Wednesday, October 1, 2003
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Wednesday, October 1, 2003 |
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Time line of amphitheater, tennis center: Finances always troubling issue By JOHN THOMPSON
The history of one of the two entities under the Development Authority of Peachtree City's control dates back to Fayette County's celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976. According to the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater's Web site, a 1,600-seat outdoor facility was constructed to serve as the home of an outdoor drama, "The McIntosh Trail." Written by the well-known playwright Dr. Kermit H. Hunter, author of Cherokee, N.C.'s successful "Unto These Hills," the story told of the tragic death of Creek Indian Chief William McIntosh. Even though the production was widely acclaimed and well-attended, financial problems for the Arts Council resulted in the eventual bankruptcy of the organization. and the play was presented only in the summer of 1976. In 1977, the city of Peachtree City purchased the amphitheater, the cast house, a gazebo, an administrative building and the surrounding acreage. Through the late '70s and early '80s, the amphitheater was known as the McIntosh Opry and featured country and bluegrass music. By 1986, programming expanded under the auspices of the city's recreation department to include oldies music, the Atlanta Pops Orchestra and presentations by local theater companies, said the Web site. According to then-Peachtree City Fire Chief Gerald Reed, a suspicious fire early in 1989 damaged the already deteriorating facility considerably. The amphitheater reopened two years later after an extensive renovation. At that time, the facility was renamed for former mayor Frederick Brown, Jr. Mayor Bob Lenox in the early 1990s approached the Development Authority of Peachtree City and encouraged the authority to manage and operate the amphitheater, said the Web site. Dedicated to promoting economic development in Peachtree City, the board of seven community leaders began overseeing operations Jan. 1, 1994. The summer of 1994 brought the first Summer Concert Series and the amphitheater's first sold-out concert with Three Dog Night on June 17 of that year. Nearly 10 years later, virtually each of the facility's 12 shows was a sellout. In 1995, the tennis center was built and held its first match in April. Since then, the center has hosted a number of professional and collegiate tournaments. As questions have swirled around the operations of the Development Authority, members have appeared before the City Council to explain their role in the operation of the amphitheater and the tennis center. In February 2002, Development Authority Chairman Tate Godfrey appeared before the city and offered a history of the authority. According to the minutes of the meeting, Godfrey said DAPC members, community leaders, and Chamber of Commerce leaders participated in a leadership development program in the early 1990s that looked to the future in Fayette County and what was needed to better the County. One of the recommendations was to form the Fayette County Development Authority. An economic development committee was formed that later became the Fayette County Development Authority. The county had eight development authorities each promoting their area Tyrone, Brooks, Peachtree City, downtown Fayetteville, Falcon Field, etc. Godfrey said the Fayette County Development Authority was given the lead role in marketing, developing prospects, and for bond financing for industrial projects. Peachtree City's Development Authority gave up the right to bond financing as a concession to the new county authority. The city's representative to the FCDA was appointed by the DAPC. There were representatives from the airport authority, the city of Fayetteville, the town of Tyrone, and five at-large members appointed by the County Commission. Godfrey said Fayette County funds 100 percent of the FCDA today, which has a budget of around $300,000 a year. Peachtree City pays no direct costs to the FCDA. Godfrey said the group wanted to do something with the under-utilized amphitheater and an empty field with hopes of building a tennis center. Council asked the DAPC to take the projects under its wing and run them like a business, incorporate them into the economic development program, and make the city proud, Godfrey said. The members spent untold hours, Godfrey said, along with volunteers who spent thousands of hours over the last 10 years, creating and managing the facilities that have earned national recognition and national awards. Virgil Christian has been named the USTA Professional of the Year and the Tennis Center has been named the USTA Facility of the Year, he said. Godfrey said that the DAPC had spent thousands of dollars hosting industrial prospects and bringing statewide developers to the amphitheater. Without the amphitheater, he said, the DAPC wouldn't able to bring those people in to meet the local people and see the quality of life. The Tennis Center sponsored a Developers Days. Since 1993, Godfrey said, over 40 new corporate facilities from six countries, representing more than 1,500 new jobs and $400 million in new investment, had been brought to the community, and the DAPC had been involved in every one of the relocations. Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown has been an outspoken opponent of the Development Authority and submitted his version of key dates in the ongoing dispute. The following timeline is Brown's version of the two venues' history.
