Franklin County BOC Raising Water Well Issue, Budget Schedule Tonight

Franklin County Commissioners meet for their regular work session this evening and the issue of the county contracting for water wells is expected to come up again.

Last month, the board was ready to vote to adopt a second well to be used as a back up water source on the property of Wayne Ertzberger on Stone Bridge Road.

However, commissioner Clint Harper claimed another water well, put forth in 2008 by Aubry Lunsford has been overlooked by the county and he called for a set of guidelines for the county to follow so the wells are used fairly.

 “We need something in place because I’m telling you there’s something called favoritism in government a lot times and we need to get this ironed out,” Harper said.

Commissioner Jeff Jacques countered the use of an Ertzberger well would not impact the Lunsford well and vice versa.

In January, Harper said Lunsford’s well should be prioritized with other wells on file.

County engineer John Phillips said however, Lunsford’s well is on a list of wells that have been evaluated and that right now, the county has more well water available than it needs, which is why it has not been brought online.

Jacques said that demand for water should override any sort of prioritization policy the county might put in place.

 “From the engineering dynamics, the water is put into the system as needed,” he said. “If you have a drought and a poultry house in one part of the county needs to draw more water, they’re going to use a well in that component of the system.”

However, commission chair Tom Bridges agreed with Harper that the county should come up with a policy for how wells are prioritized.

In other business tonight, the board will also get an update from county manager Billy Morse on the ongoing work to repave several county roads, and the board will discuss the planning meetings for the FY 2014 budget.

Tonight’s work session begins at 6p at the Franklin County Justice Center in Carnesville.