A vote on consolidating the county Public Service Authority into county government, action on a residential subdivision expansion and adoption of a regional hazard mitigation plan are among items on a long agenda for Montgomery County supervisors when they meet Monday.
The board of supervisors will meet in the second-floor board chambers at the county government center, 755 Roanoke St., Christiansburg.
Members will begin with a closed meeting at 6:30 p.m. to discuss a prospective business or industry where no previous announcement of possible location in the county has been made and to review candidates for appointment to the local agency on aging board and the county planning commission.
The regular open meeting will begin at 7:15 p.m.
Public service authority
Following several previous discussions, the board will hold a public hearing and possibly will vote on a plan for the county to assume responsibility for the operation, maintenance and management of the county Public Service Authority. If approved, the changes would take effect Oct. 1.
The authority, which provides water and sewer service to unincorporated sections of the county, would become a new county utility department.
The upcoming retirement of the PSA director got officials thinking about how to streamline operations that already involve county staff, according to County Administrator Angela Hill.
Unlike many other public service authorities in Virginia, Montgomery County’s PSA board and the board of supervisors have the same members.
While the PSA bills customers and collects the revenue, the county’s finance department already acts as the fiscal agent.
What’s proposed is to keep a separate PSA board that would approve a yearly budget, set utility rates and provide strategic direction for facility expansion and investment, but employees would become county employees in a new county utility department. The PSA would transfer operation, maintenance and billing responsibility to the county.
This plan would have the new PSA director reporting to the county administrator instead of the PSA board.
According to minutes of the supervisors’ July 28 meeting, member Todd King, who chairs the PSA board, and member Sara Bohn repeated previous “concerns about losing the PSA’s independence and about losing local accountability. They questioned whether structural changes were necessary, suggesting that collaboration and communication could be improved without reorganization. Board members who support the restructuring responded that consolidating oversight would reduce confusion during crises and create a stronger, more responsive organizational structure.”
Walnut Creek subdivision
Supervisors expect to vote on approval of a plat for section one of phase three development of the Walnut Creek subdivision, located off Houchins Road on the eastern outskirts of Christiansburg.
Section one will include 26 single-family townhouse residential lots and more than one acre of dedicated open space. Christiansburg will provide water service, and the county Public Service Authority will provide sewer service.
Hazard plan
Supervisors will vote on the adoption of the updated New River Valley hazard mitigation plan, which the county planning commission discussed Aug. 13.
The New River Valley Regional Commission has organized efforts to create the new hazard mitigation plan. The plan details strategies and recommendations to address flooding, winter weather, wildfire, drought, landslides and other geological hazards and more.
This is the third revision to the original plan approved in 2005. It was most recently updated in 2017. The plan covers Montgomery, Pulaski, Floyd and Giles counties, the 10 towns within them and the city of Radford.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will ultimately need to approve the plan for localities to remain eligible for four federal hazard mitigation assistance programs.
Citizens can see the draft plan here.
Other items
Also on Monday’s agenda are:
- Appropriation of more than $71,800 in Four for Life state funds for rescue squads and nearly $20,800 in federal Hurricane Helene recovery grant funds for the Public Service Authority, along with transfer of nearly $4,800 in required county matching funds for Cooperative Extension.
- A staff presentation on the county’s program of tax relief for the elderly and disabled.
- A vote to set the 2025 personal property tax relief rate at 100% for a vehicle valued at $1,000 or less and 30% for the first $20,000 of value of a vehicle valued at more than $1,000.
- A public hearing and vote on establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in the Nov. 4 election, including the Blacksburg Community Center multi-purpose room, 725 Patrick Henry Drive; the Shawsville Middle School cafeteria, 4179 Oldtown Road; and the Auburn High School cafeteria, 1650 Auburn Drive, Riner.
- A vote for the county to participate in proposed opioid settlement claims against Alvogen Inc., Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc., Apotex Corp., Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Indivior Inc., Milan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. and Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. The companies have agreed to pay about $720 million nationwide to resolve opioid lawsuits.
- A vote to participate in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan and settlement of opioid claims. The Purdue Pharma companies and their owners, the Sackler family, have agreed to pay about $6.5 billion nationwide to resolve opioid lawsuits.
You can find meeting documents here.
