Following a presentation at a Woodstock City Council meeting last month, officials informally decided to move forward with a process that could yield more water for Woodstock water customers.
At its Aug. 16 work session, following a special called meeting, the Woodstock City Council heard from Anne Marie Walker, of Amnisos, a company based in Lawrenceville that helps governments and water authorities dig for wells.
Walker told the city council that, if they chose to move forward with Amnisos, it would negotiate a price per 1,000 gallons of water yielded and formulate a contract before any work is done.
At Amnisos’ expense, the company would select a site and perform engineering studies to determine where the water is, Walker told the city council.
Amnisos officials said that process, which includes Environmental Protection Division permitting, as well as engineering studies, could take a year. The process starts after a contract is signed.
If the water is found on private land, Amnisos would purchase the land before drilling, at no expense to the city.
Amnisos officials said the city would pay nothing upfront and only would pay when water is delivered.
Public Works Director Pat Flood found Amnisos through research after being charged by the city council at its retreat earlier this year to try to find alternative water sources.
“I don’t think we should be at the mercy of a larger entity-controlled water source. I think it’s going to get nasty …,” Ward 2 Councilman Chris Casdia said.
Currently, the city gets water from Cherokee and Cobb counties and then sells it to Woodstock water customers.
“It’s just going to get harder and harder, especially with the water wars,” Mayor Donnie Henriques said.
Walker, regional director with Amnisos, said the company is incorporated in Nevada and is a branch of Americas Energy.
She said negotiated prices range, however, the negotiated price is good for the life of the contract, which typically is 30 to 40 years, with renewals.
Walker said Amnisos is “heavily capitalized,” making it able to withstand the heavy upfront engineering and drilling costs.
“If we can’t find the water that we need to fulfill our contract commitment, we just pull out and say we couldn’t find it, and it’s at no expense to them.”
Casdia said he’s interested in doing more research on the company before agreeing to a contract or negotiations.
“My concern is that we get locked into a price that’s too high. I would hate to get locked into a contract today and a couple of years down the road, it be out of touch with reality,” Casdia said. “There’s a lot more due diligence and investigation to do.”
At the special called meeting preceding the work session, the city council agreed, informally, to raise the millage rate to 7.016 mills, up from 6.530. The 7.016 tax rate is the revenue neutral point, meaning the city will bring in as much money as last year, even with a 6.9 percent decrease in the tax digest.
A homeowner with a $200,000 home would pay the same $522 in taxes they did last year, if their property value decreased the full 6.9 percent. If the city were to keep the millage rate at last year’s rate, that same homeowner could save $36 on their tax bill.
Ward 6 Councilman Steve Faris was the only council member to disagree with the increase.
“We need to leave it that way and let the people have a slight tax cut,” he said. “Every dollar counts in this economy. The $36 could mean someone making the minimum payment on their credit card.”
The city will have two readings of the millage rate on Sept. 13 and Sept. 27. The millage rate is expected to be set at 7.016 mills on Sept. 27.
In other business, the city council:
• heard an update from Richard McLeod, community development director for the city, on the Haney Road/Main Street roundabout. He told the city council progress was moving but they expect another delay in the road opening, in “an abundance of caution and safety.” The road is expected to be open Sept. 1 at 10 a.m.;
• heard a presentation from Ofc. Leigh Ellerbee, of the police department’s Neighborhood Services Unit, regarding Nation of Neighbors (see related article in Weekly News);
• set the special election to fill Faris’ seat on Sept. 21;
• approved, 4-0-1, with Casdia abstaining, slight changes to the intergovernmental agreement and resolution for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax slated for the Nov. 2 ballot; and
• after executive session, approved, 4-0, a settlement with the Self family regarding rights of way and easements for the roundabout.
