By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Fayette leaders discussing the county's future want to survey the waters ahead a bit before plunging into action on a proposed growth manifesto.

"We never maintained we had the end-all and be-all solution. We just wanted to engender discussion," said Peachtree City Mayor Bob Lenox during last week's meeting of FUTURE (Fayette Unified Team to Use Resources Effectively).

"Ninety percent of the folks in the county are thoroughly for it," Lenox suggested, "but they all have some questions. It's not quite ready to go on the ballot."

A subcommittee of Lenox and Fayetteville Mayor Mike Wheat will talk to national experts and set up a meeting in September to discuss how to develop a 20-year or longer plan to control Fayette's future growth.

FUTURE, composed of key staff people and elected officials in all of Fayette's governmental entities, has been meeting for more than a year, discussing ways the county and cities can work together to provide better service at lower cost.

Reacting to citizen concerns, the group recently directed Lenox to write the so-called growth manifesto, a talking paper that suggests limiting residential growth to 4 percent a year.

Last month officials were discussing the possibility of putting the manifesto on the ballot this November in a straw poll to bolster support for the concept, but the County Commission last Wednesday told Lenox the group should refine the idea before going to the voters.

FUTURE members Friday agreed.

"It's going to require substantial professional help expensive professional help to get through this," said Fayetteville Mayor Wheat.

The issues are too complex to resolve quickly, he said. Whether it is even legal to limit growth is one question, and if growth is limited, then increases in the tax base will be reduced and taxes might have to go up to maintain current levels of service, he said.

Planning for residential growth requires coordination with transportation planning and a variety of other infrastructure needs, including schools, said Tony Landers of the Atlanta Regional Commission, facilitator for the group.

"You do need some expert help," he said. He suggested Wheat and Lenox contact the National Civic League and other groups that have experience in long-range planning, and try to arrange at least one such group to make a presentation to the FUTURE members to help them decide how to structure the steering committee and how it should function.

The steering committee would deal with such questions as how much growth should be limited, how to go about that, and how the slowing growth rate might affect land use planning, transportation and other aspects of community life.