The owners of a Johns Creek sewage treatment plant will make one last attempt to convince Fulton County officials to consider buying it today, even though an independent consultant says doing so would cost the county tens of millions of dollars.
County Manager Dick Anderson has asked the Fulton Board of Commissioners to approve a plan to provide sewage treatment in north Fulton that does not involve buying and reopening the Cauley Creek wastewater treatment facility in Johns Creek. That recommendation is based on a report by consultant Burns & McDonnell that concluded Fulton County doesn't need the Cauley Creek plant to meet sewage treatment needs in the northern part of the county. The consultant found buying Cauley Creek would cost the county an extra $54.3 million over the next 20 years.
But in a letter to county commissioners Tuesday, Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker said the consultant’s findings are flawed. He urged commissioners to hire another consultant to study the issue.
Johns Creek recently agreed to buy the plant and surrounding property for a future park. Now both the city and the plant's private owner, Ron Green, stand to gain if Fulton County buys the plant. Under its tentative deal to buy the property, Johns Creek would split the proceeds with the plant's private owner if it sells Cauley Creek over the next five years.
Anderson has said the city is now an interested party that won’t be happy if the county decides not to buy the plant. At two recent meetings he’s asked commissioners to approve his plan. But they postponed action each time, setting up a possible decision today.
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