The Fayette County Commission will address a proposal involving three Fayette County public service districts at its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 15.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in commission chambers at the Fayette County Courthouse in Fayetteville.
According to the posted agenda notice, among the items the commission will address Tuesday is “a proposal to reduce, merge, dissolve Armstrong PSD, Page-Kincaid PSD and Kanawha Falls PSD.”
Commission president John Brenemen said the commission Tuesday will decide on one of three potential outcomes it supports: combining the PSDs, selling part of the operations, or selling all of the operations.
West Virginia American Water (WVAW) earlier this year proposed to buy the Kanawha Falls PSD water and wastewater systems and the wastewater systems only of Armstrong Creek PSD and Page-Kincaid PSD in a package deal.
The original purchase offer was $15.6 million, but Jake Glance, the director of business development for WVAW, said Monday that — over the course of recent discussions with the county commission — the figure has been reduced to $13 million, which would result in the commission receiving no proceeds from a potential sale.
Instead of the potential financial proceeds, he said, commissioners are seeking a three-year rate phase-in for customers of both Kanawha Falls PSD systems and the Armstrong Creek sewer system. Glance said a phase-in wouldn’t be necessary in the Page-Kincaid sewer scenario, since those customers would pay lower rates from WVAW than they are currently paying if a sale eventually occurs.
A state Public Service Commission (PSC) meeting concerning the situation has been set for May 7 in Montgomery.
The county commission will face several other matters on Tuesday, include laying the levy rates for the coming fiscal year, an update from the ICE Collaborative, and a plethora of items from county administrator Ruth Lanier. The latter ranges from a letter to the PSC regarding a rate increase request from Appalachian Power, new hires in 911 and the park, and several other letters, including missives to the Department of Highways regarding the Pea Ridge overpass bridge and the bridge at Liberty Road Rte. 612 intersection.
For more on the agenda, visit the Fayette County Commission page at https://fayettecounty.wv.gov/commission/Pages/County%20Commission.aspx.