MINUTES
STATE
OF
COUNTY OF
HENDERSON AUGUST
25, 2009
The Henderson
County Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at 7:00 p.m. in
the Commissioners' Meeting Room of the Henderson County Historic Courthouse.
Those present
were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Vice-Chairman
Present from
Polk County were: Vice-Chairman Warren
Watson, Chair Cindy Walker. County Manager Ryan Whitson, Clerk to the Board
Anne Britton, Attorney Thomas Hix, Engineer Dave Odom, Planning Director Cathy
Ruth, Commissioner Ray Gasperson and Commissioner Renee McDermott.
Absent
were: Assistant County Manager Selena
Coffey and Clerk to the Board Teresa Wilson.
CALL TO
ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer
called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance, stating that the
purpose of the meeting is a Public Hearing with respect to a request from Polk
County in regards to the Green River Watershed (Proposed Lake Adger
Intake).
Chairman Moyer
noted that on September 1, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., the Henderson County Water Supply
and Distribution Task Force will meet for purpose of public comment on all
water issues affecting the Southern end of the County. The task force was formed by the County in
conjunction with the City of Hendersonville and other municipalities. There are representatives from agriculture,
business, and a water engineer. This
committee looks at various issues and determines what recommendations should be
made to the municipalities and the county.
THE GREEN RIVER WATERSHED (PROPOSED LAKE ADGER
INTAKE)
Planning
Director Anthony Starr provided the following information via a power-point
presentation.
Background Facts
on Public Water Supply Watersheds:
·
All
land is located within a watershed.
·
20%
of NC lands are classified as being within water supply watersheds.
o
Water
supply watersheds are sources of water for drinking, culinary or food
processing purposes.
·
Henderson
County currently has 5 regulated watersheds.
o
Approximately
48,121 acres total
Who Regulates
these Water Supply Watersheds?
·
Henderson
County regulates the water supply watersheds through zoning.
o
Henderson
County adopted its ordinance in 1994 as required by State and Federal law.
·
N.C.
Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) sets base regulations
for local governments to follow & is responsible for classifying a water
supply watershed as stated in the Water Supply Watershed Protection Act.
·
The
County does not determine or set the water supply watershed boundaries or
classifications.
Facts on
Proposed Green River Watershed:
·
Lake
Adger Watershed contains 87,470 acres.
o
36,825
acres in Polk County
o
50,645
acres in Henderson County
·
Reclassify
50,645 acres in the Green River and Hungry River areas to a WS-III watershed.
o
Approximately
21.09% of Henderson County (There are approximately a total of 240,100 acres in
Henderson County)
WS-III Watershed
Allows:
·
Allows
agriculture and silviculture uses.
·
Allows
single-family residential uses.
o
Minimum
lot size of 20,000 square feet (0.46 acres or just less than ½ acres).
o
Most
of the affected area currently requires 1 acre or more per County zoning.
·
Allows
multifamily & nonresidential uses
o
Maximum
of 24% built upon area (or 70% built upon area with a special intensity
allocations (SIA)).
o
Built
upon area includes pavement, buildings & gravel.
o
Current
County rules limit built upon area to 80% of a development site.
One of the more
significant changes for Henderson County would be that the limit on that
impervious surface or built upon area would go from 80% to 70% for multi-family
and non-residential uses. They would
only be allowed if the underlining zoning for that area permits those uses in
the first place.
The following is
a map of the Lake Adger drainage basin as provided to Henderson County by the
State Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It includes all of the Green River area in
Henderson County, as well as the Hungry River area extending up into the Green
River Game lands and as far west as the Transylvania County line and the South
Carolina State line on the south. It
includes a very small portion of the Village of Flat Rock and some part of
Saluda.
The following map
includes current and proposed water supply Watershed regulations. The upper left hand side of the map reflects
our current regulated areas for water supply.
