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More than 3 dozen citizens filled the seats and lined the walls at the Oct. 20 Peachtree City Council meeting, but this was an expectant rather than an angry crowd. By the middle of the meeting, most had quietly left the chamber, satisfied with the council’s actions.
By that time, the council had unanimously voted to reconstruct the Riley Field track adjacent to Peachtree City Elementary School on Wisdom Road, abandon and turn over to the Planterra Ridge Homeowners Association a “portion” of a public street — Kelly Green — and adopt a restrictive new dog-tethering ordinance.
Rear decal on golf carts — on hold
Conspicuously absent was any agenda item about requiring a third license decal to be affixed to more than 11,000 golf carts to make them visible from the rear of the carts.
The council obviously had been hearing from their constituents and had said yes to three of the issues and decided to wait on the additional cart decal.
Why the wait? Because the unofficial public response was split down the middle, said Mayor Kim Learnard. The council wants more input — plus a fifth council member to bring it to its full 5-member strength. That fifth member will be decided in the city Post 3 election and likely December runoff.
Riley track gets a new top
The Riley track — the city’s only public walking-running facility — is showing its age with peeling and missing track topping and asphalt potholes. The city had budgeted for its refurbishment over a half-million dollars, but with some of the work to be done by city crews, negotiated a bid price of $457,000, well under budget.
Dozens of Planterra Ridge subdivision residents had made regular trips to council meetings over the past several months, often letting their elementary school-age children plead for relief from the speeding cut-through traffic on the residential streets.
The HOA will get title to a portion of the road and will be in charge of a gate to block through traffic on Kelly Green for part of the day.
New stricter rules for tethering dogs
Another group of interested citizens had been lobbying the council during public comment periods for new, stricter city rules to protect animals whose owners have tied them to tethers in residential yards.
Council voted 4-to-0 to adopt new rules to restrict tethering dogs to certain hours with specific limits on how that is done.
The council also approved buying a “custom rescue engine” for the Fire Department. Once the $774,866 engine is ordered, it will be ready for delivery in three years.
The council heard an impassioned plea for a residential zoning variance to allow an encroachment into the rear setback to build a covered entertainment area. The pitch: zoning rules from the 1970s need to give some wiggle room for people wanting to improve and upgrade the value of their homes. Two council members, Phil Prebor and Mike King, agreed. Mayor Learnard and Councilman Frank Destadio said no. The vote tied, the variance was rejected.
Two weeks prior, the council had approved a significant expansion of the city’s alcohol rules. It voted 4-to-0 in favor of allowing mixed-drinks-to-go from participating city restaurants.
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