Construction to begin on water, sewer lines across river

By Rose Hooper

That's the good news, Tuckasegee Water and Sewer Executive Director Jerry King told the Dillsboro town board Monday night at its meeting.

"We have a pre-construction conference with the contractor, Stillwell Enterprises of Sylva, on Wednesday, and we're hoping construction can actually begin in two weeks," King said. Much of the project delay, King said, was due to the N.C. Department of Transportation, which "held us up for two years on how we were going to get the lines across the river."

When the endangered Appalachian elktoe mussell was found in the Tuckaseigee River, plans to run the lines under the water had to be scrapped, King said. Plan B called for the lines to be attached to the bridge, but engineering specs on how to attach the lines were "changed four times in two years," he said.

Another change in the project over the years, King said, was the price. Three and a half years ago the project was estimated at $280,000, plus engineering costs. That figure has escalated to $400,000, King told the board. A N.C. Rural Development grant of $200,000 is helping fund the project.

At the beginning of the project Dillsboro indicated private businessmen, plus the town, would be willing to contribute $15,000, King reminded the board.

"Is that offer still good?" he asked.

The offer was made when the businessmen involved were willing to be voluntarily annexed into the town limits, Mayor Wade Wilson said.

"If we did annex those properties, we felt Dillsboro could recoup its investment from property taxes in about seven years. But now, the businessmen aren't willing to be voluntarily annexed," said Wilson, who told King the board had taken no official action on the contribution. Town clerk Herb Nolan told King that "if our pockets were that deep, we'd dig in them," but currently Dillsboro does not have the money to contribute.

Town board member and TWSA representative Jim Cochran asked King if municipalities routinely contribute to TWSA projects in their jurisdiction.

"Not necessarily, other than the initial contributions each made when TWSA was formed," King said. "However, if municipalities annex and offer water and sewer services as part of the package, then the municipalities would have to pay for that."

Dillsboro plans no "forceful annexation," Nolan said.

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