Rogers Road community to receive long-awaited sewer services

After 40 years, the Rogers Road community will finally get its promised sewer line — but some residents say local governments have more work to do for the neighborhood.

Last week, the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force decided on two options for a sewer plan for the neighborhood that has housed the county landfill since 1972.

Chapel Hill Town Council member and task force member Lee Storrow said the first option — which would cost $5.8 million — would provide sewer services for 86 properties, but would require Chapel Hill to create an extraterritorial jurisdiction for the area.

The second option would cost $3.7 million and serve 67 properties without creating the special jurisdiction.

He said funding for the sewer system will be split between the Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County municipalities.

Rev. Robert Campbell, a Rogers Road resident, said he often attends task force meetings to remind members about the sewer issue.

“We are pleased (with the progress). We aren’t 100-percent pleased — we won’t be that way until we get the work started on the water and sewage lines,” Campbell said. “But right now, where we are, we are pleased that we are moving forward.”

Campbell said although new houses have been built in the neighborhood, Rogers Road is missing essential utilities.

“The basic amenities — sidewalks, streetlights, sewer and water lines — will make it safe and healthy for ones who live in the historic Rogers Road community,” he said.

Carrboro Board of Aldermen and task force member Michelle Johnson said the proposed plans will be taken back to the municipalities involved, and each board will decide which option it prefers.

She said although Carrboro and Chapel Hill were quick to put the discussion on their agendas, the county said it might not be discussed until the fall due to time constraints.

She said she feels the task force is still making progress.

“I feel like the task force is working as effectively as it can with various representatives’ opinions about what should happen to the community and various opinions on how we can get to that,” Johnson said.

She said she thinks the community owes municipal services, such as the sewer system, to the neighborhood.

“We are connected to the Rogers Road community and are bound in a lot of ways, because we have taken our trash there for so long and they have carried that burden,” she said.

Storrow said the neighborhood has been involved in decisions leading up to the sewer plan proposals.

“We definitely continue to hear feedback from the neighborhood and from residents that there is some frustration that we have dragged our feet for 40 years to provide services that the local government promised when we built the landfill,” Storrow said.

The next task force meeting will be held July 17.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.