King William County Charrette

King William County
Virginia

Acquinton Districy / Central Garage Community

Population (County): Households: FY'93 Budget: Assessable Base: Median Household Income:

10,913 ? ? $186,110,960 $38,539

County Background

King William County is located in Tidewater Virginia, 30 miles northeast of Richmond and 60 miles northwest of the port complex at Hampton Roads/Norfolk.

The County was formed from King and Queen County in 1702 and named for William of Orange, King of England. Captain John Smith visited the site of present-day West Point in 1608 and traded with the natives, but nearly 50 years passed before the land was settled. Many homes dating from the first quarter of the 18th century are still standing in the County--the Courthouse, built in 1725, is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the United States.

Consisting of 178,560 acres or 286 miles, King William County lies on the coastal plain. Elevations of the flat to gently rolling terrain range from sea level to 200 feet. Drainage is provided by the Mattaponi River to the north and the Pamunkey River to the south. The rivers merge at West Point to form the York River.

Except for the industrialized Town of West Point, located at the eastern tip, the County is primarily rural. There are 121 farms in the county averaging 525 acres and occupying 36% of the County's land area.

The Central Garage community is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Richmond. Although appearing to be rather rural in character, it is in fact a relatively fast growing section of the county. The census indicates that the population for the Acquinton District, in which Central Garage is located is 4,164, a 32% increase over 1980 figures.

The development which has been occurring throughout King William County is largely residential, with the bulk of this development occurring in or near Central Garage. This development has taken place in subdivisions with lots ranging in size from 1 to 5 acres. In many instances, families moving to the area indicate that they have moved to King William to avoid the problems of the more urbanized Richmond area.

The Issue

Approximately 60 % of all construction within King William County has occurred within the Acquinton District over the past five years. For many years, the Board of Supervisors has recognized the importance of the Central Garage corridor. In a 1985 plan for the area, the report projected that the corridor had the potential to develop into a community of 5,000 or more.

In order to control the development of this area, the Board amended its zoning and subdivision ordinances to try to prevent sprawl development and strip malls along the Central Garage corridor (Route 360). Instead, it developed a "cluster" plan, and has attempted to direct commercial and industrial development, rather than residential, directly along route 360.

The County has learned from many developers that the lack of public water and sewer in the area has been a major impediment to the development of any substantial commercial or industrial areas according to the plan.

In 1988, after investigating several options, the Board selected a plan to develop water and sewer services for the area that would cost $3.0 million for sewer and $1.5 million for water, spread out over three phases. Assuming that the systems would be self-sustaining in five years, the connection costs were estimated at $1,500 per equivalent residential connection (erc) for water and $2,500 per erc for sewer. The fees necessary to pay both debt service and operating costs would be $16/month for water and $25/month for sewer.

This plan assumed that in phase one, a commercial developer would donate a well and pay $100,000 in front end costs. With the downturn in the economy, no developers stepped forward to negotiate this proposal. Without commitments for connections and fees from developers, the Board determined that the risks involved in developing the systems were too great.

Environmental Context

By 1992, the Board was again feeling the pressure to develop a utility system to encourage commercial and industrial development and to service the high school, which had reached its maximum capacity for use of its well and drainfields. The Board again commissioned a study of the area, this time reducing the scope of the area to be served to that area immediately adjacent to the high school. This included two sites which had previously been designated for shopping centers and a small industrial park. The size of the sewage treatment plant was reduced to 25,000 gallons per day (gpd), about half the size originally planned.

This plan projected a water system cost of $107,000 and a wastewater cost of $304,000, for a total system cost of $526,000. In order to keep the monthly costs at a reasonable level, it was assumed that the county would contribute $212,000 for the connection of the high school, and that the developer of one of the shopping centers would contribute cash and a well totaling $132,000. With these front end contributions, the monthly charge for both water and sewer would be $22.50 each per erc, for a total of $45.00 per month.

But by late 1992, the developer indicated that the anchor store had withdrawn, and that his plans were on hold.

The dilemma for the Board is how to try to get ahead of development within the community so that the county will not have to go back after development has already occurred and then try to develop water and sewer. It is felt that while commercial and industrial development is needed, the county cannot take the full risk of developing a new utility system without a substantial number of connection commitments. It is also becoming increasingly important for the county to address the needs of the high school.

Project Financing

The county has investigated the availability of several different financing options, including programs administered by Farmers Home, the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), Virginia Water Project funds, funding through the Economic Development Administration and the Virginia Resources Authority. With the exception of debt incurred for the construction of several school projects, the county has no long term debt. However, the local school board has proposed a capital program totaling $22.0 million which would result in a tax increase of nearly 50%. The county is also reluctant to construct a system which will require subsidies from the general fund.

Recommendations and Observations

1. It was recommended that the County, and particularly the District, identify an industry or two that they would like to bring to the area because of the area's unique characteristics. Work with the identified industry to develop a package of tax credits and incentives combined with a promise by the industry to front-end the costs of building the desired systems.

2. Investigate the possibility of entering into a joint venture with a high- tech private sector business to develop a high-tech curriculum at the high school in exchange for building the desired systems.

3. Because the immediate problem is servicing the high school, look into funding from the education sector--perhaps funding from the Department of Education and private education foundations.