Dear [Peachtree City] Mayor Logsdon, I am sending this letter to you because it has become apparent to me we may be returning to the days where the “vent” was an open forum for incomplete stories that compelled people to “fire away” and “fire back.”

The atmosphere in Peachtree City was one that compelled you and others to run for public office. For the past few months everything seemed a little more balanced and peaceful.

Recently the TDK issue has come under review and the atmosphere once again has returned to the “old days.” It seems that every time a large development comes up for review everyone goes running to their podiums.

On one side is the group that is suspicious of all developers and any decision our officials make that supports them.

On the other side are those who feel that a developer is granted their rights from Heaven above to do whatever they want to “maximize the potential” of their property.

Then there is the vast majority of us somewhere in the middle who enjoy the benefits of developments when they are proposed and completed in such a way that not only is profitable for them but for the entire community.

Unfortunately, however, we are also the ones who have to pay for developers’ profits and fix the problems they leave behind. This is usually accomplished while he has moved on to another community to pursue his “God-given rights” to maximize his profitability.

The increased rhetoric in the opinion section of The Citizen concerns me greatly. There is a huge need for accurate information for all of us in the middle to understand what is before us and what our officials have committed us to.

What I have read in the paper and heard from people who have been around here for longer than I has failed to provide me the information required to make a judgment. We need your leadership.

We need more information and we need the truth. Therefore, I am suggesting an open forum to discuss this issue. All interested parties should appear: Greg Dunn, Fayette County Commission Chairman, his counterpart from Coweta County, traffic engineers, and our state senator, Mr. Seabaugh and yourself.

Mr. Dunn needs to be there even though he was not reelected because he was instrumental in pursuing the county’s position. His counterpart from Coweta should be there because if he felt it was important to come in the past to present his county’s opinion and he should be given that opportunity again.

We need traffic engineers along with our city planner’s office to understand the impact to our community and to be available for questions. We need our state senator because of his position in representing both counties.

Further, in his recent letter to The Citizen he referred to what Coweta County was doing on their side to provide infrastructure for these two new developments.

We need to have a better understanding of what is being done to route traffic through Coweta and not our city. We could seek input for questions for the attendants prior to their appearance to grant them the opportunity to prepare themselves.

Should anyone decline to appear I would think then it would be left up to the citizens of Peachtree City to decide if their interest should be represented in our decisions.

Every effort should be taken by you, the City Council and the management of our city to make a wise decision on how much to support this project. We need everyone’s support to make sure that both sides of the county line do what is necessary to make sure the road meets its intentions and both sides benefit from its impact, and pay for its impact.

If that can be accomplished we all win. Who knows? Maybe we can establish a new political climate here.

Chris Mallon
Peachtree City, Ga.