The Development Authority of Peachtree City has been disbanded and we primarily have Don Haddix to thank. His interference, meddling, and politicizing of DAPC left the City Council with no other reasonable choice than to disband DAPC and clear the way for real economic development.
The reality is that DAPC has not been that successful or productive. In a citizen’s open records review of DAPC this past October, we found that this Authority did not have any of the internal controls one would expect from an organization that has the power to buy land and issue bonds.
This is concerning as the Peachtree City taxpayer has already bailed out DAPC for hundreds of thousands of dollars resulting from the Tennis Center fiasco.
In our open records review, we also did not find any DAPC active plan for economic development of Peachtree City. But we did find receipts where DAPC members were taking each other to lunch on taxpayer dollars and buying season tickets to The Fred with minimal supporting documentation as to the business purpose.
While there were concerns regarding DAPC, I think that the goal was to find a formula that could leverage the group of DAPC volunteers in a comprehensive economic development plan for Peachtree City but without the risk that an “Authority” poses.
Unfortunately, Don Haddix used DAPC as a political toy in trying to get his chosen candidates Dienhart and Allen elected to the City Council in a failed effort to control the city through their votes.
And while Mr. Strickland and his board would like to blame council discord for their disbanding, they may want to be a little more introspective.
What would have happened if they had not allowed DPAC to be used politically in the election? What would have happened if they had produced any substantive economic development results in the last three years? What would have happened if DAPC has produced a comprehensive plan related to economic development defining goals, actions, dates, investment, and projected return on investment?
There are times in business when it is necessary to just get a fresh start. That is happening and hopefully we will see the council get an economic development plan in place now that the obstacles are removed.
We have lost time due to Haddix’s ineptness. And there is little doubt that he will revert to his favorite role of victim. But finally the field has been cleared of obstacles and we will have clear running to a better Peachtree City.
Randy Boyett
Peachtree City, Ga.
