NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 1999

NEW APPLICATION PROCESS FOR WATER CONNECTION PERMITS SHOULD ELIMINATE FUTURE TENT CITIES

CARY, NC – Beginning in January, the Town of Cary will hold a lottery for places in line for those seeking new water connection permits for construction. Cary officials devised the plan after nearly two dozen applicants lined up over 36 hours in advance of issuing permits on a first come, first severed basis on December 1^st. The new plan only addresses the permit processing; it does not change the current water allocation ordinance adopted by the Cary Town Council in October.

"Having to stand in line for that period of time was extremely inconvenient for our citizens," said Inspections & Permits Division Director Bob Strowbridge. "This revised procedure will be convenient, safe, and fair for all of our customers."

Under the new procedure, builders will be able to register for a number for a place in line each month by stopping by the Inspections & Permits Division office anytime during regular business hours during the month preceding the first business day of the month in which they want connection permits. When they register for their number, builders will need to supply the following information:

• The builder or building company’s name
• The number of permits being requested for that month
• The location (subdivision) of the lot(s) to be permitted

At 9:00 AM on the first business day of each month, Inspections & Permits staff will draw from that month’s pool of numbers at random to determine positions in line for application processing of the registered builders. Each builder or company selected will need to be present at the drawing and have all applicable application forms and information ready for processing. The Permit Office will verify that the information submitted is the same as the information that was provided during registration. As water connection permits are being issued, the Permit Office will maintain running totals of the number of permits being issued, available permits per builder, the number of lots permitted, and sub-division status. This process should limit builders’ having to stand in line to only the amount of time it takes to give out all of that month’s permits. In December, all of the permits were given out in about one hour.

The total number of water connection permits that any individual builder or company will be limited to securing each month has been reduced from five permits to two permits. The total number of water allocation permits available for distribution each month will continue to be determined by staff and announced prior to the first of each month. One hundred water connection permits for residential development were available in December.

The Town of Cary will host an information session on December 21^st at 7:30 PM in the Council Chambers to explain the new lottery procedure for water connection permits. All builders, contractors and individuals who wish to apply for a Cary water connection permit in the future are invited to attend to learn about the revised procedure.

Although new water connection permits are limited at this time, Cary citizens passed a bond referendum on February 2, 1999, approving financing to expand the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant. This construction is underway, with the contracted final completion date being April 21, 2002.

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