The Alexandria City Council met Tuesday night and approved staff comments to the State Corporation Commission opposing a proposed 8.15 percent increase in fees that is being proposed by the Virginia American Water Company. The last rate increase came in 2000.
"Why did that increase not meet your needs," asked Councilwoman Joyce Woodson. "Have things changed so much in the past three years that you need this much more of an increase?"
Bill Walsh of Virginia American Water, responded by saying, "We don't project forward," he said. "We make the infrastructure improvements that are required and then adjust the rates accordingly. I guess you could say that we are always looking back at historic data and not forward," he said.
The company provides water service to several areas of the state. They are proposing no increases to Prince William County customers and everyone agreed that Hopewell, Va, the other jurisdiction that was discussed, is not relevant as it is more industrial.
"Are we so different from Prince William?" asked Councilman Paul Smedberg.
According to Walsh, the infrastructure certainly is. "Most of that system was constructed in the 1960s," he said. "Here in the city, we have some pipes that are more than 100 years old. We need to make improvements or we are going to continue to have interruptions in service due to water main breaks and that kind of thing," he said.
Richard S. Baier, the director of the city's Department of Transportation and Environmental Services, agreed that infrastructure improvements are needed.
"Just a couple of years ago, we had 115 water main breaks a year," he said. "Last year, that had improved to only 90. That's good but we would like to see even fewer breaks. We don't disagree that Virginia American Water needs to make infrastructure improvements and that, perhaps, there needs to be a rate increase. However, I would like to see a list of specific projects and the costs for those projects," he said.
Comments in opposition to the rate increase will be provided to the State Corporation Commission. If there is a rate increase, it will come back to Council for further discussion.
<ro>Concourse on Schedule
<bt>Council learned Tuesday that the Duke Street concourse is finally on schedule. The city engineer Emily Baker, presented pictures of the interior and exterior of the tunnel that will be a pedestrian walkway under Duke Street. It will allow employees of the new U. S. Patent and Trademark Office, and others, to safely cross from the King Street Metro station to that new facility.
"We are on schedule for a June 30 completion date," Baker said. "WMATA has a contractor and we have begun to see them delivering materials and preparing to do their work at the site. We had some delays because of rain but the contractors are now working double shifts, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Things are going very well."
<ro>An Award
<bt>The city received the 2004 Outstanding Master Plan award from the Virginia chapter of the American Planning Association. The award was for the Eisenhower East small area plan.
"They look for innovation and originality," said Eileen Fogarty, the director of the Department of Planning and Zoning. "They were impressed that we developed a plan in a transit area that will actually reduce traffic."
The Eisenhower East process occurred over 18 months and had significant citizen involvement. The basic building block of this plan is a simple but critical concept: the linear, suburban automotive-dependent approach of the early development pattern for this area is replaced by an urban street grid system, a balance of housing and jobs, integration of retail, limitations on the quantity and quality of parking, and provision of parks and open spaces, all while taking full advantage of Metro by concentrating density at the station. The plan provides for the creation of a new urban center incorporating the best attributes of the city's historic foundations.
"It is very exciting that this national organization has recognized our staff for innovative management of growth," said Councilman Rob Krupicka. "Everyone who is listening or who reads about this should be very proud of the collaborative effort among the staff of various departments and the citizens who were involved in this process."
Councilman Ludwig Gaines was on the Planning Commission when the Eisenhower East plan was approved. "This is a shining example of how a collaborative process can and should work," he said.
ANOTHER LARGE item that has general support is an independent audit and benchmarks for city departments. Several Council members proposed an expenditure of $500,000 next year to obtain an independent audit of city departments and look at efficiency in government. "This funding would allow us to look at three different city departments next year and also look ways of improving efficiency," said Krupicka, one of those who proposed the expenditure. "I ran on improving efficiency in city government and I am committed to that."
Mayor Bill Euille agreed. "We need to take a careful look at the way city government works," he said. "A number of us are supportive of this initiative."