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ASSEMBLY OF GOVERNMENTS <br />AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: April 28, 2005 <br />SUBJECT: Assembly of Governments Discussion Items <br />DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />As noted in "Background" section Rod Visser or Greg Wilder, ext 2300 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To discuss topics of mutual interest among the governing boards of Orange <br />County and the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />1. Discussion of Common Issues (written documents provided where necessary) <br />A. OWASA Issues <br />1) Update on Hunting on OWASA-owned Lands and Wildlife Resources Commission <br />Current Position <br />A condition of the permitting process (US Corps of Engineers 404 permit was the overarching <br />permit) far the construction of OWASA's Cane Creek dam and impounding the reservoir was <br />that OWASA purchase 500 acres of land to mitigate the loss of wildlife habitat that would be <br />inundated by the reservoir. Accordingly, OWASA purchased an approximately 500-acre tract in <br />the portion of the Cane Creek watershed lying within Bingham Township. The 404 permit <br />required that OWASA allow the reservoir property -but not the mitigation property - to be open <br />to the public far hunting. Correspondence between OWASA and the Wildlife Resources <br />Commission (WRC) at the time of reservoir planning and development implied that the <br />mitigation land would also be open to the public far hunting. However, neither the reservoir nor <br />the mitigation lands has ever opened for hunting. <br />Over the last several years, there have been a number of ongoing discussions involving <br />OWASA, the Intergovernmental Parks Workgroup (IPW) and the NC Wildlife Resources <br />Commissioner (WRC) about the use of the mitigation land for passive park uses (hiking, etc.) <br />and for hunting as well as potential management alternatives. OWASA indicated a willingness <br />to allow the mitigation land -but not the reservoir land - to be used, developed or managed to <br />