The line, on West Main Street from Boyd Road to the city limit, is on top of a water main and needs to be separated, City Manager Bill Stankiewicz said. The section of line is one of two that were left out of Hogansville’s gas line replacement project, completed more than a year ago.
The city borrowed more than $1 million for that project and, “when the money ran out, the work stopped,” he said.
Council voted unanimously Monday to transfer the money from the contingency fund in the general fund to the contingency fund in the utilities fund to do the work. Stankiewicz plans to bid out the project, but is using $30,000 as an estimate after speaking with several contractors.
“Considering the economy, we may be able to get a good deal,” Councilman Charlie Frank Martin said.
Stankiewicz said he’s still looking at ways to finance the second stretch of unfinished gas line, 2.2 miles on Ga. 100. That’s expected to cost $150,000.
Council also signed off Monday on a site plan for a mixed-use development the city’s planning board recommended Thursday.
Six commercial lots and 107 townhouses are planned for William Street, a site behind McDonald’s on West Main Street and adjacent to a dialysis clinic already operating. Mac Reynolds, a local attorney and developer, told council he’s been trying to sell the land for two years but buyers always ask what engineering and site work will be needed. Reynolds and developer John Hardy Jones want to be able to offer the site with that work, including a road system, already complete.
Reynolds says he hopes to attract employees of Meriwether Park, an industrial development just across Interstate 85 in Meriwether County.
“If jobs are coming in, people are coming in and they’ll have to live somewhere,” he said.
Developers coming in to Hogansville won’t see higher water and sewer tap fees after council decided Monday to keep rates the same: $1,500 for water and $2,500 for sewer.
Councilman Charlie Frank Martin had requested the city look at other area water and sewer rates for a comparison, believing Hogansville’s were too high. The city had raised its rates about three years ago.
On Monday night, however, Martin recused himself from the discussion and any potential vote, saying he’d recently bought a new house and he’d be needing water and sewer service soon.
Other council members were pleased to see Hogansville’s rates in line with other communities. For example, Grantville’s water and sewer rates total $4,750, just $750 more than Hogansville. Grantville is the average for the area.
“When I look at this, I think we’re priced right,” Councilman Jack Leidner said. “Developers are going to have to buy in to the infrastructure we currently have. Our bond issue has cost each of our current residents $6,800 in the last 17 years.”
Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.
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