County Board Considers Scotland County Water, Sewer Facilities
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The Moore County Board of Commissioners has expressed cautious interest in further examination of water and sewer facilities in Scotland County.
On unanimous votes the board on Monday approved two motions, one to express interest in seeking a grant to study the facilities, the other to place the matter on the agenda at the next meeting.
Board members, along with County Manager Cary McSwain and Public Works Director Dennis Brobst, have been meeting with Laurinburg city and Scotland County officials in talks aimed at determining interest in developing regional systems benefiting several communities along the Lumber River. State Rep. Jamie Boles made arrangements for the initial meeting.
McSwain said the group is interested in seeking a grant to study the suitability of the water and sewer facilities available at a former WestPoint Pepperell textile plant near Wagram. They are the same utilities that the village of Pinehurst offered to buy last year. That decision has been delayed because of inaction by the Scotland County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Nick Picerno made the two motions, one of which specifies that the county is under no financial obligation at this point.
The subject was raised near the end of the board’s regular meeting as part of McSwain’s report.
In other business the commissioners voted to authorize applications for operational grants from the Criminal Justice Partnership Program for the Day Reporting Center and from the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for Youth Services.
More details will appear in the print version of The Pilot.
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Comments
phstresident 2 years, 2 months ago
So first the County won't talk about water, Pinehurst trys to buy this system/plant and the County say's they're basically crazy, and now they are interested in it themselves??? Sounds like a bunch of slimy, fishy shenanigans are going on up in Carthage...but maybe someone will get to buy this and provide water for us all for years to come.
ASU88 2 years, 2 months ago
@Phstresident, I'm sure somebody will buy the Wagram Plant but for your sakes I hope it is the Village of Pinehurst. So at least you can elect a town council that will set a fair water rate for the citizens of your town and not try to make a profit off your tax payers backs to fund another cause. Ask those officials in Vass if they wished they had their water plant back under their control. Just be sure that the, "bunch of slimy, fishy shenanigans that is going on in Carthage" is confined to one building in the center of a circle. If you like we would could move this building to the center of the traffic circle in Pinehurst so that you guys can keep an eye on the start of WATER-GATE II as it unfolds!
phstresident 2 years, 2 months ago
LOL that may be what 's necessary. Kill two birds with one stone then...keep an eye on them and fix the traffic circle!
mooremedic 2 years, 2 months ago
Well for all of us tax paying citizens of Moore County lets hope that it is the county that buys it and not Pinehurst....a move closer to one regional water system is the smart move. Also it may not be the County that is the "fishy" part of this political move.....the politics of Pinehurst may have forced this hand.....
CSmithson 2 years, 2 months ago
@mooremedic
As ASU says, ask Vass how they feel about County management of their facilities. No need to ask Pinehurst as they went out and tried to buy their own system knwoing they might end up having to lay all new lines throughout the Village too. The folks in Seven Lakes are also concerned about things.
We have a regional system in that most everyone is interconnected. There are also moves to firm agreements up even more and do mutual planning and set up service areas.
Mtnneer88 2 years, 2 months ago
@ Mooremedic The county for years have been trying to take over the water systems of most of the towns in Moore County. They had the chance to take over the Robbins system but turned their backs on the folks in this part of Moore County! They seem to want to pick and choose what water systems will give them the greatest profit margins! I agree with Chris that most towns are working towards interconnections with each other. It's good to know that the towns can get along with each other and share their resources with each other. As far as those folks that live in the county's jurisdiction they deserve to have the opportunity to connect to a safe and affordable water system that can be provided with nearby towns systems. Maybe all parties concerned can push for a lake in the Little River basin since it is in a central location and could provide the answer to everyone's water concerns. Any thoughts about tapping into the Deep River that runs through our county? What about recycled gray water requirments for our golf courses? Let's think ouside the box or a least the sand trap!
None 2 years, 2 months ago
Way too many inflated egos in Carthage who would manipulate and dictate, to local jurisdictions as well as those living in the ETJ's of those jurisdictions, on connection fees and water rates. I live in the county and have two wells. Why would I or anyone living in the northern part of the county support taxpayer funding to purchase a regional water system for those living in Pinehurst or Seven Lakes?
CSmithson 2 years, 2 months ago
Our County government expended a great deal of energy coming up with and distributing estimates "proving" getting involved in Wagram is a bad idea. Since a well-known local engineering firm came up with the numbers and hosted meetings, I assume the County also spent money in their campaign against the Wagram purchase and any partnership among the municipalities.
