Friday, February 21, 2003
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Friday, February 21, 2003 |
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Authority to work with PTC on financing $250K overage from tennis center expansion By JOHN MUNFORD The Development Authority of Peachtree City has approximately $250,000 of unpaid bills left over from its $2.5 million expansion, which added six covered courts and a office building to the city's tennis center. The authority, however, has an agreement not to take out any more loans, so it must broker a deal with the city council as to how the $250,000 in cost overruns will be paid. Authority member Robert Brooks said the talks could be initiated through councilman Murray Weed, who with councilman Dan Tennant helped negotiate with authority representatives the deal to create a new recreation and entertainment authority. Virgil Christian, the executive director for the Development Authority, said the cost overruns amounted to approximately 10 percent of the project. Businesses waiting to be paid include Group VI, which was the general contractor on the project, along with Flat Creek Construction, which built the extra courts, Christian said. There are also outstanding bills for architecture design work, security services and signs for the facility, Christian said. The $250,000 figure was included in the $1.456 million of debt that the authority has for improvements made to the tennis center and amphitheater. Some of the debt was also used for operating expenses, as the authority borrows money seasonally to pay for deposits on acts for the amphitheater's summer concert series. Once the tickets are sold, the authority is able to repay that loan. The office building includes classroom space that is being used by Clayton State and College University to offer continuing education courses; officials hope the university can begin offering college-credit classes in the near future. The new building also houses the tennis center staff, most of whom were located off-site in rented office space before the building was opened. The authority also built a restaurant area which has been vacant for some time after the company that originally leased it shuttered its operations. The authority is actively seeking another restaurant company to run the Ashland Grill, which has a dining patio that overlooks some of the tennis courts.
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