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Offer for TDK Blvd. accepted

Council makes slight change in Airport Auth. proposal

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The stall on the redesign of the TDK Boulevard Extension, a road that would provide an alternate route between Peachtree City and Coweta County, is getting a jump start from the city’s Airport Authority in the form of a $10,000 donation.

The matter still has one minor hurdle, as the City Council edited the agreement for the money it offered as a way to spark progress on the road. The redesign is necessary because the current route for the road cuts straight through the runway safety area for Falcon Field, which is actually off the airport’s property.

The Federal Aviation Administration has expressed concern about the road location, and a possible redesign would arc around the runway safety area. But to finalize issues such as land acquisition, the initial redesign is necessary and that’s what the Airport Authority has agreed to pay for.

But Councilman Murray Weed argued that the entire redesign should be funded by URS, the Atlanta engineering firm the city hired to do the project since it is the firm’s fault they designed the road without input from the FAA.

“I’m disappointed we allow a company to get away with bad work and we don’t do anything about it,” Weed said.

Mayor Steve Brown noted that URS has a division that works on airport projects and should be familiar with FAA requirements.

The company has already reduced its fee for the redesign from $44,000 to $14,565 at the request of city staff, said City Manager Bernie McMullen. The remaining fee is what URS would have initially charged for the engineering for the extra length of road that will be necessary for the redesign, McMullen said.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said the redesign work funded by the Airport Authority will at least identify “what extra costs somebody will have to pay.”

Councilman Steve Rapson said he wants the project to move forward, but he added, “We’re the only people who ever cut checks for this.” He said he would be open to negotiating the TDK deal with the county if the county would agree to share any federal funds it gets for the road.

The city is obligated to design the road, fund the engineering costs and purchase all necessary rights-of-way while Fayette County will actually construct the road. Also, the city has already contributed over $450,000 to the project, and that has several council members saying they committed not to spend any more money on the project.

“I lived up to my obligations for it and I’ve washed my hands of it,” Brown said.

Brown asked if the county had committed to build the new culverts that will be necessary for the redesigned road. McMullen said he received confirmation of that from County Manager Chris Cofty.

Brown has been chided as causing holdups for the road, which he has expressed several concerns about, including how the Coweta side of the road will develop and the traffic projections for the road that show it with less autos than currently counted at the troublesome intersection of Rockaway Road and Ga. Highway 74 south.

Bob Stieber of Valentino’s Italian restaurant, located in the Braelinn Village shopping center, told council he was counting on the TDK Extension being done by now to help bring more customers to his business. Because the road hasn’t come to fruition yet, he will be relocating the restaurant, he said.

“My business is good, but it’s not what it should be,” Stieber said, attributing his success to “good customers.”

A total of 12 stores in the shopping center have closed in the past four years because there’s not enough traffic coming in the area, Stieber said.

By not getting TDK done, “You’ve told everybody on that part of town, ‘You’re not important,’” Stieber said.

Councilman Stuart Kourajian told Stieber that not everyone on council is against finishing TDK.

“There are some of us who are very adamant about that road getting done,” Kourajian said.