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Dare County approves Skyco well site adjacent to admin building and transfers $100,000 between water funds to cover chemical costs
Summary
Commissioners authorized staff to pursue a well site next to the administration building and approved a $50,000 budget amendment (and acknowledged a prior $50,000 transfer) to move chemical expense funds from the Skyco fund to the North RO (NRO) plant; board cited need created by a pipe failure across the sound.
The Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously authorized county staff on June 9 to proceed with engineering and test borings for a proposed new well site (Skyco) located on high ground adjacent to the county administration building. Staff said the site is the only viable location identified on Roanoke Island and would provide additional potable water capacity.
County staff and commissioners also addressed a budget transfer within the Water Department. When a submerged pipe under the Roanoke Sound failed earlier this year, the NRO (North RO) treatment plant increased production and chemical use to meet demand. The county manager told the board that $50,000 had already been moved between funds to cover the spike in chemical expenses and that staff sought approval to transfer an additional $50,000 (for a total of $100,000) from the Skyco fund to the NRO budget. The board approved the additional transfer.
Staff noted the Skyco well site is in an area of high ground near a pond by the administration building; that ground could, in theory, be used for future parking expansion, but officials said there are no plans to do that and that moving a put-in well later would be costly. Commissioners asked questions about environmental impacts (some light colloquial remarks about “bullfrogs” appeared in the discussion); staff said the site will be evaluated for suitability through borings and environmental review.
The board also adopted the Water CIP and related budget ordinances and approved the water capital reserve fund budget amendments recommended by the capital improvements committee.
