Friday, July 18, 2003
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Friday, July 18, 2003 |
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Buses could be rolling next year By JOHN THOMPSON
By sometime next year, a Coweta commuter will be able to board a bus bound for Hartsfield International Airport. The county's first foray into mass transit was all but confirmed last week when the Coweta County Commission voted to enter into an agreement with the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to provide an express bus service for the county. Only one detail remains before the deal is completed. "The board is going to have to vote on the actual contract at its Aug. 5 meeting," said County Administrator Theron Gay. Coweta County will have to pony up $850,000 in funds for the service, but in return gets $10.4 million in funds to help fix dangerous intersections and roads, such as Lower Fayetteville Road. Last week, Commissioners Vernon Hunter, Greg Tarbutton and Robert Wood voted to enter into a contract with GRTA, but the contract was not available for signing. The August vote will end one of the most contentious issues the commission has debated in sometime. Commission Chairman Leigh Schlumper has led the fight against buses and said the county could use the $850,000 to start its own local bus service and have it under local control. But Hunter has maintained the opportunity of leveraging $850,000 into $10.4 million in highway funds to is to good to pass up. Gay said if the contract is finally approved, the county will pay its portion from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds. "Some of the projects funded with the GRTA money were already earmarked to be funded with SPLOST," he said.
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