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governments to discuss this issue. At this meeting, Chair Carey requested that OWASA provide <br />some information at this meeting for everyone's benefit. <br />Mayor Foy said that Chapel Hill is interested in efforts of joint land use planning and not <br />just about water. He wants to make sure that OWASA and the Assembly of Governments are <br />all on the same page. <br />Chair Carey said that one of the issues that came up at the joint meeting was the brand <br />new park on the southern end of Orange County. This park will be in demand by people in <br />Chatham County, so there needs to be a partnership. <br />Bill Strom said that he would like the meetings to be publicly noticed if there are multi- <br />jurisdictional meetings with UNC, Chatham County, etc., even though it does not meet the <br />public meetings law. He said that when that many elected and public officials are meeting, then <br />it is a public meeting. He said that land use planning with Chatham County is a great idea, but <br />he is not sure that Jordan Lake water has to be the dominant discussion point in that. He said <br />that when he served on the OWASA Board, he was adamant in his belief that the service area <br />ought not get in a position that it has to pump water from Jordan Lake to serve its needs. He <br />does not think that this is a sustainable option. He said that the uncertainty of the supply in the <br />future has to guide the land use decisions and the pacing of growth. He is uncomfortable telling <br />OWASA to ga ahead and make a deal on the Jordan Lake allocation. <br />Jacquelyn Gist said that the community has made incredible sacrifices to have pure <br />water. She said that she thought the quarry was so that the area would not have to tap into <br />Jordan Lake. She said that there was a time when some people in charge did not do very good <br />zoning, and she would hate to see this area give up the good water supply and all that has been <br />done and get into Jordan because some neighbors were not totally responsible. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that OWASA was invited so that Chatham County would <br />have the opportunity to talk about getting access to the intake site. He said that there was <br />discussion about haw there needed to be a regional approach to the lake, how Chatham feels <br />somewhat held hostage by Cary because Cary has the only operating intake site, and haw <br />OWASA had the opportunity to get some return on its investment on 125 acres. He said that <br />since there has been such a change in the political climate with the elected officials in Chatham <br />County, the Orange County Commissioners wanted to enter into this with the attitude that if <br />there were ways to work together, then water is something that should be put on the table. He <br />said that OWASA using some of the Jordan Lake water was not in the discussion at all, but it is <br />feasible if that is a choice. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that this started out as a couple of meetings with the Chairs <br />and Vice-Chairs of Orange County and Chatham counties, and it has been broadened to <br />include representatives from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, OWASA and UNC. She thinks <br />that as the meetings go forward, that there should be a more regularized format so that there is <br />a formal charge, membership, schedule, etc. She noted that the set of jurisdictions assembled <br />at these meetings is very similar to that of the Chatham-Orange Work Group. She asked <br />everyone if they would like a more regularized format. <br />Jim Ward said that he wants to make sure that in the conversation that there is a <br />recognition that OWASA and the communities it serves are in good shape with water issues <br />because of decisions that have been made. He said that he does not want the interconnections <br />with other jurisdictions and the good work of OWASA to serve and satisfy the poor decisions <br />that have been made by neighbors. <br />Mayor Foy said that Chatham County is not dependent on Orange County to get water <br />out of Jordan Lake. He is interested in seeing Chapel Hill and Carrboro come to the same kind <br />of agreement with Chatham County that they have with Orange County, where the joint interests <br />are acknowledged in how the land develops in the area. If part of that conversation is facilitated <br />by bringing OWASA into the mix, he thinks this is worth discussing. <br />