Mill property now officially the city's

Staff Report

The east side mill property is now the property of the City of Tallassee, mayor Johnny Hammock confirmed on WTLS Thursday.

"We've got the deed," he said. "That gentleman that owned it has a few months to get all of his tools and whatever else he wants."

Tommy and Thomas Hudson of Mount Vernon Pine, LLC transferred ownership to the city.

"We need to do an assessment and apply for a cleanup grant," Hammock added. "We want to make sure there are no chemicals that are seeping into the water table into the river."

There are over 20 acres that could be developed after the massive cleanup is completed.

"We need the first five acres that's closest to the filter plant. It makes sense to put a future water filter plant on that property. I want to do a cost analysis of what it's going to take to rehab this old filter plant versus building a brand new, state of the art, energy efficient one."

"We're only at 40 percent capacity, but we don't know what 30 years down the road is going to bring. Elmore County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state. We wholesale water to Friendship, Eclectic and do Tallassee and Wall Street."

Hammock believes that a portion of the property could be used for other purposes.

"I would like to see it cleaned up so you can see the river. It's a beautiful piece of property, whether it be a riverwalk, city park or maybe retail shops."