The Peachtree City Council will consider approving a master plan for cart path improvements for the coming two fiscal years at its meeting Thursday night.

Council will also discuss a staff recommendation to limit parking on Commerce Drive, changes to the city’s travel expense policy and a request to de-annex more than 28 acres on the city’s eastern boundary to be part of a subdivision.

The cart path plan recommended by staff calls for new paths in the 2006 fiscal year along:
• Ga. Highway 54 E. between Robinson Court and the Peachtree East shopping center;
• Robinson Road between Robinson Court and the Peachtree City United Methodist Church;
• Robinson Road between Spear Road and Whitfield Farms;
• Peachtree Parkway N. between Walt Banks Road and Interlochen Drive; and
• Design of the path connections to the multi-use bridge over Flat Creek.

In the 2007 fiscal year, the city would add paths along:
• Holly Grove Road between Robinson Road and Aster Ridge Trail;
• Robinson Road south between Holly Grove Church Road to Oakdale;
• Construction of the path connections to the multi-use bridge over Flat Creek;
• Ga. Highway 74 S. between Cooper Circle and the Highway 74 baseball and soccer complex; and
• Construction of a tunnel under Hwy. 74 at Paschall Road, which will link Willow Road to Reed Memorial Park.

City staff is recommending that council forbid parking on Commerce Drive except for a small portion on the eastern side across from the new World Gym. Currently, gym employees and patrons are parking on the western side of the street, and that blocks sight distances for motorists on Commerce Drive, according to a memo to council from City Engineer David Borkowski.

The changes to the city’s travel regulations would require itemized receipts for meals and affirm the city’s policy not to reimburse employees for alcohol.

Another change will remove the $35 per day allowed for meals, replaced with a varying amount depending on amounts listed by the U.S. General Services Administration, which is broken down by destination.

The new resolution proposed by staff would also allow employees to be reimbursed for gratuities up to 20 percent of the meal’s bill. Currently that figure tops out at 15 percent.

The de-annexation request is from Peach State Land Development so three additional large lots can be added to a subdivision it is building in the unincorporated county. All three lots are located on the eastern side of Camp Creek, which isolates them from Peachtree City.

The city would also get more than 20 acres in greenspace in return, most of which is wetland area and undevelopable.

The city planning commission has recommended approval of the de-annexation.