Wednesday, June 19, 2002
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Wednesday, June 19, 2002 |
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Problem may lie with egos of current PTC Council members I must say that I have read this paper for many years. I have been outraged by some of the antics of our elected officials, but never so much as to be moved to write this paper my opinion. I am now so moved. The controversy surrounding the Peachtree City Council and its appointed Development authority has me a bit confused. Cal Beverly's opinion in the May 24 edition was right on the money. We probably do need to reconsider the Development Authority's autonomy in handling taxpayer funding. We may even need to reconsider how content changes are handled in the dissemination of information to council members prior to a scheduled vote on the matter. But let's face it, it seems there's a lot more going on here. I can't help but wonder if it is actually our elected officials' pride and personal vendettas that have gotten the best of them. Who doesn't remember the debacle that ensued with newly-elected Mayor Steve Brown's attempt to thwart operations at the Tennis Center? Unfortunately, I believe he remembers all too well. I believe he found an ally in personal grudge-holding with Councilman Steve Rapson. Remember, it is Rapson's wife who is involved in a lawsuit against the Development Authority and its amphitheater. I wonder if Rapson and Brown, along with other cronies on the council, have been on a crusade to satisfy their own personal quests for revenge. Have they been searching for a way to undermine the operations of the Development Authority? Well, maybe it IS time to reconsider how this board operates. However, it's the way our elected officials are handling the matter that bothers me. Am I the only one who thinks they are behaving like children, and we citizens are the losers? If this is such a major issue, why has it taken almost one full year to discover it? It gives the appearance that the mayor and his friends have spent countless hours scheming and hunting for ways to discredit the Development Authority. Is it possible that they are looking for a way to get revenge for their own embarrassments associated with this board? Or do they just want to control their funding that badly? Either way, I've heard it said, "You're either part of the problem or part of the solution." With this finger-pointing in the press, and no constructive offers of solutions, I've become concerned that these elected officials are actually a major part of the problem. As a citizen of this wonderful city I don't like the bickering and back-stabbing of our public servants. The divisiveness that it is causing this city makes me sad, and it makes your fine newspaper read more like a tabloid than a journalistic offering. Hey, mayor and City Council, stop picking fights and looking for problems. Please do what you were elected to do. Put your own egos aside and be the problem-solvers for this community that you should be. Sandy Edinger Peachtree City
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