Madison County leaders approved a contract last week for the construction of a long-awaited commercial sewer system in the Hull area.
The county industrial authority unanimously approved a contract with Driver Construction Company for $1,995,545, which was the lowest of five bids submitted for the project.
The IDA hopes to have the sewer system in place by the end of the year.
A commercial sewer system has been a goal for local leaders for years. They note that the sewer services are needed before many businesses, particularly restaurants, will locate in Madison County’s primary business zone in the southern portion of the county.
In other matters Monday, the authority discussed the construction of the Harrison-area water system, which is scheduled to begin this week. Authority members agreed to offer a $650 discount in connection fees to Harrison residents along the path of the lines, but only if they hook up during the initial construction.
The project is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided to Georgia for shovel-ready projects. The federal funding consists of a 70 percent subsidy ($1,610,000) and a three-percent 20-year loan on the remaining 30 percent ($690,000).
The IDA recently approved a contract with Griffin Brothers out of Maysville of roughly $1.2 million to construct the Harrison system.
The water system will include approximately 8.5 miles of water lines. It will tie Madison County to the Royston water system, with an eight-inch water main from Royston to the Harrison Fire Department, and six-inch lines elsewhere.
Leaders say the system will improve fire protection and provide water services to a good portion of the county on the outskirts of Royston.
In other matters, the IDA approved a maintenance contract through 2018 for the Hwy. 72 water tank. They approved an agreement with the city of Danielsville for engineering services. They approved large tap and meter fees. They learned that the industrial authority had 650 customers in June who were billed over $42,000, with 7.44 million gallons of water sold for the month. And they received a proposed 2010 IDA budget from executive director Marvin White, who said the budget is down about 10 percent. The group did not discuss the budget Monday, but will consider the matter later.
