|
Read the full e-mail
There is no date yet for a
meeting between City of Raleigh, Town of
Wake Forest and Franklin County
officials about an impasse created when
Raleigh’s Director of Public Utilities
Dale Crisp sent an e-mail to Raleigh
City Manager Russell Allen.
Crisp referred to the
annexation agreement that was recently
reached between Youngsville and Wake
Forest, Wake Forest’s rapid growth and
increased water use, the use of Franklin
County water in the Richland Hills
subdivision, and Franklin County’s
pursuit of Neuse River water using the
intake at the former Burlington Mills
plant on Capital Boulevard.
The crux of the matter from
Raleigh’s viewpoint appears in this
statement: “In
order for Raleigh to consider agreeing
to a revised w/s service area agreement
with Franklin County to match the
annexation agreement area between Wake
Forest and Youngsville, Franklin County
must permanently drop their interest in
ever using the Burlington Mills intake
as a water supply source.”
The full e-mail, which was
sent to Raleigh officials on July 31 and
to Wake Forest Town Manager Mark
Williams and Deputy Town Manager Roe
O’Donnell on Aug. 7, is quoted in full
below. The only editing was to cut some
long paragraphs into two.
From Dale Crisp
“The Town of Wake Forest has
negotiated an annexation agreement with
the Town of Youngsville in Franklin
County (see enclosed paper copy of Wake
Forest ordinance). Raleigh Public
Utilities staff were not notified of
these negotiations, nor did any staff
participate in this discussion.
“Wake Forest staff informed
me of these negotiations in May and we
met on July 9, 2007 to receive a formal
briefing on this matter. As a result of
the discussion at that meeting, the Town
of Wake Forest has submitted a formal
letter to the City of Raleigh dated July
10, 2007 (paper copy
enclosed) requesting Raleigh extend its
Wake Forest water and sewer service area
further into Franklin County to match
the area in the annexation agreement
signed with Youngsville and as shown on
the attached map below (new boundary
shown in red).
“Wake Forest has indicated
that they pursued the annexation
agreement with Youngsville due to
private development interest in this
area and their desire to establish the
more logical annexation boundary of the
drainage basin ridge line, as stipulated
in the ordinance rather than
continuing to use the county line as the
boundary. As you know, Wake Forest had
previously extended sanitary sewer
service into a small portion of Franklin
County prior to the merger of their
water and sewer system with Raleigh to
serve a small portion of Richland Hills
Subdivision, without previously
negotiating a formal water and sewer
service agreement with Franklin County,
nor with Youngsville.
This has proven to be
problematic both for Wake Forest and now
for Raleigh, since
Franklin County is providing water
service to that portion of Richland
Hills Subdivision. The current problem
would be resolved by moving forward to
extend the water and sewer service
boundary to match the annexation area,
if an acceptable water and sewer service
area agreement is developed and approved
with Franklin County.
“However, as you know, we
have a major issue with Franklin County
since they prevented Raleigh and Wake
Forest last year from reclassifying the
segment of the Neuse River from Falls
Lake Dam down to the old Burlington
Mills Water Intake site just upstream of
Capital Boulevard from WS-IV to WS-V,
by stating to the N.C. Environmental
Management Commission that they plan to
use the intake at some point in the
future as a water supply source.
“In order for Raleigh to
consider agreeing to a revised w/s
service area agreement with Franklin
County to match the annexation agreement
area between Wake Forest and
Youngsville, Franklin County must
permanently drop their interest in ever
using the Burlington Mills intake as a
water supply source
“Another concern we have
with the subject Wake Forest request is
that it will further exacerbate a
problem that has developed over the past
couple of months. It appears to us and
to the Wake Forest staff that their
intense development activity, coupled
with high water usage by our existing
customers in the Wake Forest service
area has grown to a point where they
currently do not have adequate base
period water capacity reserved with
Raleigh via the w/s system merger
agreement to serve this additional w/s
service area, should such an agreement
be worked out with Franklin County and
development proceed as rapidly there as
it has within the current Wake Forest
service area.
“The Wake Forest staff has
informally discussed with me their
desire and need to purchase
additional base period reserve water
capacity through a w/s system merger
amendment as has been approved by
Raleigh for Garner and Rolesville in the
past, rather than to limit development
activity. Any discussion about extending
Raleigh's water and sewer service area
to include the Wake Forest annexation
area proposed into Franklin County must
also address the water capacity issue
for Wake Forest, which would result in a
significantly higher w/s system merger
cost and likely a longer period of w/s
rate differential for the existing
customers in the Wake Forest service
area.
“Recommendation:
“Public Utilities recommends
City Council approval for City staff to
proceed with review and discussion of
this request with the Wake Forest,
Youngsville and Franklin County staff,
to determine if a satisfactory
resolution of all the concerns and
conditions outlined previously can be
resolved in a water and sewer service
area extension agreement. If such an
agreement can be developed, then it will
be returned separately to the Raleigh
City Council for review and
consideration of approval.” |
