Pulaski County Sewer District Board Chairman Gary Porter has just been in office a little more than a month, but already he’s seeking to mend fences with Waynesville city officials and put an end to the stalemate between the two governing bodies.
Porter, who took over as Sewer District Chairman last month, has asked for and was granted a closed-door session with members of his board and a handful of Waynesville City officials in an attempt to end the deadlock that has resulted in at least two legal cases.
“It’s time we move forward,” Porter told the Daily Guide last week. “I’m asking for this meeting to see whether we can begin to put things behind us.”
The meeting, which will be closed to the public and media because it will involve legal matters, begins at noon Thursday at the Price Cutter Banquet Room.
“Yes, there’s a lot of history here, but we need to get past all this,” Porter said.
Porter said Trustees Bob Simpson and Nathan Prudome were planning on accompanying him to the meeting.
“To say we want to get past this is true,” Porter said. “We want to see what the city (of Waynesville) has to say. We’re hoping there is common ground.”
Porter said he is not sure who will be representing Waynesville, but he understood one of the principals to be City Administrator Bruce Harrill.
Harrill, reached on his cell phone late Tuesday, indicated he’s hoping for a productive meeting.
“We’re optimistic. We’ve been wanting to put this behind us for sometime.”
Waynesville City Utilities Chairman Mike France has indicated the district is about $90,000 in arrears to the city, one of the sticking points.
