Wednesday, January 23, 2002
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Wednesday, January 23, 2002 |
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In a recession, city shouldn't mess with business environment I think that a lot of folks are going to start seeing the real Steve Brown with each meeting he runs. I can say with utter confidence after attending the special called City Council meeting on the development moratorium two weeks ago that our new mayor has trouble telling the truth. There is simply no other way to describe his behavior that night or in his writings before being elected. For those in attendance, the most astounding part of the meeting was not the City Council members trying to convince us that they had not already made up their minds but at the very end when Steve tried to pull what he has been pulling for four years in his letters. He tried to take one tiny factoid and generalize it into a sweeping assumption. In this case he was trying to convince us that the development community is excited and supportive of his moratorium idea. So, somebody asked him to name one. He stumbled for a moment and said Cousins Properties. Somebody pointed out that they don't own any undeveloped land. So, he fished around and named RAM development. This brought their lawyer to her feet to explain that they didn't. Then he tried to tell her that she "had" to say that because she represented them. I thought she was going to short-circuit. Then after fishing around some more, he did what he crucified Bob Lenox for dozens of times, he cut off discussion and had the vote. To add insult to injury, the guy he cut off was the new chairman of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, Mike Hoffrichter. The fact is that it is not just the developers that hate this moratorium. The Chamber of Commerce, the Development Authorities and any business owner who understands basic economics hates this moratorium. When the word gets around the country that this city has placed a moratorium on new business development, it sends the message that we are not welcome to new opportunities. It is not about those darn developers. It's about the fact that in the middle of a recession when local businesses are laying off employees the government should never mess with the business environment. This is a basic Republican tenant and yet our card-carrying Republican mayor seems to not agree. What bothers me more is that none of the newly elected council members or our truth-impaired mayor ever mentioned their plans to enact a development moratorium during the election. Steve must have been planning on it for a while since it was the first major initiative he launched after the important steps he took in re-decorating the mayor's office, changing the layout of the council chambers and dramatically and courageously rearranging the seating of the City Council. I can hardly wait to see what comes next. What is saddest is that he has already contradicted himself from the letter he wrote against me back on Sept. 5. In that letter he tried to show what a huge supporter of small business he is. He states that he "will work with the city and county development authorities on assisting our small businesses" and that the "best environment for entrepreneurship consists of low taxes, limited government, (and) helpful regulation." At the meeting two weeks ago the Chamber of Commerce chairman spoke twice urging the council not to enact the moratorium. Mayor Brown explained that his plan would help business. It seemed funny to me to hear a guy who manages a dental clinic in Atlanta three days a week explaining to the Chamber of Commerce of Fayette County what is good for their businesses. Mayor Brown, you are our elected official now. You were elected by almost one-sixth of the registered voters of this town and now you represent all of us. You have to do what is right for all of the citizens in Peachtree City and not just for your slam-the-door, the-sky-is-falling, anti-business crowd. This city needs jobs and opportunities. You have spent four years complaining about things; now get off your tail and do it. You shouldn't shut down the city to think about ordinances. This moratorium is nothing but a political statement to show the developers there is a new sheriff in town. The business community has gotten the true message now. You may talk about supporting us, but actions speak louder than words. Fred Wellman Peachtree City wellmanptc@aol.com
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