So much of the focus on Golden LEAF funding appears to be centered around dollars.

Let’s think about people, some 3,000 people.

The Golden LEAF Foundation has pledged upwards of $2 million to Richmond County. The hard part was Richmond County had to decide how best to spend it.

There was no shortage of proposals, and most had merit. In the end a local board came up with a plan to ask Golden LEAF to split the money three ways. It was a tough call. There were 16 projects on the table, representing $13 million.

If the local request is approved, half of the $2 million would go toward a project to extend Rockingham city sewer service all the way to Ellerbe. The board also agreed to ask for $665,000 to pay for part of a plan to extend Rockingham sewer service to East Rockingham. Another $500,000 has been requested so Richmond Community College can renovate the Forte building. That will help attract and keep jobs here.

The money, while significant, isn’t enough complete any of the projects, in fact it exceeds the $2 million cap by $165,000. But the plan does provide the seed money to make a dream a reality.

Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump knows the need for sewer service in East Rockingham.

“I came here in 1982, and it was an issue back then,” he said last week.

The mill villages consist of small lots and septic systems that don’t work.

The Golden LEAF money will be enough to pay for the 13-mile trunk line from the city to East Rockingham. That won’t be enough pay for the lateral lines that will connect the 630 homes and businesses to the system. But if the city has the backbone in place to provide service, Crump believes other funding will become available.

Of course Golden LEAF isn’t the only player involved. The Richmond County Foundation already paid the $325,000 cost to design the system several years ago. The city has the permits in hand.

“It comes down to addressing a public health issue,” said John Massey, the city’s planner. “You have people who can’t flush toilets, or have sewage standing in their yard. They don’t have the (financial) means to have their septic tanks flushed out and they don’t have the means to relocate. It’s a bad situation.”

The Ellerbe project would also help more than 600 homeowners. Combined the East Rockingham and Ellerbe represent more than 3,000 people who will be helped. It’s been a long time coming. It is a welcomed development for RIchmond County.