At the last Council meeting and continuing in tonight’s session of July 27, the Council will be deliberating on the full allocation for the first and second tranches of the $10.5 million ARPA allocation. My office is requesting authorization to immediately proceed with the number one priority project that our town engineer and our Water Dept. is recommending. This project is shown on your allocation chart as the new elevated treated water storage tank to be located at the Field’s Farm complex south of Woodgrove High School.

As Council is aware, Jacobs listed this project as the second highest priority receiving a cumulative benefit score of 57 points. The only project listed above this project is the reservoir intake repair and dredging which is not allowable for funding under the ARPA. It is important to point out that the town currently only has a half day of treated water storage available to serve both our residents and our businesses. Should a catastrophic event occur at the water plant,  a half day storage is not adequate to maintain fire flows and potable water to provide both drinking water and water for sanitary purposes, which could cause a state of emergency, forcing the temporary closure of our businesses and threatening the health and safety of our citizens. The complexity of this project and the site evaluation, engineering, design, the tie-in to our distribution system and construction will require the full six years that the town currently has under the ARPA to obligate by December 31, 2024 and fully complete the project by the end of the calendar year 2026.  Please keep in mind that the strain on the construction industry throughout the nation, and in particular in Northern VA including Loudoun County, could adversely impact the normal construction period. 

 As such, we requesting that the Council authorize our engineering, planning and development dept. to immediately begin site analysis and preliminary engineering and develop a  project management plan to fulfill the ARPA deadlines.

I move that the Town Council authorize the Planning, Engineering & Development Dept. to proceed with the site analysis and preliminary engineering for the construction of the new treated water tank located at the Field’s Farm Recreation complex representing the priority capital project for the $10.5 million spending plan, with the use of the first tranche and second tranche of funds allocated to the town from the ARPA as shown on the draft allocation plan included with this agenda packet.