New Bern wants to hold off on Havelock sewer deal

New Bern’s new leaders want at least three or four months to understand what’s going on before they make any decisions on a proposed sewer agreement with Havelock.

Some of them, including Mayor Lee Bettis, have said they are concerned that a deal with Havelock could ultimately commit New Bern to providing sewage capacity that the city doesn’t have to spare.

Meanwhile, re-elected Alderman Dana Outlaw backed away from attending a possible Jan. 5 meeting involving leaders from New Bern and Havelock, saying that he wants to understand the “fair market value of replacement allocation” before going any farther with a deal.

“I’m not ready to waste my time on something that has some fundamental flaws,” Outlaw said.

The agreement, which has been the subject of a back-and-forth discussion for about two years, would allow Havelock to have access to New Bern’s wastewater system to treat up to 284,000 gallons of sewage per day. That increased capacity would help Havelock handle expansion, and would also be crucial to serve Croatan Station, a residential and commercial development planned along U.S. 70 near Carolina Pines and Stately Pines.

The agreement would also set Catfish Lake Road as a boundary line that neither New Bern nor Havelock could cross for annexation.

Under the proposal, Havelock would pay New Bern $1.35 million, a fee that New Bern would begin to collect in the sixth year of the agreement. If the agreement were broken, New Bern would keep the money that Havelock has already paid. Once the system is in place, Havelock will have to pay for a minimum of 150,000 gallons per day of sewage regardless of whether the city uses that capacity.

Several other pieces of the agreement call for Havelock to pay percentages of the costs of some sewer upgrades that would benefit both cities. Havelock customers would also pay higher sewage rates than would residents of New Bern.

But before anything between the two cities is signed, Bettis has called for clear numbers that lay out any other service commitments that New Bern has already made. He also suggested that Cherry Point might be able to provide sewage capacity.

“We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation that would lead to New Bern being put under a moratorium,” Bettis said .

A sewage-capacity study is expected to be ready by next month, and could answer some of the new leaders’ questions, said Danny Meadows, New Bern’s interim city manager.

“The staff and the city attorney are fairly comfortable that we aren’t giving anything away,” Meadows said.

Alderman Sabrina Bengel said she supports the idea of “regionalization” of services. But she said a new board with plenty to tackle just needs time to understand all the parts, and ramifications, of a joint agreement with Havelock.

“It’s too overwhelming,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve had enough time to understand it, to even send somebody to the table.”

Bengel was part of a November session at which New Bern City Attorney Scott Davis talked about the agreement, but even he called his presentation a “30,000-foot overview,” of the proposal.

Alderman Denny Bucher suggested sending a couple of New Bern’s leaders to a meeting in Havelock to explain that the new aldermen just need more time to get a grasp on the agreement.

“Somebody should go to them and say … ‘We don’t want you to think we’re not interested,’” Bucher said.