Sign up for Code Red

On Friday evening, September 19, an elderly Fearrington resident was reported missing.  After looking for him without success, his family called 911 at 5:15 p.m.  The Chatham County Sheriff’s Department responded immediately, began a search, set up a command post, called for a team using a bloodhound, and called for a helicopter from the highway patrol.  Code Red, which is a reverse 911, was implemented at 6:15 p.m. to residents of the immediate area where the man was believed to be lost.  Members of the Health, Safety and Security responded by alerting some members of the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and informing Fearrington residents by way of the FHA List-serve.  People assembled at the Gathering Place and began to search before dark set in.  Three women walking on Weathersfield continually called out the man’s name and when they heard a clapping sound coming from a wooded area, they walked in that direction and found him.  The EMS, Chatham County Fire and Sheriff’s Department arrived and took him to UNC Hospital.

The Paulsen family expressed their appreciation to Fearrington residents who responded, the Chatham County Fire and Sheriff’s Departments, the EMS and the Health, Safety and Security groups of FHA.

We have learned once again that Fearrington Village is a caring community.  We urge residents with an emergency need to call 911 immediately.  We also urge everyone to go to the Chatham County website:  www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=118  and sign up for Code Red.

Peter Thomas, Director Health, Safety & Security

policies and procedures for enforcement of covenants adopted

At the September 2, 2008, Open Meeting of the FHA Board, Policies and Procedures for enforcement of covenants were adopted.  To see the Policies and Procedure document, click here.

Save the date!

The Annual FHA Meeting starts with a social hour at 4 PM on November 16th in The Barn.  For more information about this or other FHA meetings, contact Leonard Kreisman at  prof3025@nc.rr.com or 945-8930.

Are you ready for a hurricane?

Hurricane season is here.  Check out the Resident Emergency Preparedness Guide to learn things YOU need to do to get ready.  To go directly to it, click here.  You can also get to this and other safety and security related information  by clicking on the Health, Safety & Security link at the top right corner of this page.

Limited outdoor watering allowed with Chatham’s revised ordinance

                On Feb. 18, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners adopted a revised water conservation ordinance that promotes year-round conservation, while allowing certain types of outdoor watering on specified days. The revised ordinance is effective immediately.

            “The intent is to promote customers using conservation strategies all year so that we can preserve the water supply in Jordan Lake and reduce high-peak demand days that strain our water system,” said David Hughes, director of Chatham County Public Works. 

“If we can reduce those high peaks, it will help prevent costly expansions of water facilities to meet that demand,” he added.

            The revisions allow county water system customers served by the Jordan Lake Treatment Plant (northeastern Chatham only) to use automated irrigation on two specified days per week to apply up to one inch of water per week.

            “This ordinance does not apply to northeastern county residents who get water service from Cary or to county water customers outside the northeast,” Hughes said.

            The county’s new irrigation schedule is:

·      Governors Club, odd-numbered addresses: Tuesday and Friday

·      Governors Club, even-numbered addresses: Monday and Thursday

·      Carolina Meadows, odd-numbered addresses: Tuesday and Friday

·      Carolina Meadows, even-numbered addresses: Wednesday and Saturday

·      Carolina Meadows Golf Course:  Wednesday and Sunday

·      Big Woods Subdivision:  Monday and Thursday

·      Fearrington Village: Tuesday and Saturday

·      All other addresses: Wednesday and Sunday

      “Regardless of when you water, your irrigation system must have automatic controllers or moisture sensors,” Hughes said.

      “This means that if we’ve had recent rainfall or the soil is sufficiently moist, the irrigation system should not apply water. If it does activate during these periods, the customer will be in violation of the ordinance.”

            Other types of prohibited water uses are:

·         Watering landscaping or using water to clean vehicles, equipment or hard surfaces (driveways, parking lots, etc.) to the extent that water overflows the area and runs onto adjacent property or public right-of-way;

·         Applying water to the extent that the water ponds or pools on hard surfaces, such as driveways, concrete pads, patios or parking lots; and

·         Losing water through plumbing leaks that can be readily identified and repaired.

            Roy Lowder, director of Water Utilities, said that “all water leaks must be repaired within 10 days of being detected.”

Several irrigation activities are allowed without following the watering schedule and restrictions outlined above unless a major water shortage or emergency is in effect, including:  

·         Irrigation required to establish newly seeded or sodded lawns and landscaping for up to 30 days after planting;

·         Irrigation due to chemical treatments that require immediate watering to preserve or establish landscaping;

·         Water used to control dust or compact soil when other methods are unavailable;

·         Visually-supervised testing of watering systems for short periods of time;

·         Water needed to address health, safety, or accident hazards when other options are unavailable;

·         Water used for construction or maintenance activities when water is the most appropriate choice and when other practical options are not available; 

·         Water used for firefighting, training of firefighters, testing of fire hoses, and similar types of emergency responder uses; and

·         Water used for other special purposes, such as flushing out garbage trucks or removing unsanitary materials, when no other alternative exists and provided that the least amount of water needed to complete the task is used.

 Lowder reminds residents and businesses that violations of the water conservation ordinance will lead to penalties.

The penalties are: a written warning for the first violation; $250 per occurrence for the second violation; $500 per occurrence for the third violation; and disconnection from county water service for a fourth violation.

All fines will be added to the customer’s water bill and must be paid as part of monthly bill payment, said Lowder.

For more information, call 919-542-8270 or visit the county website at: http://www.chathamnc.org/publicworks

new emergency notification system for Chatham county

Chatham County has a new phone-based emergency notification system called CodeRED.  Click here to learn more about this system, including how to be sure you will be notified if your phone number is new or if your only phone is a cell phone.