Taking a key step to advance its long-anticipated major repaving project, the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] Board of Directors has awarded a $12,500 contract to engineering firm S&ME, which will inspect, evaluate, and develop specifications for the eventual repair and resurfacing of the twenty-seven miles of roads in Seven Lakes North and South.

Recommended by Director Bud Shaver last April, the engineering firm's report will help the Board prioritize areas for repaving -- as well as help determine whether the overall project should be done in incremental phases, as funding allows, or all at once, using borrowed money.

During discussion at the Wednesday, October 26 SLLA Open Meeting, Director Bob Racine noted the engineering contract did not include a provision to confirm actual road mileage.

“I am concerned the contract is relying on distances estimated by Bud [Shaver], which he had recommended should be rechecked,” said Racine. “I suggest we table the contract until we get some clarification from them.”

Director Shaver also suggested the contract should include a request that S&ME inspect the roadways after a heavy rain, to better evaluate those areas with existing water drainage problems.

However, anxious to get the long-delayed project started, the majority of Directors agreed that the contract was adequate as written. After a motion to postpone the decision failed to win a majority, the S&ME engineering contract was approved on a 5-2 split vote, with Racine and Director Bruce Keyser, Jr. opposed.

The absence of two members — Jimmy Melton and Larry Caddell -- from the Moore County Board of Commissioners' Tuesday, November 2 meeting resulted in the tabling of many, if not most, items on the meeting agenda.

But the Board scheduled a public hearing on a plan that aims to protect the County's working farms and forests and approved a contract that begins a significant upgrade of the County's emergency communications system.

Working Lands Protection Plan

At the request of County Planner Debra Ensminger, the Commissioners called a public hearing for November 15 on the Working Lands Protection Plan.

The plan was developed to assess the state of and contribute to the health of the county's farm and forest industries. The agricultural sector accounts for fifteen percent of the County’s economic activity, producing and estimated $373 million in 2008. Thirteen percent of the jobs in the county are agricultural jobs.

The Working Lands Protection Plan aims to protect agricultural lands without limiting or restricting landowner’s rights or uses.

From 1990 to 2010 the County has seen a fifty percent increase in its population. According to the Planning Department, this growth creates pressure to convert farms and forests to non-agricultural uses.

If you're interested in improving Moore County transportation routes -- or making sure those routes don't carve up what's left of the County's forests and farmland -- the next four days offer you a critical opportunity for input. Representatives of the NC Department of Transportation will host seven citizens workshops on transportation planning in the County from November 1 to November 4.

Among the routes on the table: The long-debated and always controversial Western Bypass, or Western Connector.

Long debated and frequently controversial, the purpose of the proposed bypass is to reduce congestion at the Pinehurst traffic circle and along NC Highway 5 by providing a more direct route between West End and the commercial corridor of Southern Pines and Aberdeen. Various options have been considered and discarded over the years; however, most recently, the Moore County Transportation Committee has reopened discussion and actively encouraging residents to participate in the planning process.

Between November 1 and November 4, seven charettes – community workshops – will be held at varying times and locations throughout Moore County to collect public input on the Western Connector and two other major proposed NC-DOT projects, the 24/27 Carthage Bypass and improvements to Hwy 1. Extensive maps will be provided and Moore County Planning staff will be on-hand to assist interested residents.

The format for the charettes reportedly provides participants with maps, string, and ribbons, allowing them to plot for themselves the best route for the new roads. Save Our Sandhills, a group that aims to make sure development pressure doesn't wreak havoc on the County's rural resources, is encouraging members to attend -- and to insist that the best routes for any new roads are along existing roadways, not through farm or forest lands.

The closest charette for the Foxfire and West End areas will be held on Wednesday, November 2 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the West End Senior Building at 126 Old West End School Lane.

Here's the full schedule:

November 1 from 3-5pm, at the Pinehurst Fair Barn at 200 Beulah Hill Road South.

November 1 from 6-8 pm, at Aberdeen Lake Park Recreation Station at 301 Lake Park Crossing.

November 2 from 1-3 pm, at West End Senior Building at 126 Old West End School Lane.

November 2 from 6-8 pm, at Carthage Community Building at 203 Barrett Street.

November 3 from 1-3 pm, at Cameron Fire Department at 170 Red Hill Road.

November 3 from 6-8 pm, at Village of Pinehurst Assembly Hall at 395 Magnolia Road.

November 4 from 9:30-11:30 am, at Douglass Community Center at 1185 W. Pennsylvania Avenue.

Moore County's Land Use plan is more than ten years old, and the process of updating it is getting underway, with the selection of a Steering Committee the first order of business.

During the Board of Commissioners’ Tuesday, October 18 meeting, the Planning Department and the Commissioners agreed to compile a list of major organizations in the County, representing key sectors of the community. That list, to be reviewed during the Board's November 1 Commissioners meeting, will give the Commissioners an idea of the type of representation needed on the Steering Committee.

County Planner Jeremy Rust presented the Commissioners with an outline of the appointment process that was used during the 1999 Land Use Plan as a guideline for this year’s selection process.

The previous Land Use Plan Steering Committee included a wide variety of Moore County residents -- twenty-one members who ranged from elected officials and business leaders to environmental advocates and educators. The 1999 Land Use Plan process stretched over eighteen months, with committee members meeting twice a month during ten of those months.

How to increase the supply of water to the county's utility customers in Seven Lakes was at the top of the agenda for the Thursday, October 13 meeting of the Greater Seven Lakes Community Council [GSLCC] and the Moore County Board of Commissioners. Other items addressed during the meeting included redistricting, zoning, and the county budget.

There are at least seven options available to bring additional water to the Seven Lakes area, Public Works Director Randy Gould told Council members and Commissioners. Seven Lakers “have a tremendous amount of opportunities” when it comes to water, Gould said. However, the pros and cons of each option -- and its impact on water rates -- must be nailed down before a decision is made.

Commissioner Larry Caddell, a former Mayor of Carthage who has long experience with water issues, said, “We are not in a bind for water right now . . . we want to make sure we choose the right source.”

“We [Commissioners] have an obligation to the taxpayers of Moore County," he added, "but we also have an obligation to the [water] rate payers.”

Current supply adequate

The current supply of water in Seven Lakes is adequate to meet current demand, Gould explained. The question is how to meet the community's -- and the county's -- needs in the future. By 2030, the County will need an additional two million gallons per day [GPD] of water to support the projected “maximum day” water needs of residents.

“If you can meet the maximum day demand, you can meet any other day," Gould said.

In Seven Lakes, the current maximum demand for water is 880,000 GPD -- on an average day, that demand drops to 430,000 GPD. The County projects that, in the year 2030, the maximum daily water need in Seven Lakes will be 1.2 million GPD -- a nearly 40 percent increase.

Systemwide, the county can currently supply seven million GPD of water available to its customers. The Public Works department is projecting systemwide maximum day water need to increase by two million GPD by 2030, bringing the total to nine million GPD. That means Moore County will have to find at least two million more gallons per day to meet the 2030 water demand.