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County to seek $2.5M reserve to restart neighborhood water-main projects
Summary
Brunswick County staff told commissioners the fiscal-year budget will include $2.5 million to rebuild a reserve for neighborhood water-main projects and asked engineering to prioritize feasible projects for the coming cycle.
Brunswick County commissioners discussed restarting long-delayed neighborhood water and utility projects and were told staff will propose setting aside $2.5 million in reserves for those efforts in the upcoming budget.
Commissioners noted the county previously paused a neighborhood water-line program during the COVID period and had a backlog of requests. County staff described two mechanisms historically used to extend water service: special-assessment districts (SADs), where participants pay for lines and may finance through county processes, and county-funded neighborhood projects in which the county paid for lines and residents paid connection fees. At the meeting staff said last year the county resumed set-aside funding at $1 million and that the proposed reserve for the coming budget year is $2.5 million to support design and construction phases.
Staff said engineering will re-review the list of streets submitted for future enterprise water-main rankings and advised commissioners they will present project feasibility and prioritization at a future meeting. Commissioners directed staff to bring the requests forward for consideration in the May budget discussions and suggested engineering present recommended projects and cost estimates.
Why it matters: restarting the program would allow residents who previously requested connections to advance projects that were deferred; commissioners said they want prioritization based on likely participation and fiscal feasibility.
No formal vote was recorded on setting the reserve at the meeting; staff said the $2.5 million figure will be part of the coming budget proposal and that engineering will present specific projects for commissioner review.
