"When one location looks bad, all of us look bad," Peachtree City's Jim Williams said at the first of a series of 1999 joint governmental meetings designed to forestall incompatible development in "border" areas of Fayette.

Members and staff of planning commissions from Peachtree City, Fayette County and Tyrone met last Monday for dinner at Olde Mill outside Fayetteville. While there was no formal discussion of issues, Williams commented, "Just the fact that we are getting together is important. This time last year I don't think I even knew who was on the other planning commissions; now we are friends, we can talk, and we stand a better chance of working cooperatively for the good of the whole county."

At its recent retreat, the Fayette County Commission determined that one of its tasks would be to work more closely with Fayette's municipalities, according to commission Chairman Harold Bost. A joint meeting between the commission and the Peachtree City Council has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 23, at 6 p.m. at The Gathering Place in Peachtree City.

Williams said that "one of the things we want to work with the county to manage is the (Ga. Highway) 54 corridor." Contrary to the city's hopes, he added, a shopping area in unincorporated Fayette already has been placed just east of the city limits. Across Hwy. 54 from the Publix shopping area, the city has fought to keep the low-density residential uses already in place further east and behind the highway-frontage properties.

Bost said the county named four priorities for discussion with Peachtree City: a 1,200-acre undeveloped area between Peachtree City and the Coweta County line which may be annexed by the city; automatic aid in fire and emergency services and other areas, in compliance with H.B. 489 calling for elimination of duplicate services by cities and counties; land uses "along the borders" of Peachtree City and Fayette County, "to insure compatibility with step-up or step-down zonings as needed," and "more timely warnings about sewage spills."

Bost said the county had been the primary target for citizen complaints about last summer's sewage spills into Line Creek.

"Our own residents and some folks downstream felt they weren't properly warned," Bost said. "I know that Peachtree City has put in some preventive measures, but we just want to talk about it and make sure that when something happens, everybody knows about it and knows what to do."

Peachtree City's Water and Sewer Authority has taken steps to insure backup electric power at all three of its wastewater treatment plants and has a new computerized data system to track problems. WASA manager Larry Turner has said that the million-plus-gallon spills were caused by power outages due to storm damage last summer.

Bost added that the commission also plans to meet with the Fayetteville City Council, the city of Tyrone and the Fayette County Board of Education.