Two of Carroll County’s biggest water and sewer projects moved closer to reality Dec. 17 thanks to an agreement struck by the Carroll County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and Carroll County Public Service Authority (PSA).

During a special meeting between the IDA, PSA and the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, the IDA agreed to the concept of paying a total of $48,000 a month in availability fees to the PSA for a minimum of 40 years in an effort to secure Rural Development funding for the Exit 19 Sewer Project and the Regional Water Project (or Long-Range Water Supply Project).

Assistant County Administrator Ronald Newman told the three government agencies that the PSA has applied for funding for the two projects with Rural Development. In doing an analysis of the project, the revenue stream at the beginning of the project is not there to be self-sufficient, Newman said.

“The discussion had been centered around an IDA availability fee because these projects will certainly open up, especially Exit 19, for development,” Newman said.

The Exit 19 Sewer Project is for the development known as the Wildwood Development. It would also tie into the Woodlawn-Galax Sewer Project that the county broke ground on Dec. 9. The Regional Water Project will send water from the Austinville Regional Water Plant from Route 69 in Wythe County to Route 52. Water would then come up 52 to Pleasant View Road to Laurel Elementary School, then to Oak Grove Road on to the tank at Coulson Church Road. The water line would also serve sections of Rescue Road and Coulson Church Road out to Route 52 to Little Vine Road. From Little Vine Road, it would connect with the Route 100 water system.

The concept for the water agreement calls for the PSA to reserve and set aside capacity to supply 75,000 gallons of water per day for properties located at the Interstate 77-Exit 19 area. The IDA would also agree to pay the PSA $39,300 per month as an availability fee for the reservation of such capacity beginning on March 1, 2012 for a minimum of 40 years. The concept for the sewer agreement calls for the IDA to pay the PSA $8,700 per month as an availability fee beginning of March 1, 2012, also for a minimum of 40 years.

Those numbers could change, Newman said, which is why the IDA voted on the concept of the agreement and not the actual dollar amounts.

“That is the number based upon the engineer’s estimate of the cost of this project. That cost could go up or down depending on the bids we get whenever the project is bid,” Newman said. “Rural Development in time’s past have allowed what is called a moral obligation resolution to the board of supervisors. Now they require us to actually show the revenue stream. The agreements between the two authorities would be the collateral for that revenue stream that would allow Rural Development to continue with processing our application and authorizing us to bid this project out.”

After the meeting, Newman said the agreements allow the county to move forward on the two projects. He said the county would pay interest-only payments in 2010 and 2011. The agreements to begin in 2012 will help to secure Rural Development funding, he said.

“There were a couple of issues that still needed to be resolved before Rural Development started seriously looking at our application to determine funding and giving us authorization to bid,” Newman said. “That was one of the pieces. They needed that to process our application. We are requesting if they do not have the funding currently, to authorize us to bid and authorize to seek interim financing and then replace the interim financing with the permanent Rural Development financing when the funds become available.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Sam Dickson called Dec. 17 a very exciting day.

“It is something we have been looking forward to for a long time,” Dickson said.