It could take several months before the folks in southern Fulton County learn if they'll find a new home in Coweta County.

Four fed-up south Fulton residents asked the board of commissioners Tuesday morning to consider annexing them into Coweta.

The south Fulton folks had tried the annexation route in 1993, but were rebuffed when Fulton County asked for several million dollars from Coweta County for the water lines and structures Coweta would be receiving.

But now, Dave McMurrain said, several issues have been worked out and more than 200 residents have signed a petition to get out of Fulton County.

“Nobody's in this for the money. We want to be the green thumb of your county,” McMurrain said.

Currently, the residents, living near Rico in south Fulton, are disgusted with the level of service they're receiving from Fulton County, McMurrain said. The residents currently do most of their shopping in Coweta and are eager to send their property tax money to Newnan, McMurrain added.

Commissioner Vernon “Mutt” Hunter said it was quite a compliment for the county to be wanted, but said even if the county annexed the residents, it could be several years before any basic services could be provided to the residents.

“Our county's only 60 percent complete when it comes to water. I prefer helping the people who have been here a long time first,” he said.

Commissioner Lawrence Nelms agreed with Hunter and said the cost of an annexation concerned him.

“The only way we could do it is with a special tax district and there's no guarantee that you would approve that,” he said.

Before the commissioners could even consider an annexation, the Fulton and Coweta grand juries would have to approve it and then the Fulton County Commission would have to agree to it.

McMurrain said he understood all the work involved but added he merely wanted to keep the commissioners up to date and express how much the residents wanted to be a part of the county.

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