Minutes 11-14-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Craig Benedict said the sewer project is all Orange County funding, and it is coming from the quarter cent sales tax. He said a good portion of this goes toward infrastructure. He said once these lines are completed, ownership will be turned over to Mebane. He said there will be a maintenance cost at this point, but with the quality construction and gravity flow, it will be minimal. He said this infrastructure will allow for future development. Commissioner Dorosin asked about the direction of the gravity flow. The engineer from Mebane said Efland is being pumped to Hillsborough, and the Gravelly Hill pump station is currently being pumped to Mebane. He said the purple area on the map is being pumped to Mebane. He said there are some gravity sections noted in green. Craig Benedict referred to the map and indicated the flow direction of much of the sewer. He said the attempt is to create as much gravity flow as possible. He said the corridor planning requires the flow be intercepted in certain areas where it is captured and sent west. He reviewed more flow and station information from the map. The engineer from Mebane said the water network will be good shape. He said there will be a need in the future to put a water network in the areas noted in green on the map. Craig Benedict said the sales tax in Orange County has its limitations. He said if more sales tax can be leveraged in the future, hopefully it can be reinvested into this infrastructure. Assistant City Manager Chris Rollins said more lines are also needed for fire flow. Mayor Stephenson asked how many acres would be readily usable. Craig Benedict said the main sewer system is about 9 months out from approval. He said there are two 400 acre parcels that are zoned. He said this area could be marketed now, as it would also take about 9 months for a project to come here. Mayor Stephenson asked how much of the green area is owed by Mr. Wilson. Craig Benedict said Mr. Wilson owns about 50 acres, and his sister owns about 50 acres. He said if the frontage road can be continued toward Mattress Factory Road, it would increase the ability to market that area. He said there are owners in that area who are interested in marketing their property. He said there are lands with existing sewer systems behind the Petro. He said Orange County has rezoned 80-100 acres behind Petro, and these acres are ready and available. Chris Rollins said the other thing to remember in that green area is that there are other small water and sewer extensions that will be needed as other projects are considered. He said there is land being considered for development adjacent to Morinaga, but this may require water and sewer to be extended a little bit. Mayor Stephenson asked if the residents living in the green area are amenable to selling. Craig Benedict said yes. He said contact was made with these residents to gauge this. Craig Benedict said some of the zoning districts are very structured, but businesses today often combine office, research, light manufacturing, applied research and warehousing all in the same building. He said some of Orange County's zoning codes are a little archaic, and the County is discussing how to have zoning districts that allow for today's business operation. He said if Orange County had not proceeded with the office/institutional pre-zoning, this may have delayed the zoning and the deal with Morinaga. Chris Rollins said it would be good if Orange County and Mebane's zoning were the same. Craig Benedict said the County will begin the conversation with their planning board and the Board of County Commissioners to look at new zoning. He said Mebane can be included in this conversation. Chair Jacobs said similar efforts have been made with Hillsborough.