Minutes 10-13-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bob Jessup said yes, grants can be used to do this if there are such grants available. Bonnie Hammersley said any kind of grants available for this purpose are being pursued, and there would be more access to these funding resources as a "district' as opposed to a "county". Commissioner Jacobs said he has an incomplete recollection of asking OWASA to change its policies on government extending utilities and then the government not being able to recoup the cost of installation from developers. He said OWASA was not interested in changing its policy. Commissioner Jacobs said the County could structure the district so that entities that came in after the district was created would have to reimburse the body politic, not only pay an assessment fee. Commissioner Pelissier said Commissioner Jacobs comments sound familiar but she does not recall the outcome. Commissioner Dorosin asked if permission would be required from Carrboro but not from Chapel Hill. Bob Jessup said that is correct. Commissioner Dorosin asked if the Manager could elaborate on her discussions with RENA. Bonnie Hammersley said she shared the draft of the memo in the packet and there were no specific questions. She said RENA was supportive, and if the Board of County Commissioners directed staff to go further, RENA would be involved and may have more questions at that time. She said there was some skepticism but she felt comfortable when she left the meeting. She said the OWASA Board had a lot of questions which will not be answered until it is determined that the process should move forward. Commissioner Dorosin said there must be clear communication and outreach to this community as the proposed process moves forward; emphasizing that the service they would receive would be same as everyone else that is served with water and sewer. Bonnie Hammersley said the issue of rates did come up at the meeting and she assured them that the BOCC would have some flexibility. Chair McKee said he was comfortable with the district idea and lower rates. He asked if the district was set up for the 86 current properties, and there are empty parcels, what would happen if someone built a $500,000 home. Bob Jessup said that homeowner would pay the same gallonage monthly rate, but the upfront capital recovery includes a debt cost; and he said any existing structures prior to today would pay 50 percent recovery costs, but charge others after a certain date a different cost. Chair McKee said he is not comfortable with 20 to 30 new, high dollar homes being built that the County then subsidizes. Commissioner Rich said the district could be extended further to offset some costs. Commissioner Pelissier said even though the same rates would be charged to everyone, it would be possible to do a tiered rate for usage. Chair McKee said he is uncomfortable with straight out subsidies to higher dollar homes. Commissioner Jacobs said there was a similar issue with the Efland water rates. Commissioner Jacobs asked if the debt that this district will incur affects the County's debt capacity. Bob Jessup said it would affect the debt capacity only to the extent that a break-even system is not being run. He said if the capital and operating costs are being covered through the rates, fees, and charges, it is invisible to the debt capacity. Chair McKee asked if Bob Jessup could clarify further.