New Monterey Wastewater Treatment Plant Expected To Begin Operations Soon

Monterey, VA – The new Monterey waste water treatment plant is expected to start up next week. The tie in to the sewer system will be completed and raw sewage will start to flow into the new plant. A period of monitoring plant performance will follow and if everything goes according to plan, the plant will then go to full capacity function.

There are still several things to be finished at the plant during the next month such as sidewalks, filling the current sludge drying beds, modifying outside lighting and the chain link fencing.

Funds to cover these items are in the Rural Development grant. Council passed a motion to proceed with the listed items and Mayor Warner will send that to Mattern and Craig so the items can be ordered and work begun as soon as possible.

In other business, the council held a public hearing on the new budget that starts in July. The tax rates will remain the same at 10 cents per $100 on real estate and 35 cents per $100 on personal property. The mayor expects that there will be a surplus in the current budget year. There were no public comments on the town budget.

In order for the town to get its water permit approved from the state a cross connection control program will have to put in place for the town water supply. This will insure that backflow preventers are in place at the school, the car wash and the Rockingham coop. The mayor has suggested that Monterey can adapt a program from Harrisonburg.

The Department of Environmental Quality has agreed to that, so now it is just a matter of going through the Harrisonburg program to make any changes needed to adapt their program for the town of Monterey. The DEQ office also suggested that the town would be eligible for up to $30,000 in grant money to pay for engineering costs for the new water tank to be added to the town water system. Using DEQ money will save the town nearly $3000 compared to using money from USDA rural development. Mayor Warner is proceeding with that application process.

At the next council meeting, Town Attorney Melissa Dowd will have a presentation for the council on the matter of the Farm Bureau Office sign.
The council also expects to be dealing with proposed changes to the zoning regulations regarding contractor storage yards in the near future. They plan to wait until the [Highland]Board of Supervisors completes its actions on that matter.

Houston Smith has completed work on Mill Alley and Mayor Warner urged council members to look it over and make sure it will address the problem.

The Monterey town council will hold its next meeting to adopt next year’s budget and close out the current budget year on Thursday, June 24 at the highland public library.