Peachtree City apparently will not seek its own Foreign Trade Zone status but will realign with Georgia Foreign Trade Zone Inc.

The Peachtree City Development Authority recently approved a resolution to "pursue our status in that context," said chairman Tom Farr. The authority previously had sought an independent "grantee" status from the U.S. Department of Commerce Foreign Trade Zone Board, which if allowed would have created a fourth FTZ for the state. Georgia FTZ serves primarily the Atlanta area, and Savannah and Brunswick have their own zones.

Tate Godfrey, working with the FTZ committee of the authority, said that going back to the authority's original plans with GFTZ would provide a faster approval time for companies who want to participate. The FTZ status allows U.S. companies to enjoy some of the tariff and sales benefits granted to foreign companies through the commerce department.

Four Peachtree City companies including Panasonic are on schedule for applications for FTZ benefits, and others have expressed interest, Godfrey said.

"We learned a lesson in this process," Farr said. He added that expenses of seeking the independent status may be recovered from the federal board, and that GFTZ and the authority would be doing cooperative marketing efforts.

Recent extreme cold caused problems at the Fred Brown Amphitheater, director Kristi Rapson reported.

The sound room was damaged when condensation inside a fire-protection system apparently froze and burst pipes, dumping water into the area when it thawed, she said. The fire-suppression system is "supposed to be a dry system," she added, but the condensation problem may have been related to the way in which the system was installed, she said.

"It's not as bad as we feared it would be when we first saw it," Rapson said. Most of the equipment had been properly covered and was not damaged, she added, and there are plans to refurbish the sound room this year anyhow.

Season ticket renewals began Feb. 3, Rapson said, with the performers' listing set to be announced Feb. 5. Public ticket sales should start about March 27, she added.

TENNIS CENTER

The Tennis Center also suffered a setback from the cold weather, director Virgil Christian said. The water pipes that maintain the center's clay courts were emptied of all water before the hard freeze, he said, but the courts themselves hold water and form "a 4,000 gallon ice cube" when temperatures stay low.

The courts were not damaged, he said, but couldn't be played at all while thawing, "and actually it's good for the courts to move like that," Christian added. The staff discovered, however, "that we do need all those courts," when the clay areas were unplayable, he said.

The center recorded 128 new members in the last quarter of 1998, Christian said. The center also is trying to increase corporate memberships.

TECH SCHOOL