Agenda - 09-30-1999 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orange Water and Sewer Authority February 11, 1999 Page 15 William Strom said lie does not understand why the Town of Hillsborough is not required to get approvals when OWASA is required to get approvals. Mr. Strom said the agreement is important enough to move toward signing it and hope that the Town of Hillsborough can be convinced to join. Peter Gordon said it does not make sense for OWASA to -sign the agreement if the Town of Hillsborough does not sign it. Dr. Gordon said exactly the same provisions should not apply to both OWASA and the Town of Hillsborough. OWASA's long -term interest area should be recognized by the Town of Hillsborough ' and, if not, Peter Gordon said he wonders about the value of the agreement. Bernadette Pelissier asked If the Town of iflllsborough definitively said they would not sign the agreement and Ms. Pelissier also asked what'their objections are. It is probably related to the fact that the-Town of Hillsborough does not have a joint planning agreement and that the Town of Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill, and Orange County do have joint planning agreements. If OWASA does not sign the agreement, it will not help the larger issue of the Town of Mllsborough's lack of participation. Patrick Davis said if the Town of Hillsborough is not .3L party to the agreement, there is a significant hole that relates to the integrity of the rural buffer concept that could present a problem in terms of the joint planning agreement. Mr. Davis said it is his opinion that if the Town of Hillsborough decides not to participate In the agreement then that is sufficient reason for OWASA not to participate in an agreement of this nature that is designed to formalize OWASA's retail service extension policies relative to the land use planning efforts'of joint planning parties. Patrick Davis said the Town of Hillsborough's interest is to have a common boundary line established which they reviewed some time ago. The agreement has expanded at this point and the Town of Hillsborough has not expressed much interest. Mr. Davis said staff of the Town of Hillsborough said they would be inclined to recommend that the Town of Hillsborough not sign the agreement the way it has been structured. The Town of Hillsborough's specific concerns have not been formalized in writing. Patrick Davis said there is strong benefit for OWASA to formalize its commitment to be cooperative with the local governments in its service area. Alan Rimer said his concern is that a neighboring community may choose to extend services into an area that the group believes should not be served. There is precedent for that In the past. Mr. Rimer said he is concerned that the Town of Hillsborough is not at the table and they may have designs on the rural buffer where OWASA cannot extend service. Mr. Rimer said he would like assurances that will not happen and the agreement should be tailored accordingly. OWASA should strive to find a way .to 'work towards a consensus and make it an agreement that the Town of Hillsborough will sign. Alan Rimer said it is critical that the Town of Hillsborough comes back to the table in order for it to be a working agreement. William= Strom said OWASA can only be responsible for its own actions and there are significant bents for OWASA to sign the agreement. Mr. Strom said It behooves OWASA to support the rural buffer, to support the agreement, and to support OWASA's constituent governments by indicating willingness to sign the agreement. Susannah Holloway asked if the agreements could be bifurcated. For instance, an agreement with the Town of Hillsborough regarding the boundary and an agreement for all the other items. Patrick Davis said in previous years that he and Barry Jacobs proposed a phase I service area boundary agreement with the Town of Hillsborough because the Task Force had a commitment for agreement on the boundary line. The-Task Force overruled It because the majority of the members wanted to tackle all the issues together. NUlliam Strom said (lie December 14, 1994 document from Moses Carey makes approval of the boundaries contingent upon the subsequent agreements. Patrick Davis said that was the Task z3 A -g 10.Z7