Agenda - 03-18-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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I lands owned in Orange County are being considered for a possible forest management plan, 2 and this is listed as item 7 in the strategic plan. 3 Alan Rimer introduced Ed Kerwin and Teri Buckner. 4 Commissioner Pelissier asked Alan Rimer where OWASA stands with land preservation. 5 Alan Rimer said this is being considered under their proposed strategic plan. He said 6 OWASA is looking at the lands they currently own and considering utilizing these lands in 7 conservation easements. He said these lands could be sold with long lasting conservation 8 easements in hopes that people who purchase them will get the tax credits, while the land is 9 forever managed by one of the conservation trusts. 10 Commissioner Rich asked about the mutual aid agreement. She asked how these 11 agreements are being modified, and when this is estimated to be completed. 12 Alan Rimer said part of this will come once the Jordan Lake allocations are set and it is 13 known that the state will grant the requested 5 million gallons. He said there is no way to know 14 what the state will do with those allocations, and it is hard to make decisions until that is known. 15 Commissioner Rich asked if everyone seems to want to keep communication lines open 16 with each other as far as these governmental entities are concerned. 17 Alan Rimer said yes. He said this is certainly a partnership between the communities on 18 the western side of the lake, and Cary is an equal partner as well. 19 Chair Jacobs asked if OWASA has been able to address the cost difference issues 20 through its rate structure. 21 Alan Rimer said one of the things in the strategic plan is consideration of the potential 22 for electronic metering. He said this allows you to look at billing incrementally, instead of the 23 current structure of charging on a thousand gallons. He said, from a billing perspective and for 24 homeowners with different needs, this will be a much better system. He said his experience is 25 that electronic metering has changed the way water rates are structured. He said he has never 26 heard of a water rate that is structured on house size, but he feels the incremental system is a 27 good idea. 28 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the Taste of Hope programs and said he is interested 29 in knowing whether they can explore a sliding fee scale to provide cost reduction for customers 30 in need. He said if there is a policy that prevents this, he would like to know what can be done 31 to change that. 32 Alan Rimer said Taste of Hope has simply never taken off. He said Teri Buckner has 33 asked about looking at alternative ways to boost this program. 34 Terri Buckner, Orange County Representative on OWASA, said everyone has to be 35 charged the same rate, because this was a condition of the sale when UNC sold the utility to 36 OWASA. She said this is part of the operational framework, and changing it would mean 37 changing everything. 38 Commissioner Dorosin asked if this agreement can be re- visited. 39 Terri Buckner said if someone came and asked, it could be revisited. 40 Commissioner Dorosin said he will come on the 27th and ask the board to consider 41 changing the agreement to help those in need. 42 Terri Buckner said now that the tiered rate structure has been adopted, the round up 43 system for Taste of Hope does not go as high. She said the goal is now to look at a sliding 44 scale for the Taste of Hope program. 45 Commissioner Dorosin said the Board has been talking about poverty, and the cost of 46 utilities is part of the challenge of addressing this. 47 Terri Buckner said the real need is in the multi - family housing. She said this has group 48 metering and the owner divides the cost, which puts it beyond OWASA's call. 49 50 c. Resolution Acknowledging February 25, 2014 as Spay Neuter Day in Orange