Tennessee developer who bought Avondale Mills owns part of Pell City water supply.

Pell City-Tifton Properties, LLC an offshoot of Thunder Enterprises out of Chattanooga Tennessee, and the City of Pell City announced last week that discussions have begun regarding the continual use and purchase of the Avondale Mills well.

Pell City-Tifton Properties, LLC purchased the property from Avondale Mills, Inc in May 2007. Pell City leases the well on the property off Highway 231 South. 28 percent of the city’s water supply came from the Avondale Mills well in 2007. A 20-year lease recently expired between Pell City and Avondale Mills on November 23. Pell City-Tifton Properties also acquired other Avondale Mills land in 2007, including the main plant site. The main plant site burned on Valentine’s Day of this year.

Approximately 637,000 gallons of water is produced per day by the Avondale Mills well. This is 55 percent of its maximum pumping capacity of nearly 1.2 million gallons of water per day, which constitutes $1 million per year of gross revenue for Pell City.

Pell City is interested in purchasing the well property as well as the 27-acre main plant site at the intersection of Highway 231 and Highway 78.

For now, the city and Pell City-Tifton Properties, LLC have agreed on an arrangement for Pell City to continue using the water supply for $2,000 per month as negotiations continue.

Pell City Councilman Donnie Todd said the city could have purchased the Avondale Mills property earlier in the year for $1.5 million, but recently Pell City-Tifton Properties, LLC asked for $2 million for the well site only. “The well is necessary to the health and safety of the people of Pell City,” Todd said.