BRASELTON — The Braselton Town Council has voted to move forward with issuing bonds to fund several water and wastewater system projects.

The council held a called meeting on Dec. 3 and approved an ordinance that will allow water and sewerage revenue bonds to be financed and issued by the end of the year.

The ordinance stipulates that the bonds will be issued at an amount not exceeding $11.2 million and at an interest rate not exceeding 5.5 percent a year.

"These are the bonds the council voted in June to move forward on issuing to pay for capital projects identified as necessary to meet the needs of the water and sewer system’s customers in the next three to five years," said Town Manager Jennifer Dees.

Another meeting will be held to determine the exact interest rate and the financial institution that will issue the bonds. The town expects to pay $150,000 to issue the bonds.

In all, Braselton is planning to spend an estimated $16 million in future water and wastewater system improvements, and the bonds will be used to pay for an estimated $9.4 million of
these improvements.

The most expensive project will be Phase II of the Mulberry River interceptor sewer project, which is slated to cost $4.3 million.

The project will be paid for using $3.5 million in bond funding, and $779,000 will be supplied by the city of Oakwood. Additionally, $630,000 will be designated for the Braselton-Oakwood outfall sewer. The entire project is $3.1 million and Oakwood is paying $2.5 million.

Braselton has agreed to treat some of Oakwood’s sewage since the city does not have a wastewater treatment plant, according to Dees. Oakwood could purchase a capacity of 2.5 million gallons a day from Braselton over the next 20 years, Dees said.

"In exchange for that, Oakwood has to put in all the lines to connect to our system," she said. "Then they pay the cost related to the sewer that they need, plus $7 per gallon up front and ... whatever our regular sewer fees are once they start sending us flows."

The retirement of a $3 million interim loan will also be covered by the bonds. The loan was approved by the town council in June and used mostly for a reuse water project.

Water and sewer relocations needed for the Zion Church Road and Ga. 124 realignment projects will also receive full funding through the bond issuance.