The concept plan (above) included in a July 2025 feasibility study provides a general layout for a water and sewer system in Summit Point.
The company operating the Summit Point Motorsports Park and Training Facility (SPMP/TF) says it needs a “stable, reliable, water and sewer solution” to maintain current operations and support future expansion, according to a presentation provided to the Charles Town Utility Board (CTUB) in early 2025.
A Large Complex In Summit Point
The motorsports park and training facility occupies a 717 acre property located south of the village of Summit Point in Jefferson County WV. The property is owned by Summit Point Automotive Research Center, LLC. The property spans 11 separate parcels, all of which were rezoned from rural to commercial in 2022.
A separate company, Summit Point Raceway Associates (SPRA), operates several subsidiary businesses at the facility, including Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point Training Facility, and Summit Point Solutions. SPRA also leases space at the park to other companies.
According to the company’s website, the Summit Point facility started as a racetrack constructed in 1969. During the 1970s it hosted IMSA and SCCA racing events. The facility has hosted several government training programs since the 1980s, initially focused on driving skills and eventually expanding into firearms and other training.
The current owners acquired the property in 2022 as part of a corporate restructuring.
CTUB Responds To The Request For Service
In early 2025, CTUB retained Gwin, Dobson & Foreman Engineers (GD&F) at the request of SPRA to survey the site and assess the feasibility of constructing a central water and wastewater treatment system. According to the report presented to CTUB and SPRA in June 2025, the scope of the GD&F project was to “establish the number, type, and current condition of on-lot disposal systems and to identify potential sources of contamination to existing and proposed drinking water systems throughout the campus. The findings will also support the feasibility assessment for developing new centralized water and wastewater treatment systems to serve current and future needs reliably.”
GD&F included a “planning cost estimate” for a centralized system, ballparking the project cost between $7.7 and $10.7 million (table below). Chris Eckenrode, the licensed engineer who oversaw the GD&F study, emphasized during the report presentation and at follow-up meetings that these preliminary estimates would need to be revisited once a specific engineering plan is developed and final requirements are defined.
The feasibility study included a concept plan of the site (map image below) showing potential locations for the treatment facilities as well as the network of pipes to connect the existing buildings on the site. The planning budget included in that study includes an allowance of $3 million for future expansion.
The Initial Path For Funding
In December 2025, CTUB applied for a grant from the West Virginia Water Development Authority that offered the potential to fund the entire cost of the design, engineering and construction of a water and sewer system in Summit Point. At the time, CTUB expected the grant amount would be $10.6 million with no requirement for local funding, based on assurances from the state entities involved in the process.
However, according to information provided prior to the February 11 meeting, the state received more applications than expected for the grant fund, so the amount available to CTUB for this project was reduced to $4 million.
Looking At Local Funding Options
After it received word that the Water Development Authority was stepping back from funding the entire project, CTUB requested the utility staff to prepare options for it to consider.
The information presented by the staff at CTUB’s February 11 meeting were light on the details necessary for the board members to evaluate the project. The missing information includes:
A specific development plan for the site — The planning budget includes $2.7 million for the network of pipes to supply water and collect sewage. Without a master plan for the site, a significant amount of this investment could end up needing to be replaced or modified as the site is developed.
Data on demand, both current and future — The financial projections provided for the project (see charts below) make assumptions about both current and future usage. The planning budget allocates over $4 million for the core water and treatment systems, with another $3 million in future expansion. Without specific commitments from SPRA, the utility is at risk of building a facility that is too big to cover its costs (or too small to meet the demand).
The property owner’s contribution to the project — Last fall, SPRA indicated a willingness to cover some of the project costs in excess of the $10.7 million that was expected from the state. Now that the state has reduced its commitment, SPRA has not yet announced any commitments to invest in this project.
Discussions Ongoing
During the February 11 meeting, the CTUB board members voted unanimously to “reaffirm its prior support for providing water and wastewater services to the Summit Point Motorsports Park project, as previously contemplated under a State-funded structure.” The CTUB board also voted to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for an engineering firm to prepare a more detailed analysis of the proposed project.
The City of Charles Town has the project on its February 17 agenda for discussion. Absent any specific request or project details from CTUB, it is unclear whether they can take any action at this time.
A Look At The Numbers
The charts below summarize the financial projections provided by the CTUB staff at the February 11 meeting. The information was provided in several documents without footnotes or detailed explanation. The charts below include headings and notes added by The Observer to enhance the clarity of the information.
The estimate of current users on the site is a composite number based on the employees working on site daily, weekday visitors, and weekend event participants. The 70 gallons per person per day usage rate is typical of residential use (office/commercial use is typicallly 15 – 20 gallons per perrson per day).
The estimate of revenue the project will generate is a function of how the user base will expand, how much water those users consume, and the rate negotiated between the utility and the customers on the site. In the February 11 meeting packet, the financial projections prepared by CTUB staff did not include the revenue from both the water and sewer usage.
CTUB staff provided debt service projections for both a $3 million and a $6 million bond. Neither financing options looks very attractive with the CTUB staff’s initial revenue projections.