November 1993 At the urging of Mayor Bob Lenox, the PTC Council and the Development Authority of Peachtree City (DAPC) sign an intergovernmental agreement for the DAPC to manage the Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater and the Peachtree City Tennis Center. It was stated that the DAPC should operate both venues in a manner that represented the best interest of the citizens and that the facilities would be self-sustaining. November 1993 to February 2001 The DAPC is amassing debt, nearly $1 million, related to venues. The debt is continually placed in a series of interest-only balloon loans through Peachtree National Bank. February 2001 DAPC member Tate Godfrey asked the City Council to consider raising the hotel/motel tax from 3 percent to 5 percent with a full 3 percent going to the DAPC. March 2001 Mayor Lenox openly admits that the Tennis Center has a lot of debt and that the DAPC had been given little guidance by his administration. "He also noted that some extensive city resources, namely the airport, the amphitheater and the tennis center, were managed by two authorities, to whom council had never really given goals or expectations." Lenox said "He felt the Development Authority should recruit industry for taxes, jobs and civic support; enhance the quality of the amphitheater; complete the tennis center; and accomplish these goals in a businesslike manner on a "break even" operational basis with annual support from the city of no more than $180,000. Lenox noted that the Development Authority currently had a lot of debt that was financed on a short-term, high interest basis" (City Council Retreat, Mar. 15, 2001). April 2001 City Councilman Bob Brooks surprisingly resigns from the council to seek an appointment to the DAPC. The appointment interview committee recommends long-standing member Bob Truitt. Following a contentious debate, the City Council votes against the recommendations of the appointment interview committee for the first time in city history and appoints Bob Brooks. June 2001 Mayor Lenox and council voice support for the Tennis Center expansion project. Lenox comments that the expansion would allow the Tennis Center to be self-sustaining. Originally, the expansion project was to be placed upon an upcoming recreation referendum. Lenox persuaded a majority of the City Council to remove it from the referendum and move forward without voter approval. July 2001 The Lenox administration creates a new intergovernmental agreement with the DAPC and it is approved. October 2001 Amphitheater Director Kristi Rapson suddenly resigns from her position with the DAPC. She later goes on to file an Equal Pay Act lawsuit and an EEOC complaint alleging discrimination and retaliation. November 2001 Local citizen Steve Brown, who was critical of DAPC practices, is elected mayor along with Councilmen Rapson and Weed. November 2001 Development Authority member Scott Bradshaw makes a motion to name Virgil Christian as Executive Director of the DAPC. The motion passes unanimously. Christian was formerly the Tennis Center Director. Nearly two years later, Vice Chairman Bradshaw would accuse Christian of mismanagement of operations and open the public eye to faulty contracts and looming debts. January 2002 Brown, proposes the creation of a new authority to manage the responsibilities of the two venues. Brown expresses the need for more emphasis on economic development in the city. Interests related to the Tennis Center vehemently oppose Brown's proposal. February 2002 Councilman Dan Tennant openly states at a council meeting regarding the DAPC, "It's not broke." Tennant would go on to stall numerous opportunities for making improvements to the DAPC by voting against the measures and new DAPC appointments. In the City Council meeting, "Opponents have argued that the facilities are well-run and therefore the management should not be changed" (The Citizen, 2-22-02). February 2002 DAPC Director Virgil Christian inks the Adidas deal without presenting financial impact to the authority members. The DAPC is obligated to over $366,000 and the contract was signed by Christian with a vote of the authority. May 2002 City Council votes to appoint Special Legal Counsel to investigate the legality of the intergovernmental agreement between the DAPC and the city. May 2002 Councilman Weed initiates a dialog on the City Attorney's (Rick Lindsey) trustworthiness after revelations were brought forward regarding the city's intergovernmental agreement with the DAPC. July 2002 Special Counsel, Winston Denmark, releases his report and stated: "However, their subjective beliefs notwithstanding, there is not a scintilla of evidence in the public record to support the assertion that the issue before council was the revised agreements. Those agreements were not mentioned, displayed, discussed, or debated on June 7, 2001. There is not a single public document which references the revised agreements. In fact, the only agreements mentioned were the ones in the council books. Therefore, it is impossible to support the conclusion that council voted to approve any other agreements" (Investigation Report to the City Council of Peachtree City, Submitted by Special Counsel, Aug. 8, 2002). "Based on the clear record in this matter, it is the opinion of Special Counsel that City Council voted to authorize former Mayor Lenox to sign agreements substantially similar to the agreements in the council books. As the agreements ultimately executed were vastly different, Special Counsel concludes that the executed agreements were not authorized by City Council. In accordance with O.C.G.A. 45-6-5 and Georgia Supreme Court's decision in Penitentiary Co. No. v. Gordon and its progeny, Special Counsel concludes that the executed intergovernmental agreements with the Airport Authority and the Development Authority are invalid" (Investigation Report to the City Council of Peachtree City, Submitted by Special Counsel, Aug. 8, 2002). July 2002 City Attorney Rick Lindsey resigns. Dan Tennant would later state in 2003 that he had received a campaign contribution from Lindsey for his election campaign for his second term. August 2002 Mayor Brown learns that state law prohibits development authorities from legally operating tennis centers and amphitheaters. September 2002 The DAPC receives an audit from Mauldin and Jenkins that found many significant account flaws including a lack of proper record keeping and a lack of accounting knowledge within the management staff. October 2002 The DAPC receives a pay survey that they contracted from The Mercer Group, Inc. The report shows that Virgil Christian was being double the amount that he should have received as Tennis Center Director. The report suggests significant changes in analyzing and creating compensation for the management position. October 2002 DAPC shows deficit budgets and will not make the necessary adjustments to eliminate the red ink. October 2002 DAPC Executive Director's compensation reported to by "over $100,000" (The Citizen 10-30-02). DAPC member Bob Brooks complains that Mayor Brown thinks that Virgil Christian is not doing a good job and "that the Tennis Center could be run much better than it is" (The Citizen 10-30-02). December 2002 Brown also begins to question cost overruns on the tennis center expansion project (estimated to be around $400,000 to $500,000). The DAPC had been given strict instructions to stay on budget. Neither the expansion project change orders nor the cost overruns were approved by the City Council, unlawful. February 2003 Ashland Grill restaurant owners Bob and Mike Steiber air their concerns about their arrangement with the Tennis Center. They cite poor management and a lack of responsiveness. March 2003 Based upon a legal opinion from the new city attorney and the city's bonding attorney of ten years, the City Council votes in favor of legislation for the creation of a new Recreation Authority. March 2003 Former Councilwoman Carol Fritz and the Direct Political Action Committee (Direct PAC) launch a campaign against creating a new authority. State Rep. Lynn Westmoreland agrees with the opposition and disregards the City Council vote and created legislation that allowed development authorities to operate tennis centers and amphitheaters. The legislation passed in the General Assembly.
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