2002-02-04 Water & Sewer
NEW HANOVER COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT BOOK 2
REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY 4, 2002 PAGE 698
ASSEMBLY
The District Board of Commissioners of the New Hanover County Water and Sewer District
met in Regular Session on Monday, February 4, 2002 at 6:21 P.M. in the Assembly Room of the New
Hanover County Courthouse, 24 North Third Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Members present were: Chairman Robert G. Greer; Vice-Chairman Nancy H. Pritchett;
District Commissioner Julia Boseman; District Commissioner Ted Davis, Jr.; District Commissioner
William A. Caster; County Manager, Allen O’Neal; County Attorney, Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk
to the District Board, Lucie F. Harrell.
Chairman Greer called the meeting to order.
NON-AGENDA ITEMS
Chairman Greer announced that time had been reserved for anyone from the public to present
an item that was not listed on the Regular Agenda. He requested all persons speaking to limit their
remarks to three minutes.
No comments or items were presented.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman Greer called for a motion to approve the minutes.
Motion:
Vice-Chairman Pritchett MOVED, SECONDED by District Commissioner Boseman, to
approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held on January 7, 2002, as presented by the Clerk to
the District Board. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
DISCUSSION OF THE 1984 BOND ISSUE AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW
HANOVER COUNTY WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM
District Commissioner Caster referenced the October 11, 2001 memorandum on the history
of the New Hanover County Water and Sewer District and stated that he wanted to understand if
the1984 bond issue was to provide sewer on a countywide basis. He expressed concern for the
number of citizens who feel they were promised sewer, voted in favor of the bond issue, and 18 years
later have not received the service. He requested County Engineer Wyatt Blanchard to make a brief
presentation.
County Engineer Blanchard reported that based on recommendations of the preliminary
engineering report prepared by the County’s consultant, the County decided to place a $46,000,000
sewer bond issue for construction of a countywide sewer system before the voters in March 1984.
The bond issue was approved, and the design of the first phase began in mid 1984 with construction
beginning in late 1985. Phase I of the sewer system included the area north of Millbrook to Long
Leaf Acres, and from the Wilmington City Limits to the Intracoastal Waterway north of Snows Cut.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT BOOK 2
REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY 4, 2002 PAGE 699
During the construction of Phase I, the City of Wilmington annexed Winter Park and Pine
Valley (Areas A and B) which were part of the New Hanover County Water and Sewer District. An
agreement was reached between the District and City whereby the District would provide sewer to
Areas A and B at a cost of $9,000,000 and double the size of the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant
at a cost of $6,000,000. The remaining money was spent to provide sewer to Phase I and Phase II
which included Long Leaf Acres and College Acres down to Whiskey Creek. Once these projects
were completed, a majority of the $46,000,000 had been used.
In August 1986, Staff informed the District Board about concern for not having enough
funding to complete sewer construction as scheduled, and the Board was requested to decide if sewer
construction should be discontinued. The District Board at that time decided to continue sewer on
a pay-as-you-go basis.
District Commissioner Caster referenced the history presented by Staff and said that a
Strategic Planning Task Force was appointed in 1991 to develop a plan for continued expansion of
the sewer system and to establish revenue sources to fund the expansions. The Task Force presented
a recommendation to the District Board in 1994 which prioritized projects on a pay-as -you-go basis
and amended the schedule to reflect the prioritized projects. He stated that the District has continued
to follow this schedule through the years with a few modifications.
Discussion was held on the use of grants and bonds when the District was first established.
County Engineer Blanchard explained that when the District was first established, funding was
received from Clean Water grants and the Revenue Sharing Program. The Seagate area was funded
by a grant before the Water and Sewer District was established. Shortly after the District was
established and sewer construction began, the Revenue Sharing Program and grants were no longer
available, which created an additional shortfall in revenue. He also noted that frequently citizens do
not understand the difference between grants and bonds. He explained that grants do not require any
form of repayment, but bonds are a form of debt that have to be repaid over a specified number of
years.
District Commissioner Caster expressed concern for misinforming the citizens about the bond
issue not being for a countywide sewer system. He noted that the literature presented to the public
during the bond referendum referred to a countywide sewer system; therefore, people living in the
areas defined in the plan felt that sewer was promised to them.
County Engineer Blanchard advised that the word “promised” was not used in the information
distributed to the public. A schedule was prepared showing the areas to receive sewer, and the
County at that time felt there was sufficient funding to construct the system as planned. He pointed
out that only user fees and a portion of the ½ sales tax have been used to pay the debt service with
no taxpayer money used to retire the debt.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT BOOK 2
REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY 4, 2002 PAGE 700
District Commissioner Caster expressed appreciation to County Engineer Blanchard for the
update and apologized for misleading some citizens about this not being a countywide sewer system.
He stated with the estimated project cost being grossly misjudged and the loss of grant funding, the
District simply ran out of money. This situation is unfortunate and it has become an embarrassment
to the District making many citizens angry.
After hearing no further comments from the members of the District Board, Chairman Greer
expressed appreciation to County Engineer Blanchard for the presentation.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Greer called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Motion:
District Commissioner Boseman MOVED, SECONDED by District Commissioner Caster,
to adjourn. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Chairman Greer adjourned the meeting at 6:45 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucie F. Harrell
Clerk to the District Board