These are for the Asheville and Hendersonville water intakes. The lower right hand green area is the
proposed Watershed as given to us by the State of North Carolina.
Chairman Moyer
questioned if Watershed III would have any regulations with respect to use of
streams or lakes.
Mr. Starr
responded that he did not believe the use of lakes was regulated. It does include set-back requirements for
streams at 30 feet. He does not feel
that use of Lake Summit would be impacted.
County Manager
Steve Wyatt asked when speaking of use if they were talking about recreational.
Chairman Moyer
responded yes.
Mr. Starr stated
that these requirements are limited to development activity and do not regulate
recreational use as far as he knew.
Chairman Moyer
questioned if you have a multi-family use situation now that could not be built
under the Watershed III classification, are they grandfathered or how would
they be dealt with.
Mr. Starr
responded that if a multi-family project is allowed it has to be permitted by
our underlying zoning regulations. It
will allow a multi-family project but will limit the impervious surface limit
and building on the site in a more stringent way. It will go from 80% limit to a 70%
limit. If the project were completed
five years ago it would be grandfathered.
Commissioner
Williams questioned if this were so during special intensity allocations only;
otherwise it would be 24%.
Mr. Starr
responded this was correct. The special
intensity allocation is allowed for up to 10% of the drainage basin with the
jurisdiction. For Henderson County this
would be approximately 5000 acres which could be developed up to the 70%.
POLK COUNTY
GOVERNMENT
Polk County
Commissioners’ Vice-Chairman Warren D. Watson presented Polk County
issues. A copy of the issues is included
in form of a letter which is attached hereto and incorporated as part of the
minutes.
Chairman Moyer
stated the one issue he felt was different from what had been discussed was if
Henderson County did not endorse WSIII, Polk County would go back and request WSIV
even though the State has told them they cannot.
Mr. Watson
stated this would be Polk County’s intent.
Speaking for the Polk County Commissioners’, they feel with the WSIII,
Henderson County is protecting the Watershed and therefore Henderson County
should have some potential benefit from it.
With the WSIV, the Watershed would be in Polk County which is what they
requested initially.
PUBLIC COMMENT
- Larry
Rogers – Mr. Roger’s comments were based on the possible loss of the Green
River Water Basin. He was speaking
on behalf of the Henderson County Partners for Economic Progress. They are against allowing the Green
River water basin to be taken over by an adjoining county. We will lose the ability to control the
development of our land and the full use of our second largest river. We have already felt the sting of
betrayal for allowing an outside government to come into our county and
talk us out of the water from our largest river, the French Broad. He stated that earlier today the City of
Asheville reneged on all aspects of the contract they signed, and told
Henderson County they owe us nothing for the water they pump out of our
county. The City of Asheville said
we should be thankful they let us purchase small amounts of our water back
from them during last year’s drought, and we should be thankful that the
Asheville Airport is nearby for our use.
The Partners for Economic Progress suggest that Henderson County
immediately claim the Green River basin and Lake Summit as our drinking
water reserve and reservoir.
Henderson County should not allow another County to walk in and
take our water. There have been
contracts that have lost their meaning after the ink dried.
- Robert
Ballard – Mr. Ballard is the President of Green River Community
Association (GRCA). GRCA expressed
concerns about Polk County’s acquisition of Lake Adger and how it will
affect the resident landowners.
GRCA is aware that the State has given Henderson County and Polk
County the option to work out the details relative to watershed
classification. It is their
understanding that the newly created water task force is currently looking
into the ramifications of watershed classifications, and that Polk County
has no plans to market the resource of water to any other municipality. However there are three towns within the
boundaries of Polk County; Saluda, Columbus and Tryon, and because they
are not participating or having any inclinations to use Lake Adger water,
GRCA questions Polk County’s motives.
