The waiting list for season tickets for Brown Amphitheater's 1999 season already stretches 285 names long, Director Kristi Rapson told the Peachtree City Development Authority Monday night.

The authority heard reports on the amphitheater and tennis center.

Rapson told the group that the amphitheater is gearing up for next season while "winterizing" the facility. Roofing over the rain shelter, stage house, cast house and other areas damaged by hail last summer has been replaced, she said. Before next season, the amphitheater will look at improving security and monitoring at the facility, Rapson added.

Local folks are signing on for the amphitheater's waiting list for season tickets at a good rate, she said, with 285 already on the list. For ticket information or to join the list, call the office at 770-631-0630.

Tennis Center director Virgil Christian said the new clay courts have been a big drawing card for new members. In the last eight months, he said, 73 persons have joined, 25 of them in October.

"I think our rate of increase in members will stay strong," Christian said, "We're also looking at increasing tournament revenues and more availability of teams and classes. We've already doubled the hours of group lessons we offer."

In other business, the authority's consultant for foreign trade zone operations will remain under contract month-to-month while the authority completes the process of creating a designated Foreign Trade Zone.

Jim Cromwell has acted with PCDA in its negotiations with Georgia Foreign Trade Zone Inc., and now in an application to the Foreign Trade Zone Board of the U.S. Department of Commerce to obtain an FTZ designation for the authority. Tate Godfrey, who works with the FTZ committee for the authority, said the decision was made to continue Cromwell on contract, after a closed discussion at the end of the regular meeting Monday.

"We expect to know whether the FTZ status will be done by spring 1999," Godfrey said, "and at that time, it's likely that Jim would be a leading candidate for whatever permanent job position we need with the FTZ."

Georgia has three designated Foreign Trade Zones, where U.S. companies can take advantage of policies that benefit foreign companies. The zones are Georgia Foreign Trade Zone Inc., primarily in the Atlanta area; Savannah, and Brunswick. Peachtree City would become the fourth in the state if approved.

Five Peachtree City companies have made preliminary plans to participate in the FTZ, including RAS Systems, Triumph, Panasonic, Sigvaris and Hoshizaki. According to a business plan projected by PCDA member Pete Cunningham, the authority will likely spend about $135,000-$150,000 in creating the zone but would have a positive cash flow by March of 2000.

Cunningham noted that while one of the "risks" in the FTZ process is "our almost total reliance on Jim's (Cromwell's) knowledge and abilities ... but he's done a tremendous job of selling our companies on something that's not yet there."