Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
15 <br /> The Board considered voting to approve an Interlocal Agreement between Orange <br /> County, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the Town of Carrboro to jointly fund the costs of private <br /> sewer service lateral connection installations for qualified Low-to-Moderate-Income (LMI) <br /> homeowners in the Historic Rogers Road sewer service area. <br /> Craig Benedict, Planning Director, presented this item: <br /> BACKGROUND: The newly constructed Historic Rogers Road Area gravity sewer system is a <br /> public system owned by Orange County and operated by the Orange Water and Sewer <br /> Authority (OWASA). The general contractor for the sewer expansion project has installed <br /> approximately 108 sewer service stub-outs/clean-outs to lots within the Historic Rogers Road <br /> sewer service area. The design and construction of the Historic Rogers Road Area gravity <br /> sewer system was initiated based on the recommendations contained within the Historic Rogers <br /> Road Neighborhood Task Force Final Report dated September 17, 2013. The 67-page Report <br /> is available on-line at https://www.townofchapelhill.org/home/showdocument?id=25341. The <br /> map at Attachment 3 is from the Report and formed the basis for the gravity sewer system <br /> layout and design. The costs associated with the design and construction of the gravity sewer <br /> system were shared between Orange County, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the Town of <br /> Carrboro as specified in an Interlocal Agreement entered into on December 13, 2016 <br /> (Attachment 1). <br /> Orange County, in partnership with the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, will be providing <br /> joint funding to cover the costs of private sewer service lateral connection installations, septic <br /> tank abandonments and payments of OWASA sewer system development fees for qualified <br /> LMI homeowners of existing dwellings located on Heritage Lots within the Historic Rogers Road <br /> sewer service area. There are 62 Heritage Lots on which existing dwellings are located, but the <br /> exact number and locations of LMI qualifying households within those 62 existing dwellings is <br /> unknown at this time. The public funding for installation of private sewer service lateral <br /> connections for qualified LMI homeowners will be conducted over a three (3) year period. <br /> Private sewer service lateral connection installation work will be triggered, and subsequently <br /> scheduled, based on formal requests to Orange County by Heritage Lot homeowners to connect <br /> to the gravity sewer system. Therefore, the total length of sewer service lateral pipe to be <br /> installed and the total number of septic tanks to be abandoned as part of the solicitation award <br /> is unknown at this time. The total cost of each private sewer service lateral connection <br /> installation will be site-specific, based on the configuration and constraints of the property and <br /> the dwelling to be served. Orange County staff estimates that up to 27 LMI-qualified Heritage <br /> Lot homeowners will request connection to the gravity sewer system over the three (3) year <br /> period in which public funding will be available. <br /> Attorneys for Orange County and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro have previously <br /> advised their elected officials, managers, and staffs that the respective legal departments do not <br /> believe the local governments have the necessary authority to pay for private sewer service <br /> lateral connection installations that are not owned by "persons of low and moderate income". <br /> Therefore, non-LMI Heritage Lot homeowners will not be able to utilize the joint funding that will <br /> be made available by the proposed Interlocal Agreement (Attachment 2). Non-LMI Heritage Lot <br /> homeowners (owner-occupied) wishing to connect to the gravity sewer system in the Rogers <br /> Road area will be able to access a no-interest 10-year loan from Orange County, on a voluntary <br /> basis, to help cover the associated costs. <br /> The proposed Interlocal Agreement (Attachment 2) is the product of a joint collaborate review <br /> effort by the Rogers Road Staff Working Group. The Group meets on a bi-weekly basis and <br /> consists of designated representatives from Orange County, the Towns of Chapel Hill and <br /> Carrboro, and OWASA. The proposed Interlocal Agreement has also been reviewed and <br />