He feels that current water resources in use are sufficient for
Polk County’s needs and the commercial sale of water to other
municipalities, possibly outside of the state, seems to be the motivating
source in Polk County’s agenda. The
Green River landowners ask that the utmost consideration be given when
discussion about these resources are undertaken. GRCA requests that if any agreement is
reached with Polk County whereby revenue is created through the sale of
water from Lake Adger, that these revenues are shared with Henderson
County and a percentage be set aside in a special fund for the residents
of Green River Township. These
funds could help fund a park, community center, library or other community
project. The Lake Summit
Association is concerned about the water that would be dropped off Lake
Summit.
- Terry
Maybin – Ms. Maybin is a member of the Board of the Green River Community
Association. GRCA has spent many
hours on this issue studying the details and listing to the
community. GRCA ask that the Board
of Commissioners do what is possible to keep Green River from becoming a
ward of the state. They feel there
are three possible developments that can occur in the Lake Adger situation. The best possibility is that the
classification level IIII is designated by the state. In this situation, the residents of
Green River are unaffected. The
next best situation is that if classification level III is required by the
state, then the Counties must be given time to reach an agreement that
compensates Henderson County and the Green River Community. Wealthy landowners that donate land for
conservation protection purposes get tax breaks that ease the pain. If the Green River is classified as
level III then some equivalent compensation should occur. This compensation is appropriate because
residents will lose local government access to address questions of land
and water use. Enormous economic
potential would go to Polk County and would forever foreclose certain
opportunities in Green River; such benefits should be shared. The worst possible outcome is the
imposition of the level III by the state without providing the counties
the opportunities to negotiate. In
this situation all of the gains go to Polk County and all of the losses go
to Henderson County and Green River Community. Whether one gallon per day or two
million per day are pumped from Lake Adger, the impact on Green River is
the same. A recent experience
heightened our concern about state control. The GRCA invited the Department of Water
Quality to address our community and educate our people of the water rules
and they turned us down. GRCA asks
for the Boards support and they in return will keep Green River clean for
another two hundred years without the state showing them how.
- Barbara
Head – Ms. Head presented the Board with a petition signed by 283 people
from the Green River Community which had been prepared by the GRCA
concerning discussions by Henderson County and Polk County Commissioners
about the Green River Watershed being defined as a Class III
Watershed. GRCA has learned that
Polk County has two water sources already.
GRCA would like to see Green River classified as a class IV, then
Polk County would only have jurisdiction to our County line. We should have control of what we have
diligently protected for all these years to benefit our heirs.
- Shannon
Baldwin – Mr. Baldwin provided a couple of questions and requested answers
after the hearing. He would like to
know the intent of Polk County to facilitate inner connection among the
municipalities in Polk County, and the role that Polk County would play in
that process. He would also like to
understand if there is a water distribution plan for the areas that Polk
County wishes to bring water to first and in what priority.
- Mark
Stierwalt – Mr. Stierwalt felt that the biggest issue is the possibility
that we are going to be sharing our resources and having limitations
placed on our county. Currently our
Zoning Board of Adjustments is our appeal board and we can get an answer
for or against, that right will be taken away. As Polk County says it is their intent
not to sale water to anyone outside of the county, he would like to see an
agreement with the county that if in the future they do decide to sale
water to someone else a profit percentage based agreement be put in
writing now and confirmed.
- Gorann
Brooks – Ms. Brooks lives in Tuxedo.
She is in favor of the plan for a reliable water source.
Planning
Director Anthony Starr answered questions from the Board in regards to the
difference in classification between WSIII and WSIV.
Chairman Moyer
asked if Polk County goes ahead with WSIV classification rather than WSIII, if
it would have zero inpact on the ability of Polk County to take the same amount
of water from the Green River basin and from Lake Adger.
Mr. Starr
responded his area of expertise lies with the water supply watershed
regulations as to what their input permits may or may not allow. It would limit the regulation of Polk County
but he is unaware if they would be further restricted. The classifications chosen by the state, in
theory, are supposed to be based upon the existing development patterns within
the area that would drain the intake.
