The five candidates in this fall's two City Council races found common ground on a number of issues in Tuesday night's Rotary Club forum, taking a hard line on traffic and annexation in describing their plans for keeping Peachtree City's quality of life high.

During the two-hour question-and-answer session at the Wyndham Conference Center, the candidates — incumbent Annie McMenamin and Melvin Ewing in Post 1, with Chuck Lehman, Bruce Perlman and Dan Tennant in Post 2 — all agreed that the traffic impact ordinance passed last week was a good move and one worth defending in court if necessary.

“You've got to have guts. You can't cave in,” said Tennant, seeking the seat soon to be vacated by Jim Pace. “It's [ordinance] a terrific start and a reasonable solution. Public safety has to be Priority 1.”

Lehman called the ordinance “a Band-Aid,” saying that it will slow down the traffic problem but not stop it. “There comes a point when we must say no,” he said, adding that federal government is the one who has stopped the city and it should be held accountable for it.

Perlman said he strongly supports the council's decision. “If we believe we're right, we should let them sue,” he said of developers who may take issue with the new traffic guidelines.

McMenamin pointed out that it was she who initiated the discussions that led to the ordinance, while Ewing called it a “good first step” and said the city should be “cautious” in considering developments such as the Wal-Mart/Home Depot plan suggested for the west side of the city.

One option mentioned for helping the traffic gridlock was the extension of TDK Boulevard from the industrial park into Coweta County. McMenamin said that is one possibility that has been talked about already at the City Council level.

An audience member asked if anyone would be in favor of a $2 million bond issue to extend the road, and that drew a mixed response. Tennant said it might be worth looking into $1 million if Coweta County offered an equal amount, while Lehman said that Coweta does not want the extension and it would be “a road to nowhere.” Perlman added that, since Coweta has its own industrial park now, it has no incentive to improve the road so that its residents can drive to Peachtree City to work and shop.

On annexation, McMenamin again pointed to her record on the council, saying that she has repeatedly been against annexation that was not in the best interests of the city. She specifically mentioned the West Village area, a frequent subject of annexation rumors, saying that she could not see it coming into the city in the near future.

Ewing said that when considering any annexation request, the city must look at whether it is to the city's benefit, if the infrastructure is in place and if the area in question will be compatible with the surrounding areas.

“I am 100-percent opposed to annexation, period,” said Tennant. “I am 100-percent opposed to higher density, period.”

Any annexation and increased density at this point would only benefit developers to the detriment of families, Tennant said, citing increased traffic and infrastructure problems as probable side effects. “This stuff ain't free, folks,” he said.

Perlman and Lehman were also against unfavorable annexation, a topic that Lehman called “a no-brainer."

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