For the first time in a long time, the Peachtree City Council is expected to use the power of eminent domain Thursday night, in a small way at least.
The city is in need of stormwater easements at two homes on Wynnmeade Parkway on the city’s west side, but the property owners on both tracts have not responded to the city’s repeated attempts to contact them about the matter, according to City Attorney Ted Meeker.
The city needs a 426 square-foot permanent easement at 108 Wynnmeade Parkway and a 211 sq. ft. permanent easement at 115 Wynnmeade Parkway to make improvements to the stormwater system in an effort to prevent flooding.
Meeker, in a memo to council in advance of Thursday’s 7 p.m. council meeting, noted that one of the titles had issues that likely would have resulted in the use of eminent domain anyway.
In other business Thursday, council will hear a presentation on the detailed evaluations of the city’s police and fire departments that was conducted by Matrix Consulting Group. The report on the police department was the subject of an in-depth story in The Citizen Nov. 27.
The Matrix reports provide an analysis and recommendations to help both departments move forward, and the fire department in particular has recently been buoyed by the permanent hiring of Fire Chief Joe O’Conor, who has overseen the department in a temporary “acting” fire chief capacity for nearly a year.
City staff is also recommending that council approve The Show Business to provide lighting and audio-visual services for the city-operated amphitheater with a projected cost of $68,400 for 2014. Council will also consider awarding a contract for up to $60,000 a year with All Pipeline TV Inc. of Hampton for annual catch basin, pipe cleaning and video services for the city’s stormwater utility.
