Staff

Writer

In response to several

recent requests for funding assistance, the City Council

of Peachtree City has adopted a policy regarding

contributions for school playgrounds and playing fields.

Council voted unanimously

at Thursday's regular meeting to adopt the policy just

before reconsidering a request from the Braelinn

Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization to help pay

for playground improvements.

Braelinn PTO playground

committee chairman Anne Myers appeared before the council

at its May 6 meeting to ask for assistance. Her request

was tabled at that time, and news of that discussion

motivated representatives of two other schools to contact

the city.

City manager Jim Basinger

said that he expected the additional requests to come in

after word spread of the Braelinn request, and he

suggested that council put a specific policy in place to

handle these situations.

The new guidelines, which

Basinger read for the record at the meeting, are as

follows:

* Each request for

funding/labor will be forwarded to the city manager, who

will ensure that adequate information is provided to

council members to enable them to make an informed

decision.

* Council will evaluate

each request and make a decision based on the merit of

the request.

* No more than one

funding/labor request per school will be considered in

any five-year period.

* Only Fayette County

public schools whose attendance boundaries include

Peachtree City will be eligible for consideration.

* Requests for

funding/labor must be for enhancements to playgrounds and

playing fields only. Any playground/playing field for

which the city makes a contribution must be made

available for use by city residents when not being used

Education would be required.

* The city would assume no

liability for any project for which the city provides

funding/labor.

* Should council approve a

funding request, a dollar-for-dollar match up to a

maximum of $5,000 in funding/labor may be provided as a

match to any funding provided by the school or any school

organization, such as a booster club.

Mayor Bob Lenox pointed out

that the city has had a rigid policy on donations, but is

always looking for ways to assist the schools in these

areas since they are important to all residents and Board

of Education dollars must be spent on education first.

A letter from Jane Langley,

playground committee chairman for the Peachtree City

Elementary PTO, was received by the city the day of the

meeting. Langley expressed her desire that her school be

included in funding consideration, then suggested the

city go a step further and put school playgrounds on the

master recreation plan, giving fair consideration to all

schools with Peachtree City students.

Councilman Jim Pace agreed

with Langley's sentiments, saying that if the city takes

any action, it should plan to be fair to the entire

community. He added that he expects every eligible school

to ask for funds within a matter of weeks. "They all

have needs," he said.

Pace said that he thinks

the policy presented by Basinger is a great start, and he

cannot support the Braelinn request without something in

place that affects all schools. He also pointed out that,

under the guidelines set forth in the proposed policy,

schools in the town of Tyrone would be eligible for

funding as well as some others outside the city limits,

such as the Starr's Mill complex.

Basinger said that, with a

use agreement such as is outlined in the policy, the city

would be getting a return on its investment by way of

residents being allowed to use playground equipment when

not being used by schools.

City attorney Rick Lindsey

said that every request should be considered on a

case-by-case basis. Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said

that her decisions in such cases are nearly always based

on the aggressiveness of the PTO's themselves as far as

raising their own funds.

After Councilman Robert

Brooks moved to adopt the policy and McMenamin seconded,

a citizen addressed the council, saying that all of these

requests should be brought before the Recreation

Commission first.

Lenox said that was a good

idea, adding that the groups in these cases had come to

the council first because the Recreation Commission did

not have the money to meet their needs.

After some discussion, the

council agreed that the Recreation Commission should hear

all such requests first just as the Planning Commission

does for planning issues. The motion was amended and then

approved.

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