Signature Chick-fil-A to be downsized as new westside location opens
Items on the table at the Dec. 3 meeting of the Peachtree City Council include consideration of financing the city-owned broadband initiative, approval of construction plans for stormwater detention related to The Overlook project, bid approval for the Spear Road culvert project and a variance request by Chick-fil-A that would replace the restaurant at the Peachtree Crossing retail area on Ga. Highway 54 East with a prototype restaurant.
The council approved a resolution to move forward with the city-owned broadband project on Sept. 17. City staff expects the debt service payments to be approximately $365,000 per year for 10 years.
Finance Director Paul Salvatore in a Nov. 25 letter said staff and consultants have sent Request for Proposals (RFP) for engineering, construction, materials and equipment needed to build the network.
“We have received excellent responses to the RFPs that will result in favorable cost variances from the business plan,” Salvatore said. “In addition to reimbursing city coffers for expenses to date, the remainder of the debt proceeds will be used to cover these expenses associated with constructing the project.”
With the financing approved, the project calls for 22.54 miles of underground fiber cable that would serve city-owned facilities and the city’s high-end industrial and commercial businesses already using large quantities of broadband.
Part of the idea for having the city own the service deals with the shrinking revenue from franchise fees because broadband is considered an information service and is not required to pay a franchise fee.
What is today a $400,000 revenue source from franchise fees is projected to decrease over time. Citing an example, Salvatore in September said increasing numbers of residents are abandoning land lines which generate franchise fee revenues.
Meantime, the city is paying NuLink $50,000 this year for service. The bill next year will be increasing to $70,000, Salvatore said.
The council at the meeting will consider the approval of construction plans for the stormwater detention at The Overlook retail center and wetland amenity at the adjacent Line Creek Nature Area. The nature area is managed by Southern Conservation Trust.
The council on Sept. 17 approved the proposal that will have the wetland amenity installed in lieu of having an underground detention pond on the west side of the retail site.
Among the features of the wetland amenity will be various standing pools of water in an area of approximately one-acre, perimeter fencing and a boardwalk over a portion of the pond area. The idea behind the initiative is to clean the runoff before it travels downstream and to provide a habitat for various species of aquatic wildlife and plants and to attract fowl to the area.
The council approved the wetland amenity area to be established on city property in the Line Creek Nature Area through a Memorandum of Understanding between Trinity-Overlook LLC and Southern Conservation Trust (SCT).
The council on Dec. 3 is expected to consider bids for Spear Road emergency culvert repair. The roadway in the area of the culvert was temporarily closed after heavy rains caused a wash-out on Nov. 12.
Though the project was already on the list of upcoming work, it was pushed up on the list after the wash-out.
The council is expected to hear and, potentially, approve a bid for the work.
The council on Dec. 3 will also consider variance requests for the Chick-fil-A restaurant at the Peachtree Crossing shopping center on Ga. Highway 54 East.
Chick-fil-A wants to upgrade the restaurant constructed in 1983 and acquired in 1992 by demolishing the building and replacing it with a Chick-fil-A prototype building that will be smaller in size than the current building and outfitted with dual drive-thru lanes, enhancements to internal parking and a designated loading and service area.
Ingress and egress would be by way of the Peachtree Crossing service drive, city staff said, adding that the existing exit onto Dan Lakly Drive would be removed.
