At the request of the city of Gainesville, mediation talks between the city and Hall County concerning the Cedar Creek Reservoir may have to wait.

The county constructed the reservoir - and still has a state permit to withdraw 2 million gallons from it daily - but turned it over to the city in 2006.

Now the city wants to move ahead with constructing a treatment facility at Cedar Creek, while the county wants to use it for the proposed Glades Reservoir.

During a work session Tuesday, Gainesville City Council announced that it was ready to send a joint letter with the county to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division seeking nonbinding mediation to determine ownership of the reservoir.

The Hall County Board of Commissioners agreed to send the letter during its work session Wednesday.

By Thursday afternoon, the city decided to add additional stipulations to the mediation agreement, and outlined such requests in a letter sent to the county.

Mayor Pro Tem Danny Dunagan said the city is committed to the mediation process, but wants the formal process to begin only after the new slate of commissioners takes office in January.

"We just think that if the mediation process drags on past the first of the year, (the incoming commissioners) won't be up to speed on it," he said. "They may be asked to vote on something they aren't really familiar with. So we want to wait until they are in office.

Dunagan said the process won't completely stop until then.

City and county staff members will continue to meet about the project.

Dunagan said he remained confident that the city owns the reservoir and that the mediation will come out in the city's favor.

"We're going to have to build a $20 million treatment plant on the reservoir," he said. "And we need to have no questions that it is ours before we spend that kind of money."

The five-member county commission will see two new members come January. Scott Gibbs won the Republican primary for the Post 3 seat in north and east Hall. He faces no opposition in November and is assured to the seat in January.

Republican Craig Lutz will face Democrat Paul Wayne Godfrey for the Post 1 South Hall seat in November.

According to Hall County Administrator Charley Nix, delaying the actual mediation talks isn't off-putting.

"Honestly, I think that if (the city council) agrees to going through with mediation, I don't think this will be an issue for the commission," he said.

Although Nix received and reviewed portions of the letter, he says he hadn't had the opportunity to share it with the entire commission as of Thursday evening.

"I think discussions are going to continue on the staff level (in spite of the delayed mediation)," Nix said.

"I anticipate that we have a pretty good chance of resolving this amongst ourselves before it even gets to mediation."

Times editor Mitch Clarke contributed to this story.