I am a candidate for Peachtree City Council Post #1. I have the proven record of voting for the citizens’ interests 100% of the time. I never voted for special interests, nor my own interests. I’m running to uphold the village concept of Peachtree City.
Using my engineering, financial, and management background I will focus our city on the following five priorities:
1. We don’t need more dense pack housing of any kind. Nor should future annexations be for the purpose of adding costly dense pack housing. Our police and fire departments are already stretched too thin. And traffic is now at its brink.
If the other candidates think high density housing is what Peachtree City needs by way of more apartments and condos, there’s a city 20 miles north of us that has plenty of what you’re looking for. I will not allow our city to become a suburb of Atlanta.
One of my opponents comes from a group that supported the “Livable Cities Initiative” (LCI). Remember the Kedron Fieldhouse presentation where the idea was proposed of changing our green space along GA54 into apartments and condos. Also remember the box that said, “None of the above” that got overwhelming support.
The LCI proposal would be a disaster for Peachtree City, not only for traffic but our city’s character as well. Make no mistake, if a majority on the city council is elected that thinks this is a good idea, this is what we’ll get. I helped get both Councilmembers Frank Destadio and Clint Holland elected because I knew they would push back against high density housing like I intend to do.
2. Traffic concerns continue to be a top priority for our citizens. We all know the debacle that has become the intersection of GA54/GA74. The only favorable thing I see being implemented with the $20M+ intersection redo is to deal with the southbound GA74 turning right onto westbound GA54 with an extra dedicated turn lane that does not block traffic on GA54.
We must keep our citizens informed as to when and where other traffic improvement projects will be taking place. Current politicians, with the exception of new council members Destadio and Holland, have voted to add to the traffic problem on the GA54 corridor.
3. Continuous never-ending tax increases need to stop. Something is wrong when you have eight consecutive yearly tax increases. SPLOST (the extra one cent tax on most items we buy in Fayette County) has been a game changer and will continue to be so in the future. It is a much better option for our citizens than millage rate tax increases.
SPLOST adds over $10 million a year to our budget (outside the General Fund) allowing us to catch up on much needed maintenance. However, we need better accountability of the “extra” millions and millions of dollars coming into our city annually. There is no excuse for constantly raising taxes when we have this sort of additional revenue and an overage of city budget reserves.
Folks who know me know I am a hawk when it comes to spending our citizens’ money. Rolling back the millage rate for Peachtree City property taxes can be done without diminishing services. I will get it done. That’s a promise.
Tax bills are exploding when inflation and the economy are making life difficult. This is not the way to govern. Peachtree City has adequate cash reserves and can afford to roll back the millage rate to offset the increased property assessed values.
4. Cart path maintenance continues to be another priority. With the passage of SPLOST, we should be in good shape for years to come. I realize folks sometimes identify places on the paths where maintenance is needed.
Let me know as one of your five council members and I will personally get involved and see that proper action is taken quickly. I will respond to emails unlike the silence many of you now experience. There is no excuse for any path maintenance issues to be lingering. There is no excuse for not replying to emails.
5. I argued for police and fire department pay raises in recent years. I’m glad to see those raises finally materialize. I intend to make sure those emergency responders get the priority when future budgets are developed.
I was elected to Peachtree City Council Post #1 in 2009 and voluntarily stepped aside in 2015 to let someone else run for office. My goal during those six short years was to get our city’s budget back under control during the worst financial times we’ve ever experienced. With help from many like-minded folks, we got it done.
When I left we had a balanced budget without future tax increases and without using city reserves. Nor did we lay off city employees. We kept raises in line with the economy at the time, which was a difficult thing to do.
A few other personal tidbits to get to know me: I’ve helped literally hundreds of our citizens with their Fair Market Value assessments on their homes in order to save them money on their property taxes. You may have seen my many posts on Facebook about this.
I am currently a substitute teacher in Fayette County having taught from 2nd Grade to Advance Placement Physics at McIntosh High School.
I am a Chaplain and have married people who live in Peachtree City. I am currently the Chaplain of the Masonic Lodge I belong to in Peachtree City.
I enjoy arranging activities for our city and have put together the annual Monopoly Tournament in Peachtree City since 2009 as well as the annual Golf Cart Scavenger Hunt.
I have a BS degree in Engineering (San Jose State University) and advanced degrees in Computer Systems (Air Force Institute of Technology) and Program Management (Defense Systems Management College). I enjoy giving 80s-era Star Wars presentations at the Gathering Place on the Space Shuttle Discovery mission I managed while in the Air Force.