Now they want a grant to study things. So, which is it? Were those figures their engineering firm gave out at the hastily-arrranged County-Municipal meetings just made up? So, at that meeting, all the warnings of disaster from a local engineer, two Commissioners, and the county public works director were not for real?
County government history on Wagram: 1) Virtually ignore McGill study recommendation of looking at facility for long range needs 2) Get angry when they are called out for ignoring it 3) Still pretty much do nothing 4) Do their best to undermine Pinehurst's effort to build a coalition to buy Wagram because it is supposedly a very expensive and bad idea 5) Pursue studies of the viability of the Wagram facilities even though they already “proved” a few months ago it was a bad idea
Add to that the County’s outright refusal to comply with (or even acknowledge) public information requests on utility issues, and the plot just gets thicker and thicker.
Come on Pilot. You have a responsibility as journalists to investigate this whole story and report the facts!
Chris Smithson
Mtnneer88 2 years, 2 months ago
Florence G. sharpen your pencil and break out your notepad. It looks like you will have job security for awhile as you cover this Water-gate story for the citizens of Moore County. I trust you are going to look into this story. You know what flows downhill is not always water!!
None 2 years, 2 months ago
A bunch of egotisical county commissioners who would rather raise taxes than consider fisical respondsibility. Perhaps one of them will have their name engraved on a building somewhere.
The Larry Caddell Gray Water Treatment Facility....
DrummerBoyItalia 2 years, 2 months ago
I am in shock at the ignorance of almost everyone in this thread. I believe debate and expressing different views on topics such as this one is very important and is more than needed. However, what I have read is you guys crossing the line. How old are you? I mean, I remember I used to do alot of name calling and trying to come up with smart comments that criticize others but my memories are from highschool!!!
Let me ask you this : Do all of you guys that are SO sure that the commissioners are concerned about putting money in their own pockets, not realize exactly how much money they get paid to serve in our local government??? I could make more money running a cardboard lemonade stand. ITS NEXT TO NOTHING!!! How is raising taxes helping them fill their pockets? And by the way, I guarantuee you Nick Picerno is one commissioner that will do everything in his power to keep the board from raising taxes unless he has fought a lengthy battle to find an alternative solution without any results. This isnt the federal government guys so stop pretending like it is.
Even more important than your rediculous theories that they are concerned about personal monetary gain Id like to point out to you the constant stress and the pressure that comes with SERVING our county as a commissioner. Think about having the weight of ALL THE CITIZENS in Moore County on their shoulders every time they make a decision. All decisions they make involve many details and circumstances that we dont know anything about. I know atleast 3 of the 5 commissioners(majority) serving are good, caring, CHRISTIAN human beings who love this county and care much more for the citizens than they do filling their own pockets. You guys obviously dont realize what these guys have to put up with on a daily basis when all they are trying to do is give back to the community that has given them so much throughout their lives. Ive always heard: "its much easier to look around at others than it is to look in the mirror." ALL of you need to get a life and worry about the things that are under your control rather than wasting your time bashing and criticizing people who are only doing the best job they can to serve YOU!!!!
CSmithson 2 years, 2 months ago
@drummerboy First, toda is the ony one talking about raising taxes and all that stuff, so don't cast such a wide net on all people in this thread.
Second, I am also an elected official (Southern Pines Town Council) so I understand the mostly thankless job of local elected office. Unlike some people(Commissioners) who like to play games, I care about taking care of my community, not about being re-elected or perpetuating some kind of party power struggle. I tell it like it is and am willing to sacrifice political capital in favor of doing what is right.
YOU sir should lock it up concerning who needs to "get a life" when it comes to public service. While well over 40% of Moore county residents live in municipalities, and while the overwhelming majority of the Commissioners' budget comes from the municipalities, and while the majority of regular voters live in municipalities, the Moore County Board of Commissioners has again and again shown their complete disregard for anyone but those who live "in the county" (non-municipal residents).
Are the Commisioners bad people? No. I know most of them and like them. That said, unlike all the municipal officials I have met in my 6+ years on the Council, the Commisioners as a group do not appear to have their priorities straight. All the municipal officials I know realize they are there to SERVE their constituencies. The County Commisioners, on the other hand, act more as if they are doing us all a favor by granting us an audience and providing us with services.
