news-record.com

HIGH POINT — Water already fills the new 3,400-acre Randleman Reservoir. And as early as 2010, that water could flow from local faucets.

But at the moment, an agreement to build the necessary water treatment plant is snagged in a squabble between High Point and other members of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority — a squabble that could leave High Point out of the project for the immediate future.

"There are a lot of questions," said High Point Mayor Becky Smothers, who along with City Council members voted unanimously last week to seek specific answers about the financing plan and timeline for future expansion of the plant.

"We're behind the project," Smothers said. "We're committed to it. We just think the document submitted to us is inadequate. We can't in good conscience sign something that's incomplete."

Other members of the water authority — Archdale, Greensboro, Jamestown and Randleman, along with Randolph County — already have signed the 50-year contract.

Greensboro City Councilman Tom Phillips, who represents the city on the water authority, said the agreement is detailed enough.

"While it may not have everything in it we might have put in it if we were drafting it ourselves, we can live with it," Phillips said.

What's important, he said, is that the project proceeds in a timely fashion, even if one city isn't on board.

"I think we're prepared to move on without High Point," Phillips said. "If they don't want to be involved, that's OK."

Authority Chairman John Forbis, a former Greensboro mayor, said High Point can either pay now or pay later.

"They obviously are in a position where they don't need the water right away," Forbis said.

"I don't think they want to participate in the construction of the treatment plant. And if they don't want to participate in construction up front, we can do a separate agreement when they want to come in."

But at that point, Forbis said, the cost to High Point would be much greater than the price of participating now.

John Kime, the water authority's executive director, said High Point's issues will be discussed at the authority's meeting Tuesday.

"We're still trying to negotiate an agreement," Kime said.

"Five people have signed it. They (High Point) have some problems with the language."

But Smothers said much more is at stake than semantics.

For instance, High Point officials want to know more about the city's long-term debt and maintenance responsibilities, and expansion of the unbuilt treatment plant. Little of that is spelled out in the contract, she said.

That's why High Point sent a letter last week to the water authority, asking that bond counsels for both the city and the authority work together on ironing out details in the agreement.

High Point also wants an independent engineer to help resolve its problems with the water authority over pumps installed at the city's Eastside Wastewater Treatment Facility.

High Point won't sign the agreement until everything is spelled out, Smothers said.

"They had assumed they'd work out everything later," she said. "We're not going to buy that."

Contact Tom Steadman at 883-4422, Ext. 228 or tsteadman@news-record.com