Friday, January 4, 2002
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Friday, January 4, 2002 |
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Chamber lobbies legislators with 2002 wish list By JOHN
THOMPSON South Fulton Chamber of Commerce President John Boothby hopes the upcoming General Assembly session is kind to the county. In fact, Boothby has narrowed down his list of requests to only three that he would love to see accomplished this session. First, the chamber leader would love to see parts of the unincorporated county be added to the South Fulton Water and Sewer Authority. Currently, only the municipal governments of Fairburn, Palmetto and Union City belong to the group, but Boothby said all of South Fulton should fall under the group's power. "Currently, somebody who wants to develop something in the unincorporated areas would have to deal with the city of Atlanta. We would prefer to have them deal with somebody on this side of town who could handle it in a more timely matter," he said. The chamber also wants to see construction of the Oakley Industrial Park bridge. For some time, this project has been on the priority list at the Department of Transportation, but fallen victim to projects in other jurisdictions, Boothby said. With the cost of the bridge pegged at $2.5 million, Boothby wants this year's legislators to help him find the money for the project. When industrial prospects visit the Oakley Industrial area, they're often put off by the fact that any trucks coming from the industrial area often have to wait for trains to pass. The bridge would alleviate that problem, said Boothby. The final issue is opposing construction of the Northern Arc of the outer perimeter highway. "Anybody who thinks it's going to relieve congestion also believes in the tooth fairy," said Boothby. Instead, Boothby believes the road will lure development away from the less congested south side and continue to add to traffic woes on the north side of town. "It will seriously harm all the south side counties for the next 25 years," he added. Boothby has talked to the region's legislators and is hopeful of a successful General Assembly session this term.
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