To the Massanutten Community:
Several items this time around – notably our annual Massanutten Cares Day (to which we invite MPOA members); some clarifications on MPSC, and an update on the new Mountain Coaster.
MASSANUTTEN CARES DAY:
Massanutten Resort’s annual Cares Day is coming up on Friday, September 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We’d like to invite community members to join in!
Participants can select one of three different projects to aid area not-for-profit organizations. The organizations and projects are as follows.
- Harrisonburg First Step: New House Project – Harrisonburg First Step is an organization that supports and empowers survivors of domestic violence, providing a variety of free and confidential services. We’ll partner with them to give their new housing facility a thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. We’ll also be installing shelving and moving furniture.
- Elkton Area United Services: For more than 50 years, EAUS has served the area by helping provide support with housing, utilities, food, GED classes, school supplies, books, senior citizen activities and more. We’ll be helping them with a variety of tasks, including sorting and processing donated items for resale at their store. We’ll be making dump runs with broken items, putting together food pantry bins and assisting at the food pantry itself.
- Hope Distributed: This organization also supports community needs for food and other services. It serves more than 2000 area residents per month and distributed more than a million pounds of food last year – both perishable and non-perishable. It also provides free clothing and furniture to those in need. One of their annual vents is a free “yard sale” near their store; that will be the day after the Day of Caring. Our volunteers will help them set up and move the products to be featured at the sale.
There will be a celebration and reception for participants following the work at 3:30 p.m. at the James E. Lambert Park pavilion.
Massanutten team members sign up for these activities through their supervisors at work. If you’re a community member who would like to join us, you can do so by emailing Kyle Demastus at the resort – kdemastus@massresort.com. Please send Kyle the following: your full name, your email address, your phone number, which project you’d like to assist with, your shirt size, and whether you plan to join us at the celebration after the event.
MPSC’S NEW RATES:
We’ve noticed that many members of the community are expressing frustration about the rate increase in your most recent bills from MPSC. In case you don’t know, MPSC’s rate case is far from over.
Although the Resort/MPOA/County’s joint motion to dismiss the case was not granted (we discussed this in our last post), MPSC did have to post a $904,159 bond to secure its obligation to refund some or all of its recent invoices if the State Corporation Commission approves a lower rate than requested. If a lower rate is approved, MPSC will be required to refund rate payers the excess amount paid.
Here are some important dates related to the remaining schedule for the case:
- 10/2 – Deadline for written public comments; Deadline to sign up for the Public Witness Hearing. MPOA members, as members of the community, can do either or both.
- 10/9 – Public Witness Hearing (by telephone), followed by full Evidentiary Hearing (in person at the Commission in Richmond).
- -Apr – Post-hearing briefings; hearing officer’s report to SCC; briefings before SCC itself; Commissioners, SCC decision; and appeals.
While MPSC is entitled under Virginia law to recover its costs of service and a reasonable return on equity, rate payers who feel the new rates – which reflect a 25.3% increase in water revenues ($438,819) and an 18.9% increase in wastewater revenues ($438,81) and a target return on equity of 10.75% percent (instead of the 9.25% approved in the last case) – are unreasonable and unjust, you may submit written comments to the State Corporation Commission at the following link:
https://www.scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/comment/PUR-2024-00017
You may also request to testify by telephone on October 9 if you call (804) 371-9141 and request to testify, or if you complete and email the form at this link https://scc.virginia.gov/pages/Public-WitnessInstructions to the SCC at SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov.
A BRIEF MOUNTAIN COASTER UPDATE:
A tremendous amount of work has been completed – mostly foundation work – and a fair amount of the support structure is now in place. There will be one-way lane restrictions on Litten Lane Friday, September 13; we’ll have staff working with traffic around that area, and we’ll let you know when it happens. With any luck, we should see those first rides sometime in November.
Cordially,
Michael Hammes, Vice President and General Manager, Massanutten Resort
Matthias Smith, Executive Vice President, The Resorts Companies
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