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Shepherdstown Water & Sanitary Board addresses BOE concerns over water hookup

By Toni Milbourne - For the Chronicle | Dec 9, 2022

The exterior rendering of the new Shepherdstown Elementary School features the cafeteria on the school’s left side, with an outdoor dining area beside that space. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Shepherdstown Water & Sanitary Board took up an agenda item in its meeting last Thursday afternoon, focusing on the Jefferson County Board of Education project report.

The report referenced the proposed new Shepherdstown Elementary School to be constructed on Gardner’s Lane, for which water and sewer hookup to the town’s public utility system was planned.

Discussion has arisen over the past few weeks regarding whether the school system should instead rely on well and septic at the property. At two different board of education meetings, discussions focused on whether the school system, as the developer, should be required to obtain easements from 16 property owners for the extension of the line or whether the Corporation of Shepherdstown, which will take over the line when completed, should do the work.

“The school system will be required to put in the line,” said Bob Keller, a member of the Shepherdstown Water & Sanitary Board. “But, our inspector will be there the whole time. We will assist in every way we can.”

“It’s not on the town’s ratepayers to develop a line outside of the city,” Keller said. “For more than 25 years, this has been the process.”

School board member Donna Joy attended the meeting and indicated that at Monday evening’s board of education meeting, some clarity was given to previous discussions on the options of water and sewer for the new school.

“From my perspective, the school wanted to find a cheaper way to get water, so well and septic were presented to the board,” Joy said.

She went on to say she suspects the move will be to hook up to the public utility instead.

Concern over securing easements for the line was a major focus of the board of education meeting Monday evening. Questions also arose regarding whether the town, once the school system obtained easements and built the line to connect to the town, could then refuse to grant water to the facility.

“The application agreement will show that Shepherdstown will give water,” said Corporation of Shepherdstown Public Works Department Director Frank Welch, adding that the school system has yet to fill out an application to hook onto the town’s water and sewer system.

He indicated that the staff of public works has been engaged with the school system, as far as looking at proposed plans since the inception of the new school project.

“It doesn’t happen in a week, but once we get through the steps of the application, it goes to the PSC,” Welch said.

The water and sanitary board members said they would expedite approval of the application as soon as the school board submits said application. At that stage, it would be forwarded to the Public Service Commission for consideration and approval, something that could take up to 90 days.

According to Joy, the board of education will consider the matter at its next meeting. She apologized for any miscommunication on the board of education’s part, regarding the issue.