ORD-2014-011 Report and Recommendations from the County and Town Managers Regarding the Implementation of Improvements in the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood

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Commissioner Rich referred to the budget section on page 1. She asked about the statement that all houses in the area must be connected to the system. She asked if this meant people would be forced to connect to sewer. Michael Talbert said the Board will have the opportunity to draw the map that meets the criteria. He said the grant area may be smaller than 86 homes, depending on income levels. He said everyone within the area drawn will have to be connected. Commissioner Rich said at their last task force meeting only about 34 of the 86 homes wanted sewer. She said there is an assumption that everyone wants sewer, and she has concerns about this. She is not saying this shouldn't move forward, but she wants to keep the conversation open and allow residents to have a say on this. She asked if the wording means that this item must be in the CIP for 2013/14. Michael Talbert said this is the implication. He said it has to be in the existing CIP, and it must be funded, and neither of these things has been done. Commissioner Pelissier asked if the application with all of the details would be presented at the public hearing. Michael Talbert said staff would have to define the areas to be served; draw this on the map; do outreach; and provide cost estimates for infrastructure and connection. He said the outreach process would provide much of the information Commissioner Rich was asking about. Commissioner Pelissier asked if every household would need to be notified. Michael Talbert said he does not know at this point. Commissioner Pelissier said it would need to be made clear that this proposal would be a change to what was in the task force report regarding residents being required to be hooked up. Commissioner Price agreed with Commissioner Dorosin and Commissioner McKee and said she would like to apply for the funds. She said information can be pulled from other grants that have been done previously. She said the residents are just anxious to get the sewage out of their front yards. She said, as long as the hookups are being provided, it is more palatable. Michael Talbert said there was a similar application in 2011, and 9 homes were hooked up to sewer and water. He said some of the same documentation could be used to recycle a similar application. Commissioner Price said she was referring to the census information and other descriptive information. She said Tara Fikes' office may have some of this information. Commissioner Gordon said it seems more prudent to give staff time to review the application to see what can be done. She said if staff starts the process of looking into it, no time will be lost. She said the only honest thing to do is to admit that this is not in the CIP, and this will lose 17 points. She said it seems that staff should be asked to look at this and come back in 5 days at the March 11th meeting with a recommendation of what can be realistically done. Chair Jacobs said Tara Fikes is retiring at the end of March, in the middle of this process. He said there needs to be assurance from the manager that there are sufficient staff members who are knowledgeable enough to execute this. Michael Talbert said, given that there are 20 days to work on this prior to Tara Fikes' retirement, he feels relatively confident that most of the application could be completed before she leaves. Chair Jacobs agreed that this should move forward. He also agrees that every single person who might be affected should be notified and given an opportunity to speak at the public hearing on April 15th, before there are irrevocable decisions made on their behalf. . Chair Jacobs referred to page 4 and the reference to Rogers Road neighborhood. He asked if it should be implied in every situation that references to Rogers Road refers to the historic area.