WINCHESTER — Supply chain issues have delayed the opening of Frederick Water’s new Henry F. Sliwinski Water Treatment Plant until midsummer.
The $32 million facility, which is being built on Hot Run Drive in Stephenson, was originally slated for completion in April.
Frederick Water Executive Director Eric Lawrence told the group’s board of directors on Tuesday that supply chain issues have delayed the arrival of some equipment and materials.
“I think we should have almost everything now,” Lawrence said. “So now it’s assembling stuff, but some of the stuff was a couple of months behind.”
As a safeguard until the plant is operational, the board unanimously approved transferring $400,000 in unused legal fees to its water purchasing account so additional water can be purchased from the city of Winchester if needed.
The new plant, which is being built by West Virginia-based Orders Construction, will draw water from quarries owned by Carmeuse Lime and Stone. It will have the capability of producing 8 million gallons of treated water per day. Frederick Water, which serves more than 17,000 residential, commercial and industrial accounts, also will have the ability to draw water from Opequon Creek if demand increases.
In other business, the board voted unanimously to implement a 7% Cost of Living Adjustment for all Frederick Water staff. Frederick Water has 87 employees.
“You’re quickly seeing a reduction in your purchasing value,” Lawrence said, citing a 7.9% increase in the Consumer Price Index in February, the highest since 1982. “So the salaries that we pay our folks aren’t what they used to be when they go out in the market and try to pay their bills. One of the biggest issues I’m concerned about is that less buying power may encourage our staff to look elsewhere for employment.”
The adjustment will be implemented April 1. It will increase Frederick Water’s payroll for the current fiscal year by $95,000. But Lawrence said the adjustment will not result in higher bills for customers. The increase will be funded with budgeted but unspent funds from other line items, he explained.
Lawrence said the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Regional Sewer Authority had a 7% COLA at the beginning of March, Augusta County Service Authority had a 7% merit increase last summer and a 5% COLA in January, and the Western Virginia Water Authority had a 10% COLA in October. He added that many Frederick Water employees already drive 45 minutes to get to work.
“If they’re going to drive 45 minutes here, I want to make sure they’re coming here and they’re not going to Harrisonburg, that they’re not going to another locality that would attract them with higher salaries,” Lawrence said. “So we are trying to be competitive on that front.”
Attending the meeting at Frederick Water’s headquarters at 315 Tasker Road were Board Chairman Gary Oates and members Martha Dilg, Henry Sliwinski, Tom Simon and Stanley Crockett.
