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Guyton may turn to Springfield instead
City's plans for its own sewage treatment plant may be on hold
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Springfield and Guyton are revisiting water and sewer issues, Alderman Phillip King announced in Tuesday’s council meeting.

“We have entered into talks with Springfield to see if there is a better way to go,” he said.

“A better way to go” seems to refer to whether Guyton should move forward with their plans to build a 500,000-gallons per day wastewater treatment facility.

A little less than a month ago the city closed on its purchase of 265 acres of Copper Station property located on Riverside Drive, giving them a total of approximately 647 acres to construct a 5-10-acre wastewater treatment facility, an 85-acre spray field and walking trails.

They paid over $2 million for the property with a secured loan for $13.35 million from Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. In addition, the city has already spent or been invoiced between $1.6 and $1.8 million for such things as research, soil testing and engineering fees.

So what will Guyton do with the property they just purchased if they decide at this point to stay with Springfield?
“We’ve not gotten that far,” King said.

He pointed out that the talks have just begun, so no decisions have been made. He did say that the city plans to hold a public workshop so more council members from both cities can participate and the public can give input.

Brett Bennett, Springfield city manager, contacted Guyton about three weeks ago regarding “a way that (they) can work out a deal that will benefit both parties,” said King.

Springfield Mayor Barton Alderman along with Guyton Mayor Michael Garvin, King and Carl Hofstadter of Hofstadter and Associates met Monday morning to discuss the possibility of Guyton staying with Springfield instead of building its own wastewater treatment plant.

Any agreement reached is contingent upon state Environmental Protection Division’s approval for Springfield’s own wastewater treatment plan expansion plans.