City Manager David Parrish made an obtuse but meaningful statement at the Greensboro City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

At the end of every regular meeting, both the city manager and the city attorney – the only two city employees who work directly for the City Council – are asked if they have anything to say.

Usually, both Parrish and City Attorney Chuck Watts say no and the meeting is adjourned.

At the Oct. 20 meeting, Parrish said he would like to make a statement concerning “Some of the emails that councilmembers have received around the proposed extension.” Parrish never elucidated what “extension” he was talking about, but it was the proposal to extend water and sewer service to a residential development in Summerfield. David Couch, a developer and the owner of Summerfield Farms, is proposing that Greensboro extend water and sewer service north of the lakes to land he owns in Summerfield on Pleasant Ridge Road. If the site had city water and sewer, that would allow the residential development to have smaller lots, townhomes and other multifamily residential options that are not practical without water and sewer service.

Parrish in explaining his response to this idea said, “This was just a discussion. The city listened just like we do for any partnerships.”

He said, “There is no intention to spend city tax dollars for any project outside the city for residential development. There is a long ways to go with this project and we are just one part of it.”

Parrish added, “There has been some misrepresentation and misinformation about this about how the city going to spend tax dollars for this and we are a long ways from doing that. We are just listening.”

Parrish noted that the city’s water and sewer utility had plenty of capacity, but that it was a finite resource and the city had to consider the future and future generations of Greensboro residents.

He said, “We have to be good stewards of that capacity.”

Parrish finished up by saying, “There is a long way away from any decision. And city tax dollars would not be used for any of that.”