ACSA engineer details $16.86 million worth of projects listed in FY2011 CIP

written by Newspack Team | April 19, 2010

By Sean Tubbs

Charlottesville Tomorrow

Monday, April 19, 2010

Members of the

Albemarle County Service Authority

were briefed Thursday on 25 projects called for in the agency’s $ million capital improvement program (CIP) budget for FY 2011.   These projects include the

North Fork Regional Pump Station

, a water and sewer replacement for the Buckingham Circle neighborhood as well as internal improvements.


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Pete Gorham, the ACSA’s Director of Engineering

While major water and sewer distribution and transmission lines are being addressed by the

Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority

(RWSA), the ACSA is responsible for maintaining the elaborate network delivering water and wastewater service to individual homes and businesses in Albemarle County and the town of Scottsville.

Board members had the chance to comment on each project, and will further discuss the budget at a work session scheduled for May 6, 2010. Some projects may be eliminated in order to reduce the funding allocated in the CIP.


Download proposed ACSA CIP projects for more maps and details for projects listed below

Board member

John Martin

claimed that the ACSA has not fully spent all of its CIP budget in each of the last five years. He asked Gorham if it was realistic to expect that all of this year’s requested amount would be spent. Gorham said his goal was to work on all of the projects, and said bids for projects are coming in much lower than expected.

“Our crystal ball is far from perfect and I don’t want to lowball projects and have us fall short,” Gorham said. He also said there could be money left over if the federal grant for Oak Hill comes through.

Other projects may also increase in cost.

Before the CIP discussion, Board member Jim Colbaugh questioned why the design for

North Fork Regional Pump Station

is costing $122,412 more than originally projected. He said staff should have negotiated with the consultant, Whitman, Requardt and Associates (WRA), to try to bring that cost down.

Gorham said the additional amount is due in part to the increased cost of putting a section of a sewer line on the east side of U.S. 29.

“That carried with it a different set of conditions with it,” Gorham said. He added that the additional money is expected as a project approaches final design, and that no further money should be required for the project’s design.

The ACSA’s former executive director, Gary Fern, is now an WRA employee, but is no longer involved in the North Fork Regional Pump Station project.


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