Farmers and advocates of preserving farmland led the charge at a public hearing last week in Bethel where a clear majority of the 200 audience members opposed a $4.7 million proposal by the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to run water and sewer lines to the rural agricultural valley.

Bethel is one of the last areas in the county, if not the region, where a relatively large community of full-time farmers still make a living off the land. Those opposed to water and sewer fear the lines would bring a tide of development and spur the loss of farmland.

“How many of you don’t like to eat in here?” Neal Stamey, a leader in the beef industry, asked the audience. “We need farmers in this valley a whole lot more than we need houses.”

With water and sewer, developers can build more homes per acre and can introduce commercial operations, like fast food chains. The population growth will increase traffic and in turn cause roads to be widened, according to some speakers.

“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.

Don Smart, a Fines Creek farmer, said water and sewer lines will increase property values, which in turn will increase property taxes and force farmers to sell their land.

“I’m asking county management, ‘What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?” Smart said.

Another consequence of water and sewer is the potential for annexation by the town of Canton, according to several speakers. Indeed, the large upfront investment required to expand water and sewer is often the sole deterrent for towns wanting to expand their limits. If water and sewer were already in place, Canton could expand its town limits into Bethel without expending a lot of capital.

Bob Leatherwood, the director of Silver Bluff 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 water and sewer lines the community could create a local land-use plan to control that growth.

Motives questioned

County commissioners have alternately cited the construction of a new elementary school and the need to curtail septic tank pollution in the Pigeon River as the primary reason for running lines.

Some speakers accused the county of using the children as bait to get the community to accept water and sewer lines. School Board member Walt Leatherwood said the new school will be constructed no matter what. Water and sewer would be an asset, he said, but the school is planning for on-site well and septic systems in the meantime.

“There must be something else behind this push to bring sewer and water to Bethel,” Holbrook said.

Speakers also challenged the county’s claims that water quality in the Pigeon River is unsafe due to failing septic systems. County commissioners based these claims on a one-time water sample conducted by McGill and Associates engineering firm four years ago rather than five years of cumulative state testing. Water samples taken by the N.C. Division of Water Quality show dramatically cleaner water than data collected by McGill.

Steve Miller, a Bethel resident and former county health department employee, called McGill’s numbers “an exaggeration based on faulty testing.” McGill has financial incentive to see the project carried out. The company is being hired to write grants for the project, has done preliminary engineering work and cost estimates for the project, and would be a front-runner for the project engineering contract.

Miller asked why the county was relying on McGill’s figures instead of looking at the state certified water samples, which are posted on a Web site available for viewing “24 hours a day seven days a week.”

Robert Cathey, one of a small handful speaking in favor of water and sewer lines, said the river is polluted from septic systems.

“You cannot keep pouring pollution into Mother Earth and think it’s 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 Sorrells, 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 statements, each county commissioner commented on the project.

Two 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.

In addition, Swanger said: “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, adding he wanted to find a “win-win” for everyone.

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, a Bethel resident.

Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick and Board Chairman 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 a vote to gauge support.

“Why can’t this be put on the ballot during the primary and be done the democratic way?” asked Derek Scott, a Bethel resident.

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.