The Senior Adult Council held its first-ever candidate forum, and over 140 people were in attendance. It was held at The Gathering Place senior center last Sunday.

All of the mayoral candidates were present, with the exception of Michael Arterburn, as well as the five candidates running for council posts 3 and 4.

Mayoral candidate Phil Boswell has lived in Peachtree City for nine years and is president and partner in Piedmont Insurance Associates Inc., and Piedmont Mortgage Group, Inc. “Peachtree City is worth running for mayor and I want to restore civility and cooperation in our government,” he said.

Incumbent mayor Steve Brown, who has lived in the city for nine years, pointed to a number of changes in his term, among them recognizing teenagers and senior citizens.

“We have to look out for our older citizens,” he said, “or we will be pushing seniors out of the city. I’m proud of the effective leadership I have provided.”

Harold Logsdon has lived in Peachtree City for 10 years and worked with BellSouth for 36 years. “As a professional financial planner, I know that the Peachtree City government can do a better job of managing our tax dollars,” he said.

Dan Tennant has lived in the city for 11 years and said that he is offering the drive needed in a strong leadership. He served on the City Council from 1999 through 2003.

The fifth mayoral candidate is Dar Thompson, who owns three gyms in Fayette County. He has lived in the city for seven years.
“Where there is no vision, people will perish,” he said. “I have the vision. My vision is your vision.”

There are two citizens running for Council Post 3, Stephen Boone and incumbent Steven Rapson. Boone has lived in the city for eight years, and Rapson for 15 years.

Boone said that the tax base must be examined to see if funds can be used in other places, without a tax increase. “We also need to rebuild lines of communication in the various departments of the city,” he added.

Rapson has served as councilman since May 2001.
Council Post 4 has Daniel Gibbs, Casimir Christian Lukjan and Cyndi Plunkett running for that position. They have each lived in the city for 14 years.

Gibbs is a senior manager in the field of development and implementation and effective problem solving. Lukjan is a recent graduate in anthropology. Plunkett is an attorney and a city recreation commissioner.

The Rotary Club of Peachtree City held its annual forum Tuesday night at the Wyndham Peachtree Hotel and Conference Center, with over 200 citizens in attendance. The same 10 candidates were on hand and many of the same subjects were discussed.

The majority feeling among the mayoral candidates was that the $1.5 million borrowed by the Development Authority should be repaid, or the city at least sit down with the bank and come to an agreement on the amount owed.

The candidates all seemed to feel that while taxes may not be lowered, per se, a hard look at the budget would probably reveal places where funds could be moved.

Concern was expressed that there were not enough emergency medical technicians and firemen working each emergency call. The majority of the candidates agreed that a look at the budget might reveal some funds moved to alleviate the matter.

It has been estimated that it will take a minimum of $9 million to repair the city’s 30-year-old stormwater pipes. Everyone agreed that it was a fact that had to be dealt with. There was citizen concern that individual homeowners would have a bigger burden paying a stormwater utility fee, but were assured this would not be the case.

There was a lot of discussion on annexing 300 acres, and possibly as much as 900 acres, in the West Village. The majority of the candidates were in favor of trying to solve the matter, while several were not convinced it would not impact current quality of life.

A proposed roundabout at Walt Banks Road and Peachtree Parkway was soundly discouraged by the majority of candidates. It was felt that the $280,000 cost could better be applied to the cart paths.

Four of the five mayoral candidates stated that the mayor’s position is a part-time one only, and that a mayor should not micro-manage the departments. They stated that they would each set the policies along with the council members, and then get out of the way.

A question arose on seeking new businesses. There is as much as 300 acres available in the industrial area that should attract both small and large businesses. Several candidates felt that not enough has been done to work with the county development authority and others to begin to solve the matter.

Several commented that the council must decide what kind of businesses are desired and then go after them.

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