Anybody who's driven Ga. Highway 34 at 5 p.m. on a workday knows what Coweta County's big issue was in 1998 explosive growth.

Last March, the U.S. Census Bureau pegged Coweta's 1997 population at 80,658 residents. The figure is an increase of more than 4,000 residents since the July 1996 estimates and placed the county as the fourth fastest growing county in the state.

According to county administrator Theron Gay, people are rapidly discovering the county's quality of life and proximity to Atlanta. The combination is causing a rapid migration into the county, but the growth also brings problems.

The Coweta County Board of Commissioners wrestled all year with new zoning classifications that were designed to slow the growth rate and provide bigger lot sizes throughout the county. The board also passed numerous commercial zoning requests on Hwy. 34. The road has now turned into Coweta County's shopping center with strip shopping centers dotting the road from Peachtree City to Newnan.

One of the county's newest shopping centers was torn down last year to make room for a new one. The Peachtree Factory Outlet on Hwy. 34 stores were torn down to make room for the Newnan Pavilion Shopping Center.

By year's end, Home Depot had opened shop at the Pavilion, along with OfficeMax, and other stores such as PetSmart are scheduled to open this year.

Another issue county officials wrangled with last year was the issue of better cooperation with municipal officials. Under the state sponsored House Bill 489, cities and counties are required to try and work together on a variety of issues.

By far the most vexing issue was the subject of annexation by the city of Newnan. City and county officials hammered out an agreement that gives county officials the right to appeal annexation questions to a board.

As the year drew to an end, county officials dealt with an increased budget for 1999. The $25 million budget was the biggest, but the board heard from residents who advocated a tax increase to hire enough law enforcement people to keep the county protected.