griffin, who is also a member of the PSA Board of Directors, said the Charter, as it was written and how it is today, is “a whole lot of words that don’t really say anything.” It hasn’t been treated as a living document or updated since 1974.
What the Charter does well, Griffin said, is establish the structure of the PSA Board of Directors and state the purpose of the Authority: “The acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of water systems, sewer systems, and sewage disposal systems, and for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by the Virginia Water and Sewer Authorities Act in relation to the foregoing."
Town Council provided a packet of information to all officials in attendance to address a number of topics, including the Town’s current financial standings, the benefits/importance of the PSA system, and the costs of doing nothing. In the packet, Council suggested that the next Charter be written for a 10-year period and reviewed by each participating group annually. It should also state the financial and operational responsibilities of each group involved, and establish terms of terminating the PSA if necessary, Council said.
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Councilman Bruce Turner, who is the other member of Town Council that sits on the PSA Board, said that the 10-year period was suggested to show a long-term commitment to the PSA staff and working on the Authority’s needs.
Courthouse District Supervisor Jerry Boothe suggested a shorter Charter period, saying that none of the three Boards can "obligate any future board” to make decisions based on the current sitting members’. He said a new Charter would be a “mutual agreement among the people that are here” at the time it is approved.
Turner said that it is the sitting members’ responsibility to help the PSA, particularly in the Courthouse and Little River districts.
Locust Grove Supervisor Levi Cox said that still leaves three Board members, who, if they do not believe the County should contribute, could limit funding from Floyd County. He said he’s talked to constituents who don’t initially believe their tax dollars should be used for the PSA but “come back around” when he explains what, exactly, the PSA does.
Turner said it’s up to all partners to try to get both future Board members and constituents on board, and Griffin said that all involved parties “need to do a better job of describing the value” of the PSA because it services the schools, the whole Industrial Park, restaurants and businesses, stores such as Slaughter’s and Food Lion, and industry leaders like Hollingsworth & Vose.
Financials
The PSA itself has about $600,000 worth of “unrestricted cash” and faces a potential need of $4.3 million to address aged infrastructure and ongoing capital needs. The goal is for the PSA to continue covering operational costs through its customer base’s payments and for funding from the Town and County to be used for capital projects to modernize and better the system.
The meeting packet provided by the Town stated there is about $826,649 in unrestricted cash in the Town’s account as of Oct. 31. They listed a number of future capital obligations from within the next 10 years (which includes street paving, construction of a Public Works building, the Donkenny Demolition, and more) for a total of $2.34 million in upcoming expenses.
While the County budget is about $52.8 million, a large percentage is restricted to funding the schools, Emergency Medical Services, administration, radio towers, Parks and Rec, and other essential departments, as well as satisfying fixed costs.
Indian Valley Supervisor and PSA Board member Kalinda Bechtold said that the Board of Supervisors acts as a conduit for re-allocating funding during budget season. “Our pocketbook is actually really small,” she said.
Supervisor Boothe noted that there’s about $3-$4 million that is “unobligated,” which is the minimum amount recommended by auditors.
Griffin said that the Town has been “trying to come up with ways to find funds,” but that last year’s real estate income was about $50,000, “which is next to nothing” in the grand scheme of things.
Vice Mayor Chris Bond said one alternative is to continue increasing the annual rates of PSA customers, which Supervisor Bechtold said could “price people out” of living in Floyd County. She said that by raising rates continually the PSA Board would be “taking from people who don’t have a choice.”
Bond said the PSA can only tread water for so long.
Citizen representatives and PSA staff members speak
PSA Board Chair (and Little River Supervisor) Linda DeVito Kuchenbuch encouraged the citizen representatives of the Board and two staff members to speak at the meeting to voice their thoughts on a 10-year charter and how to best move forward.
Trent Cox said that having the County, Town, and PSA Board together is a “big step” in finding solutions for how to “support capital costs.” He said “the tricky part is still going to be how much the County wants to put in versus the Town,” and noted that he believes the new Charter should be written for a five-year-period and no longer than 10 years.
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Rick Parrish said public education is important for the future of the PSA so that residents know the needs and the benefits of the system. “Nobody wants to think about major employers shutting down and moving away,” he said. “We can only go so far with what we’ve got now… There are so many facets to this that need to be looked at… Continuing this level of communication is critical.”
Parrish said he believes 10 years is a “reasonable period of time.” He said if there was a major manufacturer moving into the county, they wouldn’t be offered just a five-year lease.
Mike Maslaney said he assesses risks when he looks at the PSA. “We’ve worked a lot on the sewer system,” he said, and now there’s a lot of risk on the water side, particularly when it comes to leaning on one main well (Well 6).
“It’s better to be proactive than reactive, and trucking water up from Roanoke everyday would be exorbitantly expensive,” Maslaney said. He noted that “in general” the PSA has been in a better situation throughout the past five years than we have been in the history of the PSA, largely thanks to American Rescue Plan Act funds, grants, and loans.
He said a 10-year charter “sounds good” in addition to a checkpoint meeting annually.
Patrick Nicola, PSA Superintendent for about three years, said that his perspective is “a little bit different” since he works with the system every day. He said it’s really hard to figure out where money is going to come from in situations that are emergent. His position is that involved parties “can’t just lay stagnant. We’re going to have to be proactive because this thing can really get away from us quickly,” he said.
As for Charter length, Nicola said he likes the idea of a 10-year period with meetings at least every few years. “Just something in order to maintain communications,” he noted.
PSA Administrative Assistant Teresa Conner said the Dec. 11 joint meeting is the second in her seven years at the PSA. “I don’t understand why (the communication) is the way that it is…” she said, adding that County budgets are “way bigger” than the Town’s or the PSA’s “will ever be… I don’t understand why we’re not a line-item in some capacity.” She noted that she likes the 10-year Charter idea and would like to see the next joint meeting of the three boards set before the current one adjourned.
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DeVito Kuchenbuch said, “Everyone needs to understand that the PSA is not just for the town. The PSA affects every single person that resides in this county” — if you know a child in schools, you are involved with the PSA; if there’s someone you know who works at H&V, you are involved; if you go to the Country Store on a Friday night, you are involved with the PSA, DeVito Kuchenbuch said. “Everybody in one way or another is touched by the PSA,” which makes it a "county-wide responsibility.”
Officials talked about possible annual contributions, both close to $100,000, but no final decisions were made. Another joint meeting is yet to be scheduled as of Dec. 19.