WINNSBORO (Feb. 23, 2017) – Representatives from the County government met Tuesday night in an extended executive session with Winnsboro Town Council and Margaret Pope of the Pope Zeigler law firm to break the ice on the county’s long-term water and sewer needs.

Emerging from the closed-door session, County Administrator Jason Taylor and Deputy Administrator Davis Anderson were reluctant to go into detail about the discussion.

“I can’t talk about executive session stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m always willing to work with the town of Winnsboro on a number of issues, though.”

Mayor Roger Gaddy, also careful not to divulge any privileged information, said the talks may bode well for improved relations between Winnsboro and the County in the future.

“The County came to us to discuss the possibility of working together for the long-range planning of the community,” Gaddy said.

That “long-range planning,” according to the agenda item noting the topic for the executive session, involves water. And, Gaddy said, sewer as well.

While Tuesday night’s discussion was reminiscent of Winnsboro’s 2013 effort to establish a county water authority – an effort that was derailed primarily because of a lack of interest from the County to participate – Gaddy said it was “way too soon” to resurrect that plan.

“There are probably other ways to cooperate other than that (a water authority),” Gaddy said, “but it certainly has opened the door for further deliberations and communications about infrastructure and the community that need to be solved to help with industrial recruitment and further growth of the county and community.”

Gaddy said the next step toward a unified County-Town front on growth and infrastructure would be a joint meeting between Town Council and County Council.