The Demorest City Council will meet for its work session and regular meeting Tuesday, September 3. The city council will hold a public hearing regarding its land use ordinance during its regular meeting. It will consider setting new water rates for the area that utilizes Toccoa water.
The council has been working on the land use ordinance for several months. During that period, the city issued a limited moratorium on new construction. The moratorium only applies to unplatted parcels in the city. Citizens and property owners with existing plats were not affected by the moratorium, still allowing them to build on those parcels.
Due to the hot, dry summer, the city has increased its water usage, especially the water it receives from Toccoa. Toccoa’s water rate to the city is significantly higher than what the city pays to Baldwin. Due to the increase in water consumption, Demorest was forced to increase its water purchases from Toccoa since Baldwin was reaching its permitted water withdrawal limit.
The council has discussed passing along that increased cost to the customers that use Toccoa water.
Water zones and SCADA
The engineering firm Engineering Management Inc will be discussing with the council a financial analysis of the city’s water distribution system. The purpose of the analysis is to separate the water distribution system into zones and determine the costs incurred by the city for each zone. The Toccoa zone is one such zone that the council has discussed at previous meetings.
The council will consider upgrading its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Demorest’s SCADA system has not been upgraded in several years. Updated software and new technology is available to improve system performance.
The system requires software and hardware to communicate water and wastewater data to operators to ensure those systems are functioning properly. It also alerts operators to issues that may need to be addressed such as leaks, low water levels in water tanks, high water levels in the wastewater system, or failing pumps.
Other business
The council will receive a tactical analysis from grant writer Brad Day. He was hired to prioritize available grants and connect them to the needs of the city. Part of his analysis will be to inform the council what grants are available to the city. Day will also inform the council which grants require the city to match funding or not.
The city council will discuss an upcoming project for the public works department. The Georgia Department of Transportation is requesting the city to move utilities in the Panther Creek area for its upcoming project.
The Tomochichi Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is in need of space for its operation. The non-profit organization has contacted the city of Demorest to inquire about the availability of a room to lease in the municipal complex for its purposes. The city council will consider leasing space to the organization.
The city of Demorest will meet Tuesday, September 3, for its work session and regular meeting. The work session will begin at 6 p.m. The regular meeting will begin at 7 p.m. or immediately following the work session. Both meetings will be held in the Demorest Municipal Conference Center at 250 Alabama Street in Demorest.
