Wednesday, May 22, 2002
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Wednesday, May 22, 2002 |
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To 'half-truths, lies,' some reasoned responses Let me start by saying I am not related to Peachtree City's new mayor. Almost from the minute the Peachtree City mayoral election results were announced last year, Gary Rower and his friends have been issuing a steady stream of vitriol at the winner, Steve Brown. I have read these many letters printed in The Citizen and passed them off as the pathetic blather of a failed candidate and his campaign manager. I also found it ironic that Mr. Rower often criticized then-candidate Brown for being too negative, never having anything good to say about the city or its outgoing mayor. Since soundly losing the election Mr. Rower has taken on the mantel of the constant critic, a position he formerly abhorred. I did not feel any need to respond these diatribes as I assumed the citizens of Peachtree City were too intelligent to believe these half-truths and blatant falsehoods. Recently, a comment made to me by an elderly lady has caused me to reconsider. She said that Steve Brown was the worst mayor in Peachtree City history. She arrived at this conclusion after only four months of the mayor's term primarily from reading letters complaining about the mayor's actions. If this opinion is indicative of others in Peachtree City, then maybe our citizens are not as sharp as I thought. To paraphrase an old saying, telling a lie over and over doesn't make it true. Does anyone expect such a bitter loser to have anything positive to say about the person who defeated him? Let me address one specific letter from Mr. Rower. In the May 1 edition of The Citizen, Mr. Rower asked, "If you voted for change, are these the changes you voted for?" I can respond with a resounding yes. Mr. Rower cites four specific issues in his letter. First, the building moratorium. I believe the building moratorium was needed at the time and voiced my support to the City Council. The problem was that the city chose not to fight the court ruling against it. Had they done so, the moratorium would likely have been validated, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Lake Tahoe case (they ruled local governments may impose moratoriums on development and that a temporary moratorium does not constitute a "taking" which would require compensation). Mr. Rower also claims Peachtree City has lost business growth. Where is his evidence other than a spurious remark by the head of the Fayette Development Authority? Can he name one business that backed out of a commitment to locate in Peachtree City? I suspect the downturn in interest is due more to the business financial climate than the moratorium. Second, the tennis center. Personally, I don't think the mayor went far enough. The tennis center should be completely privatized. Our golf courses aren't subsidized by tax revenue; why are tennis players special? Nevertheless, this same mayor that Mr. Rower accuses of being antibusiness, proposed creation of a separate authority to run the tennis center and amphitheater so the Development Authority could concentrate on bringing more high-quality businesses to Peachtree City. That same management team that "turned both into world-class venues" could have moved to the new authority where they would be able to focus their efforts on these sports and entertainment activities. And as to the citizens turning out in force, 200 tennis players and center employees, inflamed by a false, anonymous e-mail and afraid they were going to lose their taxpayer-subsidized perk, showed up. Out of a city of 35,000, that hardly constitutes overwhelming opposition. Third, the special tax district. The legislation requested by the mayor would have allowed the affected property owners to decide to impose a tax on themselves for improvements in their area. The tax would not have been imposed by the city council. That sounds like democracy in action to me. Yet state Representative [Kathy] Cox and Council Member [Annie] McMenamin opposed even allowing the property owners the opportunity to decide. Why should the mayor spend considerable time and effort in selling the program to the business owners in the area if the legal approval to establish the special tax zone is not there? Finally, $20, 000 for the air show. The air show is a private function and should be paid for with private funds. If extra security is required, then they need to pay for that. Some vague promise that the funds for security will be repaid is not enough. If the air show doesn't make enough to pay the city back, then the taxpayers have to foot the bill, resulting in other city services being cut or taxes being raised. I, for one, don't want my taxes raised to support a privately operated air show. And if they want to threaten to go somewhere else, let them. It will [be] quieter around here. Mr. Rower says Mayor Brown "seems bent on tearing down everything that is good and everything that makes us proud of Peachtree City." Nothing could be further from the truth. Mayor Brown loves Peachtree City. He has seen the other side and moved here to get away from the high-density development, strip malls, and traffic of Gwinnett County. He wants to ensure that Peachtree City doesn't go down that same path. Peachtree City is a great place to live; Mayor Brown wants to make it even better. Robert Brown Peachtree City
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