City leaders in Lula are prepared to take legal action to get Hall County officials to honor an intergovernmental sewer agreement signed almost 11 years ago.
After several executive session meetings behind closed doors in recent months, Lula City Council members Thursday held a special called meeting at Lula City Hall, voting unanimously to authorize city attorneys to “use all legal means, including litigation, to enforce the 2006 Lula/Hall County Sewer Agreement.”
The vote followed a presentation by Lula City Manager Dennis Bergin, who laid out the reasons the city is ready for a court fight if necessary.
Bergin said Hall County government leaders basically have made a u-turn on the position the commission held when the agreement was signed on June 14, 2006.
“In 2006, their [Hall County's] position on infrastructure was they didn't want to be a part of water, they didn't want to be a part of sewer, but they did want to buy capacity from us,” said Bergin.
That discussion – and the signed agreement - lead to Lula's decision to build a $14 million wastewater treatment facility, which was completed in 2010, according to Bergin. At that time, Hall County paid Lula $1.5 million for capacity at the plant to accommodate development on the Georgia 365 corridor.
"In the agreement, they also had opportunity to grow that capacity over a period of time," Bergin said.
But in 2012, Bergin said the county commission began to take a different course of action when it came to water and sewer service.
That change in attitude - along with specific actions they believe violated the 2006 agreement - prompted Lula to retain the law firm of Jarrard & Davis of Cumming. The firm sent a letter to the county on March 28 outlining in detail all of the perceived violations committed by Hall County.
Among the alleged violations, Hall County's recent contract award for the White Sulphur Road Sanitary Sewer Extension Project on 365.
"The Project is principally driven to sewer a single parcel of commercial property at a cost of almost $3.2 million that could be sewered by the City of Lula for $600,000.00," the letter stated.
The letter requested a response from Hall County within 30 days.
Bergin said during his presentation Lula government leaders have tried to meet with county leaders to discuss the 2006 agreement, but he says the county hasn't been interested in talking. He said there was an informal meeting with Hall County Commissioners Scott Gibbs and Jeff Stowe earlier this month, but both were non-committal when asked if the county would uphold its end of the intergovernmental agreement.
Reached by email, Hall County reacted to the March 28 letter and the Thursday afternoon vote.
"The County categorically denies every allegation contained in Lula’s letter," wrote county spokeswoman Katie Crumley.
"However, in good faith, County officials recently met with Lula officials to discuss Lula’s concerns in an effort to work out any misunderstandings. If negotiations are not successful, the County will respond specifically to each and every allegation in the notice within 90 days as outlined in the 2006 agreement."
