September 15, 2004 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 781 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners September 15 , 2004 6 00 pm - Special Session The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Wednesday , September 15 , 2004 , at 6 00 pm in the Emergency Operations Center , Johnston County Courthouse Law Enforcement Center , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice Chairman , Thomas M Moore , Allen L Mims , Jr , Wade M Stewart , Jeffrey P Carver and W Ray Woodall Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , , John R Massey , Finance Officer , J Mark Payne , County Attorney , and April Byrd , Assistant to the Clerk The Chairman called the meeting to order and explained the purpose of this meeting was to review the County’s wastewater issues , especially existing policies concerning residential service , and to consider how the County needs to address future needs Engineer Tim Broome provided the following information through a power point presentation 1 Map showing the existing wastewater service areas 2 Existing Wastewater Treatment Plant that is being expanded from 5 mgd to 7 mgd 3 Reclaimed water project - map of existing pipeline and where staff proposes future pipeline 4 Existing Residential Wastewater Service Policy , which states that sewer service “ shall generally be limited to MTZ and IHOD districts ” except where existing residences have failed or failing septic systems , developers are zoned R - 10 or PUD prior to the date the policy was adopted , or for new residential or PUD developments with 100 residential units or more Applicants now must pay the assessment fees on or before the final plat of any phase of development is recorded , and the allocations are deemed to be reserved upon payment of the assessment fees In the past , however , the applicant did not have to pay until building permits were issued A number of developments were approved under the old policy , which are as much as 5 years old , which have never been built Mr Broome suggested there needs to be some way to release some of this capacity 5 Maps showing future and potential wastewater service areas 6 5 year projection - capacity analysis - Chart showed that after reserving for industrial use , commercial development and for growth in the four towns that used the treatment plant , the available surplus capacity would be approximately 670 mgd Requests in the past 6 months , if built out , would exceed the available surplus It was pointed out under the present policy , if development projects continue to be submitted at the current rate and built out by phases , the County will have no available surplus residential sewer capacity within three years , and by 2010 , an additional 30 mgd would be required to meet residential demand Mr Broome explained the State advised in mid - September that the County is overallocated , and is therefore withholding approval of two residential projects Their calculations , however , are based on paper evaluation without consideration of the plant expansion in progress Staff is working on reconciling some of the unused allocated capacity so the projects will be approved He noted that no assessment has been paid on capacity that was allocated prior to the updated policy Mr Broome stated the plant at its current site can be further expanded to 9 mgd ; however , any capacity above 7 mgd would require the County to purchase nitrogen credits unless the reclaimed water system is significantly expanded Cost for further expansion to the plant would be approximately 7 million , and the purchase of nitrogen credits would be another 7 million Commissioner Wade M Stewart suggested that staff come up with one or more proposals for the Board to look at He noted the Board may also need to look at possible changes in the County’s policy concerning wastewater allocations Planning Director , Steven Finn , noted the County’s zoning ordinance is more design oriented than a tool for development growth He noted there might also need to be some changes in the ordinance He suggested that residential growth is encouraged in the Municipal Transition Zone MTZ areas around the towns , and commercial growth is encouraged in the overlays around major highways , but no otherPage782 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners growth management is addressed Approximately 95 of the County is zoned Agricultural Residential AR , where there are few guidelines Economic Development Director , Michael deSherbinin spoke of the wastewater capacity set aside for industrial development He stressed the fact that there is no way of knowing what kind of industry might decide to move to Johnston County , and what their need for wastewater might be He noted he has communicated with a couple of industries recently that would have almost exhausted that allocation Another client visited the area and stated it would not be feasible for them to locate here due to the County’s fee structure associated with wastewater Obviously , if the County reaches the point where it does not have sewer capacity , industry will not even look at this area Mr deSherbinin noted that ironically , grants and programs that would help add wastewater capacity are based on unemployment figures , and Johnston County has low unemployment In response to a question from Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr , he noted that many areas have rate adjustments that are built in for industry Mr Broome added that in some areas , like the Cape Fear Basin , there are no nitrogen limits Also , some places , like the City of Raleigh , have excess capacity and can afford to make adjustments and even waive fees Chairman Langdon thanked staff for their comments and noted the Board will have to look at the overall picture and decide what direction should be taken He stated the County may have to reconsider the sewer allocation policy and look at how we are managing residential growth Commissioner Thomas M Moore stated , in his opinion , the County needs to go ahead and expand the reclaimed water system , which would release a good amount of capacity Discussion ensued about ways to release some of the unused allocation It was suggested that staff contact the persons involved to see if some will voluntarily offer to release the allocation , especially if their projects are no longer viable Attorney Mark Payne noted , in his opinion , any belief that a person could reserve capacity for an indefinite time without using any is not a reasonable expectation Mr Broome agreed that he and his staff would contact the persons holding the reserve allocations , then work with the County Manager and Attorney on any responses received It was suggested that when contacting these people , it be noted that no response will be considered a waiver of the allocation Commissioner W Ray Woodall agreed with Commissioner Moore that the County needs to look at expanding the reclaimed water system as soon as possible It was pointed out that laying pipe to the various areas of potential use would be expensive and no grant money appears to be available The County can , however , apply for low interest State revolving loans for this purpose Following further discussion , Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr suggested the Board hold a retreat to discuss this matter and other related matters , such as recreation , school capacity and other growth management issues Other Board members agreed that a retreat would be scheduled as soon as staff has sufficient time to look at all aspects of concern and come up with suggestions and proposals There being no further comments , Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote _________________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman ______________________________________ Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the BoardPage