A proposed county sewer system is estimated to cost $14.3 million.
Chris Quigley made the announcement at the Dec. 20 meeting of the Industrial Development Authority after he presented an overview of the proposed system, which includes replacing the “antiquated” systems of Comer and Danielsville, installing numerous lift stations and a regional waste treatment plant to serve the county.
Quigley said the sewer system is needed to serve three purposes: bring sewer services to needed areas, replace the sewer systems of Danielsville and Comer and to encourage commercial growth in the county.
The system will include Hwy. 72, Hull, Colbert, Comer, Danielsville and Hull-Sanford. The study does not include a plan for Ila or for Carlton, whose councils both declined participation in the study.
Quigley said the board of education is eager to become part of a county sewer system.
“They would like to be tied to a sewer system as quickly as possible,” Quigley said. “The schools don’t want to be in the sewer business.”
Some county schools are currently on their own septic systems. Comer Elementary, Madison County Middle School and the Danielsville-area schools are served by their respective city systems.
The oldest waste system, which is also outside the planning area, belongs to Ila Elementary School, whose septic system was installed in 1954, according to Quigley.
Quigley said the alternatives to a county system were to take no action, or for each city to “go it alone” and provide their own individual sewerage systems.
A rough estimate of the average bill of a sewer customer on a regional system would be $39.85, according to Quigley. He pointed out that the cities of Comer and Danielsville are currently “undercharging” for sewerage services and that there might be some initial sticker shock for those customers. He said the system could be expected to bring in approximately $320,000 in revenue in the beginning, and that there would be $33,531 of those funds available to pay back the debt.
“There are not enough users to fund a large portion of this project,” Quigley told the board, but he recommended going ahead and submitting the sewerage study and an environmental review to be approved by the USDA, which must be done before the IDA can proceed further.
“The best option for us is a major sewer treatment plant for the county,” executive director Marvin White told the board, despite the cost. White said one reason the system is projected to be so expensive is due to the county’s hilly terrain which requires more lift stations.
“It’s not as expensive as no sewage,” IDA attorney Victor Johnson stated.
When you look at economic forecasts, projected tax revenues (falling off the chart), and the current status of our county (AND state) and taxpayers as FLAT BROKE, finding ways to spend millions more dollars when we don't even have enough money to maintain the roads, bridges, schools, and public safety we already have, is incredibly irresponsible and just plain dumb.
$40 a month = $480 / yr. Why in the world would anyone drop their well and septic to lose about $500 / yr?
Clearly there are some on the IDA who are very worried that they and their pals are going broke on the real estate they are speculating on. Newsflash: even with sewer you guys fail to see the writing on the wall. The party is OVER. And it's not coming back. And this insane blindness to what is blatantly obvious, and your willingness to be irresponsible with money to the tune of 14 million is the kind of irresponsible fiscal management that helped get this county, state and individual family finances in the pickle they are in.
If you didn't get the memo, development is done in rural farming counties like this one. It's not going to be one big subdivision because the price of gas alone, not to mention the other economic factors such as actually having to QUALIFY for a home loan now or development loan, will dictate people live much closer to Atlanta or Athens. With no customers, the grocery stores and other stores you are planning for with your sewer will have no interest in Madison Co. Why should they? There are no customers, and the customers they have won't have any extra money to spend because they're paying all their money on taxes and your sewer bills!
With Madison County's future now solidly locked into agriculture, I sure don't know many farmers with any interest in your sewer service. I asked my cows and they turned around and gave an answer. Maybe I should put that in a bucket and drop it by the next IDA meeting what we citizens think of your plans to blow our money. Straight from the bull, as it were.
Why don't you guys go cut the locks on the golf course that was built for all your subdivisions that are gone for good and play a round of golf amongst the weeds and rodents? Maybe by the 9th hole you will have figured it out.
