A public hearing in the Haywood County community of Bethel Tuesday night on whether to run water and sewer lines to the rural farming valley attracted 250 people. The overwhelming majority spoke against the lines on the grounds that a tide of development would follow.

Reasons for opposing the lines were numerous, according to the speakers. They will bring development, spur the loss of farmland, increase in pollution and open the door for commercialism. They will increase property values, which in turn will increase property values. They will lead to an increase in population, which will increase traffic, which will require roads to be widened.
"I've asked myself, is there any community that has water and sewer that I want to be like. I can only think of ones we do not want to be like,"said Bill Holbrook, a Bethel farmer. "The main issue here is will the county commissioner let the residents of Bethel valley decide whether they want to be a rural community or urban."

Bethel residents were unimpressed with a line-up of county speakers who explained the project.

"All you're trying to do is ram something down the tax payers' necks,"said Glen Browning, a farmer.

The hearing was well-attended by the farming community, as Bethel is one of the last areas in the county where full-time farmers make a living off the land.

"How many of you donít like to eat in here?"asked Neil Stamey, a leader in the beef industry. Listing the names of several of the full-time farmers, Stamey said: "We need them in this valley a whole lot more than we need houses."

Don Smart, a big farmer in Fines Creek, turned out for the hearing as well. Like many, he cited the debate over water and sewer lines four years ago that was dropped after a survey of Bethel residents determined the majority were opposed to the lines.

"I'm asking county management, 'What part of 'no' don't you understand?" Smart said.

Another speaker — one of the six who spoke in favor of the lines — said the community should not stand in the way of progress.

"Are we going to try to block everybody else out and keep the valley for ourselves?" he asked. The audience responded with a chorus of "Yes!" accompanied by applause and cheers.

Dave Curphey said the lines would cause "irreversible, chaotic growth."

"You folks should have shot us 20 years ago when we started coming in here," Curphey, who moved to the area from out of state, told the audience.

One portion of the countyís presentation intended to placate such fears by telling residents they could develop and enact a local land-use plan through an elected 'sanitary district' board. Commissioner Mark Swanger said this in the only condition under which he would support the project.

"A sewer system with no growth controls in place would not be a good idea. I would only support it if you, the people of Bethel, can decide how to grow or not to grow," Swanger said.

Bob Leatherwood, the director of Silverbluff nursing home, which employs 200 people and has 175 residents, said the lines would be a tremendous asset to the community. Leatherwood said growth is going to come anyway, but with a sanitary district, the community could have control over it.

Motives
Many speakers questioned the county's objectives for running water and sewer lines to the area. County commissioners have alternately cited the construction of a new school and the need to curtail pollution in the Pigeon River from failing septic systems as the primary reason for running lines.

"There must be something else behind this push to bring sewer and water to Bethel," said Bill Holbrook, a Bethel farmer. Holbrook questioned whether the motives were to increase property value in the Bethel, and thus increase the county's property tax revenue off the area.

Some speakers accused the county of using the children as bait to get the community to accept water and sewer lines. They said that reasoning is disingenuous, as the school system is pursuing an on-site water and septic system for the new Bethel Elementary school being constructed on N.C. 215.

Walt Leatherwood with the Haywood School Board spoke during the hearing, and said the school has plans underway for a well and septic system, but added the school board would gladly drop those plans for water and sewer if it came along.

"If water and sewer is provided, these services would be a tremendous asset," said Leatherwood.

Leatherwood said an on-site water and sewer system would cost $700,000. That money could go toward water and sewer lines instead. Leatherwood also said the four acres consumed for a septic drain field could be used for extra ball fields instead.

Steve Sorrells, a Bethel farmer, objected, saying that the 47-acre site should be plenty for the buildings, ball fields, and the septic drain field.

Speakers also called into question the allegation that water quality in the Pigeon was unsafe due to failing septic systems. Figures cited by the county in the past were based on testing from McGill and Associates engineer firm, which is already involved in designing the system and would likely be the recipient of the contract to manage the project.

The numbers the county is relying on however, are four samples taken by McGill from the river on a single day.

Steve Miller cited figures from the N.C. Division of Water Quality that were taken over five years and show dramatically cleaner water than those taken by McGill.

He called the county's data "an exaggeration based on faulty testing."
Robert Cathey disagreed.

"You cannot keep pouring pollution into Mother Earth and think itís going to work," Cathey said, citing the growing number of septic tanks. "Is it going to take all our underground aquifers becoming polluted before we all wake up?"

Tom Sorrell, who is in favor of the lines, said he won't be able to afford a new septic system if his fails again.

Who stands where
Following the public comments, each county commissioner made a few comments.

Two county commissioners — Mark Swanger and Carlyle Ferguson — pledged they would not support the project if the majority of Bethel residents do not want the water and sewer lines. Swanger, a resident of Fines Creek and the brother of a major farmer in the county, and Ferguson, a former farmer from Crabtree, have allegiances with the agricultural community, which made a strong showing at the hearing.

Swanger said he wanted to find a compromise and a 'win-win' for everybody.
Commissioner Kevin Ensley said he agreed that the lines should not be pushed on the community if they didn't want them. He then went on to speak in favor of the lines. Ensley said the water and sewer lines would open the doors for businesses, which would in turn provide jobs so children don't have to move out of the community to find work. Ensley cited his own four children and said perhaps he was being a little selfish by wanting Bethel to fill the niche of jobs.

"We live in a mountainous area with very little flat land," Ensley said. "Water and sewer is the best economic development tool we have. If you don't want water and sewer lines, I don't want to hear you complaining about not having jobs."

Some audience members objected.

"What happened to all the jobs in Waynesville then? What happened to all the jobs in Canton? They've got water and sewer, so where are all their jobs?" asked Kenneth Henson.

"You'uns spent a fortune down at Beaverdam Industrial Park and it's settin' there empty and when a major Haywood County business wanted to buy it you wouldn't sell it to them so don't talk to me about economic development" shot back Skipper Russell. (Russells comments refered to a bid by Haywood Electric Membership Corporation to move their regional headquarters from Waynesville to the Beaverdam Industrial Park, but the county discouraged the move citing the desire to create new jobs out of the space rather than moving jobs that already exist here from one side of the county to the other.)

Ensley, a Republican, was the top vote getter in Bethel in the county commissioner's race two years ago. Bethel voters said Ensley has been reminded of that fact.

Comments of Commissioners Kirk Kirkpatrick and Bill Noland largely supported the water and sewer lines. Neither promised to drop the issue should the majority of Bethel residents oppose the idea.

Kirkpatrick said he could "empathize with concerns of growth," but told the audience that refusing water and sewer lines would not "prevent growth." Kirkpatrick said the county's intent was to help the people of Bethel by giving them water and sewer, not to "urbanize" them.

Many audience members demanded the county hold vote to gauge support.
"Why can't this be put on the ballot during the primary and be done he democratic way?" asked Derek Scott.

Noland responded by saying the county would "continue the dialogue" with residents.

"But will you give us a vote?" several members of the audience hollered back.

"The people will be involved," Noland answered.