Friday, April 18, 2003
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Friday, April 18, 2003 |
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Legislature clarifying role of development authorities By J. FRANK
LYNCH
The Development Authority of Peachtree City is just one formality away from having Georgia law clarify its role as manager of two of the city's most popular attractions. The State Senate gave unanimous approval this week to an amendment already OK'd in the House that better outlines the duties of development authorities statewide. All it awaits is the signature of Gov. Sonny Perdue. The change in state code was prompted starting last year when Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown suggested the DAPC had been in violation of the law for operating with a negative debt service, meaning revenues did not meet expenses. By law, government agencies must operate in the black. The DAPC oversees operation of the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater and the Peachtree City Tennis Center. While the amphitheater is self-supporting, the Tennis Center has had trouble with revenues meeting expenses, and last year completed a multimillion dollar expansion that further added to the burden. Brown had proposed an entertainment and sports authority to manage the two venues, thus stripping the DAPC of any responsibilities other working to recruit new business and industry to town. But members of the DAPC argued that it made sense for them to manage the amphitheater and tennis center, since those venues are seen as recruitment tools and incentives for companies to relocate here. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Sharpsburg) surprised the City Council in late March by offering an amendment to another bill already introduce in the House that gave development authorities jurisdiction across state lines. Language was added to the bill to specifically address the ability of the DAPC to oversee the amphitheater and tennis center. The bill also passed the House with no opposition, said Tate Godfrey, development authority chairman. "There was not one dissenting vote in the Legislature," said Godfrey of the resolution, which came after several weeks of tense showdowns between the mayor and members of the board. "Clearly, the amphitheater and tennis center bring so much to this community, they truly are economic development tools," he said. Westmoreland said he was thinking only about what would be easiest overall for the city when he decided to put aside an original request from City Council to draft legislation authorizing the entertainment and sports authority. "I saw this other bill dealing with development authorities and realized that just by cleaning up the language a bit we could take care of the Peachtree City issues all at the same time," he said. "These guys on the authority do a good job, and now that we've cleaned up the wording we want to see them get rid of that debt," Westmoreland said.
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