Pre-empting anticipated questions from the audience at a regular worksession, Smith said he expects to “out-patience” the county commissioners, who voted 3-2 on Jan. 5 to reject a revised water purchase contract the council approved in November.
The commissioners plan to meet in closed session with their attorney at 3 p.m. Jan. 20, prior to the regular meeting in the old courthouse in Carthage.
“We don’t kno w to what end,” Smith said of the meeting.
He reported that there has been no contact since the county vote. There had been some discussion between Village Manager Andy Wilkison and Moore County Manager Steve Wyatt.
Wyatt and the outside attorneys for the county had both recommended the commissioners approve the contract.
County Commission Chairman Michael Holden had rejected wording in the amended contract that would have had Pinehurst buying a million gallons of water a day.
Holden cast the deciding “no” vote after consistently supporting the sale of the utilities to Pinehurst for years. He campaigned for election to his first term in 1994 on his support for selling the water and sewer system to the village.
“There is some indication that if we settle the whole million-gallons-a-day thing, the whole brou-haha will be settled,” Smith said.
The village and the county must approve the water purchase contract before it can sell the bonds to buy its utility system from the county.
The amended contract requires Pinehurst to pay the county a $250 per day “availability fee.”
Pinehurst would reserve up to a million gallons of water a day but would only pay for what it uses.
‘Wheeling Fee’
The original offer from the Pinehurst council stated the village would buy a million gallons a day. Added on would be a 25-cent-per-1,000-gallon “wheeling fee.” The new amendment provides for the same amount of profit, changing the wording from a “wheeling fee” to an “availability” fee.
Holden insisted later that he thought the system and its potential water sales were worth more than the $9 million sales price agreed on by the county and the village. But he told The Pilot in a telephone interview that he wanted the “take-or-pay” requirement back in the contract.
The county has those terms in its contract with Southern Pines and Harnett County. The county buys 2 million gallons a day from Harnett County.
Holden said he thought Pinehurst had been trying to “back out” of the original deal for the past six months. He said he didn’t know how much revenue the “take-or-pay” provision means for the county.
It could be moot.
Pinehurst Councilman Doug-las Lapins said Pinehurst already needs an additional 900,000 gallons a day to supplement public well production.
Not Renegotiating
“We are not interested in renegotiating an agreement,” Smith said. “We went to the voters to approve the referendum on it, and it would be wrong to part with that.”
The signed purchase contract approved by the county and village last year calls for the village council to pay $9 million for the assets of the utility system in the village.
The money would come from the $16 million in bonds Pinehurst voters authorized on Nov. 4.
The Village Council has postponed a trip to New York to meet with bond rating agencies until some answers come out of the commissioners’ meeting.
The village will delay further expenditures but has already spent a considerable amount of money preparing to take over utilities, Smith said.
“It would not well serve the village to walk off in a snit,” Smith told the audience. “We are going to out-patience them.”
Smith said his feeling about resolving the issue changes daily.
“Some days I wake up thinking we have a 30 percent chance of resolving it and the deal going through; another day, 70 percent, then down to 25, and up to 80 percent,” he said “It takes two to tangle…. And to tango.”
“Freudian slip,” Council-woman Virginia Fallon said.
Revert to Original Offer
Smith said again that the council would be glad to return to the original wording of the contract with a “take-or-pay” provision for the million gallons. The council last week sent a letter under Smith’s signature to the commissioners offering to revert to that language.
So far, Smith said, “the bad news is there has been little direct negotiation, but the good news is the chairman of the county commissioners seems to be keeping the issue alive in a way that there could be a settlement.”
E-mails back and forth with Holden and Pinehurst residents elicit Holden’s repeated position that the village should take out the language he dislikes.
It’s clear, Smith repeated, that the county’s representative changed the wording.
“There could be a lot of remarks about who shot who and who did what,” Smith said. “We truly were surprised.”
The state Local Government Commission was going to oversee a bond sale Feb. 3. The sale date will have to be delayed. The state agency could still sell the bonds and the transaction could go through by mid-March if the issue is resolved Jan. 20, village Finance Director Natalie Dean has said.
In a prepared statement last week, the Village Council promised that it “will look into any other remedies the village has available to ensure the Pinehurst system is managed responsibly and that sufficient resources are devoted to its operation.”
Wilkison said later Tuesday that the village is not currently considering taking the commissioners to court.
The village by law can sell the authorized bonds any time in the next seven years, Smith pointed out.
No one from the audience had any questions.
The council could adopt a routine resolution at its Jan. 27 meeting authorizing the sale of general obligation bonds. By then, Wilkison said, the Village Council would know if the deal is going through. He recommended keeping the item on the agenda.
Other Business
In other business Tuesday, the council:
Learned that a draft of revisions to the Pinehurst Development Ordinance may be ready in June. Public hearings and adoption could occur in fall 2004.
nAllocated $8,000 from Special Events to cover Fair Barn expenses for a concert in March. The village could gross $10,000 because of the singer’s popularity.
The event could be partly underwritten by a private entity, Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Batton reported.
Amended the budget to accept a $36,100 state grant and allocate a match for $9,035 to build a walking trail in Wicker Park. The trail and boardwalks would cross wetlands alongside a stream.
The trail would link passive recreation, including the Pinehurst Historic Preservation Foundation Arboretum, with active playing areas.
Appropriated $125,000 for professional services connected with unanticipated legal costs for the water and sewer system purchase. Reimbursement will come from bond proceeds.
Approved $20,000 to repair leaks on the Fair Barn roof. The building is almost 100 years old, and leaks developed from air conditioning and heating systems. 
