LELAND — Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2GO will meet in a specially-called meeting Monday to review a proposed settlement agreement. H2GO announced the meeting midmorning Friday.
Even if Commissioners end up approving the proposed agreement, which has undergone various changes in recent weeks, it still has a long way to go before final approval. It must be approved by all governing boards entangled in the ongoing utility lawsuit: Belville, H2GO, and Leland.
If passed by all three boards, the proposed agreement would be subject to the court’s final approval.
Timing
Leland canceled a special meeting two days prior to its originally-scheduled date, Oct. 2, for the purpose of reviewing and approving the proposed agreement.
The town recently organized sanitary district annexation petitions for town residents to request annexation into the voting area for H2GO’s sanitary service district. Petitions apply to neighborhoods falling inside town limits but outside H2GO’s current district include Brunswick Forest, Summerlin Trace, and Windsor Park, according to a town press release.
Because the proposed agreement would transfer Leland’s utilities to H2GO, these neighborhoods would be served by H2GO — but those customers would not be automatically eligible to vote for H2GO’s board in the upcoming election. Since district annexation and the utility transfer are not legally intertwined, the town has quickly worked to ensure residents outside H2GO’s district are not disenfranchised should the proposed agreement go through.
Last month, the town gave residents of Brunswick Forest a 10-day window to sign its petition (state statute does not require an annexation petition timeline). Asked why the town chose to collect petitions by Sept. 30, Leland Manager David Hollis said because of an Oct. 1 H2GO special meeting. H2GO Commissioners discussed the prospect of setting a special meeting on that date but it never materialized.
Early voting for the upcoming municipal election begins Oct. 16. Given the tight timing, it seems highly unlikely town residents not already included in H2GO’s service district will be able to vote for H2GO candidates this election season.
If more than 15% of residents in the proposed annexation area sign the petition, a public hearing and meeting with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services must take place. Then, the measure can be placed on a ballot, with a majority vote requiring official district annexation. If more than 51% sign the petition, no ballot measure is required. If 100% petitioners sign, no hearings or ballot measures are required, according to the town.
The proposed agreement
Publicly-disclosed concepts of the “Regional Solution” proposed settlement agreement include the following stipulations, verbatim as provided in an August Town of Leland joint press release:
- Belville would return all Sanitary District assets.
- Leland would convey its water and sewer lines to the Sanitary District.
- The Sanitary District would operate and maintain all water and sewer assets as a singular system.
- The Sanitary District would construct an aquifer-based reverse osmosis water treatment plant.
Concrete information about the plan, including what financial or shareholder ‘interest’ in H2GO’s expanded utility, not yet been announced.
H2GO Commissioners will meet for a special meeting Monday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Leland Town Hall. The only item on the agenda is an executive session to discuss litigation.
Commissioners will meet again the following day, Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. at Leland Town Hall for a regularly-scheduled board meeting. Leland Town Council meets for its regularly-scheduled board meeting Thursday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. at Leland Town Hall. No closed session item appears on the town’s agenda, however, Council frequently meets in closed session at its regular board meetings.
It is possible Town Council could approve the proposed agreement Thursday, but given ongoing negotiations, nothing is guaranteed. Belville’s next regularly-scheduled meeting is Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Belville Town Hall.
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