In one of its

most divided votes, the Fairburn City Council decided Monday night to

shift the footprint of its planned wastewater treatment plant away from

residents on Bohannon Road.

The plant will

now be situated near the middle of the site and could end up costing the

city as much as $250,000.

The proposed

change was brought up in March by Ann Miller, who lives near the site

on Bohannon Road and asked the council to slightly change the location.

Miller explained

the treatment plant will be just 250 feet from her property line and said

the city owns plenty of property to move it more toward the center of

the site and away from her home.

"What

would you want if this plant was next to your home? Just be fair and reasonable,"

she said.

City Administrator

Tony Cox said the city had studied four sites on the property to locate

the plants. The engineering firm of Keck and Wood said the site near Miller's

house was the best location, so the city accepted it.

Cox told the

council before the vote that the city's engineering firm still recommended

the original site.

If the site

was shifted, the costs could run up to $250,000, but Cox added the costs

could be cut down to $100,000 if the city desired.

Keck and Wood

officials said the buffering could be reduced to state standards instead

of the more stringent Fairburn standards. Other money-saving ideas included

scaling back a proposed park on the site and removing the odor control

building.

Councilman

Gene Wiggins said the city should stick with the original site, because

the costs were just too much for the city to absorb.

"I do

believe I would be remiss in my duties if I let the citizens pick up the

$250,000 tab," he said.

Councilman

Doug Crawford agreed with Wiggins.

"I represent

the voters of Fairburn and it's my job to save them money. I don't know

why the votes keep changing. We've already voted on this," he said.

But the other

four councilmen decided it was in the best interests of the town to shift

the site.

"I think

the citizens of Fairburn want us to be good neighbors and this is the

right thing to do," said Councilman Harvey Melear.

Melear, along

with Roy Farr, Gene Higgins and Frankie Arnold defeated Wiggins' motion

to leave the site at its original location. The four councilmen than passed

a motion to shift the site and leave the odor control building in the

proposal, along with the park and stringent buffering requirements.