February 9, 2000 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 45 February 9 , 2000 Special Called Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in Special Session , Wednesday , February 9 , 2000 , at 6 00 pm in the Emergency Operations Center located in the Johnston County Courthouse Law Enforcement Center , Smithfield , North Carolina , with the following members Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice - Chairman , Jerry F Wood , DDS , Eleanor N Creech , Thomas M Moore , Wade M Stewart and Allen L Mims , Jr , Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , Mark Payne , County Attorney , John R Massey , Finance Officer , Tim Broome , County Engineer , and Haywood Phthisic , Director of Public Utilities Operations The Chairman called the meeting to order and announced the purpose of the meeting is to discuss water and wastewater issues in the County Water & Sewer Issues Mr Broome introduced his staff and stated he planned to address water and wastewater issues in the County by looking at the current situation and expectations for the future , including short - term and long - term goals and financial challenges facing the County He noted his presentation would begin with water issues 1 Water Issues Mr Broome showed maps indicating the existing water service areas and current water districts in the County He noted that at present , the average daily water demand is 313 mgd with a peak demand of 490 mgd The Water Treatment Plant has a capacity of 40 mgd , and the County has an agreement with the Town of Smithfield for the purchase of an additional 20 mgd The County now serves 4500 retail customers , and this number will soon double when new water districts are completed This will create a need for an expansion to the water plant in the near future At present , the County has 1,446,000 in its water capital reserve account , which includes reserves in the existing four operating water districts Looking ahead at the ten - year capital improvements plan to be funded , Mr Broome outlined needs totaling 14,100,000 The anticipated revenue from capacity fees during the ten - year period is 7,210,000 , and capital commodity surcharges should bring in an additional 3,430,000 for a total , including reserves on hand of 12,090,000 , representing a shortage of approximately 2 million Finding the additional capital funds will be one of the goals and challenges facing the department Another major concern is the lack of a safety department or safety officer on staff Other challenges and goals include accounting and financial administration , combination of water district operation budgets and leveling rates , tightening water quality regulations and staffing 2 Wastewater Issues Mr Broome asked Haywood Phthisic , Director of Operations , to begin the presentation on the Johnston County Wastewater Facilities Mr Phthisic , pointed out on a map the existing wastewater service areas He also showed a photograph of the County’s 45 mgd Central Wastewater Treatment Plant , noting there is little room for expansion at this site He went over charts on NPDES effluent limits , and the average wastewater flows , during dry , moderate and wet weather There have been a few incidents of flow violations and overflow spills , which the Utilities Department plans to address by upgrading and building larger pump stations Mr Phthisic informed the Board that the remaining capacity at the Wastewater Treatment Plant is 0238 mgd The projected 20 year Wastewater flow total is 6392 based on a 15 growth per year At this rate , something will have to be done in the near future He stressed , however , the future of the Wastewater Treatment Plant and sewer service in the County largely depends on the policies of the Board of Commissioners Page46 Mr Broome thanked Mr Phthisic and noted at present , there is 2,280,000 in wastewater reserve funds He outlined the following projects , which have already been approved to meet immediate needs 1 Expansion of the WWTP to 50 mgd 2 Phase I Rehabilitation of County Interceptors 3 Upgrade Rebuild Selma Equalization and Pumping Facilities 4 Phase I Reclaimed Effluent Land Application The total capital cost of these projects is 8,300,000 Using grant money and 800,000 from the capital reserve funds , the County will still need a state revolving loan to complete these projects Looking further ahead , Mr Broome provided the following list of future projects totaling approximately 15,000,000 , and provided an analysis of the costs to be shared among “ inside ” and “ outside ” users 1 Phase II Rehabilitation of County Interceptors 2 Phase I & II of Land Application of Reclaimed Effluent 3 Cleveland Area Diversion Facilities 4 Expand WWTP to 650 mgd Mr Broome then went over the current goals and challenges facing the County concerning wastewater Again , he stressed the number one goal is for safety Staffing is also a major concern with five vacant positions at present The major reason the County has trouble keeping trained staff is because of shift work Smaller municipal and independent plants do not have 24 - hour staffing requirements He stated another problem is the potential lag in collection of assessment and capital surcharges versus the timing of the capital expenditures , and the impact on revenue created by the waiving of assessment fees for industry He also noted the County must play catch - up on maintenance and replacements One issue of major importance is the need for direction from the Board on residential sewer service in outside areas He offered the following Proposed Residential Service Policy 1 Sewer service by County wastewater collection and treatment facilities shall generally be limited to municipal transition zones MTZ’s Exceptions shall be special mixed use developments of special value and benefit to the County , and for failing septic systems 2 Residential Development in areas outside MTZ’s shall generally be served by on - site systems 3 The Department of Utilities may own , operate , and maintain on - site wastewater collection facilities serving major residential developments subject to the following Collection systems must be conventional gravity or small diameter variable grade type Septic tank effluent pump STEP systems are discouraged A minimum of 100 residential units must be developed For systems of 100 up to 200 units , the preferred means of treatment are septic tanks and or passive mechanical systems with subsurface discharge For systems greater than 200 units , the preferred treatment systems are passive , natural type , eg lagoons , wetlands , with mechanical plants allowed only when nature systems will not be feasible Disposal may be surface or subsurface 4 All on - site septic systems design and construction shall be approved by the Department of Utilities Mr Broome stated that other matters that need to be addressed in the very near future include the possibility of an increase in sewer rates for FY 00 - 01 ; the Clayton Bayer Corp capacity allocation ; River Dell’s request for sewer service for Flowers Plantation ; and William Henderson’s request for County service for Hermitage PUD River Dell Company is asking for a wastewater agreement similar to the one the County has with Carolina Water Service and would need 11 million gpd capacity to serve the development He noted this is an issue the Board needs to deal with at the March meeting Staff also needs direction on the request from William Henderson for the County to provide sewer service for the Hermitage PUD Mr Henderson wants an on - site system rather than a private system The property is located in the Archer Lodge Water District and Mr Henderson will be mandated to hook on to County water Page47 In discussion , Commissioner Thomas M Moore suggested the County might want to explore the possibility of a county - wide water and sewer authority It was pointed out that this would require cooperation and participation by all the municipalities in order to work The Board thanked Mr Broome and Mr Phthisic for their presentation 3 Meeting to be Scheduled on Development Ordinance The Board agreed to set a date for a meeting with stakeholders on the proposed Development Ordinance at the zoning meeting on Monday night , February 14 , 2000 There being no further business , Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote _______________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman _____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , ClerkPage