Orange County NC Website
Triangle region, but are you suggesting development of some plan for water and sewer services within this <br />smaller region? <br />Chair Jacobs: Well, after going and sitting dawn and having lunch with representatives from all of <br />these different entities, it is clear that we all have issues. With all due respect to our awn Commission, other <br />governments may not want to come to our Commission. We need to create some place where we can - <br />even if it's just to empower our staffs to brainstorm - to bring the plans, to bring the maps, to look at where <br />we overlap, where we conflict, where we might be able to cooperate. I don't pretend to know or to dare tell <br />someone else haw they should do their business. It's clear that we're all just going in our own directions. So <br />we need some agreement to keep working together, whatever that venue is. And it's always easy for an <br />elected official to say, "I'm going to empower the staff to ga do more meetings, and when they develop <br />something we'll came back and talk same mare." That's the vision I have. <br />Terry Roland: Pat's already talked about the Water Resources Committee of Triangle J, and I realize <br />there's some folks that aren't in Triangle J, but we could probably expand that invitation list to make sure that <br />everybody that's interested participate in that process. That is the committee that worked on the watershed <br />issue in the 80's, and that's probably the best existing mechanism we have for continuing with discussion, <br />and it's a good place for it, I think. So we could use that committee to continue that discussion. <br />Dr. Moreau: Well, clearly a lot of the information and considerations that go an there would be <br />relevant here. It might take a subcommittee with expansion to include Orange Alamance. Burlington has lots <br />of water over there. They have a lot of excess supply. And that hasn't been brought into this discussion. <br />John Link: I think the idea of pursuing the TJCOG structure is good. I am interested in same kind of <br />congruence. I want to look at it from a practical perspective of providing water and at the same time <br />addressing the land use issues which have been brought forward. <br />Ed Harrison: I got a lot of my post-graduate education in water resources at that committee, starting <br />with seminars. I also met same of the first local government managers that I'd ever met that I didn't work far, <br />and all of you are improvements over them. I think it's a place that managers could fit into. The committee <br />has been sometimes in the past a little bit too much inside baseball. I think the mare pragmatic questions <br />that John is talking about really need to be talked about there. I think that because this involves local <br />government decision-makers so much on so many levels, it really has to be a little less not technical. I thrive <br />an the technical stuff, but I don't think that the local governments necessarily need to have all that. This set <br />of presentations today has been nicely balanced in that regard. It's a committee that because the COG has <br />been so busy with very important focus work, hasn't met quite as often lately. But I think we're seeing a <br />reason to do it again. It could split off in geographic subsets if it had to. Also, I want to echo, as someone <br />who has spent a decade on the Durham Environmental Affairs Board, there is very good thinking that can <br />happen on citizen boards like that if you bather to ask them the right questions ar let them think of the right <br />questions themselves. <br />Joe Phelps: It has been a good meeting. I agree that I think that we could meet again maybe in <br />smaller groups and get more accomplished that way. I would like to say something. I did read the resolution <br />sent by the Board of Commissioners, and you had something in here and I'll read it quickly for those who <br />don't have it. It says, about three quarters of the way down, "Whereas, the environmental impact and <br />financial cost associated with the development and construction of new reservoirs renders the development <br />of new reservoirs and water supplies within Orange County unlikely." I don't want to restrict what we may <br />decide today for someone 30 or 50 years from now of not ever building a reservoir in Orange County. That <br />particular statement concerns me a little bit. I don't know what the intent of it was. I don't think Hillsborough <br />is going to grow tremendously over the next 50 years, but I don't think at this point in 30 years we'll have <br />enough water. So I don't want to proceed along those lines if that was meant to be that way. I'd be open to <br />suggestions, but I don't think we should ever close the door on some future generation. Like Jahn said, I kind <br />of agreed with him. Everybody has a need for water here, and then Pat says that we have plenty of water <br />and someone mentioned Burlington. I'm not sure about Burlington. They would probably sell water as long <br />as they could, but they'll probably grow too and at some point quit selling water I don't want to restrict any <br />furture governing body from doing what is necessary to provide water to our citizens. <br />Chair Jacobs: I have a question for the folks from Mebane. Do you feel comfortable being part of <br />this committee of Triangle J to work on some issues together even though you're not part of that COG? <br />