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Archive Index Fearrington Homeowners Association County Liaison Committee December 2, 2004 Subj: Monthly Committee Report From: Al Lebeau, Chairman, County Liaison Committee To: Jerry Gaudet, President of the FHA
COMMISSION: Planning Board: Larry Hicks, who was appointed to the Planning Board in 2002, recently resigned alleging that members of the board were attempting to stifle his participation in the upcoming review of the Briar Chapel project. With his resignation the commissioners have decided to keep the board membership at ten. County Attorney Bob Gunn reported that “ten is all that is required.” EDUCATION: Board of Education: The Chatham County Board of Education has requested the NC General Assembly to enact legislation which would add two seats to the current five member board. Consideration has centered on the fourth district which covers a major portion of the western part of the county. It currently has two members while the remaining three districts have only one member each and find themselves frequently out voted. Citizens are concerned that the current make up of the board does not adequately represent the reality of the population growth occurring in the county. Meanwhile folks in the southwestern portion of the county do not want to be controlled by the northeast portion of the county. Bond Issue: The county’s Board of Education recently discussed what amount should be advanced in the proposed school bond issue to cover the projects under consideration. The amount was $131 million but when the discussion ended the sum had been reduced by about $30 million which included a middle school and a high school in the northeast and a new K-5 school in Siler City and a number of modifications to existing schools. It was expected that the $100 million bond issue will increase the county’s current 64.64 cents per $100 valuation by 20 cents. New Principal: The county’s Board of Education recently voted to hire Joel County, a Wake County school administrator to become the new principal of the Northwood High School. Joel holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Education Degree from Colorado State University. His career began in Colorado where he was a teacher of math, science, business education and computer science. He also coached football and wrestling. As part of the school administration staff he served as district career and technical assistant principal at the high school level and is presently the career development coordinator for the Wake County Green Hope School. ELECTION: State Senate: Bob Atwater who received 57% of the county vote has become NC Senator for District 18. County Commission: Patrick Barnes, who ran unopposed, has become County Commissioner for District One. Mike Cross received 55% of the county vote and has become County Commissioner for District Two. EMPLOYMENT: The county was one among 89 in the state that experienced a drop in unemployment for the third straight month. The county’s unemployment rate in August was 2.7% and is now 2.2%, the second lowest among neighboring counties HEALTH: A local physician recently notified the county’s Public Health Department that a county resident had contracted the E. coli infection. Since that report two additional cases have been reported. Both the state and county officials are trying to determine the source of the infection which was suspected to be an exhibit at the recent NC State Fair. LAND USE: River Oaks: Toll Brothers Inc., one of the nation’s top ten developers, who developed Briar Creek in Raleigh, has submitted plans to Pittsboro for a 1,546 home 773 acre development in the northeast quadrant of the intersection of 15/501 and US 64 to be known as River Oaks. The Planning Board recently began review of the master plan for River Oaks and will meet with the development team to discuss their environmental, traffic and storm water management plans. Town planner David Monroe is uncertain if a decision by the board will be reached after that meeting. Williams Pond: Just when you thought you’ve heard about all the new developments along comes Williams Pond, a proposed 650 acre gated community of 185 homes. It is to be located off of Bynum Ridge Road and occupy all the land between Bynum, the Haw River and the Redbud and Bynum Ridge subdivisions. The site is divided by Pokeberry Creek. The Haw River, which feeds into Jordan Lake, is Pittsboro’s drinking water source. The project straddles two watershed areas, each with a different zoning requirement. One watershed permits five acre lot sites while the other permits one acre lot sites. The developer is seeking to combine the two zoning districts in an attempt to average the zoning density between the two water sheds with the intent of the development density remaining the same while permitting more houses (59 instead of 49) to be build closer to the river. In the event the modification is allowed the developer is still required to obtain a “Conditional Use Permit” for the development along the river. At the public hearing about 100 residents attended but did not oppose the proposed development. Rather the only objection many of them had was to the lessening the watershed density and any alteration of the county’s watershed protection rules since it would impact all the county’s waterways. One resident failed to see how the county would benefit from a modification of the water shed regulation. If the modification is not granted the developer indicate they would erect 240 homes instead of the 185 now proposed.
LEGAL: Chief District Court Judge Joe Buckner recently urged the commissioners to begin the process to construct a new county judicial center. The judge noted the county’s court system is in crisis which can only become more critical with the expected growth the county is anticipating. The commissioners have been aware of the need for a new court facility and have purchased property, a portion of which will be use for it, between the Courthouse Annex Building and the Horton Middle School. The size and cost of the new facility has not been determined but the commissioners intend to discuss plans for a judicial center during their annual planning retreat in December. PITTSBORO: The town board recently approved a $13,800 amendment to the town’s budget to change the current water disinfection method from chlorination to chloramination of the town’s water supply. This change is intended to reduce the level of trihalomethanes which have been found the town’s water. SOLID WASTE: During the summer the commissioners sought proposals from private waste disposal companies to consider future options for handling the county’s solid waste. Chairman Emerson stated this was not a commitment for any specific action but rather to permit the county to make comparisons between a privately run verse a county run program. Among some of the service options under consideration are; curbside collection, collection center operations and land fill options. The proposals are to provide information on; a county only land fill owned by the county/contracted operations; a regional landfill, within the county, county owned/contracted operations; a regional land fill, within the county, privately/operated and a regional transfer station; privately owned and operated. The proposals are being reviewed by the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee which is to provide recommendations to the commissioners. TAXES: The county’s last re-evaluation occurred four years ago and the next cycle of evaluations will be completed early next year but the size of the increase is, at this time, unknown. Tax officials have been in the field for over a year revising property values and once the data has been collected the Tax Office will analyze the data for the whole county. The re-evaluation is due in January. WATER: Water Districts: The Southeast Water District reported 390 people have signed up for service while in the Southwest Water District 331 people have signed up. Meanwhile the November 2nd vote to create a water district for the northwest portion of the county was defeated by 32 votes. Water Plant Improvements: The commissioners recently approved several improvements to the county’s water treatment plant. Up to $15,000 was spent for the improvement and repair to the spray irrigation system and $189,300 for removing solids from the plant’s sludge storage lagoon for the first time since 1996.
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