Water Authority Chairman Mike Queen opened Wednesday’s meeting by calling it a great day, referring to the recent reception of a USDA check last Friday. The $3,315, 650 check, loan-grant combination, will be used for the long-awaited My Mountain project, which will bring water to My Mountain phases I and II. Following a drawn-out dispute between the county, residents and the developer, the interested parties finally came to an agreement in April. On Wednesday, Carter and Sloope Project Engineer Kurt T. McCord, who is working on the project, delivered an update to the water authority.

“We’re in the middle of laying out water lines,”

he said, saying he has met with a couple of residents to identify the location of well water lines. McCord mentioned he may have to obtain several easements, though. Here, Queen asked if the easements would come from the property owners or developers, that is, the Quintrell Estate. McCord said any easements would come from the property owners and not the developers. He also noted the project will have an on-site inspector required by USDA as the funding agency. Mainly due to the three to four month permitting process, McCord said the project is expected to go out for bid by the end of the year or early next year, mentioning the process of satisfying certain regulations, such as those of the EPD (Environmental Protection Department) and USDA (United Sates Department of Agriculture).

Later in the meeting, My Mountain Phase II Home Owners’ Association President John Dunson said he had circulated a survey regarding the forthcoming water project and received only 50 percent response. Residents surveyed most commonly wanted to know if they would be able to see the water tank once installed, Dunson said. He also noted that the 50 percent responses were a combination of positive and negative responses. This means he could not secure a 100 percent vote. In a conversation with FYN yesterday, Dunson explained that a 100 percent vote is necessary for land covenants (like the one in phase II) to be altered in any way. When asked if a change in the covenant was necessary for the water project, he said he wasn’t sure, but emphasized that the survey was part of due diligence on the part of the home owners association.

Previously, the obstacles preventing the water project from moving forward were lawsuits against the Quintrell Estate, the developers of My Mountain. In April, an agreement was made, allowing the county to move forward with running water to My Mountain. However, at Wednesday’s meeting Dunson confirmed that the lawsuits against the Quintrell Estate are still on the docket.

Also, the county recently received a Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for $300,000 for another water project near Forge Mill. The county is working with the City of Morganton in an effort to purchase water from Morganton and run water from Morganton’s system to the Forge Mill area. Fannin County and Morganton are still in the process of negotiating a price for the water.