The problem is, the type of speculation this could attract is institutional real estate speculators - big corporate investors who buy up large tracts with an eye towards a 20, 30, or 40 year return. They aren't going to buy land to put in industry. They will buy land to hold to then sell or develop for mostly dirty industry. Keep in mind these investors are in offices in New York; they aren't people that live near here so they won't care how dirty the industry is. Ever see those big nasty industrial plants when you're driving through south Alabama, Mississippi or especially Louisiana and wonder, "Why is that here?" The answer is that some local yokels like our IDA put in a sewer system to make a buck and attract "industry" and these isolated, rural locales are perfect places to hide dirty, dangerous industry because the locals are desperate for jobs and these industries don't require educated workers. On the contrary, these industries require desperate workers with no other employment options. Is this really the type of dirty, dangerous, polluting industry we want to attract?
Contrary to attracting industry, this project could well be the death knell for the big, profitable industry already here, agriculture, not to mention any other industry as these institutional investors will sit and hold for 20-30 years. Sometimes longer. Look down Louisiana way to see the impact a sewer in the middle of nowhere can have as big corporate giants buy up hundreds and thousands of acres of land and speculate and sit on it for 40 years, and when they finally do a deal they don't care how dirty the industry is or the damage it does to the local population, just their bottom line.
You can get a pretty good idea of how these corporate investors think about your local county by just looking at the Colonial pipeline folks and how they polluted the water, didn't care, and worked overtime to deny, delay, and to this day treat the pollution as a public relations problem for their image, not a health threat to our county.
Ask any manufacturer why industry does not locate here. It is not because of water or sewer. They will tell you this county, indeed this area does not have an educated workforce. So the only industries that would locate here would be the dirty, polluting industries that don't require an educated worforce. Case-in-point: the fly by night Weyerhauser plant that was touted by these same people on the IDA as a God-send to Madison County. Ask anyone downwind in Colbert what a dirty industry that was. Not only that, they trashed our county and then left the workers high and dry as they abandoned the place and left their mess and workers behind.
If your children do not wish to participate in agriculture when they get older, it makes far more sense for them to relocate to an industrial city in the north (have a look at the rust belt in Ohio to see what "attracting industry" will get you in the long run) than for the rural farming community of Madison County to abandon our strong position as one of the leading agricultural producers in the state AND the country ( we're in the top 20 counties IN THE COUNTRY in agricultural production) just so your kids can hang around and punch a clock in a dirty factory in Madison County.
Number one issue keeping industry out of this county, and the surrounding counties, is lack of an educated workforce. Go ask BMW, Kia, and others who looked at the Athens area and opted for other sites instead. Lack of an educated workforce was their number one reason for skipping this area. Water / Sewer had nothing to do with it.
But don't kid yourself. This sewer isn't really even about "attracting industry." That is just a catch phrase to get good people like yourself worried about your children to support the scam. This sewer is a scam to artificially create RESIDENTIAL growth / speculation so these people on the IDA who are all connected to real estate (hmmm...coincidence? I think not) can make a buck for them, or their clients, or a last ditch attempt for a GOVERMENT BAILOUT of their own foolish, greedy speculation in our beautiful AGRICULTURAL county. Even then it's a long shot, but desperate men will do anything, especially when it's not even their own money they are spending...IT'S OURS.
All this talk about "attracting industry." We're #4 in Georgia in agricultural production. We're ranked in the top 20 counties NATIONWIDE in agricultural production. In this economy, 99% of all counties in the country would kill to have this industry that WE ALREADY HAVE, going STRONG, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, in Madison County. The biggest hit our agricultural industry has taken the last 10-20 years has been escalating land values leading to higher taxes that have eaten up farmer's profits and forced many to sell. Sewer will only recreate that pressure that has finally begun to alleviate as the folly of building "subdivisions to nowhere" has been exposed.
Here's a thought: Let's not kill this great industry we already have by letting these speculators have their way with OUR COUNTY and OUR MONEY. Let's cherish and protect this thriving industry for which we are a recognized national leader: FARMING AND AGRICULTURE.
Light industry/warehousing limited to the highway 72 corridor seems appropriate. Those new businesses should pay the cost of us providing water/sewer for them in the form of both high taxes and very high connection fees. We get paid back and all the "desparate, uneducated, jobless" folks might have an opportunity to become contributing citizens. Plus we have an ongoing source of tax revenue. Just be sure to watch out for the greedy, evil shenanigans of developers and speculators; they can be unbelievably slick.
