The Town Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday night to increase the inspection fees by an average of 31 percent. Aberdeen Planning Director Giles Hopkins said the new fee schedule brings Aberdeen more in line with what most other towns in Moore County charge for the same services.
Some of the fees went up by more than 31 percent, some by less, and some did not change. Art Parker made the motion to adopt the new fees, the first increases in the inspection fee schedule since January 1998.
During its regular monthly work session Thursday, the Town Board tabled consideration of an increase in water and sewer rates for out-of-town customers. The board will consider that fee hike after Town Manager Tony Robertson provides a schedule of water and sewer rates for Moore County towns and for towns of comparable population outside Moore County.
Out-of-town utility rates in Aberdeen are twice as high as in-town rates.
“I would remind you only that the town has 38 new sewer customers in the Midway area as a result of a Community Development Block Grant project,” Robertson said. “Most of these people are low-income, and any increase in out-of-town rates would affect them.
“On the other hand, many of our out-of-town water customers are getting town water and sewer at what is actually a pretty reasonable cost, and they are contributing nothing to the town in the way of taxes.”
Forest Hills Sewer
The commissioners also tabled consideration of installing sewer lines throughout the Forest Hills neighborhood preparatory to annexation.
Hopkins said he was still working on a breakdown of how much it would cost the town to annex the out-of-town portions of Forest Hills — including the cost for the sewer lines — and how much revenue the town could expect to receive in the form of property taxes. The board will consider the matter again during its work session scheduled for Aug. 2.
Hopkins said 49 lots in Forest Hills have not been annexed into Aberdeen. Of these 49 lots, 28 have houses.
“I’ll have to figure the tax values of those lots and houses, and I’ll have to figure how much it would cost the town for garbage collection and other services,” he said. “I just don’t have enough details yet.”
CDBG Hearing
Also during Thursday’s work session, the board held the second and last public hearing on its Community Development Block Grant application to the N.C. Division of Community Assistance. The only speaker at the hearing was Bill Lester of the town’s consulting firm, Hobbs, Upchurch and Associates of Southern Pines, who explained details of the grant.
After the hearing, the board approved Parker’s motion to submit the application, and Mayor Betsy Mofield signed the necessary paperwork to get the application submitted by the Friday deadline.
The town is asking for a CDBG grant of $600,000 to provide sewer service to another 38 houses in the Berkley neighborhood. The commissioners have pledged $80,000 to the project over two years, plus the waiver of $20,880 worth of tap fees, should the application be approved. The town expects to hear by September whether its proposed project will be funded.
Lester said the grant would provide money for new gravity sewer lines to serve homes on Keyser, Benjamin and Moore streets and some connecting dirt streets and alleys. He said three vacant and dilapidated houses in the area would be demolished and cleared.
An earlier CDBG grant to the town provided funds for some sewer lines, street drainage and housing rehabilitation work in Berkley.
The board conducted a 20-minute closed session to discuss property acquisition. It adjourned immediately after the closed session without voting on the property matter.
