Orange County NC Website
8 <br /> advantage of financing the capital facilities charges that we would charge a normal customer through their <br /> rate. The rate that they would pay, with the exception of OWASA, who has an agreement that predates these <br /> agreements that we have now. That's a multiplier, depending on whether it's a committed contract or an <br /> uncommitted contract. It's 1.2 times the inside rate or 1.45 times the inside rate is what our current <br /> agreements are calling for. I think the OWASA agreement calls for an average of the Durham and OWASA <br /> rates. <br /> D. City of Mebane—Darrell Rusell <br /> I've heard some comments a little earlier about working relationships between governmental <br /> entities. Well, it can happen. For those of you who do not know, the City of Mebane and the City of Graham <br /> jointly own and operate Graham Mebane Lake and Water Treatment Plant. Mebane's interest in that is a 1/3 <br /> ownership, Graham's is 2/3. They have been married since 1974. 1 will say that that arrangement has been <br /> very beneficial to the city over the years and the founding fathers. I think that's proved to be a very wise <br /> decision because it has allowed Mebane and Graham to both have adequate water supply for the past 25 <br /> years. And it looks like hopefully for another 20 years as well. The Mebane water supply is located on Back <br /> Creek Watershed. That is in Orange County and Alamance County. It is a WS2 rated watershed. The <br /> Graham Mebane Lake has a 20-year safe yield of 12 million gallons per day. So Mebane's ownership of that <br /> would be four million gallons per day. The Graham Mebane Water Treatment Plant is currently a 6 mgd <br /> plant, but it is undergoing an expansion and upgrade currently to double the capacity. Completion is <br /> anticipated hopefully within eight months. So with that time, Mebane's capacity then would be four million <br /> gallons per day in the water plant as well as four million gallons per day in the reservoir itself. Mebane's <br /> current water demand on an average basis is probably 1.2 mgd. We have had some peak days of 2.5 mgd. <br /> The projected water requirements for the year 2015 is 3.96 maximum day. So, as you can see, the projected <br /> maximum day demand pretty much equals what their capacity will be. Mebane does have two interlocal <br /> agreements —obviously with the City of Graham and they also have an agreement with Orange Alamance <br /> Water System to sell and buy water on an emergency basis. <br /> Mebane is projecting a 2015 population of around 11,800. Their 2000 population is 7,914. They <br /> do anticipate continued growth in that corridor along 1-85/1-40. We've talked about challenges today. I think <br /> all of us are seeing the challenges of being able to provide adequate water at reasonable rates. This last <br /> project that Mebane undertook, they borrowed $5,400,000 and they had to increase the rates by 50%. <br /> Maybe that's pretty low, I haven't heard what Hillsborough is going to. Based on their projected usage, it <br /> does appear that Mebane is in pretty good shape for another 15 or 20 years. But certainly, you always have <br /> to start thinking for the next round. So I would say that is a challenge for Mebane to start looking at. I'll try to <br /> answer any questions. <br /> Chair Jacobs: Could you talk a little bit about the annexation study that you are doing? <br /> Darrell Russell: Yes, we are currently looking at a number of areas around Mebane in terms of <br /> what may qualify for annexation and that study is nearing completion. I anticipate it being in the city's hands <br /> next month sometime. <br /> Chair Jacobs: So does Mebane envision that as the basis for a growth boundary? <br /> Darrell Russell: That has not been determined. <br /> Robert Wilson: I don't think so. What we've had in the last year and year and a half are some <br /> areas that have requested water and sewer services, which we have discussed with you and Orange <br /> Alamance also. And in these areas, we wanted to look to see if they would qualify for annexations to service <br /> water and sewer. Our policy is something like Durham's, we do not extend water and sewer services at the <br /> City of Mebane's cost—inside or outside. Water is extended at the cost of the requester, whether it is a <br /> subdivision or a resident needing water. So the study we're doing now is a study of areas that we have been <br /> requested to look at by Council to see if water and sewer service could be extended and at what cost and is it <br /> feasible by cost to get it to those areas. I've had a conversation with engineers who have indicated to me that <br /> some of the areas will not qualify for annexation under the general statutes. It is not what the City of Mebane <br /> would like to do or the residents in some of these areas would like to do, but as you know, as you grow in <br /> population, annexation gets a little more restricted. So some of these areas won't qualify for the annexation <br /> anyway, but if they were to be annexed in those areas and water and sewer to be extended, or water as <br /> we're talking here, it would be at the cost of someone to get it there— property owners, cost assessments, tap <br /> fees, and things of this nature. The cost for an individual, if it were to be annexed, the cost for an individual to <br /> get water and sewer in Mebane based on assessment costs and tap fees is somewhere around $7,000 <br /> based on a 100-foot lot. That doesn't include getting from the meter to the house. That's an extra $1,200- <br />