Wednesday, March 21, 2001
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Wednesday, March 21, 2001 |
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New blood for PTC Development Authority Could the winds of positive change be blowing in our community? You will recall that a few months ago, Peachtree City Councilman Dan Tennant proposed setting term limitations on the members of Development Authority and the other municipal authorities. Tennant's motion was rejected. The reasons for the denial were not enough people were applying and the City Council itself could control limits on the terms by not re-appointing the same members. Unfortunately, our City Council (past and present) kept re-appointing the same people over and over again until a Development Authority assignment began to resemble a U.S. Supreme Court lifetime appointment. Some of the Development Authority members will be approaching tenures spanning close to 30 years! Would it not make sense that the reason that fewer people are applying for Development Authority posts is that they have become tired of being rejected for several decades? I have been making this argument for two years. We have a lot of bright young men and women that are willing to work towards the betterment of Peachtree City's future and the door has been slammed in their faces. Finally, the dam broke. At the March 15 council meeting, Tennant launched some contention towards the re-appointment of yet another career Development Authority member. However, this time, much to Mayor Lenox's dismay, Tennant's position won. I want to see the Development Authority get back into the business of luring quality development opportunities to our community. I am not talking about low-paying factory jobs, but rather along the lines of a corporate headquarters route much like the World Airways project that Group VI is building on the Harris property. It was an unfortunate distraction when the city had the Development Authority run the Amphitheater and the Tennis Center. The more logical approach for the city would have been to create an Entertainment Facilities Authority in the same manner as other counties and municipalities have used to run stadiums and other such ventures. I have spoken to several of the Development Authority members, and there appears to be more of a business focus in the future. On another subject, I urge all citizens of Fayette County to attend the Association of Fayette County Governments meeting on March 27 at City Hall in PTC (7 p.m.). The main topic of discussion will be the future of the county's school system. One of the issues that I plan to take head-on in the campaign for mayor is the effect of land use planning on our school system. I hope that this gathering of municipal and county leaders will take it upon themselves to ask two questions: (1) How important is the school system to our community? (2) What have we learned from the rest of metro Atlanta and how can municipal and county land use decisions be made in a way that enhances the school system and our quality of life? The school system is one of our best ways to attract quality community-oriented families to our county. Unfortunately, 37 years in the metro Atlanta area has allowed me the opportunity to witness the destruction of many municipalities and counties through poor land use planning. The symptoms of this disease include overcrowded schools, traffic jams, crime, etc. In fact, many people living in Fayette County, my family included, are refugees from the destruction of the northern counties. One of the great myths is that the school systems in other areas are sinking and the quality families are fleeing due to a lack of funding and not improper land use planning. This myth is debunked by the fact Fulton and Gwinnett counties are consistently raking in over $100 million annually from local option sales taxes (SPLOST) and yet their condition is worsening. Gwinnett had approximately 850 trailers behind their schools last year. Gwinnett voters recently changed direction and voted in two "slow growth" county commissioners. I grew up in DeKalb County when it touted having the best school system in the state. When the symptoms of destruction began to appear, my parents picked up and moved to rural Gwinnett County (little did they know!). Currently, DeKalb County is undergoing some soul searching. At the March 13 meeting of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, "a moratorium on rezoning requests and applications for special-land-use permits within the county's residential districts" (Atlanta Business Chroncle, March 16) was passed by a 5-2 vote. The measure also calls for a study on the impact of residential real estate development on the schools. Not to belittle DeKalb or Gwinnett, but it is too little too late. Our state General Assembly allows impact fees for bridges, fire stations, roads, etc. but they outlawed the use of impact fees for our schools. Why? Catering to special interests, maybe? Why aren't our local elected officials combining forces and demanding a change? Cherokee County recently received $950 per house from a new residential development for their school system. What can we learn from Cherokee County? Fayette voters elected to use bond funding for our schools so as not punish our senior and low-income residents. We also receive the benefit of a tax deduction, begin building immediately and we lower inflationary risks with bonds. Recently the state General Assembly passed House Bill 656 that will financially punish Fayette County for using bonds in the future. Why aren't our local elected officials speaking out on this issue? Unfortunately, state Representative Kathy Cox missed the financial implications of HB656 while it was still in the Education Committee. I introduced the Education First in Fayette proposal that asks our governmental entities for a set policy on land use planning as it relates to education, infrastructure, etc. Hopefully, this will be a source of debate among the attendees at the Association of Fayette County Governments meeting. Please join me at the meeting and let's request that our local governments take preventive measures now instead of practicing crisis management in the future. Steve Brown Peachtree City Steve_ptc@juno.com
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