The Peachtree City Council is expected to approve a contract for economic development services with the Fayette County Development Authority at the regular council meeting Thursday night.
The city would give FCDA $75,000 for one year to compensate for the hiring of an employee whose primary responsibility would be “to work with existing businesses and industries in the city so they are best able to grow and expand within the boundaries of the city,” according to the contract.
This option would be in lieu of the city hiring a new economic development coordinator on its own.
Under the contract, the new staffer would be required to develop relationships with “existing business leaders, elected and appointed leaders and workforce professionals in the city in an effort to serve as a resource and main point of contact for business inquiries.”
The city funds must also be used to develop and implement a business retention and expansion survey and also provide the city with regular written reports on activities and occasional presentations to city leaders, according to the contract.
The contract also calls for the city to provide office and meeting space for FCDA so it can have a permanent presence in the city. Currently FCDA’s offices are located in the historic courthouse in downtown Fayetteville. The building also serves as the headquarters of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.
Council is also expected to approve a policy that would allow council to approve a grant of up to $50,000 for companies seeking city incentives for creating 25 or more new full-time jobs in the city. The grant specifies a benefit of $500 per job created, and the job must have an average wage of at least 120 percent of the city’s per capita income. Using 2011 data, that means the jobs must pay at least $51,129 a year.
The policy also requires that the company’s primary activity in the city be in a corporate office headquarters, corporate office business support center, logistics and distribution, advanced manufacturing, research and development or medical and laboratory work.
The city also retains the ability to reduce or eliminate various development fees including impact fees and building permit fees if it sees necessary.
Council is also expected to decide whether to proceed on improvements to the intersection of Redwine and Robinson roads, which could include a traffic light, multiple new turn lanes and perhaps a realignment of Robinson Road as it approaches the intersection.
