Fluvanna Supervisors to hold public hearing on permit for James River water intake

The five member Fluvanna Board of Supervisors will meet for their final meeting of the year at 7 p.m. at the Carysbrook Performing Arts Center in Fork Union. (meeting packet)

This is the final meeting for Fork Union District Supervisor Mozell Booker and Palmyra District Supervisor Patricia Eager.

There is a public hearing for a special use permit for the James River Water Authority to operate the raw water intake and pump station for water for use at Zion Crossroads in both Louisa and Fluvanna. This would implement an agreement signed in October 2013 to create a municipal water supply.  

“The raw water intake will not be visible to the surrounding neighborhood homes in this portion of Fluvanna County,” reads the staff report (page 5). “The raw water pump station, it may be visible to the adjoining property owners. However, to the extent possible, the JRWA has designed the structure to blend into the existing landscape, including the use of split face masonry block and natural exterior colors.” 

There will also be an action matter to advertise a public hearing to amend Section 20-1-5 of the Fluvanna County Code. This would allow the Fluvanna County Treasurer to authorize tax refunds up to $10,000 without having to seek approval from the Board of Supervisors. (page 49)

There will be a presentation on the audit for Fiscal Year 2023 from Finance Director Toni Melton. You can read the draft report starting at page 61 of the staff report. There are narratives that explain how existing public utility projects are being funded and here’s some more information on that water project. 

“In May 2016, a Revenue Bond was issued, providing $9.0 million in project funds,” reads the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. “The project is currently undergoing cultural and historical due diligence, final design, project permitting and property acquisition. Construction is anticipated to start spring/summer 2024 and the project will take 24 months to complete after construction begins.” 

There will also be results from a survey of Fluvanna County staff. You can review that beginning on page 267. This would be a really interesting story to assign to a young reporter because there are a lot of interesting things. 

The consent agenda contains the minutes from the December 6 meeting and acceptance of right-of-way from NVA Properties. 

Under unfinished business, there will be an update on funding for the Zion Crossroads West waterline. That’s a separate project from the one that is the subject of the earlier public hearing. 

“The Zion Crossroads West Waterline Extension expands the above original project 1.1 miles west on U.S. Route 250,” reads page 74 of the packet. “The original creation for the project was necessitated by the request from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to provide clean drinking water for six households with contaminated private wells receiving filtration remediation.” 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the December 18, 2023 Week Ahead. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.