Water Contracts Focus of Called Meeting

 complained that Forsyth County Commissioners hadn't done their "due diligence" and that there has never been a proposal made to the City of Cumming, regarding the 25-year-old water contracts set to expire in May.

That all changed Thursday when commissioners sent three proposals and an offer to purchase the city's new raw water intake on Lake Lanier across Main Street to City Hall.

But, as far as the $11.4 million the city billed the county for its share of building the intake, well, the mayor probably shouldn't hold his breath. Commissioners agreed on very little during a heated, two-hour called meeting but they did agree the county doesn't owe the city a dime on that invoice.

Commissioner Todd Levent said he would be willing to give the city $11.4 million in exchange for fee simple ownership of the intake and 65 percent of the water it draws from Lake Lanier.

Commissioner Patrick Bell's proposal calls for the city to release the county from its obligation to purchase treated water in exchange for a much higher rate on raw water. The county pays Cumming $2.43 per 1,000 gallons of treated water even though the county has the ability to treat the water itself. If the city accepts the proposal, the cost of raw water will climb from 10 cents to 50 cents per 1,000 gallons for the first two years, then 75 cents per 1,000 gallons the third year before being adjusted by the consumer price index each year thereafter.

Bell's plan includes a 20-year contract with 10-year renewal options.

Tam's proposed a five-year extension of the current contract for treated water with a five-year option to renew at the fixed rate of $2.25 per 1,000 gallons. But his plan would still bind the county to buying 1.6 billion gallons of water a year from the city.

Under the Levent plan, the county would commit to buying 800 million gallons of treated water a year on a 25-year contract with renewals each five years that could be canceled with 180 days’ notice. The rate would be $2.20 per 1,000 gallons and the county would have an option to buy more as needed.

All the proposals are non-binding and all passed 4-0 with Commissioner Pete Amos having recused himself.

Levent and Chairman Jim Boff have been working to convince the EPD to give the county a bigger split of the water coming from the lake. Currently the city gets 21 million gallons daily (MGD) and the county gets only 16 MGD. On Thursday, Levent called for a resolution that would reverse that allocation.

The vote was deadlocked at 2-2 with Tam and Bell opposed, so it will come back before the Board of Commissioners at a later meeting.

Amos is awaiting a ruling by the Forsyth County Ethics Board as to whether his ownership of A & A Water constitutes a conflict of interest before voting on any issue relating to the water contracts.