The Anson County Board of Commissioners once again spent a good portion of their regular monthly meeting discussing a new water line. Last month, after two closed sessions, the commissioners voted 4-3 to approve LKC as the engineering firm to handle the planning for a new water line. This month, the commissioners debated what size the new water line should be.

The commissioners had previously voted at the August meeting to go with a 36-inch line. However, Adam Kiker with LKC stated that he and his associates believe a 30-inch line “would be more prudent.”

Prompted by Commissioner Dr. Jim Sims, Kiker explained that the presently used 24-inch line would have a maximum capacity of 8 million gallons per day, while the 30-inch would have 14.4 million gallons and the 36-inch would be 23 million gallons per day.

“We’re trying to predict economic growth by population,” Kiker said. “Anson County shows near-zero growth over the next 30 years.”

He added that Richmond and Union counties, who both use Anson water now, will experience some growth, but that even with the expected growth, he felt the 30-inch line would be sufficient.

Kiker said he also wanted to be mindful of the cost. “There is a $3.5 million difference between the 30-inch and 36-inch lines,” he said. “We feel a 36-inch line might be too much money, but then the 30-inch might be something your successors will have to deal with in the future.”

Utilities director Mike Sessions said he thought the current 24-inch line provided enough capacity, and added that even when a new line is available, the current one will still be in service.

“My concern is that this thing has got to be paid for,” Sessions said. “It will be a $12 to $17 increase for our customers.”

Commission Chair Anna Baucom then asked Sessions, “Are you saying don’t do it?”

He replied, “We need to think about it. If we go forward with this, we’ll have to raise prices.”

The 30-inch line is expected to cost $17 million, and customers’ prices will need to increase to cover the cost, he said.

“I understand what you’re saying,” Sims said, “but if we go too small, we’ll pay more in the long run.”

Commission Vice Chairman Ross Streater said that the county should enter into an agreement with the town of Wadesboro to ensure that they will help with this project.

“We need a 50-year agreement with the town of Wadesboro,” Baucom agreed, adding that the county already has an agreement with Marshville and an agreement that has expired with Union County. “As soon as the 30-inch line is in the ground, we ought to have a process of maintaining and repairing that 24-inch line for redundancy.”

Commissioner Bobby Sikes said that he knew a larger water line is needed, but “what bothers me is the rate increases for our customers.”

“You can’t have a project of this magnitude without a rate increase,” data processing manager Rita James pointed out. “You’re going to have to raise rates to cover the costs.”

Baucom stated that she’d talked with N.C. Senator Tom McInnis, and he’d indicated there might be grant funding that could help with the cost. “There is some infrastructure bond money that might be available,” she said.

After a bit more discussion, the commissioners voted 4-1 to move forward with the 30-inch line. Streater was opposed, and Commissioner Harold Smith was absent from the meeting.

In other business at the October meeting:

  • Parks and Recreation and Facilities Management director Jeff Waisner urged the board not to clear-cut a section of trees in Little Park, despite asking forester Eddie Johnson to look at the situation at the last meeting. The commissioners voted unanimously “to leave the park alone,” although Johnson did tell them the stand of trees does need to be thinned out at some point.
  • Eric Locklear spoke to the commissioners about a project he’s been working on with Baucom to have the county’s industrial and commercial sites certified and prepared for industries to locate here. So far, 16 sites in the county are certified, he said.
  • Marvin Deese spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, to voice his disapproval over changing the county’s ordinance regarding mobile home underpinning. At the September meeting, the commissioners had talked about allowing vinyl underpinning, but Deese said it could be a fire hazard, and added that the same board with the exception of Commissioner Vancine Sturdivant had previously unanimously voted to exclude vinyl underpinning. Later in the meeting, the commissioners took no action, thus leaving the ordinance as is.
  • Tourism Development Authority chairman Jeff Boothby spoke to the board about the TDA’s work to improve economic development. He said the TDA is also in the process of improving the effectiveness of TDA funds.
  • The commissioners unanimously approved accepting a grant proposal for elderly transportation, the ACTS 2016 ROAP application, new ultrasound fees for the Health Department, a vehicle for the Health Department, and the appointments of William Wall to the Jury Commission and Betty Horne to the Advisory Committee for Nursing Facilities.
  • The commissioners also tabled a discussion on countywide zoning.

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By Abby Cavenaugh

acavenaugh@civitasmedia.com

Editor Abby Cavenaugh may be reached at 704-694-2161, ext. 2301 or on Twitter @TheAnsonRecord.