Friday, Dec. 24, 2004

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Brown: I don’t oppose TDK extension

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown takes umbrage with those saying he opposes the construction of the TDK Boulevard road extension, hailed by many as a necessary traffic relief valve between Fayette and Coweta counties.

“Everyone has been saying Steve Brown is opposed to the road,” the mayor said. “But I was the one who made the motion for half the funding for TDK.”

Former Mayor Bob Lenox has rebutted Brown’s argument, arguing that the project hasn’t advanced much in the three years under Brown’s leadership.

Brown said he wants to inform the public about the history of the project’s progress, and counter “the rumors that have been whirling around.”

“The only problem is, every time we’ve agreed to spend money on this, somebody has come back to us and said, ‘We want more,’” Brown said.

The city is responsible for engineering and drawing up preliminary plans in addition to land acquisition for the road, according to a contract with Fayette County. The county will ultimately build the road.

The project’s current predicament is due to the latest design of the road path, which goes right through the runway safety area for Falcon Field airport. Although this area is off the airport’s property, it is seen as necessary for possible future extension of Falcon Field’s runway, if that is ever deemed necessary.

Another $38,800 is needed to fund the redesign of the road so it will curve around the runway safety area to meet the guidelines of the Federal Aviation Administration. That doesn’t count any land acquisition costs, either.

Plus, at least three Peachtree City council members have opposed spending any more money on the TDK Extension.

The city’s Airport Authority, which operates Falcon Field, has already offered to chip in $10,000 for the preliminary redesign, which would give the city a better indication of what land must be acquired for road construction. It is believed land would be necessary from the Planterra Ridge golf club, forcing the relocation of two golf holes.

Brown said he thinks Fayette County should be making other roads a priority based on the projected number of vehicles on the road in the future. He also said he thought the TDK extension would eventually be built.

“My big thing was having (Ga. Highway) 74 widened and it looks like we’ll have that,” Brown said.

The city has spent a total of $550,000 on the project, but Brown contends the error in not factoring Falcon Field in during the engineering process is not the city’s problem.