By the end of August, Middleburg will have a brand new well online. This summer the town will begin to reline the sewer system easing the burden on the existing water and sewer systems and provide sufficient water for the next twenty years.

Discussion at the June 10 Town Council meeting was dominated by water planning and concerns, culminating with a unanimous vote to approve the 2005 capital budget. The 2005 budget includes a Capital Improvement Plan to provide funding to reline the wastewater system, and a General Obligation Improvement Bond the sale of which will be used to finance bringing Well Number Four and a new water treatment plant online.

The incorporation of Well No. Four into the town's water system, which, according to Middleburg Town Administrator Mike Casey, will give the town sufficient water for the next twenty years by the end of August 2004, and the relining of the sewer system are part of the plan to ease the burden on Middleburg's overworked water treatment system.

The sewer system has been operating at about 90% of maximum capacity in recent months, on a scale that calls for Department of Environmental Quality intervention at 95% operation. This problem is compounded by the town's infiltration problems which relate to storm water entering the sanitary sewer system through leaks in the system.

The new capital improvements budget addresses this problem with allocation of funds to reline the sewers this summer to fix the wastewater problems. This kind of improvement requires time and testing to ensure that all the problems have been fixed.

"We need to be prudent as a community in terms of what we do and how we handle things," Mayor Dimos emphasized. "We can't be sure that we've fixed everything until we've had a rain or two."

Financing Well No. Four
Separate from the capital improvement money provided for in the new budget is the money that will be generated by the General Obligation Improvement Bond. This bond will allow Middleburg to borrow as much as $1.2 million through the Virginia Municipal League to fund Well No. Four.

"We don't believe we'll borrow that much. We don't expect to go over $1,050,000." said Casey. "I estimate the town will get a loan rate very close to the 4.11% that the VML was granting last year."

The wording of the council's resolution authorizes Casey to borrow at an upper limit of 6%.

Reduced Costs
The council approved the 2005 budget which reduces costs with no increase in taxes. When designing the budget, Council members were determined to create viable capital improvement for Middleburg with minimal costs to taxpayers.

"I'm just happy we reduced expenditures," said Mark Tate as the meeting concluded. "I feel we've been good stewards for the people."

"Each year we do this better," said Mayor Tim Dimos about the budgeting process. "This year we did it better than ever."

Roxene Hill Denied
The Council also denied Roxene Hill's tap-use application based on a procedural ordinance rather than concern for Middleburg's overworked water utility, but the denial touched off a heated discussion about how the town grants water use taps.

A revenue projection of $300,000 from water use tap fees is built in to the 2005 budget. This projection is based on the town's experience in preceding years prior to the new zoning changes.

Hill, who is purchasing for commercial development a property currently owned by Emmanuel Church, submitted a request for taps without first filing a zoning plan. The early submission was motivated by Middleburg's water problems, and the developer's concern that there might be no taps available by the time a zoning plan could be filed.

Middleburg currently does not allow taps to be reserved until developers are ready to build, and the Council voted unanimously to deny Hill's request without a zoning plan.

"The issue is how do you get the financing to build when you have no assurance {that the taps will be available}?" asked Jim Davis, chairman of the Emmanuel Church Building Commission. "We need a change in policy."

Although ideas such as a moratorium on new taps or allowing the reservation of taps beyond the twelve-month intervals currently allowed were considered, it was pointed out by the Mayor that the town should await the results of the Capital Improvement Program on the town's water capacity and possibly seek information from comparable situations in other towns.

"We're dealing with unknowns here. We have massive infiltration problems." said Dimos.

Other Business
The council also unanimously voted to approve a zoning amendment for a "caretaker's dwelling" that would allow non-residential property to be zoned as a residence with council approval for the purpose of security or agricultural caretaking.

Members welcomed new zoning administrator Marchant Schneider. Schneider brings 11 years experience as a military civil affairs specialist to Middleburg and he recently spent a year in Afghanistan helping with rebuilding. The council regards his combat duty as "helpful."