Friday, January 26, 2001
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Friday, January 26, 2001 |
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Annexation could be decided today Today could be the day for South Fulton residents to learn if they will be annexed by Coweta County. More than 200 residents packed the Coweta County Commission chambers Wednesday hoping that the commission would give the okay for them to be annexed into the county. But after nearly three and a half hours of pleas from residents and staff reports, the commission deferred the discussion until today at 9 a.m. at the commission meeting room. After getting an initial figure of $1.1 million to annex the 17,000 acres and 400 families, commission Chairman Robert Wood asked the staff to make sure their figures were correct and report back to the board Friday. Commissioner Vernon "Mutt" Hunter had started challenging the figures when Sheriff Mike Yeager said it would take hiring four officers and purchasing two patrol cars for the new part of the county. "You can't tell me there's four officers serving the 400 families living below Haralson," Hunter said. Yeager explained that it would take four officers to cover all the shifts. One officer would be patrolling the area, along with other areas of northern Coweta, he said. The residents who packed the room explained that they didn't want any services from the county, since they weren't getting any from Fulton County currently. Commissioner Jim McGuffey understood the residents wanting to come into Coweta, but said he had to look at all issues surrounding the annexation. "This is the toughest decision I've had to make since I was a commissioner," he said. South Fulton's Bill Creel, who has been one of the leaders spearing the drive towards Coweta, said he understood the commission's reluctance to make a quick decision, but added many of the people desperately wanted out of the county. "I'm willing to donate money personally to get out," he said. Other residents complained about the "nightmare" of having to deal with Fulton County government and said they just wanted "good government." Newnan Realtor Chip Barron urged the Commission to approve the annexation because "it's the best thing to do." "I would rather Coweta County control this land than Fulton County," Barron said. Staff asked each commissioner to provide a list of figures they would need and pledged to have the figures done by Friday morning. The commission must make a final decision by Feb. 4.
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