Minutes 02/13/1979 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

r\ ') ~ / /-..,; TUESDAY FEBRUARY 13, 1979 207 Va. 432 (1966), the Supreme Court of Virginia held, because of almost identical language of limitation in its enabling act, that the Fairfax County Water Authority had not been granted "the exclusive right to furnish water in Fairfax County." Both this decision and the limitations contained in the enabling ordinances of the Henry County PSA were brought to the attention of Judge Thompson, not only in the oral argument at the conclusion of the hearing but in subsequent letters, and why he chose to ignore them in his decision is beyond me. Because the Board did not see fit to confer a monopoly upon its Authority, it would have exclusive jurisdiction to serve the warehouse in question only if it were located within the mandatory hook-up distance. The Authority, under state law, has the power to compel connections with any buildings lying within this distance, but the Board saw fit to limit it to 300 feet, although under state law it could have been extended much, much further. Therefore, the Authority has exclusive jurisdiction to furnish water to any buildings lying within 300 feet of any of its mains, on either side thereof, but the warehouse in question would not come within this jurisdiction because it is 400 feet or more away from the nearest PSA main. Therefore, I am at a loss to find any rational basis for the decision reached by Judge Thompson in this case and would strongly recommend that it be appealed. There is, of course, no guarantee that the appeal will be successful, but I believe that it should be prosecuted as vigorously as possible. Otherwise, we can expect Judge Thompson and other judges of like ilk to walk allover us whenever we come before them. Mr. Howard J. Beck, Jr., Attorney at Law and counsel for Mr. Jimmie R. Ford (and Mr. Carlton Lee Ramsey), appeared before Council and cited the financial hardships and inconveniences his clients are undergoing because the City has not yet, pending a decision on the injunctive proceedings hereinabove described in these minutes, acted upon--or granted--their request for City water service, filed with Council on November 14, 1978, to serve a four-unit apartment building under construction on Summit Drive, in the Woodland Heights Subdivision, outside the City's corporate limits, which area has been served by the City's water utility system for a number of years because of the inability of any other water service company or agency to serve this area. Mr. Beck noted, too, that--€ven today--the nearest Henry County Public Service Authority water