Agenda - 08-23-1999 - D4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ <~ Orange Water and Scwcr Authority February 11, 1999 Page IS William Strom said i~c does not understand why the Town of Hillsborough is no[ required to get approvals tivhen OWASA is required to get approvals. Mr. Strom said the agreement is important eciough to move toward signing it and hope that the Town oC Hillsborough can be convinced to join. Peter Gordon said it does not make sense for OWASA to sign the agreement iC the Town of Hillsborough does not sign it. Dr. Gordon said exactly the same provisions should not apply to both OWASA and the Town oC Hillsborough. OWASA's long-term interest area should be recognized by the Towa of Hillsborough and, if not, Peter Gordon said he wonders about the value of the agreement. Bernadette Pelissier asked if the Town of Hillsborough definitively said they would not sign the agreement and Ms. Pelissier also asked what their objections are. Yt is probably related to the Cact that the-Town of Hillsborough does not have a joint planning agreement and that the Town o[ Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hitl, and Orange County do have joint planning agreements. l:f OWASA does not sign the agreement, it will not help the larger issue of the Town o[ Hillsborough's lack of participation. Patrick Davis said if the Town of Hillsborough is not a party to the agreement, there is a significant hole that relates to the integrity o[ the rural buffer concept that could present a problem in terms o[ the joint planning agreement. Mr. Davis said it is his opinion that iC the Town of Hillsborough decides not to participate in the agreement then that is sufficient reason for OWASA not to participate in an agreement of this nature that is designed to formalize OWASA's retail service extension policies relative to the land use planning efforts of joint planning parties. Patrick Davis said the Town oC Hillsborough's interest is to have a common boundary line established which they reviewed some time ago. The agreement has expanded at this point and the Town of Hillsborough has not expressed much interest. Mr. Davis said stafT oC the Town oC Hillsborough said they would be inclined to recommend that the Town of Hillsborough not sign the agreement the way it has been structured. The Town oC Hillsborough's specific concerns have not been formalized in writing. Patrick Davis said there is strong benefit for OWASA to formalize ifs commitment to be cooperative with the local governments in its service area. Alan Rimer said his concern is that a neighboring community may choose to extend services into an area that the group believes should not be served. There is precedent for that in the past. Mr. Rimer said he is concerned that the Town oC Hillsborough is not at the table and they may have designs on the rata[ bullet where OWASA cannot extend service. Mr. Rimer said he would like assurances that will not happen and the agreement should be tailored accordingly. OWASA should strive to find a way .to work toFVards a consensus and make it an agreement that the Town of Hillsborough will sign. Alan Rimer said it is critical that the Town of Hillsborough comes back to the table in order for it to be a working agreement. William Strom said OWASA can only be responsible Cor its own actions and there are significant benefits for OWASA to sign the agreement. Mr. Strom said it behooves OWASA to support the rural buffer, to support the agreement, and to support OWASA's constituent governments by indicating willingness to sign the agreement. Susannah Holloway asked if the agreements could be bifurcated. For instance, art agreement with tlic Town of Hillsborough regarding the boundary and an agreement [or alt the other items. Patrick Davis said in previous years that he and Barry Jacobs proposed a phase Y service area boundary agreement ~vitli the Town of fiil[sborough because tine Task Force had a commitment for agreement on tl~e boundary line. The Task Force overruled it because the. majority oC the members wanted to tackle ail the issues together. ~'1'illiam Strou- said the Ucccrnbcr 14, 1994 document Crom Moses Carey makes approval of file boundaries cot~tingcnt upon tine subsequent agreements. Patrick Davis said that vas the Task 14- Z?