I don't know where the disconnect is. I suspect the root of it may be that County Commisioners are elected in partisan elections. In Moore, that pretty much means you have to get the Republican nomination to be elected. We all know there are 2-3 branches of the MC Republican party. I still dont' know what Democrat or Republican(or Morgan, Little, or however the party works) has to do with water, sewer, law enforcement, or zoning, but that is the way it is.
Did you know that only ONE Commisioner lives in a municipality? Only ONE Commisioner has a house on the County wastewater system. No wonder our system is in the state it is in and no wonder they seemingly have such disdain for the 40K+ people living in Moore municipalities.
As far as taxes go, nobody wants high taxes. Nobody wants government waste. That said, a singular focus on lowering taxes does not serve us well if our basic services are not at an acceptible level. Cutting costs to the bone and gutting County departments does not serve taxpayers well- especially when Moore already has one of the lowest tax burdens in the whole state.
None 2 years, 2 months ago
@drummerboy ~ "I am in shock at the ignorance of almost everyone in this thread." Your intellectual communication lost credence with the first line of your post.
I'm glad you hold the commissioners in such high esteem...good for you, sir! Perhaps you wasn't around when the property re-evaluation fiasco occurred. The politically staged board of appeals was a joke. The State appeals process followed political dogma, and if your property values were not in excess of 30%, and after homeowners were given the option to hire an attorney, one's appeal was dismissed. It seems like a conflict of interest when taxpayers have to pay an attorney on staff to defend the county against it's citizens.
"putting money in their own pockets" then justify why the commissioners voted to pay Johnnie and Mary Jane Graham 1 million dollars for golf course property on Dowd Street in Carthage? If it looks like an outhouse, and smells like an outhouse, it must be an outhouse!
Crossing the line is called "Freedom of Speech", at least in Aberdeen. Perhaps not in your political circles. I've lived here all my life and I have never seen the county spend the public funds that the sitting governing body has seen fit to spend in the last few years. A quarter of a million dollars for a manager and an assistant and their assistants; sort of akin to our public schools' upper management.
If you want to vent your dissatisfaction with those who voice opinions, perhaps a little more tact would be in keeping with proper decorum. Or attend a meeting of the minds and express your support ~ if they will give you three minutes to present your point of view.
None 2 years, 2 months ago
Thank you Chris for an honest point of view by an elected official. We may not always agree on everything, but I welcome your intellect and insight many of us are not privy. Tommy
ASU88 2 years, 2 months ago
Wow DrummerBoy must have hit his head with a drum stick. No one on this thread said anything about any commissioners putting money in their own pockets! They want to control the majority of the tax money and spend it as they see fit! Also no one questioned if they were Christians so that reply from you is way off base! As for the "stress and strain" of being an elected official...the last time I checked no one forces you in this country to run for elected office. Maybe our present board marches to the beat of a different drum...I hope that no one forced these folks to run for their respective office. It would serve you well to realize DrummerBoy that all politics are local and that is the bases for our form of goverment! As for things that are under my control...this key board is under my control and I will use it as a vehicle to voice my opinions. And my opinions are always backed by facts...if you don't believe this statment, watch those folks that have issues to hide start to feel real uncomfortable as issues come to light! Stay tuned!!!
SoPines4ever 2 years, 2 months ago
It's simply amazing what the County Commissioners will do to provide water to Pinehurst and Seven Lakes, even to the extent of blocking the ability of Pinehurst to provide their own water. The East Moore Water District customers are paying an extremely high base rate for facilities that are much larger than needed, just so the County has the ability to provide one million gallons of water a day through Pinehurst and on to Seven Lakes. Pinehurst and Seven Lakes are using 80 percent or more of the water purchased from Harnett County. An investigation needs to be conducted to see just how little the Water District collects on this water. Then compare the base water bill of the District to the base water bills of Pinehurst and Seven Lakes. The customers in Pinehurst have the most ability to pay for water and are paying the least. Think about that for a while, then tell me the County Commissioners aren't making sure you've got the best deal going. The East Moore Water District customers should be complaining the loudest of all, their base bills are high so that Pinehurst can have lower rates!
None 2 years, 2 months ago
"On unanimous votes the board on Monday approved two motions, one to express interest in seeking a grant to study the facilities, the other to place the matter on the agenda at the next meeting".
I find it interesting that the Moore County Board of Commissioners subliminally bring up these motions without The Pilot or other news reporting outlets having prior knowledge until the meeting? What's wrong with full disclosure and transparency?