Winder water taps picking up

Roger Wilhelm said there has been a steady increase in applications for water taps over the past six to eight months.

Last week, the government received from the developer of the new Farmington Hills apartment complex off Haymon Morris Road an application for 72 new water taps. With the application came a check for $252,000, Wilhelm said.

The city also has received an application for a new water tap from Dollar General, which is building a new store on Hwy. 11 northeast of Winder.

In addition, Aaron’s Rental is building a new store on West May Street, and the Social Security Administration is building a new office at the intersection of Hwy. 82 and Lays Drive. Those two structures will use existing meters in place at former residences on those sites.

In addition, the city government is in negotiations with Schutz Container Systems Inc., which is building the first phase of its new plastics facilities in Carl.

Wilhelm said the company originally planned to build its own aboveground water storage tank to store water for any fires at the site but now is considering using the city’s fire-flow infrastructure. He said he also is in negotiations with the company to provide a discount on those fees if the company were to tap into the city’s natural gas system for its planned second phase of the development.

Wilhelm said a lot of his colleagues in other municipalities have told him they count it a blessing to get three or four taps every six months. But Winder has experienced a steady flow of applications for water taps in each of the past six to eight months, he said.

“For me it’s a light at the end of a tunnel seeing development and tap fees,” Wilhelm said after the meeting. “It’s very good news for Barrow County. There’s a lot of exciting stuff going on right now.”

To read the full story on the July 7 meeting of the city council’s Water Committee, pick up a copy of the July 13 edition of the Barrow Journal.