The Shadow
COVINGTON, Va. (VR) The Covington City Council advanced a slate of infrastructure and economic development items and heard extensive updates on winter storm response and water system challenges during its meeting Tuesday night.
The session opened with a presentation by Mr. Tyree on behalf of the city’s Industrial Development Authority regarding a few Covington properties, including the former Rivermont School property. The proposal would allow those properties to be incorporated into a larger redevelopment site plan. They described the project as an opportunity to bring reliable, affordable housing to the area and asked council for consensus to move forward with preparing formal documentation to vacate the right of way. Council members signaled agreement, allowing staff to proceed.
Council then turned to setting the agenda for its next regular meeting, scheduled for Feb. 10, 2026. Members voted to place a resolution on that agenda to accept a Virginia Department of Transportation sidewalk grant for Route 229, which would require a 20 percent city match. Another item would reappropriate fiscal 2025 funds for contingency and downtown economic development projects.
Council also agreed to consider a resolution formally rescinding the city’s participation in a regional land bank initiative. Staff explained that written notice of the city’s intent to withdraw had been transmitted in November 2023, but no corresponding council action could be found in the minutes or resolutions from late 2023 and early 2024. The new resolution is designed to correct that clerical oversight and ensure the city’s records match council’s prior direction.
Members further agreed to place on the upcoming agenda the reappointment of Howard Gene Wood to the Industrial Development Authority, noting his expressed interest in continuing to serve. Council also advanced for approval the Jan. 26 regular session minutes as part of a consent agenda.
In a wide-ranging report, the city manager praised public works, recreation, and utility staff, along with several private contractors, for their response to recent snow and ice. Crews worked 12-hour shifts through the weekend to clear main thoroughfares, intersections and key downtown areas, including church access points and business districts. Contractors assisted with large accumulations downtown.
City Manager Dressler noted that parking lots, including those serving City Hall, were cleared early Monday, allowing normal operations to resume. He also highlighted efforts at the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants, which faced their own snow and ice removal needs while maintaining essential services.
Council was briefed on ongoing challenges at the water treatment plant stemming from extreme cold. Ice up to a foot thick formed in troughs, and a screened river intake that protects pumps from debris also froze, forcing staff to work closely with the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Drinking Water. Dressler stated that crews were “beginning to catch up,” particularly at the Pocahontas reservoir, described as the city’s
main transport tank, but urged residents to be cautious with water use.
While no mandatory restrictions have been imposed, the city is asking residents, including Alleghany County customers served by Covington’s plant to voluntarily limit high-use activities, such as long showers, as it manages through a combination of drought conditions and winter impacts. The area remains under a drought watch, and the recent storm is expected to help but not fully resolve low stream and reservoir levels.
Manager Allen also outlined an ambitious list of capital and grant-funded projects that are expected to keep Covington busy over the next two to three years. The city recently secured roughly $6.3 million through a Community Flood Preparedness Grant to address flooding at the Chestnut Street and Monroe Street underpasses, a need officials first approached the state about in the 1990s.
Transportation projects include a bridge preservation effort on one city span, estimated in the seven-figure range, and the long-planned Rayon Bridge project, now projected into the millions and expected to get underway soon. An Alleghany Avenue sidewalk project, supported by transportation funding and a local match, is budgeted at about $1 million.
On the utility side, a $6 million sewer project will replace and line aging lines, following earlier smoke testing and field work. Out-of-state contractors are expected to be in the community for weeks at a time as the work ramps up, bringing additional economic activity to local businesses. Officials framed the investments as part of a broader effort to address stormwater, and wastewater needs and to build on the city’s prior investment
in an equalization basin.
The manager also cited the Rivermont redevelopment effort as an estimated $17 million project, underscoring that, taken together, Covington is preparing for more than $45 million in infrastructure and redevelopment work in the near term. Dressler also credited Chief Smith and the public safety team for securing smaller but very important grants for police and emergency medical services as well.
In other updates, council heard that Old Town Covington has been actively promoting Restaurant Week in partnership with regional organizations to support local eateries.
The manager thanked residents for patience with recent delays in solid waste collection, noting that alleys were impassable for several days and that the transfer station did not open until midweek.
Council members and staff also paused to recognize personal milestones and concerns in the community. They acknowledged the recent passing of Council Member Susan Crowder’s mother and mentioned health issues affecting city employees, asking residents to keep those individuals in their thoughts and prayers.
Looking ahead, the manager Dressler reminded council of upcoming community events, including a firehouse dinner on March 7 and the local chamber of commerce dinner on March 14, and encouraged members to attend at least one of the gatherings. With no additional old business or citizen comments, the meeting adjourned.
You can watch the complete video here: https://youtube.com/live/KHNHE5OQn6k?feature=share
