No one ever said running a city was cheap. But the Peachtree City Council is facing some future decisions on some big-ticket items for funding.
At Thursday’s council workshop, Finance Director Paul Salvatore presented funding options for the various projects, which range from $82,000 for resurfacing the small and large pools at the Kedron Aquatic Center to $800,000 for the dredging of the northern portion of Lake Peachtree.
The dredging project, along with a similar one for the Three Ponds area, would qualify for funding through the city’s stormwater maintenance program, Salvatore said. While the combined cost of both projects is estimated at $1 million, the city will either have to raise its stormwater fees to cover the cost or find another way to fund the project, Salvatore said.
The pool resurfacing is included in the 2012 and 2013 general fund budgets to be paid for with cash, and replacement of the pools’ bubble, estimated at $250,000, will be financed over seven years with a purchase in 2012, according to city records.
Then there is a potential $4 million for expansion of the city’s cart path system and another $6 million for the addition of bridges to the cart path system. These can be financed over 15 years with a facilities bond that does not need voter approval, Salvatore said, but they also could be considered on a future countywide transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), he added.
Also eligible for that financing in addition to the above projects are several improvements to the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater, ranging from new gutters on the cast house and pavilion areas to the stage area roof. Altogether these are expected to cost upwards of $42,000.
“With aging infrastructure, it’s a challenge to keep up with what we have,” Salvatore said.
Another potential facilities bond project would be the landscaping enhancement on Ga. Highway 54 West from Ga. Highway 74 to the city limits, with an estimated cost of $248,000.
Also up for funding is one of council’s top priorities: a new traffic light for the city’s Baseball and Soccer Complex. Currently the city is in the process of trying to convince the Georgia Department of Transportation to allow the light to be built.
Council has expressed a desire to pay for the light with city funds to accelerate the project. The worry is that without the light, accidents at that intersection could become very serious because of the highway speeds and the need to go across four lanes of the highway once the road widening is complete, officials have said.
