After studying the situation for nearly a year, Senoia officials Monday night said the idea of restarting the city's water plant needs at least one more public meeting before a final decision is made.

Earlier this fall, city officials appeared ready to start up the city's water plant after a nearly five year dormant period. The city's water supply, Hutchinson's Lake, was wiped away during Tropical Storm Alberto during the summer of 1994.

For the last four years, the city has been buying water from Coweta County. At the beginning of 1998, the city formed a water committee to study the feasibility of getting the plant back in action.

But during Monday night's city council meeting, Mayor Joan Trammell said she had received a $30,000 estimate from the city's engineers, Turnipseed Engineering, to manage the plant once it's up and running.

Trammell had asked the company to bid on managing and operating the plant, but the company chose only to bid on managing the facility. The city would still have to hire operators for the plant, which would cost several more thousand dollars, the mayor added.

Another factor in deciding to open the plant occurred this week when Coweta County informed the city that the water rate it pays to the county would drop by 14 percent.

The rate will drop from $2.32 per 1,000 gallons to $2.00 a gallon. With the large rate drop, Trammell said she needs more input from the citizens before deciding whether to spend several thousand dollars on getting the city's water plant up and running again.

The final complication in the thorny problem is that Federal Emergency Management Association officials are now assessing whether the city should received funds to grub the lake.

The water plant cannot be restarted until the lake is grubbed. Senoia received federal funds two years ago for the work but has not had it done. Trammell said federal officials are concerned that the lake was not grubbed when it was empty and is doing an overall assessment before letting the city proceed.

The mayor hopes to have a public hearing in mid-December or early January to gauge the public's feeling on the water plant.