Newest councilman says sewer system needs money, might consider expanding outside PTC limits

The chairman of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority, Mike Harman, was chosen from nine applicants Monday night to fill the remaining term left on the Post 1 seat on the Peachtree City Council.

Harman was unanimously selected by council after it was announced he scored the most points of the four finalists who had been selected by council. Each council member scored each candidate on a points system and after the second and final round of voting, Harmon was the candidate with the most points.

Harman will have to resign from his volunteer position on WASA before he can be sworn in, according to City Attorney Ted Meeker. Council plans to swear him in at Thursday night’s regular council meeting.

WASA is currently considering a request from the town of Tyrone for permission to hook onto Peachtree City’s sewer system to treat up to 500,000 gallons a day. WASA just last week said the final decision to allow out-of-city hookups would be made by the City Council.

During the question and answer portion, Councilman Stuart Kourajian asked Harman why WASA would consider helping Tyrone grow by allowing the town to possibly hook up to Peachtree City’s sewer system.

Harman replied that while the ultimate decision rests with council — of which he will be the newest member — he looked at the proposal from a financial perspective since the authority has been operating the past few years with a deficit of about $300,000 a year since the Photocircuits manufacturing plant shut down.

Photocircuits was WASA’s top paying customer, and although the shortage has been covered by cash reserves, the shortfall needs to be addressed, Harman noted.

The city council should explore whether it can apply development conditions to the sewer capacity, Harman suggested.

Harman noted that older residential areas of the city will become a concern in the future with the eventual failing of septic tanks, and he said he would like to see redevelopment occur in the commercial Huddleston Road area, which is also served by septic tanks.

Harman said bringing in businesses helps lower the tax burden for residents.

Harman also addressed what he would like to see done about traffic. While the interchange of Interstate 85 and Ga. Highway 74 is not in Fayette County, Harman said Peachtree City should work with other governments to encourage development around that area that would perhaps limit the number of access points to the highway.

One of the problems of growth in recent years has been the increasing number of traffic lights erected on Hwy. 74, Harman said, and he noted that trend could continue without it being addressed.

Kourajian said he didn’t think Fulton County would want to spend money on the interchange since it’s on the edge of its jurisdiction, but Harman said he thought Fulton would consider the area important since developers want to sell townhomes and the like there, and those people need a way to access the interstate. Also, Harman added, the county has the nearby industrial area which needs interstate access.

The newest council member is a resident of the Planterra Ridge subdivision and works as sales manager for Biorem Environmental Inc. Harman has lived in Peachtree City for more than eight years.

The other three finalists were TV producer Chris Larson, education data management specialist Tom O’Toole and Dar Thompson, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2005.

In addressing council, Harman suggested he was already fairly up to speed on many of the issues facing council because of his participation on the WASA board for eight years. Harman noted that on WASA he is accustomed to taking issues from citizens before authority management for a resolution. He also said he makes decisions on WASA about what would best benefit all city residents.

Harman also said he wants to look at all revenue options, including the use of special purpose local option sales taxes “before we look at increasing the burden on our taxpayers.”

Mayor Harold Logsdon noted that he heard several good ideas at the meeting, and he encouraged the candidates to attend council meetings and help the council put those ideas in place. Council members said they were pleased with the quality of the applicants and that choosing one of them was very difficult.

There were originally 10 candidates applying for the seat, but one, Lynda Wojcik, bowed out before the meeting convened, as she is expected to be appointed Thursday night as an alternate to the city’s planning commission. The other candidates included Donnie Haddix, Bill Holland, Timothy Hoyle, Michael Moore and Ray Sturbaum.

The seat, formerly held by Judi-ann Rutherford, expires Dec. 31 as voters will select someone to the position in November, along with a pending vacancy in the other seat up for election that’s currently held by Kourajian, who has announced that he won’t seek re-election.