Rogers Road recommendation underway

After several decades of waiting, the historic Rogers Road neighborhood might finally receive the water and sewer district promised by Orange County in 1972.

A recommendation was made by the town managers of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the county for the creation, financing and development of the Rogers Road Water and Sewer District. Orange County Manager Bonnie Hammersley sent a memo about the recommendation to involved officials on Sept. 14. Rogers Road is a historically low-income neighborhood that housed the county’s landfill for more than 40 years.

The Rev. Robert Campbell, a prominent leader in the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association, spoke about the long wait for this recommendation.

“The recommendation would fulfill something that’s been going on for 40 years,” he said.

In exchange for allowing the county to house the county landfill in the Rogers Road community for 10 years, the county officials said the neighborhood would receive water and sewer hook ups.

But the county didn’t just use the landfill for 10 years — it was used for 41 years before it was closed in June 2013.

Campbell said while the neighborhood is happy about the recommendation because it will benefit a majority of the community, there is still a lot of frustration over the recommendation because it took so long in the first place.

“There has been frustration since the early ’80s,” he said.

“Promises were made, and nothing was generated from the promise — of course there was frustration.”

Campbell said he and his community aren’t just frustrated about unkept promises; they’re also frustrated because the landfill had a destructive impact on the Rogers Road neighborhood for the 40 years it was open. He said the landfill held a nesting place for more than 250 buzzards and attracted multitudes of vermin that fed off the landfill.

Campbell said the water and sewer hook ups could improve the quality of life for the majority of residents within the community.

Judy Johnson, principal planner with the town of Chapel Hill, said there are 86 lots designated to benefit from the potential district.

She said before real progress is made on the project, three different jurisdictions have to approve the recommendation. The Chapel Hill Town Council, the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Carrboro Board of Alderman all must give permission for the recommendation to move forward, Johnson said.

Travis Myren, deputy Orange County manager, said no final decision has been made on moving forward with the creation of the water and sewer district, but a decision is expected to be made soon.

“We plan to discuss the concept of creating a water and sewer district with the Board of Orange County Commissioners in October,” he said.

city@dailytarheel.com