Board of Commissioners Chairman Nick Picerno "was really sort of dismayed" at the Moore County Board of Education's vote to cancel a joint meeting of the two Boards that had been scheduled for Thursday, September 5.

"And I was particularly concerned about the comment of one School Board member that the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners seem to have different goals in mind," he added. "I believe the goals of both boards is giving the children of Moore County the best education that we can afford."

Picerno addressed the meeting cancellation during the Tuesday, September 3 Commissioners meeting. [See our story here for more on the School Board's decision.]

The purpose of the joint meeting was to discuss financial planning for Moore County Schools [MCS] facilities and the digital learning initiative, as well as the goals of the two boards.

In addition to those new school-related expenditures, the Commissioners face the prospect of building a new courthouse in the next decade, as well as upgrading other facilities. So they have a keen interest in developing a comprehensive picture of long-term capital financing needs.

"I am concerned that we can't have just board members sit down in a work session, without staff," he added. School Board members wanted to have Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence and other MCS staff participate in the meeting; the Commissioners wanted only elected officials at the table.

"It is in everyone's best interest . . . to have a good working relationship," Commissioner Randy Saunders said, noting that, as the Commissioner designated to interface with MCS, he had regular conversations with Kathy Farren, the School Board member designated as liaison to the County.

"We are going to work to have a meeting where we can talk through those things," Saunders said. "We have to keep an open line of communication. The only way for us to have success in the schools is to work together."

"If they don't want to sit down and talk with us, how do they ever expect to resolve anything?" Commissioner Otis Ritter asked.

Moore County's need for facilities and the Board of Commissioners' determination to avoid a tax increase are on a collision course. The magnitude of the challenge was outlined in a Friday, August 23 meeting of the County's Courthouse Advisory Committee.

Moore County needs a new courthouse, something the experts believe will cost $20-$25 million, or more. A new jail and public safety complex were just completed, at a cost of $25.8 million, which must now be repaid.

The County's student population is growing; some schools need to be expanded, and others need to be replaced. Exactly what will be built and what that will cost will determined in a public planning process this Fall. But, in November 2014, voters will likely find a bond referendum for $60 million, $80 million, or even more on the ballot.

Moore County Schools has initiated an ambitious plan to provide digital technology -- laptops and tablet computers -- to every student in every classroom. That could add an extra $2 million each year, every year going forward, to the $26.5 million county taxpayers currently provide to the schools.

There's a lot to be accomplished, a lot of money to be spent, and the Board of Commissioners are determined to avoid any increase in property taxes.

That was the message that County Commissioner Larry Caddell and Commissioners Chairman Nick Picerno carried to the August 23 meeting of the County's Courthouse Advisory Committee.

From billboards to sewers, fracking to zoning, water to taxes, Moore County department heads worked their way through a raft of questions posed by the Greater Seven Lakes Community Council [GSLCC] during a Thursday, August 15 meeting with the Moore County Board of Commissioners.

As GSLCC President Jack Stevens explained at the opening of the meeting, the group brings together the Presidents of the landowners associations serving Seven Lakes West, Seven Lakes North and South, and McLendon Hills, as well as the President of the Seven Lakes Business Guild. The purpose is "to identify concerns that are common to our communities and present them in a unified manner," Stevens said.

You'll find several articles below that report on individual topics covered in the joint session, including: water and sewer, zoning and billboards, tax revaluation, fire insurance districts, and fracking for shale gas.

Though steady Summer rains have erased any concerns about drought this year, ensuring an adequate supply of water is always a top concern in Seven Lakes, which is served by Moore County Public Utilities.

So, it was no surprise that the Greater Seven Lakes Community Council [GSLCC] had some questions about water -- and about sewer -- when they met with the Moore County Board of Commissioners on Thursday, August 15.

Public Works Director Randy Gould reviewed a $12 million project that will bring water to Seven Lakes from Harnett County's treatment plant on the Cape Fear River. Currently, almost all of Seven Lakes' water comes from wells in Pinehurst, traveling in a water main that parallels NC Highway 211.

That system can provide about one million gallons per day, Gould said, and the community's 6,365 residents require a maximum daily supply of 881,000 gallons. By 2030, the County expects 9,125 residents in Seven Lakes, and a maximum day demand for 1.22 million gallons of water.

The County currently purchases up to two million gallons per day [MGPD] from Harnett County at a cost of $2.40 per thousand gallons. A new initiative approved by the Commissioners will buy into an expansion of Harnett's water treatment plant at an upfront cost of $5.25 million, providing up to 3.0 MGPD at an ongoing cost of $1.92 per thousand gallons.

Booster pump upgrades, a new water main on NC Highway 73, and a new water tank near West End will bring Harnett County water to Seven Lakes. In addition, the County plans to drill three new wells near Foxfire that will increase the supply of water to Pinehurst.

Expressing concern that dilapidated buildings in West End will not put the best face on the Seven Lakes area when thousands of visitors arrive to attend the 2014 US Open Golf Tournaments, the Greater Seven Lakes Community Council [GSLCC] asked Moore County Board of Commissioners to "insist, through inspections, that West End businesses on 211, comply."

The Council also expressed concern about a perceived proliferation of billboards on NC Highway 211 and asked whether Village Business zoning could be stiffened by including architectural standards.

Compliance in West End

Taking up the question of compliance in West End, Planning Director Debra Ensminger asked, during the Thursday, August 15 meeting of the Council and Commissioners, "Comply to what?" The County's zoning ordinance does not include architectural standards for West End -- or for the Seven Lakes Business District.

Residents in attendance mentioned the old Stanley Furniture plant and the West End Theater as buildings in need of upgrade or demolition.

Ensminger explained that the County does have the power to condemn buildings, and it does not have money budgeted to pay for demolitions. While a lein could be placed on the property to cover that cost, Ensminger expressed doubt that the money would ever be collected.