Agenda 10-07-2025; 8-a - Minutes for September 4, 2025 Business Meeting and September 9, 2025 Work Session

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31 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1 2 Commissioner Greene requested that Roger Waldon, Kevin Foy, and Barry Jacobs be 3 asked to attend the work session on September 9 since they were part of the original plan. 4 Cy Stober said they would reach out. 5 The Board began considering the budget as proposed in the agenda materials. 6 7 Applied Resource Management (ARM) – For groundwater hydrology and community well 8 expertise. To include meeting preparation, attendance, and presentation - $2,250 9 Chair Bedford asked what a civil engineer does. She noted related to the budget item, 10 that Tony Whitaker from Civil Consultants offered to provide information pro-bono. 11 Cy Stober said a civil engineering is a discipline that integrates mathematics, physics, and 12 in this case, chemistry. He said civil engineers build the world around us and the infrastructure 13 we rely on in daily life. He said they are governed by administrative code that determines their 14 ethics and professional standards. He said the septic systems in question are for 3,000 gallons 15 per day of wastewater, or more community septic systems. He said they felt they needed 16 someone with experience designing, managing, and permitting those systems. He said Mr. 17 Whitaker had that experience and has served on the Board of Health. He said Mr. Cornett with 18 Applied Resource Management has worked with Mr. Whitaker on other projects. He said a 19 professional geologist can speak to the hydrology and the complex needs of Piedmont bedrock. 20 He said Mr. Cornett comes highly recommended. 21 Chair Bedford said those two presenters sound good to her. She asked if they should vote 22 on each budget item separately. 23 Commissioner McKee said he would prefer one at a time. 24 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked for clarification on who would be paid to speak to the 25 Board. 26 Chair Bedford said Tony Whitaker would not charge a fee. 27 Commissioner Fowler said two people will provide information, one who will be paid and 28 one who will not. 29 30 Commissioner McKee made a motion to approve a budget of $2,250 for Applied Research 31 Systems to provide a presentation to the Board. Commissioner Greene seconded the motion. 32 33 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she shares concerns that Applied Resource Management is a 34 provider that installs these systems, and it may affect how they look at these things. She said 35 she had concerns that they would not get an independent opinion. She said even with the best 36 intentions, that perspective can skew things. She said that she would prefer someone completely 37 independent. 38 Commissioner Fowler said it would be difficult to find that person. She said it would have 39 to be from a university, and no one is going to be trained in this and not working in it. She said 40 that she trusts Tony Whittaker, but it sounds like he feels limited on what he could provide. She 41 said they have different expertise. 42 Cy Stober said Tony Whitaker’s expertise is wastewater, and it’s very different. 43 Commissioner Carter asked if getting the experience from the Briar Chapel community 44 septic system in Chatham County would be helpful. She noted they’d had some issues. 45 Cy Stober said he had spoken with the Chatham Planning Director regarding this issue. 46 He said that Briar Chapel’s situation was called a package plant, which is different from a 47 community septic system. He said based on previous feedback they removed package plants as 48 a solution for wastewater treatment. 49