I’d love to share my ideas in person with you, your friends/neighbors, or even your HOA. And would love to hear yours.
Contact me at: [email protected] or on Facebook at Eric Imker for City Council Post #1
Thank you in advance for your vote and support.
Eric Imker
Peachtree City, Ga.
Imker isn’t the only one to push this idea, but points 1, 3, 4, and 5 are in irreconcilable conflict. If you’ve ever heard the old joke about “good, fast, cheap–pick two” for food, there’s a similar version for City services.
Low density, low taxes, good services–pick two. You can have your low taxes and good services if you like (after all, we hear all the time how dense housing is $$$ for developers, that same $$$ means more property tax too). You can have low density and good services if you like, but with fewer people and value to spread the tax burden out on, you won’t have low taxes. And you can have low taxes and low density if you like–that would be places like Tyrone or Brooks (no offense to those places, but compared to PTC, they absolutely have fewer services). What you CAN’T have is all three at once.
For point 2: SR 54/74 is a State-owned road. GDOT will do whatever it wants to do, and the City has no power or authority to stop GDOT from putting in what it is planning to do. It is a well-settled fact that local authorities have no power to regulate or control State highways (see Mayor and Council of City of Woodbury v. State Highway Department, 225 Ga. 723, 171 S.E.2d 272 (1969)).
Eric Imker has very little interest in being a City Council member. This is only a stepping stone for him to get his name in the public eye again for the next 2 years. If he should be elected he will resign from that seat in 2 years so he can make another unsuccessful run for Mayor. He just won’t accept the fact that our city thanks you for your past service but your time is done. Be the best monopoly tournament director ever and take another cruise. I guess we won’t see you Monday evening at the forum with the other candidates since you will be on another cruise.
Terry, that’s a good point you made. I prefer candidates not use elected positions as stepping stones. If Mr. Imker does indeed decide to resign a City Council position, it may give us an opportunity to elect Laura Plauché Johnson to replace him. Neither candidates are a bad choice, one just has more experience than the other.
Not until he repays the tax payers for getting us sued over his stupid ego. We deserve more than enough lawsuits from this current group of clowns but no need to rush back to this toxic dinosaur.
Polly I’d be interested to know what you are referring to. Since I am not familiar with whatever transgression you are referencing, it sounds like you are instead referencing a situation that was caused by a past mayor.
Doug, beginners need to “break-in” by volunteering or by being on the Planning Commission to give them the experience they need to make wise decisions.
Mr. Imker understands how our City Government works. He maintained his integrity before and I’m certain he will again. Eric Imker has my vote.
Doug, I completely agree with you and I also plan to cast my vote for Eric. I expect him to be a great complement to the efforts of Clint Holland and Frank DeStadio.
Luckily we are a City Manager driven City. Unfortunately I fear make if we may lose a good one if the 2 wrong folks get elected. Make of this what you will.
You are correct, Spyglass. Some people, once elected, can rock the boat. I prefer the City Council work together with the City Manager on a steady course. With that said, I tend to elect people who are tried and true.
I also want to “break-in” some younger people. I’m looking at Vic Painter to begin that initiation into local small town politics.
In the quaint town of Peachtree City, nestled beneath the Georgia sun, there exists a peculiar creature named Eric Imker. For most of the year, he slumbers in the shadows, hidden from the hustle and bustle of community life. But as the leaves turn, and campaign season begins to rustle, the creature stirs.
Oh, how the townsfolk have grown accustomed to this eerie pattern. They know that when the first autumn breeze whispers through the streets, Eric Imker will emerge from his lair, much like an ancient worm waking from its age-old slumber.
While others diligently tend to the needs of the town throughout the year, Imker’s presence is scarce, his participation virtually non-existent. He is a phantom, save for one notorious exception: the annual Monopoly tournament.
But as the political season dawns, so too does Imker. He emerges, not as a board game enthusiast but as a political contender. The town can’t help but feel a sense of impending dread as they brace themselves for the return of the enigmatic Eric Imker, ready to once again torment their peaceful lives with promises and campaign fervor.
Will he prove to be a formidable opponent in the world of politics, just as he is on the Monopoly board? Or will the townsfolk see through his campaign-season persona, questioning whether Peachtree City needs a leader who only awakens from hibernation when the election drums start to beat? Only time will tell as the political creature of Peachtree City embarks on yet another campaign adventure, leaving the town to wonder what mysteries lie behind his elusive existence.