The future of Foxfire Village’s water system was on the table at a special Council Work Session on Thursday, April 11, with Moore County Public Works Director Randy Gould in attendance.

The Village’s Long Range Planning Committee has worked for the last two years researching and assessing the quantity and quality of the Village’s present and potential water supply, measured against future population growth, the cost of maintaining the system, and preparedness in case of a catastrophic occurrence.

Looking for more water

In 2007, Foxfire contracted with the Pittsboro-based engineering firm Hydrostructures, PA to conduct a Water Source Study. The study recommended that, with the Village’s high rate of growth at the time, it should should secure an alternative source to complement the system of wells that currently supplies Foxfire’s water. A follow up study conducted in 2008 recommended Moore County as that source.

The 2008 recession halted construction, slowing growth, and the recommendation was put on the back burner. The Village’s current water system works well and is economically viable. However, it does not have the capacity to meet future expected growth.

The Long Range Planning Committee met with Gould earlier in the year to explore whether Moore County would consider extending water to Foxfire. Gould created a model, factoring in availability of water, proximity of water lines and towers, and expense.

After considering all options, the Long Range Planning Committee recommended that the Village Council consider merging their water system into the Moore County system. Noting the complexity of the factors to be considered — and the need for public input — the Council scheduled the April 11 Work Session and invited Gould to attend.

Newly-elected Seven Lakes Land-owners Association [SLLA] Director Steve Hudson plans to resign from the Board, he told The Times on Tuesday.

In a Letter to the Editor printed in this edition [see page 22], Hudson explains his concern that the current Board of Directors is operating in violation of the SLLA bylaws by voting on matters during what the bylaws describe as a “non-voting” Work Session.

Saying that the definition of “non-voting” is something even a fourth-grader can understand, Hudson writes:”The Board wants you to obey the bylaws and the rules and regulations, but those don’t apply to them.” He then declares his intention to resign.

The issue surfaced during the Monday, April 8 SLLA Work Session — the first held since Board elections in March and the first Hudson had attended since his last term on the Board ended in 2008.

Commissioner Craig Kennedy has resigned from the Moore County Board of Commissioners, announcing his decision in a Thursday, April 25 letter to Chairman Nick Picerno.

Kennedy, who serves as the Board's Vice Chairman, was elected to a four-year term in 2010, defeating incumbent Commissioner Cindy Morgan in the Republican Primary. He lives near Robbins and has been an consistent advocate for economic development in North Moore.

In his letter of resignation, Kennedy wrote: "I'm unable to complete my term as a Moore County Commissioner due to my work schedule and family commitments. I know Moore County is in good hands with our current Administration and Commissioners. I have enjoyed my time serving the taxpayers of of Moore County and feel very grateful to have had this opportunity. "

Kennedy is employed by Mountaire Farms in Candor as a night-shift truck driver, delivering chicken feed to local growers. He was absent from both the April 16 regular Board of Commissioners meeting and a day-long Critical Issues Summit the Board held on April 18.

Kennedy told The Times on Friday that his job often requires him to work sixty hours a week, making it difficult to attend meetings of the many committees and boards on which commissioners serve.

The remaining members of the Board of Commissioners will appoint a replacement to serve out Kennedy's unexpired term, though who they appoint is likely to be determined by the Executive Committee of the Moore County Republican Party.

[This article has been corrected to reflect Pinehurst Fire Chief Carlton Cole's correct title and to clarify questions raise by the Moore County Chiefs Association. The corrected sentences appear in boldface and italics.]

Though there were no motions and no votes, a day-long discussion of "critical issues" gave the Moore County Board of Commissioners an opportunity to make progress on some longstanding issues -- and scratch their heads over some new ones.

Here are some highlights.

Water

The Board and Public Utilities Director Randy Gould appeared to have settled on a new contract with Harnett County as the best option for increasing the County's water supply. The County will invest in the expansion of a Harnett water plant, guaranteeing a steady supply and a lower rate.

Projecting demand out to 2030, Gould believes the County needs an additional 1.71 million gallons per day [MGD] of supply to meet peak demand. Three new wells planned for sites along Linden Road are expected to produce 500,000 gallons per day.

The County currently purchases water from Harnett County under a contract that provides up to 2.0 MGD, and uses a maximum of about 1.2 MGD. Harnett is expanding its water plant, and Moore County can purchase a 3.0 MGD share of that capacity for $5.25 million.

Moore County would continue to pay for each gallon of Harnett County water it uses, but the upfront payment would reduce the rate from the $2.40 per thousand gallons the County is currently paying Harnett to $1.92 per thousand gallons. It would also contractually guarantee that Moore County is first in line for the 3.0 million gallons, in front of even Harnett County retail customers.

Adding a water tank, booster pumps, and new water mains to the project brings the total cost of the project to $10.8 million. That's about half the cost of bringing water from Robbins or from Wagram. And it would provide a second supply of water to the Seven Lakes area.

Gould said the Harnett deal could raise water rates by $5.79 per month, a roughly ten percent increase on the average $53.51 water and sewer bill. But Chairman Nick Picerno was quick to warn: "I don't want the press to report that Moore County is going to raise water rates ten percent. That's not going to happen."

Picerno said he would prefer to see rate increases phased in over time, and he also noted that Gould's rate projection assumed no increase in the number of customers, which is unlikely.

Commissioner Larry Caddell and Jimmy Melton spearheaded the Commissioners' task force on water. Caddell said he hoped the Harnett plan could be brought to a Commissioners meeting in May for approval. 

What had been a decade of steady growth for Foxfire Village slowed in 2008 with the downturn in the economy. But the pause in growth bought the Village more time to address its limited water resources and research alternatives.

Those alternatives were the focus of a Special Meeting of the Village Council on Thursday, March 21.

In February, the Long Range Planning Committee recommended to the Council that the Village merge its water system with the much larger Moore County system. Moore County would absorb the Village’s Water Department debt of $400,000 and take over the water tower and the current water delivery system. The County would also lay the water lines needed to connect the two systems.

In order to pay for those water mains, Village residents would continue to pay their current water rates, which are higher than the rates paid by other Moore County customers, for the next twenty years.