The five

candidates in this fall's two City Council races found

common ground on a number of issues in Tuesday night's

Rotary Club forum, taking a hard line on traffic and

annexation in describing their plans for keeping

Peachtree City's quality of life high.

During the

two-hour question-and-answer session at the Wyndham

Conference Center, the candidates - incumbent Annie

McMenamin and Melvin Ewing in Post 1, with Chuck Lehman,

Bruce Perlman and Dan Tennant in Post 2 - all agreed

that the traffic impact ordinance passed last week was a

good move and one worth defending in court if necessary.

"You've

got to have guts. You can't cave in," said Tennant,

seeking the seat soon to be vacated by Jim Pace.

"It's [ordinance] a terrific start and a reasonable

solution. Public safety has to be Priority 1."

Lehman

called the ordinance "a Band-Aid," saying that

it will slow down the traffic problem but not stop it.

"There comes a point when we must say no," he

said, adding that federal government is the one who has

stopped the city and it should be held accountable for

it.

Perlman

said he strongly supports the council's decision.

"If we believe we're right, we should let them

sue," he said of developers who may take issue with

the new traffic guidelines.

McMenamin

pointed out that it was she who initiated the discussions

that led to the ordinance, while Ewing called it a

"good first step" and said the city should be

"cautious" in considering developments such as

the Wal-Mart/Home Depot plan suggested for the west side

of the city.

One option

mentioned for helping the traffic gridlock was the

extension of TDK Boulevard from the industrial park into

Coweta County. McMenamin said that is one possibility

that has been talked about already at the City Council

level.

An audience

member asked if anyone would be in favor of a $2 million

bond issue to extend the road, and that drew a mixed

response. Tennant said it might be worth looking into $1

million if Coweta County offered an equal amount, while

Lehman said that Coweta does not want the extension and

it would be "a road to nowhere." Perlman added

that, since Coweta has its own industrial park now, it

has no incentive to improve the road so that its

residents can drive to Peachtree City to work and shop.

On

annexation, McMenamin again pointed to her record on the

council, saying that she has repeatedly been against

annexation that was not in the best interests of the

city. She specifically mentioned the West Village area, a

frequent subject of annexation rumors, saying that she

could not see it coming into the city in the near future.

Ewing said

that when considering any annexation request, the city

must look at whether it is to the city's benefit, if the

infrastructure is in place and if the area in question

will be compatible with the surrounding areas.

"I am

100-percent opposed to annexation, period," said

Tennant. "I am 100-percent opposed to higher

density, period."

Any

annexation and increased density at this point would only

benefit developers to the detriment of families, Tennant

said, citing increased traffic and infrastructure

problems as probable side effects. "This stuff ain't

free, folks," he said.

Perlman and

Lehman were also against unfavorable annexation, a topic

that Lehman called "a no-brainer."