Wednesday, February 13, 2002
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Wednesday, February 13, 2002 |
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Brown loses tie vote on PTC Tennis Center change By JOHN MUNFORD
After a tie vote last Thursday, it's advantage tennis center in a match-up pitting Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown against the rackets of standing-room-only tennis enthusiasts. Brown wanted to create a new "sports and entertainment authority" and charge it with running the city's tennis center and amphitheater a job currently handled by the Development Authority of Peachtree City. That way, he said, the Development Authority could focus solely on economic development issues. The move would also allow the city to use more funds from the hotel-motel tax for other projects, the mayor added. Currently, the hotel-motel tax funds pay for some city projects, subsidize the operations of the tennis center and amphitheater, and soon the funds will begin paying the annual debt service on the tennis center expansion. But the initiative to create a sports and entertainment authority may have been doomed from the start. There was no research presented from city staff to buttress Brown's position, and a legal opinion on the matter wasn't sought from the city attorney to clarify several legal questions that were later brought up at the meeting. In the end, council took no formal action on Brown's recommendation. A motion to drop the idea failed 2-2 with Annie McMenamin and Dan Tennant in favor, and Murray Weed and Brown against. Councilman Steve Rapson abstained from voting because he felt there was a perceived conflict of interest due to his wife's current lawsuit against the authority in which Kristi Rapson alleges she was paid unfairly while she worked as the director of the amphitheater. Brown contends that the Development Authority needs to focus solely on economic development particularly because of vacancies in the industrial park and local industries that have cut back their operations. But Tate Godfrey, chairman of the Development Authority, said he believes the authority has been very successful in attracting business and industry to Peachtree City despite playing a limited role to county and state development officials. The authority has landed $400 million in industries locally, he added. Godfrey also argued that the tennis center and amphitheater are "development tools" for the authority, which use them to host industrial prospects and other economic development functions. He also stressed the authority's willingness to work with the City Council on economic development issues. "We'd welcome any opportunity to talk about development opportunities, new ideas, and creative thought," Godfrey said. "We'll have seminars, charrettes, whatever you want. We would welcome that." Though Brown said he had no complaints about how the tennis center and amphitheater are managed, he said that the $2.5 million expansion of the tennis center that's currently underway should have been presented to voters for approval instead of being financed through the Development Authority. Because the authority agreed to take on that debt, the City Council agreed last year to dedicate $180,000 a year towards the debt service on the expansion with the funds coming from the hotel-motel tax. Brown admitted that he "covets" the hotel-motel tax funds currently allocated to the authority. "When I've got the girls' softball league who I have to turn down again for another year because I can't pave their parking lot for $200,000 or whatever it's gonna cost, I'm real distressed," Brown said. He added that any reduction of financial support for the Development Authority would be phased in and the process would be studied for months. Brown said he didn't want to wait longer to focus the authority on economic development issues. "I think by and large we have to appreciate how much the industry and commercial businesses are responsible for keeping our taxes where they are at the current rate," Brown said. "We've got a lot of empty spaces. Some of these spaces are 51,000 and 60,000 sq. ft. Those are hard spaces to fill in today's economy. There aren't many businesses that are requiring that small a space. It's an interesting situation that's going to require some innovative thinking." Before the discussion even started, McMenamin asked whether Brown should abstain from the discussion based on his views expressed in a letter to the editor on the matter in last week's Citizen. City Attorney Rick Lindsey advised that Brown could participate since there was no possible financial gain for himself or a direct family member as a result of any outcome of the deliberations. Brown later apologized if he hurt anyone's feelings as a result of that letter. He said he wrote the letter because he was "hurt" that his letter to tennis center and amphitheater employees assuring their jobs are safe wasn't delivered. Former Mayor Bob Lenox spoke to the council, pointing out that the annual budget to operate Kedron Fieldhouse far surpasses the amount of funds the tennis center needs each year to break even. And the tennis center's supplemental funds come from the hotel-motel tax so there's no affect on property taxes at all, he added. Weed vowed not to drop the issue, saying he felt it would be a benefit for the Development Authority to focus solely on economic development. He also said the staffs at the tennis center and amphitheater can be responsible for their operations "without holding the hand of the current development authority." "I don't want the public to feel like this council did anything without doing all the research required." Weed said. "I don't want the public to feel like there's been anything clandestine in this matter." "Clearly this item was brought forward prematurely," Tennant said. "A lot of questions need to be asked." He also urged the public not to treat Brown harshly for his view on the matter. McMenamin was supportive of keeping the tennis center and amphitheater under the wing of the Development Authority. "I think that any incentive that the Development Authority can use to bring industry here, they should be allowed to use as long as it's not a burden on the taxpayers and doesn't intrude onto the safety of our citizens," she said. "I think the tennis center is a great asset being under the development authority." Quotes from the PTC Tennis Center meeting "The estimated total industrial vacancy in PTC is 269,000 sq ft. The class A office space vacancy in PTC is approximately 175,000 sq. ft. I have to put my name on it. Whichever way it turns, my name's attached to it. I'd like to have a team that would work with me in trying to create some development opportunities." Mayor Steve Brown
"With me this has not been a last-minute decision. I have been thinking about this, I've had lunch with some of the members and talked about this as far back as a year. It's always been on my mind ... and I don't want to do anything that hurts those two venues." Brown
"They've (the Development Authority) got $400 million in new investments well I think if they were focused on development entirely we'd have $800 million ... I think they've got the talent and the skills to do that." Councilman Murray Weed
"I really do believe this group of people is a cog in the wheel (of economic development). I don't buy into the argument frankly that the authority needs to focus only on development The reason I say that is there's lots of layers: state, county and sometimes national. If the Development Authority is pulled out of this equation, it's gonna hurt for all the reasons we heard here tonight ... It's not broke." Councilman Dan Tennant
"If you want to bring it back up in six months or so or you see a need or you want to have a workshop, then go ahead and start it over. ... I'd say to all of you to get out into the public and hear what they're saying. They like it the way it is." Councilwoman Annie McMenamin
"We have a binding contract agreement with the authority and both (sides) must agree to dissolve the contract." McMenamin, referring to the intergovernmental agreement that spells out how much the authority will receive from the hotel-motel tax for the tennis center expansion and improvements to the amphitheater.
"I don't think it's a matter of the tennis center is broke or not (or) is the tennis center working or not. It's how do we work on getting more economic development churning in this city?" Brown
"I have nothing against the tennis center. But I know we have some things to address as a city in terms of economic development, and I hope the Development Authority works with me on these issues." Brown
"I think Donna Romeo and Virgil (Christian) can continue the wonderful thing that the Development Authority started. I think they've got the ability as directors and staff members and I have faith in them that they can do that job and they can do it without holding the hand of the current Development Authority." Weed
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