The Shadow
WARM SPRINGS – The Gathright Dam is safe.
That assertion was made Tuesday night at the January meeting of the Bath County Board of Supervisors.
Speaking before supervisors, Bill Siple, facility manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the dam is safe and he expects Lake Moomaw to begin returning to its normal pool elevation after a report on the safety of the dam is released Jan. 28.
“Our dam is safe,” Siple said. “We’ve known that for a long time.”
Gathright Dam received a “potentially unsafe” rating from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following a Sept. 2 inspection.
During that inspection, concerns were expressed about increased seepage and an undetermined flow rate from a spring located a quarter mile downstream from the dam.
Concerns were also expressed about water runoff through limestone flow channels below the dam’s spillway.
Officials reached this potentially unsafe conclusion without ever visiting the Gathright Dam, Siple explained.
“Nobody’s ever been to our dam,” he said. “They spent eight hours in Norfolk – that’s our home office, Norfolk district – going over literature, reviewing data, etc. They passed this to an oversight committee above them.”
Siple continued, “They didn’t say that we had an unsafe dam. They say we have potential.”
Since that September inspection, Lake Moomaw’s level has been reduced some 20 feet. Its normal pool level is 1,582.0 feet. Today’s level is 1,562.3.
“That kind of pulls the lake away from your campgrounds on the upper end,” Siple said. “The lake is usable; you can launch boats, but of course 20 feet of it is not there.”
Following the Jan. 28 report, Siple said he expects the lake level to quickly rise to its normal elevation.
“I personally think it will be back to normal pool by recreation season,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of snow. If we get some rain on that, we’re going to catch some water.”
Siple also briefly discussed the continuing licensing process for a proposed hydroelectric project at the dam. The Jordan Limited Partnership filed an application for a license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April 2009.
Two scoping meetings have been scheduled to discuss the project later this month in Covington. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 20, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Charles P. Jones Memorial Library on Riverside Avenue in Covington.
The second meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21, also at the C.P. Jones library.
A site visit on the project is also scheduled at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21. To attend the site visit, meet at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s office at the dam. Anyone with questions about the site visit should contact James B. Price with W.V. Hydro, Inc., of Gatlinburg, Tenn., at (865) 436-0402.
“You have every right to send concerns, if you have concerns,” Siple told Bath County officials.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees 605 dams across the United States, Siple explained. He added that the three objectives of the Gathright Dam are flood control, downstream water quality and recreation.
“I give you my solemn word; it’s safe,” Siple concluded. “We do have a safe dam.”
Also Tuesday night, supervisors accepted the fiscal year 2008-09 audit report from Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates of Verona.
James Kelly, a Certified Public Accountant with Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates, said Bath County received an “unqualified opinion,” the highest opinion given by auditors.
Kelly said the county ended the year with $4.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and a $5.0 million fund balance. Due to refinancing, he added that the county recognized $800,000 in net income.
“It was basically a break-even year, which in this economy is not all bad,” Kelly explained.
He added that the county enjoyed a 98 percent rate of tax collection during the year.
“That’s a tribute to your citizens and the treasurer for staying on top of collections,” Kelly said.
The report is designed to provide a general overview of Bath County’s finances. Questions concerning any of the information contained in the report or requests for additional financial information should be directed to the county administrator’s office at the Bath County Courthouse.
“Everything went well from our standpoint,” Kelly concluded.
With the 2010-11 budget process looming, several supervisors took time Tuesday night to address what they feel will be a tough process facing them
in the next few months.
Millboro Supervisor Carol Hardbarger said she opposed raising taxes this year during tough economic times, while she added that public safety and education were her top priorities entering the budget process.
“That means that we have to maintain a sufficient police force,” Hardbarger said. “We have to have operational vehicles and equipment in order for individuals to do their job.”
She continued, “We have to have teachers who are paid sufficiently to do a good job and go above and beyond the call of duty as most of them in this county currently do. We have to have adequate and sufficient textbooks, materials and other kinds of things in order to provide a quality education for our students.”
Hardbarger said that adequate funding is needed to ensure these two areas of concern.
“We are at that proverbial brick wall,” she said. “We have to probably reduce services or raise additional revenues.”
Hardbarger concluded with a gloomy prediction.
“It is going to get worse,” she said. “It is going to impact some of the areas that we have designated as our priority areas.”
In other business Tuesday night, the Bath County Board of Supervisors:
– appointed Stuart Hall chairman and Richard Byrd vice chairman for 2010;
– reappointed Hall as Emergency Director;
– revised its six-year secondary road plan with the Virginia Department of Transportation to include repairs to the Rt. 676 (Gatewood Drive) bridge over Little Back Creek;
– scheduled Feb. 9 public hearings on proposed ordinances regarding the meals tax and alarm maintenance;
– approved a memorandum of understanding with the Center for Watershed protection for in-kind services regarding the Cabin Creek flood study;
– approved an $800 contribution to the Appalachian Waters Scenic By-Way, which is Rt. 39 that runs through Bath County;
Organizers plan to develop a Web site and brochure on the route that runs from Interstate 81 to Nicholas County in West Virginia;
– approved the release of a settlement in the amount of $700 to Burley Hise following his relocation of a trailer from a floodway;
– approved roof repairs to the county recreation office;
– approved solicitation of bids for snow removal when needed;
– approved county office closings on Friday for Lee-Jackson Day and Monday for King Day;
– scheduled Feb. 9 and March 9 public hearings in conjunction with the Thomastown and Pinehurst Heights project grant application;
– continued the meeting until Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss a report on tourism that is being prepared by the staff at the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development.
