A new round of Sewer South negotiations

The issue of who controls sewer assets in southern Oconee is like the volley of a tennis ball. You have to swing your neck side-to-side to follow the play. After a one-hour closed door meeting this morning, two Joint Regional Sewer Authority officials plan to speak to County Council during a public meeting. This morning the JRSA board met with its attorney for a report and advice on who will wind up owning and maintaining the Fair Play “Sewer South” system. Afterward, the board agreed to the following motion by Seneca’s Scott Moulder: “I make a motion that we direct the chair of this board (Scott Parris), in addition to our executive director, Chris Eleazer, to attend a public County Council meeting and present the position of this board as discussed in executive session in relation to the requested agreement for the management and operation of the phases 1 and 2 of the Sewer South expansion.” That position is believed to reflect the JRSA’s agreement to two of three conditions stipulated during last week’s council meeting. The one exception being that the JRSA must grant the county a seat on its policy making board. Last week the county council stipulated that operating, maintenance, and repairs are to be paid by the county, but paid only at the time costs are incurred. A second provision is that if grants for funding phase 2, extending sewer to I-85, are not received the ownership of the lines from the Golden Corner Park to the JRSA treatment plant in Seneca will revert to the county. And number 3—the one that may provide the problem—is whether Oconee County is granted a seat on the JRSA board.