Members of a coalition working on a joint water project between North Carolina and Virginia officials met at the Blue Ridge Business Development Center on Feb. 2. Present were Patrick Woodie of New River Community Partners (clockwise, from front left), Sparta Town Councilman John Brady, Sparta Town Manager Bryan Edwards, Grayson County, Va. Interim Manager Bill Ring, Chairman Ralph Tuggle of the Grayson County Board of Supervisors, Independence, Va. Town Manager Kenneth Vaught, Larry Lawson (obscured in photo) and Kevin Heath of Adams and Heath Engineering, Attorney Webster Day, and Jack Gardin with the Mount Rogers Planning District.

Formation agreement presented for water venture

North Carolina and Virginia officials learned that a formation agreement would need to be completed by March 4 in order to keep a proposed water venture on schedule.

This was stated during a Feb. 2 meeting at the Blue Ridge Development Center by Webster Day. Day, of Roanoke, Va., serves as attorney for the joint water project.

“We need to have this finalized by March 4, to run in the paper,” Day told those in attendance. “The Sparta (Town Council) meeting is April 5. By the end of February, we would need to have these blanks filled in and we’ll need to know members and names.”

The ‘blanks’ referred to by Day are on a draft formation agreement that helps establish a dual-state authority to sell water to both the towns of Independence, Va. and Sparta.

Involved in the water effort are representatives from the two towns, Mount Rogers Planning District, which serves Virginia counties, Grayson County, Va. and Alleghany County, New River Community Partners. Jack Gardin, a representative the Mount Rogers Planning District — one of the partners in the effort — submitted his input.

“Leave it open now, you can always go back and change it,” he said concerning the boards each naming their representatives to the authority. “Right now, my own personal recommendation to you, name a manager and one other elected official.”

Sparta Town Manager Bryan Edwards then asked, “Would it be appropriate to go ahead and get these people nominated and start conducting these meetings? We need no formal action. They become the official committee that’s going to finalize the formation group.”

Ralph Tuggle, who serves as the chairman of the Grayson County Board of Supervisors added, “Perhaps we should specify that when we organize the board that the chairman come from one state and the vice chairman come from the other state and rotate it on some basis. When we start off, it the chairman is from Virginia and the vice chairman is from North Carolina, then at the next year, it would be the chairman from North Carolina and the vice chairman be from Virginia.”

It was noted by Day that this would be an internal situation and “you wouldn’t have to go through public hearings to change the articles.” The hearings were also discussed at the closure of the meeting. “I will send out a draft of the 30-day notice,” Day explained.

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