By Randall Rigsbee

Chatham County commissioners have approved the first phase of upgrades and modifications to the county’s water treatment plant at Jordan Lake.

The work will include modifications aimed at improving the effectiveness of the system and to allow for an increased capacity in the future.

The total cost of work for the first phase is $184,000.

The first phase will tackle modification of the effluent chamber piping to allow for the future operation of the plant at higher filtration rates, leading to increased capacity.

Also to be undertaken in the first phase of work is the replacement of the system’s filter media, which can become clogged over time.

Commissioners last week unanimously authorized the work, to be paid for from the county’s water reserve fund.

The work will be completed in anticipation of a second phase, which will have a total project cost of $453,050.

Phase two work, not yet approved by commissioners, will include issues that relate to maintenance and design upgrades to the water treatment plant to operate more efficiently and the demonstration that the plant is capable of operating at increased filter rates.

more- See Thursday, February 26 paper: Vol 84, No. 13

By Randall Rigsbee

A former Chatham County deputy’s wrongful termination lawsuit against former Sheriff Ike Gray can proceed, the state Court of Appeals ruled last week.

Former deputy Dan Phillips was fired by then-Sheriff Gray in the wake of the theft of thousands of pounds of marijuana, which had been obtained by authorities as evidence and buried in the county’s old landfill.

 Phillips alleged in a 2001 lawsuit that Gray fired him in retaliation for his part in helping initiate a federal investigation into the missing marijuana. Phillips had alerted FBI and US Customs agents about the drugs.

The former deputy, who was a school resource officer at Chatham Central High School, also claimed he was punished by Gray for an audiotape recording of former Chatham Central principal William Fowler uttering several racial slurs.

more- See Thursday, February 26 paper: Vol 84, No. 13

By Randall Rigsbee

Chatham County’s proposed compact community ordinance (CCO) has traveled a long road, but the end may now be on the horizon.

Last week, the CCO reached a major milestone when the county Planning Board signed off on a version of the plan.

The county Board of Commissioners is expected to consider the ordinance and the Planning Board’s recent recommendations on March 1.

Next, the Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on the document and possibly make additional changes before the Planning Board takes a final look.

Once the Planning Board makes a final recommendation, the Board of Commissioners will have the final vote.

Once the ordinance is in place, it is anticipated that developer Newland Communities will submit a revised application for Briar Chapel, the 1,400-acre subdivision proposed to be built off US 15-501 between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill about two years ago.

That proposal, rejected at the time by the Board of Commissioners, was the catalyst for the creation of rules regarding future applications for compact communities.

While work has been ongoing on the ordinance for more than 18 months and has been the focus of intense public interest because of its impact on future development of the county, the proposed rules were at the center of a recent controversy after the emergence late last year of an alternative draft, called “Draft B.”