During a special called meeting June 28, Pelzer Town Council approved a resolution authorizing a contract with Greenville Water System to operate the town’s water system. A budget workshop was held immediately following the special called meeting.
The contract allows Greenville Water to take over operations of the system while the final details of the sale of the system to Greenville Water are worked out.
According to Pelzer Mayor Will Ragland, Greenville Water is trying to get Federal ARPA funds to help with necessary upgrades to the system, which are estimated at $6.9 million.
Ragland said Greenville Water officials will meet Wednesday evening about the ARPA grant which may be used to shore up the system and he hopes to hear from them by Thursday.
The decision on how ARPA funds can be used will determine which direction the deal will go including whether the Town of Pelzer will sell the system or not.
There was some discussion about replacing fire hydrants and how repairs will be done.
Ragland said replacing hydrants is not a part of the sale at this time and Greenville Water will be responsible for any repairs or work. Any large purchase or repair will have to be approved by the Town, he said.
Under the contract, the town will continue to read meters and bill.
“Everything will be the same except they are running the system,” Ragland said. “When they buy (the system) they will read meters and bill for trash. Ragland said Greenville Water will charge the town fifty-three cents per bill to bill for trash services.
Council unanimously approved the resolution to allow Greenville Water to operate the system.
He said the town may know the status of the sale, depending on what is determined about use of the ARPA grant funds.
If the sale proceeds, and unless something changes, ReWa will pay the town $600,000 for the system and will take over all maintenance of the sewer lines and pump stations. The $2 million USDA grant/loan Pelzer received for recent upgrades, will also be paid off.
The Town of Pelzer began discussing the purchase of the town’s sewer system by ReWa in 2017 and negotiations have been underway since then.
The sale is a big factor in the town’s new budget. Selling the system to Greenville Water “totally changes everything” Ragland said.
In anticipation of the selling the system to Greenville Water, Pelzer Town Council began discussions on the 2022-23 budget in a work session held immediately after the special called meeting.
The Town is currently operating under the current (2021-22) budget which was extended by Council in the June 17 meeting.
A big part of the budget decision is how to use $348,000 in ARPA funds and $572,000 in funds from the sale of the cell phone tower property.
Mayor Ragland said he would like for Council to consider using the funds to restore three historic buildings in Pelzer and asked for input on priorities for councilmembers. They are the Pelzer Community Building, the old Hospital Building and the Gym. All three projects will be expensive, the mayor said.
The Community Building is currently being renovated but has been on hold. Plans are for the hospital building to be renovated for use as Pelzer’s new town hall. The gymnasium also needs some work.
Ragland said he has talked with Preservation South about the projects and is seeking direction from Council on how to proceed.
There was also discussion on line items in the new budget.
