Sep. 16—Flowery Branch may have a temporary solution to its sewer capacity woes.

The City Council voted Thursday, Sept. 15, to hire a company to put in a system that will provide 200,000 gallons per day, while the city works to expand its sewer treatment plant.

The city is near its capacity at 900,000 gallons and is seeking to expand to 2.2 million gallons — a two-year project that stalled lately as bids came in $30 million over the $23 million budget.

That financial announcement at an Aug. 30 council meeting triggered a response from the council to stop accepting sewer applications until the future became clearer.

In an "emergency" move, the city decided Thursday to contract with Suez, a company that provides water technology processes, for $1.5 million to install a "mobile wastewater treatment plant."

The breakdown in cost is $1 million to operate the system for a year and $500,000 for set-up, chemical fees, pipes "and a lot of other stuff to get wastewater from our current treatment plant into (this system) to be treated, and then (going) back in with our treated water to be discharged," City Manager Tonya Parrish told the council.

The city would end up with two mobile units that each treat 100,000 gallons per day.

Financing for the effort isn't settled but could be figured out as part of the overall plant expansion costs.

"There's a couple different sources we can take it from," Parrish said.

The units could be set up in about four months, she told the council.

Council members didn't discuss further the hold on sewer applications.

The city "just can't issue any sewer permits right now," Mayor Ed Asbridge said after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Flowery Branch is still trying to work out how to pay for the plant expansion — a much-needed project, as the city is rapidly developing, with projects regularly being proposed. Thursday night, the council, with no explanations given, voted to deny a proposed 313-unit housing development on Gainesville Street.

Officials with Stifel, an investment banking firm, spoke to the council at the meeting about financing options. The city could get financing from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority and a bond issue with the Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority.

Through the state source, repayment of loans would come from the city's water/sewer system, meaning ratepayers and users.

"A bond scenario would shift (financing) away from a lien on your water and sewer revenues," said Trey Monroe of Stifel. "You don't necessarily have to come up with (repayments) from water and sewer."

Other sources can be used, such as special purpose local option sales taxes or the general operating budget, and bonds can be refinanced as interest rates drop, officials said.

Putting off a decision could be costly, with inflation and rising interest rates, Monroe said.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't look like things are going to get cheaper anytime soon," he said.

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