by Larry Chowning –
Sewer remains the first priority in the proposed Middlesex Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for years 2020-24, while renovation of Middlesex High School is the second priority at $9 million.
Middlesex is partnering with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), which will build 13 miles of “forced main” sewer lines along Route 33 from Saluda and Urbanna to Topping and Deltaville.
The wastewater will then be pumped to connect to an existing line on Route 198 in Mathews that flows to the HRSD treatment plant in Yorktown. The cost is estimated at $30 million, states a recent report from Middlesex County Administrator Matt Walker to the Middlesex Board of Supervisors.
The cost to build “forced main” sewer lines will be spread over the 466,000 accounts served by HRSD, said engineer Jay Dano, chief of planning and analysis for HRSD.
However, HRSD does not pay for Middlesex wastewater collection systems—the county taxpayers will. The CIP estimates the cost to Middlesex of a sewer collection system at $14 million.
“HRSD staff hope to have the preliminary engineering completed by January 2021, design completed by March 2022, and the project under construction by July 2022,” states Walker’s report.
It has been proposed that the sewer lines will generally follow the drinking water system that is being engineered and deployed by the Middlesex Water Authority.
Other major expenses listed on the proposed CIP include:
- Replacing five heating and cooling units at Middlesex Elementary School (MES), $2 million.
- Roof repair and restoration at MES, $1.2 million.
- Improving Hummel Airfield runway, $3 million.
- Renovating or replacing the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, $1 million.
- Renovating the Cooks Corner Office Complex and gym, $1.2 million, with these funds used to leverage the Vibrant Communities Grant.
- Build a bike and pedestrian path in Deltaville, $1.2 million, with some federal funding.
Total project costs of the 19 items on the CIP is $37 million.
The Middlesex Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed CIP on January 9.
The CIP is scheduled for a public hearing by the Middlesex Board of Supervisors at its 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, February 4, at the historic county courthouse in Saluda.
The CIP is strictly advisory, states the plan’s introduction. The CIP is intended for use as a capital facilities planning document, and is not a request for funding allocations for a county capital budget. The CIP deals with expenditures that have a useful life of more than 5 years and have a total cost that exceeds $50,000 in total funding.
