Friday, March 22, 2002
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Friday, March 22, 2002 |
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Commissioners fire back at PTC mayor By JOHN MUNFORD and By JOHN
THOMPSON The Coweta County Commission fired a shot Tuesday night at reports the commission is backing off of its support for extending TDK Boulevard. The project would extend TDK Boulevard into Coweta County via a bridge over Line Creek and was originally envisioned as a way to free up traffic on Ga. Highway 54 West by rerouting employees to the city's industrial park. But Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown is worried that Coweta officials may allow rampant development of the area and create more of a traffic problem than a traffic solution. The city is depending on funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation for the project. But Brown said in a recent letter that he agreed with Coweta officials that the funds could be about 10 years away. Because of that the project "is a moot point anyway," Brown told The Citizen Monday. Brown said he wants more priority to be given to the widening of Ga. Highway 74 south since large industries located to Peachtree City "based on that unfulfilled promise." "I have always been concerned about what happens on the other end," Brown told council at its retreat Friday, referring to how the area would develop in Coweta County. At the retreat, Brown said he is uncomfortable with the response from Coweta County Commissioner Mutt Hunter, who told him the county would worry about planning its development for that area once the extension came closer to fruition. "At our meeting, he was very noncommittal," Brown said, adding that he wanted to encourage the development of a master plan for the area. "We don't have any control over what happens on the other side," noted Councilman Dan Tennant. "There will be some development along there." Across the creek in Coweta, Hunter said the county's position has not changed on the extension of the road. His biggest issue is funding, which has become tight at DOT. Hunter also disputes concerns about development in the area. "That's not a concern of theirs. It's far easier to build something in Peachtree City than Coweta County," Hunter added. The Coweta commissioner added the meeting was held because the Coweta County Commission had heard that Brown opposed the road extension during his recent mayoral campaign. "There's no sense pushing for something if the other side doesn't want it," he said. During Tuesday's commission meeting, Hunter reiterated hois position and dismissed Brown's take on the project as "hogwash." Commission Chairman Jim McGuffey, who also attended a meeting with Brown, does not recall the meeting anything like Brown recalls. Currently, the project is in the design phase but a problem has cropped up relating to the location of the bridge and the location of a spillway for the proposed Lake McIntosh reservoir that Fayette County officials plan to build. The reservoir is expected to boost water production by 8 million gallons a day. Design for the road extension project, which is between 85 and 90 percent complete, awaits a final decision on the bridge location, according to Peachtree City Engineer Troy Besseche. The city has $460,000 built into its 2004 budget for preliminary work on the project.
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