It was all Bill Edwards and his vision for South Fulton County. Shared with 40 Chattahoochee Hills residents at a Sept. 5 community meeting Rico Community Center, the Fulton County commissioner stressed the need for the area to forego establishing a new city next year and remain a part of unincorporated Fulton.

Edwards has voiced his opposition to the rush by South Fulton cities to annex large portions of the unincorporated landscape. He has voiced his opposition to forming the new cities of Chattahoochee Hills and South Fulton in a vote to be held in June 2007. For Edwards, the best thing for residents to do is to stay as they are.

“Everywhere I go people don’t understand. They think they only have two options,” Edwards said. “But there is another option, to stay where you are, where you and your families have been all your lives.”

Referencing the moves by Atlanta and the cities of South Fulton to annex tens of thousands of acres before the Oct. 30 annexation deadline, Edwards described some of those efforts as predatory annexation. He cited Fairburn as an example, where a woman was reportedly told that she would not have police and fire protection unless she annexed into the city.

Edwards asked Chatt Hills residents to consider that, if formed in 2007, the new city would have no credit. Fulton County, on the other hand, maintains an excellent credit standing, he said, while the millage increase of two mills a instead of the projected three mills along with $6 million in reserves puts unincorporated residents in an enviable position.

“So financially you’re in good shape and you’re going to be in better shape,” Edwards said.

Few questions followed Edwards’ presentation. That relative silence will eventually give way to other questions, positions and visions as the vote to accept the charter of the City of Chattahoochee Hills approaches next summer.

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