Johns Creek will buy 133 acres along the Chattahoochee River for a major expansion of the city’s park system.
The City Council voted unanimously after midnight Tuesday to buy the Cauley Creek wastewater treatment plant and surrounding property for $20.3 million. City officials said the property eventually could include ball fields, trails and other amenities.
In a related matter, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners is expected to decide Wednesday whether the property will once again be home to an active sewage treatment plant.
The property off Bell Road is adjacent to the Rogers Bridge Trail and the proposed Rogers Bridge connection to the City of Duluth. It includes nearly 2,000 feet of riverfront.
The Cauley Creek property fulfills a key recommendation of the city’s draft parks and recreation plan: to buy at least one 100-acre property for parkland.
“I’m excited for the City of Johns Creek, for the residents to have secured property that will provide tremendous recreational programming,” City Councilman Bob Gray said after the vote.
The property's fate has been up in the air since the treatment plant closed in 2012. Fulton County used to contract with the plant to treat sewage, which Cauley Creek converted to irrigation water for golf courses and other customers. But after the county opened its own treatment plant in the area, Fulton officials concluded they no longer needed Cauley Creek.
In recent months, the plant's owner, Ron Green, has tried to convince county officials to buy the plant and reopen it. An independent consultant's report recently confirmed the county doesn't need the plant to meet north Fulton's sewage treatment needs for the next 20 years and beyond.
County Manager Dick Anderson has recommended a long-term sewage treatment plan that does not include reopening Cauley Creek. On Wednesday, county commissioners are expected to act on that recommendation. On Monday, County Commission Chairman John Eaves said he supports the manager’s recommendation.
Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker said Tuesday’s vote does not preclude the county from buying and reopening the treatment plant. Under the city’s agreement with Cauley Creek, Green’s company would share in the proceeds if Johns Creek sells the treatment plant in the next five years.
Johns Creek officials plan to get half the money they needs to buy the property from reserve funds and will finance the rest.
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