The Peachtree City

Recreation Commission approved an amended draft of a

seven-year Public Improvement Program at Monday's regular

monthly meeting, with some adjustments resulting from the

survey of local residents taken earlier this summer.

The citywide survey asked

residents to rank projects in the Recreation Master Plan

according to priority, so the city could see if any

warranted special funding such as from a bond referendum

or local option sales tax.

Acting on the belief that a

bond referendum would not be an appropriate course of

action for any new recreation projects at this time, the

commission incorporated some of its higher-priority

facility needs, such as a multipurpose rink, into the PIP

over the next several years.

Response to survey

questions about new sources of revenue to fund the

projects was lukewarm, commission members say. And

residents already are dealing with funding requests

coming from other sectors of the county, such as the

proposed special purpose local option sales tax for

schools that will be voted on this fall.

With all that, commission

members felt that making any major move such as a sales

tax or bond referendum would not be wise, especially

since failure at the ballot box would lead to a lengthy

wait before being able to try again.

This was agreed upon by the

commission in June, and staff was directed at that time

to redirect certain projects into the PIP, with special

emphasis placed on the rink. Some of these projects were

also covered briefly at the City Council's budget hearing

in July.

The first two phases of the

rink have been incorporated into the PIP for fiscal year

2000, at a cost of $275,000. Several other projects have

been added for 2001, including expansion of the Gathering

Place, a multipurpose lighted field at Kedron,

amphitheater improvements, and site master plans for the

Meade complex. Later phases of the rink also are listed

under the 2001 plan.

Later projects include

soccer fields with concession facilities, picnic areas at

Glenloch and McIntosh Trail, playgrounds, Riley sewer

improvements, and replacement of a swimming pool cover at

Kedron. All of those projects are scheduled for 2002 and

2003.

Major projects scheduled

for 2004 and 2005 include a gymnastics facility and two

indoor basketball courts. Four baseball fields currently

are slated for 2006.

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