By Hannah W. Wever

Published: April 24, 2008

County officials had planned to use grant money to extend a sewer line from the Orange County Airport to residences on Route 20. But now county officials are waiting for word about whether a major employers’ decision to shut down could make that grant money unavailable.
The sewer line project was extended from the town of Orange out to the airport a few years ago in conjunction with Timber Truss Housing Systems’ announcement to move a production facility to the area. However, Timber Truss Housing Systems announced last month it had closed down production operations. And that sewer line extension—along with the grant money to pay for it—may be in jeopardy.
“When the county was discussing with Timber Truss the possibility of relocating (to Orange), one of the things the county said it would do is make sure there was sewer capacity,” then-assistant county administrator Ted Coberly said.
Because Timber Truss originally planned to provide at least 51 percent of the jobs it offered to low to moderate income county residents, the entire sewer line project was eligible for a grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The funds from that grant covered 70 percent of the project’s cost, Orange County Director of Economic Development Julie Jordan said.
In addition to the Timber Truss facility, the sewer line also serves the Orange County Airport and Booster Park. And eventually, the lines were to be extended on Route 20 to serve residences. 
But before that happened, production ceased at Timber Truss and only engineering and sales staff still have jobs. The workforce at Timber Truss has diminished from around 60 to just 12 or 13.
Orange County Administrator Bill Rolfe said he is working with state officials to determine what Timber Truss’s shut down means for the sewer line extension project. So far, he said, the plant closure doesn’t seem to have affected the county’s plans.
“Timber Truss met its employment level required under the grant,” Rolfe said. “We are reviewing the low to moderate income threshold to determine if we still meet that guideline.”