Majority of council wanted to keep ‘asset’

A local businessman informally offered late last year to purchase the city’s tennis center for about $1 million, according to Peachtree City Councilman Don Haddix.

The facility would have remained as a recreational use, Haddix said without detailing specifics of the proposal. But despite getting support from councilman Doug Sturbaum, the other three council members dismissed it, Haddix said.

Haddix said the council members against selling the facility said it was an asset and should remain owned by the city. The city operates it via the Peachtree City Tourism Association and pays for some of its operations with funds from hotel-motel taxes.

Mayor Harold Logsdon said the tennis center is close to making money, unlike some other city facilities, and he would like to see it remain as a city asset.

At the same time, “everything is on the table” when it comes to budget cuts, Logsdon added.

“We’ve got to work through the whole budget process,” Logsdon said.

Selling the tennis center would have allowed the city more than $400,000 a year, Haddix said. And since the use would have remained recreational which is allowed under open space, Haddix said he didn’t think nearby residents would oppose it.

There is a sentiment among many Peachtree City residents that the tennis center should be sold, Haddix noted.

An online survey that is also being mailed to city residents, asks citizens to rank among 11 different services that should be reviewed for budget cuts. Although facilities such as The Gathering Place and the Kedron Fieldhouse and multi-purpose skating rink are on that list, the tennis center is not.

The survey does, however, ask residents if they knew that membership is not required to play at the tennis center.

Logsdon said he did not know why the tennis center would have been left off that list but added that he would inquire about it.

Haddix noted that there are new hotel-motel tax regulations in Georgia that if adopted would allow the city to spend money on more general fund items instead of strictly tourism-related expenses.