Consulting
Engineer Bill Lapsley, a member of the Water Supply and Distribution Task Force
addressed the Board per request of Chairman Moyer. He did not believe the amount of water that
could be drawn per day was affected by the WSIII or WSIV classification.
Warren Watson
readdressed the Board regarding questions that came up during public comment.
1)
Polk
County’s ability to work with their municipalities - He feels this is a long
term goal. Currently each of the
municipalities has their own water system and they are collaborating at this
time to work together. It is Polk
County’s hope that in the future a water authority can be formed within Polk
County that will allow us all to work together.
As the systems get older and the cost of bringing water to the citizens
increases due to maintenance and other issues, Polk County will have the
ability to offer those citizens a better, higher quality and lower cost of
water without negatively impacting our municipalities.
2)
Is
there a water distribution plan – They are in fact working on it. There intent is to run straight up Highway 9
to the Rutherfordton County line.
Currently their line at the Southern end of the County, crosses over the
Southern end and runs up Chesney Highway and Highway 9. This is within the Comprehensive Plan being
worked on at this time and they have specifically requested a water resource
plan which will lay out the back bone of their water system and the
infra-structure will be phased in. They
do not wish to force people to join on the water system but give them an
incentive to do so.
The Board of
Commissioners asked several additional questions of Mr. Watson.
Commissioner
Messer asked if Mr. Watson knew the formula that the State uses for Watershed
classifications to determine how to choose WSIII or WSIV.
Dave Odom
responded that he was not aware of any specific formula. It is a function of the development patterns
in the discharges that exist within the watershed. If they anticipate a less dense development
pattern they require you to pursue the most favorable watershed classification
that you can to ensure the best quality of water long term.
Commissioner
McGrady noted that Henderson County has been contacted by the City of Saluda in
regards to their purchase of a water company that generates water. In the course of the discussions we backed
into an understanding of what the municipal uses of water might be from Lake
Adger (long term). He did not feel it
would make sense to pump water up-hill to Henderson County.
Commissioner
Watson believes there is a system of pumps and values in the line from Tryon to
Saluda, and Tryon would actually be a back-up to the Saluda system.
It was noted
that currently bids are being accepted to place a water line from Tryon to Saluda.
Chairman Moyer
understands these lines are being characterized as emergency backup in case of
dry situations.
Commissioner
Young questioned Polk County’s relationship with the Broad River Water
Authority.
Commissioner
Watson responded that Broad River Water Authority is in Rutherfordton County,
North Carolina and over the years they have lost a lot of customers due to
textile plant closings, etc. The Inman /
Campobello water system is in Spartanburg, South Carolina and was looking for a
new source of water. In order to connect
those two systems was to run across Polk County (geographically). Polk County felt in order to protect
themselves they needed to own the lines.
When they were approached with the idea of running the line across Polk
County and agreement was made for Inman/Campobello to construct the lines, deed
the lines within the borders of Polk County back to Polk County. The water would be metered from Broad River
to Polk County at one county line and from Polk County into Inman / Campobello
(Spartanburg, SC) at the other line.
That water is sent through on a pass through basis. No revenue or profits are made. This is just a way to facilitate a seller
with a buyer. Polk County gained water
lines and an agreement to purchase up to 600,000 gallons per day by putting a T
on the line and running it up Chesney Highway.
We have lots of folks in that area with wells going dry and Polk County
knew they needed to address water quicker than a Lake Adger intake would
allow. Polk County desired to eventually
have an intake on Lake Adger because it is a resource within their county.
Chairman Moyer
questioned the water source for the Broad River Water Authority.
Commissioner
Watson responded the Broad River and the Green River flows into the Broad
River.
Commissioner
Young referred to the letter from Polk County, page 4, and noted that Polk
County officials have said “No” to significant commercial and residential
development. He questioned if they do
however intend to sell water to South Carolina.
