Nine city-owned parcels along Ga. highways 54 and 74, all of which could be combined with nearby commercial development, will be reviewed for possible sale by the Peachtree City Council.

City staff will make a presentation on each tract Friday morning at the council’s annual retreat, which begins 8 a.m. at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center. The retreat, open to the public, will last until 4 p.m. Friday, and a second day is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Included on that list of parcels to discuss for sale as potential commercial development are two parcels at the entrance to the Wynnmeade subdivision off Hwy. 54 W.,which were purchased by the City Council in 2002 for $840,000. One parcel, on the western side of Wynnmeade Parkway, is 2 acres and the other, on the the eastern side of the road, is 2.87 acres. The latter site is slated to be the location of the “gateway” cart path bridge spanning the highway.

At the time the parcels were purchased, a developer had submitted a request for one of them to be rezoned for commercial use. Then-Mayor Steve Brown lauded the purchase of the property as halting commercial development from extending in the area, and providing a location for the bridge and a recreation area, the latter of which has not materialized. Designs for the bridge, which will be funded largely by a grant, are underway.

Also included on the list of parcels to be presented to council for consideration are:

• A 4-acre tract on Hwy. 74 S. just north of the county’s animal shelter on Rockaway Road; the parcel is leased to the county through October 2007.

• A 4.4-acre tract across the highway from the above-mentioned tract, also fronting on Rockaway Road. It currently is the location of the city’s recycling center which may be relocated in the future to a larger site.

• A 1.6-acre tract off Hwy. 74 N. at the intersection with Paschall Road. It is the former site of a fire station and is known as Reed Memorial Park, named after deceased City Fire Chief Gerald Reed. There had been talk of putting a memorial to public safety officers there, and the fire department is studying the feasibility of building a public training facility on the site. The parcel is slated to be served by a multi-use tunnel that will be built under the highway as part of the widening project due to begin as early as 2007.

• A 3.87-acre site off Hwy. 54 on the western side of Planterra Way, just north of the entrance to the Planterra Ridge subdivision. The property, fronting on Hwy. 54, is currently vacant.

• A 2.99-acre site on the eastern side of Planterra Way, just north of the Peachtree City Tennis Center. The land, fronting on Hwy. 54, is currently vacant but could be used to expand tennis courts at the complex.

• A 2-acre site off Hwy. 54 that is adjacent to the Line Creek Nature Area. The land is currently vacant; and

• A small tract (size undisclosed) on Hwy. 54 E. that was the former right-of-way for Carriage Lane before the road was realigned to intersect with Walt Banks Road. The property is currently vacant.

According to a memo from City Planner David Rast, preliminary research indicates that the city has clear title to each tract with no deed restrictions that would preclude the parcels from being sold or developed.

Another retreat topic will involve the possible addition of four police officers to expand patrols of the cart path system to eight hours per day, with two officers on patrol at a time. Including equipment, that would cost $189,776 in the first year.

Currently, path patrols require taking an officer out of an assigned zone, reducing the number of officers available for calls, police said.

A separate proposal will also be presented that would add seven more officers so the city can be divided into five zones instead of the current four-zone system. Doing so would improve patrol coverage and preventative patrol in the city’s two busiest zones and help cover future development in addition to improving response to traffic problems on highways 54 and 74, police said.

The projected cost for adding the fifth zone and additional personnel is $698,944.

Among 12 other cities of similar size, Peachtree City has the third-lowest number of sworn personnel and the lowest number of civilian employees.

Another proposal would involve creating a drug intelligence unit which would consist of a supervisory sergeant and two officers, one of which would be assigned to the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency. That would allow the city to receive federal assistance and share in asset forfeiture funding, according to information supplied by the department. This would cost $139,469 in its first year.