Orange Town Council notebook

Notes from the June 15 Orange Town Council meeting:

Pretreatment ordinance update
The town council voted 3-0 (Mayor Henry Lee Carter and Kent Higginbotham were both absent) last week to approve an updated pretreatment ordinance for the town's wastewater treatment plant. The update was necessary since the renovations being made to the plant will allow it to deal with a daily volume of greater than one million gallons per day. The new ordinance provides regulations in case a significant industrial user, one contributing to greater than five percent of the total usage of the plant, were to move into the area. Currently there are none within the county. No one spoke at a public hearing that was held prior to the vote on the ordinance.

Funds for May-Fray
Studies performed to determine if the May-Fray Avenue extension to Washington Street would be a feasible project have come back positive. In response, the town council has appropriated $3,500 to establish the right-of-way line and get the right-of-way donated.
According to town manager Cole Hendrix, having the right-of-way donated is a make it-or-break it situation. If not donated, there is no money in the near future to purchase it. The council currently has $1 million reserved for the project and the right-of-way will have to be donated in order to use it.

Water system
improvements
The council adopted a resolution from the town's technical advisory committee to appropriate funds for improvements to the town's water system. The improvements will include installing new water lines ($231,450) and conducting a detailed study on the filters for the pumps at the water treatment plant ($13,000). The filters would serve as a much-needed back-up system in case the current system fails.

Reappointments
Council members voted unanimously to reappoint John Stanley and Kevin McMahan to the Orange Planning Commission. Both Stanley and McMahan's terms were up at the end of the month, but with the reappointment, they will both serve until 2012.

Police parking
The council showed their support for a plan by Chief Jim Fenwick to create additional parking in front of the Town of Orange Police Department on Blue Ridge Avenue.
According to Fenwick, visitors are confused about where they should park at the department.
"Some pull to the left side of the street in front of the police department," he said. "I'm not sure that's the image you want to set."
The plan will add three spaces in front of the department, one of which will be a handicapped space.

Collection date changes
The council members voted unanimously to approve an ordinance changing the collection dates for the town's transient occupancy tax from monthly to quarterly.
The idea first came about a few months ago when bed and breakfast owner Sam Elswick petitioned the council to change the collection date.

Supporting the railroad
The council voted 3-0 to approve a resolution endorsing a rail preservation application for Buckingham Branch Railroad Company.
The railroad company is applying for rail line improvements and had asked that the Orange Town Council support them. The endorsement required no financial commitment from the town.