The Vance County Board of Commissioners reviewed its progress on the county-wide water project at its regular meeting on Monday, May 4, 2009.
County Manager Jerry Ayscue reported that the county is continuing to meet with the City of Henderson regarding the purchase of water. The manager cited a need to “nail down prices” with the city so that sign-ups for water service can begin.
“We want to be able to tell people what the price will be,” Ayscue said.
The county manager also told commissioners that additional grant funds are being sought. He said those funds would help the 1B phase of the project, and that phase 1A is “pretty much set” in terms of financing.
When asked by Commissioner Danny Wright if a water allocation had been obtained from Henderson, Ayscue responded that 600,000 gallons-per-day would be the allocation for all phases of the project.
Member Scott Hughes expressed a desire to educate people on how FDA funding works. He said that he wants information put on the county’s web site.
Hughes also commented that he wants information on Kerr Lake’s capacity.
Henderson’s water storage contract with the Army Corps of Engineers allows it to draw 20 million gallons-per-day from Kerr Lake.
Wright commented that HUB sites would be in competition with the county for water allocations from Henderson.
“If you don’t work these things out in advance, politics can kill these things at the last minute,” Wright said.
Commissioner Deborah Brown said that the commission should try to get the media to publicize public information. She indicated that there is erroneous information being put forward “in the same tone and in the same ink even though it has different signatures at the end”.