By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

When you need a fire truck or emergency medical service, you don't really care whose name is on the side of the truck, just that it get there quickly.

That's the philosophy behind discussions between Fayette's governments about combining their fire fighting and emergency medical capabilities to provide seamless, county-wide service.

But the devil is in the details, and members of FUTURE (Fayette United Team to Use Resources Effectively) predict it may take years to iron out the wrinkles.

FUTURE members in coming weeks will go to their full elected bodies with a recommendation that Fayetteville, Peachtree City and county fire and EMS workers take the first step by signing a first response automatic aid agreement.

That means that when a call goes out for help, the closest unit will respond first, regardless of whether the incident is within that unit's area of jurisdiction. If the first response is from a Peachtree City unit responding outside the city, Fayette County will provide all follow-up response, and vice versa.

The ultimate goal, FUTURE members agreed, is fully integrated service, in which each fire/EMS station is given an area to cover regardless of jurisdiction, and that station provides all its services to that area, including fire inspections, public education, and complete fire and EMS response.

"If we take this first step, we realize that it's a commitment to a larger process," said Peachtree City Mayor Bob Lenox during FUTURE's retreat meeting Friday. "I think it's the right thing to do," said County Commission Chairman Robert Sprayberry.

"When we go public with this thing, we had better have our act together," said Peachtree City manager Jim Basinger. He said unless it's clear that people are receiving the same level of service without increasing costs, the public will oppose the concept.

For instance, Peachtree City Fire Chief Gerald Reed pointed out that anytime a Peachtree City unit responds to a call from Fayette County, Peachtree City residents in that station's coverage area are without coverage.

In that scenario, response to a call inside the city would come from the next closest station, but to maintain its current level of service, Reed said, the city would have to add people and equipment, and some equitable way to share costs would have to be found.

"Unless there's additional manpower and unless additional resources are added, there's going to be a reduction of service to the city," he said.

The up side, said Sprayberry, is that "we save a tremendous number of dollars and deliver this seamless service to our residents."

Jack Krakeel, Fayette's director of fire and emergency services, said working out the details is likely to take years. Peachtree City's Lenox agreed. "This is too crucial to hurry," he said.

Consensus of the group was to try the first response automatic aid idea for a year, and gather data to help move toward the next step.

FUTURE, a group of county and municipal staff people and elected officials, has been meeting for more than a year in efforts to provide more efficient and less costly services to Fayette residents.

During Friday's retreat meeting, the group heard updates from subcommittees working on a variety of ways that cities, the county and Board of Education can share services and facilities to save money and improve efficiency.

Annexation: FUTURE members worked out and all governments signed an agreement whereby cities will notify the county in advance when they plan to annex property, and consider the county's comments before deciding. Sprayberry reported that a recent court decision in Cobb County may have rendered that agreement moot.

A new state law requiring that cities and counties sign agreements on annexation was declared unconstitutional. FUTURE members said they'll seek the state attorney general's opinion on how that ruling affects counties and cities statewide.

"If y'all annex, you annex," Sprayberry told the city officials present. If an annexation isn't good for the residents, the state legislature can reverse it, he pointed out.

The group agreed to discuss annexation again at its next meeting.

Fleet maintenance: Subcommittee chairman Chris Cofty said a new agreement is in a 120-day test period. City fleet officials are finding they can get repairs and maintenance cheaper using the county maintenance barn rather than private sources, he said.

The experiment involves only a few of each city's vehicles currently he said, and will be expanded slowly to be sure the county shop can handle the additional load.

Cable TV franchise negotiations: "We are all standing together and united" in negotiating with cable company MediaOne, said Cofty.

That has gotten the firm's attention, said Sprayberry. Cofty said he hopes to finalize a franchise agreement "within a week or two."

Purchasing: Peachtree City manager Basinger said the purchasing committee meets monthly to find more ways of combining the governments' buying power, and probably the group's work will be ongoing. "Things are moving along well," he said.

Technology: Basinger said the subcommittee has developed a work program designed to get all the governments' computer systems to "talk to each other." Part of the cable TV negotiations will include provision of a fiber-optic network, he added.

Problems associated with the year 2000 will be on the group's plate as well, he said. "We're going to be making some field trips" to gather information on possible solutions, he added.

Public works contracting: All the governments have agreed to share equipment and operators when needed. The agreement allows small towns Brooks and Woolsey to request help from the larger cities when they don't have the equipment to do some project on their own.

Transportation: The subcommittee has met five times in the last six months, and has prioritized a list of transportation projects. The priorities are moot, said subcommittee chairman Gary Lagis, mayor of Woolsey, unless funding can be found. Federal funding is being held up because of air quality concerns, and no one knows how long that situation will continue, he said.

"There's no point in spending a quarter million dollars for a spiffy plan and we weep over it and can't do it," agreed Lenox. But Tyrone town manager Barry Amos said sooner or later funding will be available, even if only for a short period of time. "The window is going to open, and we need to have plans in place," he said.

Meanwhile, local governments continue to hope for state and federal funding for more "air quality-friendly" projects such as building bicycle paths linking Fayette's communities, and improvements to Peachtree City's cart path system.

"Will it be a happy day when we have traffic lights on the cart paths?" Mayor Lenox quipped.

Libraries: The subcommittee is discussing establishing Fayette's libraries as a regional system, and will meet Aug. 19 to continue that discussion, said chairman Cofty.

Recreation: Discussion is just beginning on recreation. The county put together a plan for county-wide recreation, but a sales tax to fund it was rejected by voters several years ago, reported subcommittee chairman Barry Amos.

"Will this be the next 489 issue we want to tackle," Amos asked rhetorically. House Bill 489 is a state law mandating cooperation between cities and counties to reduce cost and increase efficiency.

Tony Landers of the Atlanta Regional Commission, facilitator for Fayette's discussions, said an agreement on recreation will be a requirement under the law.

FUTURE members will continue their discussions at the next meeting in September, to be announced.