Commissioner
Watson responded that this is not the intent of Polk County. They are purchasing water through the line
that crosses their county going into South Carolina. The folks at Inman / Campobello would have to
purchase a tremendous amount of water from Polk County to make it feasible for
the expense involved. Polk County does
not see giving up that much water. They
would like to have their own intake with up to 2 million gallons per day.
Commissioner
Williams assumed there was a lack of interest at this point from the
municipalities due to cost, and felt there would be a great deal of pressure to
sell water to subsidize the cost. He
questioned what had been done, in terms of feasibility studies from the cost
standpoint, to determine the anticipated expense.
Commissioner
Watson responded Polk County is purchasing the lake out of their fund balance
with no financing. Part of the water
plan (comprehensive plan) will allow for Polk County to phase in infrastructure
so that when they get a certain concentration of customers it will give them
enough revenue to go the next step and invest in the next area of
infrastructure. It is not a quick and
fast plan, but a multi-year, long term multi-phase plan.
Dave Odom
readdressed the Board that this is correct, it is an expensive
proposition. Polk County has held
discussions in relation to timing and when they would build a plant to be able
to efficiently operate it with the revenue stream they have. It was determined that they would need 1,000
customers to effectively be able to operate the plant and cover the revenues of
the plant itself. The Board has held
several discussions in regards to funding methods for the plant and no
decisions have been made at this time.
The primary concern is how the plant will be operated without a
sufficient revenue stream. The plant
construction will not begin until they have a sufficient customer base to
operate and break even.
Chairman Moyer
requested an update on the structural inspection of the dam that Polk County
had said was a condition to moving forward.
Dave Odom
responded they have received a seismic study which was one of the contingencies
within the contract to purchase. It is
currently being reviewed by their engineering firm and they are hoping for a
positive outcome. Polk County feels that
the dam is in good shape but will need maintenance as it is 80 years old. If the contingencies are not determined
satisfactory there are terms in the contract that would allow Polk County to
terminate the contract in certain situations.
Ryan Whitson
stated that the contingencies in the contract were that Polk County agreed to
purchase the dam subject to a seismic study and NCDENR requested that study
before negotiations were made to purchase the dam. Subject to the contract, if there are more
than $2 million worth of repairs to be made of the dam the purchase agreement
is null and void if the Polk County Board so desires. There is also a “worst case scenario” flood
study where water would come over and possibly undermine the dam. They have not received this study to date but
expect it any day. In response to a
question by Commissioner Young, Mr. Whitson stated that Inman / Campobello put
in a 20 inch water line and they have two (2) pump stations that cost about
$500,000 each. Polk County’s water line
on Highway 9 is a 12 inch line with no pump stations.
Additional
Public Comment
8.
Carolyn
Brown – Ms. Brown stated that other rivers along with the Green River go into
the Broad River and she felt it they were getting that much water out of the
Broad River they did not need to use the Green River. She feels use of the Green River would
greatly impact the agricultural part of Green River and also it would put a lot
of restrictions on the farmers in that area.
9.
Bill
Brown – Mr. Brown questioned the restrictions on Lake Summit. He heard many years prior that Saluda had the
right to the water coming out of Lake Summit.
He requested clarification on WSIII and WSIV in regards to Lake Summit.
Chairman Moyer
stated that he was unaware that Saluda has any agreement to get the water out
of Lake Summit. If Polk County gets a
WSIV for this project the watershed would be in Polk County only and there
would be no classification in Henderson County.
A study has not been done on Lake Summit.
At a future
meeting the Henderson County Board of Commissioners will decide what they want
to put on the agenda and what how they wish to take action.
The Public
Hearing was closed at 8:20 p.m.
ADJOURN
Being no further business to come before the Board, Commissioner
Young made the motion to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Attest:
Teresa L. Wilson,
Clerk to the Board William L. Moyer, Chairman