We will not be in this recession forever. We need to position the county for better times both near and far (20 - 30 years out). With 'Boomers' retiring right and left, they will be down-sizing and looking to locate to ideal locales like Athens (they don't have to commute to a job). Madison County's proximity is in line to absorb this onslaught as a bedroom community to Athens. Subdivisions here failed due to the recession, not the inappropriateness of Madison County for residential development.
I just paid for a well and septic system at my house; I, very adamantly, don't want to be made to pay for someone else's water/sewer. However, when our aquifers finally become contaminated from 100 years of pollution any time now, I will be grateful to be able to turn to a managed water system already in place and functioning.
People we have no lake, we have no Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot and frankly the farmers are not making enough to offset my mill rate. To have a 30+ mill rate in a rural county with no amenties is insane. Kudos to the IDA. Make it so industries will come to our county so the bills can be paid.
We need patrol cars, our county workers would like raises, our high school needs repairs, HOW IS GOING TO PAY THE BILLS? Farmers, think again.
Growth is coming whether we like it or not. If you don't want growth then maybe you should move to Greene or Oglethorpe or better yet Hancock. They have many many acres there that would you would be well suited for.
It's really unfortunate that most of the people opposing this sewage system are farmers who are in the CONSERVATION program to begin with. I am tired of footing all of the bills in this county.
If YOU got a better plan, then put it on the table, other wise keep quiet.
Even with the slightly lower millage rate in Oconee, and even with the Home Depot, WalMarts, and all the asphalt and crap shopping centers and office parks, the same person living in the same house on the same lot pays MORE, a helluva lot more, than the person living in the same house in Madison County.
Housing market has crashed, and now that valuations are bottoming out and they can no longer exempt all the foreclosures from the assessment, those valuations in Oconee are about to drop off a cliff and that millage rate is set to skyrocket.
You can raise taxes by raising the millage rate or inflating property values. Madison County has done it with millage rate. Oconee has done it with valuations. But at the end of the day all that matters to compare is how much money do you actually pay. As a property owner in BOTH counties, I KNOW: in Oconee they pay A LOT MORE. All the WalMarts and asphalt and devlopment and sewer has done is trash the county while simultaneously forcing us property owners to pay a lot more taxes. Doesn't work, friends. Don't make the mistakes Oconee has. You're just chasing the dragon.
What happens when the frozen values are unfrozen?
The county is trying to prepare itself for this scenerio. The mill rate is increasing or already increased, property values are on the decline, we are in trouble. No only us but other counties as well. I agree, Oconee County has too many over priced homes on over priced lots but if you take into consideration their mill rate verses property values, Madison County properties may be relatively similar in overall values.
I will not buy that line that has been passed around of how ALL the citizens benefit with such systems. If that is the case, explain how.
This entire package, sewer and water, will benefit real estate speculators. This is the reason they are pushing so hard. Taxes will once again go up people who can no longer afford to pay the taxes on their land will be forced to sell it.
Once again those who appreciate Madison County for it's rural charm and character - the reason many moved here to begin with - are being assaulted by the mighty dollar.
Shame on you County Chairman and Commissioners for what you are allowing to happen in the name of progress and 'industrial development'.
Sorry to annoy anyone, but so many posters here make reading their comments very difficult with lack of punctuation and, especially, mispelling there, their and they're. Maybe the following will help:
They’re taking their stuff over there.
If some of you still don't get it, there is no hope for you.
Our inability to think outside the box seems to be the barrier that prevents solving just about every problem that we're confronted with.
If we don't stand up to this, Madison County, too will be an asphalt cesspool with high taxes and no trees or water. We know the vast majority of citizens oppose spending millions of our dollars on sewer for yet another government bailout of real estate speculators. But we have to work together to nip it in the bud. No more bailouts. Not for wall street bankers. Not in the form of million dollar water lines for local speculators either. Enough is enough.