Forsyth County commissioners agreed Tuesday to submit a binding proposal to buy raw and treated water from the City of Cumming. It's the first time in the extended negotiations that the four commissioners involved have agreed on a single offer to present to the city.
The proposal would extend the current finished water contract for five years with an option for an additional five-year term.
It would commit the county to buying 800 million gallons per year of treated water from the city for $2.25 per thousand gallons. That total is down from the current 1.6 billion gallons the county is required to purchase under the current contract and it could save customers about $3 million a year.
The separate proposal for raw water calls for a 50-year contract, keeping the price at its current rate of about 10 cents per thousand gallons. The proposal also includes a condition that the county pay $11.4 million for 65 percent ownership of the city's intake structure at Lake Lanier.
The proposal now goes before the Cumming City Council, which last week rejected three separate offers submitted by commissioners.
The county plans a public hearing on its proposal at the May 3 Board of Commissioners meeting.
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