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2 <br />and the agreement to honor the "original" agreement from the mid-1980s, staff has not been <br />successful at obtaining many of the easements. At this time, it is anticipated that approximately <br />one-third of the 41 necessary easements will need to be condemned to meet the deadline of <br />August 1, 2011. While it is likely that given ongoing negotiations, almost all easements could <br />be obtained voluntarily, the upcoming hard deadline due to the SRF loan time schedule does <br />not give the County the flexibility to pursue that option. <br />Missing the August 1, 2011 SRF loan deadline would put the County back to the beginning of <br />the SRF loan process. This would mean having to re-apply to get the project on the funded <br />project list. Since the County first applied to be included in the SRF loan program, the amount <br />of competition for funds has greatly increased and the application process has become much <br />more competitive. There is no guarantee that this project would be chosen again for the funded <br />project list, which would mean the County would need to find an alternate source for the $3.5 <br />million in SRF loan funds that were anticipated through this program. <br />Staff is continuing to work diligently to acquire all necessary easements voluntarily. Also, the <br />County is only condemning. construction and maintenance access easements for the sewer <br />lines, not entire parcels. The maps, provided at Attachments 1 and 2, show the entire parcel <br />from which the easement will come. However, in many cases, the easement only covers a <br />sliver of land along the edge of the highlighted parcel along the North Carolina Department of <br />Transportation road right-of-way. <br />If the BOCC approves the condemnation of easements as an option, the North Carolina <br />statutes require the County to give 30 days notice to all potentially affected property holders <br />prior to proceeding with any condemnation action. This would give all affected property owners <br />time to proceed voluntarily before condemnation began. Staff is instructed to resort to <br />condemnation proceedings only if reasonable negotiations based upon fair market value are not <br />successful. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: The condemnation process requires a deposit into an escrow account <br />equal to the amount the County anticipates offering for the easement properties. At this time <br />the easement value is being determined by an independent consultant. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board authorize staff to proceed <br />with condemnation procedures for easements that cannot be acquired voluntarily. <br />