Members of the Farmville Town Council voted to authorize the town to charge FACES Food Pantry for materials, labor and equipment to make one water and one sewer tap, and to provide no additional assistance on-site work, such as grading.

The unanimous vote was made during the council’s Dec. 12 meeting.

The taps would not be made with out of town fees, which would be $7,500 for each.

FACES initially requested that the council consider waiving the cost of water and sewer taps.

The subject was first on the agenda for the November Town Council meeting.

“Water and sewer are located in front of the site,” the documentation cited. “Present cost outside town are $15,000, plus the cost for materials.”

FACES, according to the council board packet, also requested that the town contribute or help with site grading.

“Estimated cost of grading is $20,000,” the packet cited.

A recommendation listed in the November board packet for members of the council to consider include granting the waiver of the water and sewer taps, and making a monetary donation of $5,000 toward grading cost to the new construction site.

FACES is in the process of constructing a new distribution center on Commerce Road next to the Southside Virginia Family YMCA.

The new building, according to a past Herald report, will be 7,000 square feet and located on 2/12 acres of land that FACES purchased from the YMCA for $40,000.

FACES received a grant of approximately $400,000-$500,000 from FeedMore in April. The cost of the project, according to documentation from the council, is $700,000. FACES will be raising the difference from local efforts.

FACES President Ellery Sedgwick said in a July Herald interview that the building would be more than twice the size of the current location at North South Street, which is 3,200 square feet. It will have offices, additional space for refrigeration and freezers for produce and other items, and additional meeting space for its other programs it runs with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

FACES served 992 households in 2017, distributing a total of 1.3 million pounds of food through its weekly distributions, its deliveries to senior citizens and its children’s backpack program.