Wednesday, June 19, 2002
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Wednesday, June 19, 2002 |
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Williams Co. withdrew but may reapply later Please allow me this opportunity to update the community on the current information, as I know it, regarding Williams Company and the proposed power plant on Peters Road. Earlier this year, the Williams Company extended the option to purchase 288 acres for the plant another year. It was suspected by some that because this is an election year for the Fulton and Fayette County commissions, the Williams Company was hoping new officials would be elected who would be more sympathetic to their cause. On Thursday, June 13, the Williams Company formally withdrew their request for the rezoning of the property. If they ever decide to try again, they will have to start the process from the beginning and will once again face a united front of opposition from the community. I, along with the members of Safeguard South Metro and the residents of south Fulton County, would like to acknowledge and extend our special thanks and gratitude to Fayette County Commissioner Greg Dunn whose tireless efforts and genuine concern for the people of his county and that of the adjoining south Fulton County has gone above and beyond. His continuing work to rid us of this polluting behemoth power plant has had great results. Commissioner Dunn, recognizing the horrific health and pollution impact this 1230-megawatt power plant would have on Fayette and south Fulton County, came to the aid of his community and south Fulton without hesitation. I know that with Commissioner Dunn as chairman of the Board of Commissioners we all can be assured that our quality of life, health and peaceful community living is being protected from the grips of those individuals that care only for the financial fattening of their own pockets at the expense of others. I would also like to thank the executive group of Safeguard South Metro, who put in many long hours fighting the plant, and all the citizens in south Fulton and Fayette counties who reached out with their time and money to support our current successful defeat of the proposed Williams power plant. Thanks also to Rep. Sharon Beasley-Teague, who held several meetings for the community, submitted written questions to Williams and persevered in demanding answers in writing from Williams. There are many others to thank: Bob Crutchfield from Christian City, the many in Christian City who wrote letters and called, the elected officials in Union City who stood with us regarding their portion of the rezoning, representatives from Green South Fulton and too many others to list. This has truly been a united community effort. One ongoing, related problem, which has not been resolved, is the opening of the Peter's Family cemetery to the public. During our efforts to stop the power plant, we became aware of the cemetery, which would have been directly under the original footprint of the proposed power plant, and the fact that it was not being cared for by the property owner. The current property owner closed the entrance and has persisted in not allowing relatives and concerned individuals access as required by the agreement he signed when he purchased the land and accepted stewardship of the historic cemetery. We will continue our efforts in this regard and invite those with an interest in this issue to contact Safeguard the Cemetery at 770-969-0323. Mari Jo Paladino President Safeguard South Metro
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