MAIN STREET HARDY

HARDY — Sharp County residents may decide if a proposed $30 million project to run natural gas lines throughout the county will be built.

Home and business owners are being asked for a $100 deposit to give officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture an idea of how widely natural gas is wanted in the county, County Judge Larry Brown said.

“I hope we get a big response,” Brown said. “It could help spur economic growth down the road.”

The deposits are refundable if the lines are not built, officials said. Water companies in Hardy, Highland, Ash Flat, Cherokee Village, Evening Shade, Sidney, Strawberry and other towns are sending customers information about how to sign up for natural gas service.

Highland City Hall sent out more than 500 letters to residents, Recorder-Treasurer Mary Wiles said.

“The deposit is a good-faith measure to gauge how many want it,” she said.

The USDA has finished a feasibility study, and the deposits are one of the last steps before possible approval, officials said. To run gas lines throughout the county it will cost $30 million and take three years to complete, according to preliminary estimates.

If only parts of the county want the service, the price and timeline could be modified, Brown said. Most of the money will be provided by USDA if the project is approved.

An informational kick-off meeting is slated for Feb. 20 at the Highland School District Sports Complex. Authorities hope to have the deposits sometime in March.

At least one Cherokee Village resident is opposed to the idea.

“I don’t know why they’re planning on spending all that money on natural gas when they need to be investing in renewable energy sources,” environmentalist Ruth Reynolds said. “We only have 100 years of natural gas reserves if you believe the estimates out there, anyway.

“We need to leave fossil fuels before they leave us.”

Brown said that, even if all the communities in the county aren’t on board with natural gas lines, he hopes a primary or trunk line from south of Evening Shade to Hardy can be constructed.

“It could be a starting point, and if some of the people decided later on down the road they wanted it, then they could tie into the trunk line,” Brown said.

If USDA loans don’t cover the total cost, Brown said he and other public officials have been working on other state and federal grants to stem the costs.

New businesses and companies might find it easier to locate in Sharp County if natural gas is available, Brown said. The decision for natural gas availability is out of county government hands, Brown said.

“If people want it, they’ve got a chance to get it,” Brown said.

True Cost Of Conversion

One important aspect that was not discussed with the above news story is the fact that all your current home appliances that run off of LP (propane) do not automatically run of of Natural Gas. You would need to convert these items to work properly. The average cost can run around $200 per tiem.

For example if you have a gas stove, a gas furnace and a gas water heater you are looking at around $600 to convert them. Also if you use a LP Gas wall heater, those usually can not be converted so you would be needing to purchase a new natural gas wall heater too.

Finally those individuals that live far off the beaten path may still never get a natural gas line, or may have to pay a extra fee to get a line ran to the property.

Al these are important things to look into to know the true facts and cost to you the consumer.

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