By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Sweet success and sewers don’t often go hand-in-hand but the second is a sure sign of the first for the Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties.
Members of the JDA signed off on both easement and driveway documents to facilitate the wastewater transmission and treatment project Newton County will put in at Stanton Springs.
Paul Michael, Development and Land Sales for Stanton Springs, said that long-term development at Stanton Springs will require a lot of infrastructure, including sewer.
The Newton County project will service Baxter International and the balance of Stanton Springs Park, he said.
Michael said a gravity sewer line will run from Stanton Springs Parkway down to Dennis Creek. It will follow Dennis Creek down the property that is owned by the Newton County Water & Sewer Authority.
There will be a second line that will be installed from Newton County Water & Sewer Authority back up to Little River to Highway 278.
He noted that at first they will have a force main, which will be converted to a gravity line at some point in the future.
“That line is critical,” he said. Eventually the line will run to Covington.
Michael said this project is an investment in the future of the park.
“I feel very good about the documents,” he said.
Attorney Andrea Gray said there will no cost to the JDA.
Authority members also agreed to go forward with a Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) loan.
While no vote was taken, members reviewed the documents provided by JDA Accountant Wayne Tamplin.
Tamplin explained that the loan is a “very bankable deal” that will give the JDA some options down the road.
Chairman Alan Verner said the terms were “unprecedented.”
Tamplin agreed and noted those terms: interest-only through the construction phase, a “very favorable” rate, and a 30-year amortization.
While the JDA will have 30 years to pay off the loan, if GEFA approves it, Tamplin said they hope to pay it off in five years.
Verner added that this loan is “our final big piece of the puzzle.”
“It was meant to be,” he said. “Everybody worked together to make it possible.”
Tamplin said that GEFA will have its board meeting the last Tuesday of the month.
The JDA may have a special called meeting following the outcome of the GEFA meeting. Details – if the special called meeting occurs – will be forthcoming.

Printed in the January 17, 2013 edition.