Sewer plant site shifted

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

In one of its most divided votes, the Fairburn City Council decided Monday night to shift the footprint of its planned wastewater treatment plant away from residents on Bohannon Road.

The plant will now be situated near the middle of the site and could end up costing the city as much as $250,000.

The proposed change was brought up in March by Ann Miller, who lives near the site on Bohannon Road and asked the council to slightly change the location.

Miller explained the treatment plant will be just 250 feet from her property line and said the city owns plenty of property to move it more toward the center of the site and away from her home.

"What would you want if this plant was next to your home? Just be fair and reasonable," she said.

City Administrator Tony Cox said the city had studied four sites on the property to locate the plants. The engineering firm of Keck and Wood said the site near Miller's house was the best location, so the city accepted it.

Cox told the council before the vote that the city's engineering firm still recommended the original site.

If the site was shifted, the costs could run up to $250,000, but Cox added the costs could be cut down to $100,000 if the city desired.

Keck and Wood officials said the buffering could be reduced to state standards instead of the more stringent Fairburn standards. Other money-saving ideas included scaling back a proposed park on the site and removing the odor control building.

Councilman Gene Wiggins said the city should stick with the original site, because the costs were just too much for the city to absorb.

"I do believe I would be remiss in my duties if I let the citizens pick up the $250,000 tab," he said.

Councilman Doug Crawford agreed with Wiggins.

"I represent the voters of Fairburn and it's my job to save them money. I don't know why the votes keep changing. We've already voted on this," he said.

But the other four councilmen decided it was in the best interests of the town to shift the site.

"I think the citizens of Fairburn want us to be good neighbors and this is the right thing to do," said Councilman Harvey Melear.

Melear, along with Roy Farr, Gene Higgins and Frankie Arnold defeated Wiggins' motion to leave the site at its original location. The four councilmen than passed a motion to shift the site and leave the odor control building in the proposal, along with the park and stringent buffering requirements.

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