Nearing the end of four

years on the City Council of Peachtree City, Jim Pace is

clear about the direction the city is taking.

"I do not fear for the

future of this city," he said recently during an

interview in his office at Group VI Corporation, of which

he is president. "I embrace it."

Pace says that he served on

the council mainly to see that what the founders of

Peachtree City had in mind over the years as they

developed the community was not neglected.

"I feel like I've

always understood the vision of Peachtree City, and I've

felt almost a mandate to carry out the plan," said

Pace.

He never considered running

for public office until he was urged to do so by friends

and neighbors around the city, people he respected -

"a broad base of support," as he put it. This

came after his predecessor, xxxxx Bradford, decided not

to run for re-election.

Pace moved to Peachtree

City in the mid-1980s with his wife Mary and their three

children, two of whom are now in college while the

youngest attends McIntosh High School. It was a much

different city then, with a population of about 10,000.

The original plan for

Peachtree City had a buildout population of around

82,000. By the time he moved there, it was at 60,000, so

there was no question a lot of changes were in store.

"Growth was a

given," he said. "And we were glad to see

it."

Whereas Peachtree City was

known as a transient type of community in the past, where

families would come for a few years before being

transferred again, Pace says that has changed, with a lot

more people coming to stay.

"I still think it's

probably the best place to live in the country, which is

a blessing and a curse," he said.

He took office at the

beginning of this term with the intention of continuing

with the plan for the city and working toward buildout.

He firmly believes that every rezoning decision made in

the past four years has been a positive one, including

numerous moves to go from multifamily to single-family

zoning in residential areas.

Growth has slowed

considerably since the 1980s, Pace pointed out, saying

that it was common at one time to have 500 or more

housing starts in a single year. That number is now below

300, as Mayor Bob Lenox noted at a recent City Council

meeting.

One thing he did not count

on going into the 1995 election was the effect his

occupation - Group VI is major developer in metro

Atlanta - would have on many voters. He admits that

the common perception is of the developer being the bad

guy, as says, "It saddens me."

It came to light again in

the most recent election, where all three candidates for

his seat made much of their non-association with

developers. Most "developers" in Peachtree

City, he says, are simply business owners who undertake

construction projects to house their own businesses.

"I was absolutely

taken aback when I found that some people would not vote

for me simply because of my occupation," he said.

Group VI has worked on

about 40 projects in Peachtree City since it was formed

in 1998, according to Pace.

"We have never asked

for a rezoning or appeared before council," he said.

"We have always built within the land-use plan and

done the best job possible."

Also on the topic of

development, Pace points out that when his family moved

to the area, Peachtree City Development Corp. was

"the good guy.

"I always thought

buildout would be a cause for celebration," he

added. "All of the former mayors and founders still

live here; it should be an historic event.

"The city is

nationally viewed as one of the most progressive, best

planned, best managed in the country. Now we're wanting

to blame the ones who got us there."

In his own company, Pace

puts qualities such as integrity and a positive attitude

at the top of the list for prospective employees. He

considers those qualities just as important in politics

or elsewhere in life.

"I like people that

are proactive, that have a bias for getting things

done," he said. "Anybody can raise issues; it

takes a leader to solve problems.

"I've tried to take

that approach in politics. I don't vote for negative

campaigns. I don't think ego has a place in politics. If

someone feels he's the only solution, I probably won't

vote for him. In Peachtree City, there are literally

thousands qualified to do that job."

With attitudes such as

those recently expressed concerning developers and what

he feels has been negative campaigning in general, Pace

sees a disturbing trend in Peachtree City.

"The mood of the city

is changing," he said. "The welcome mat got

pulled back a bit."

The cooperation among the

City Council has been good during his term, he believes,

and he only knows of a few instances where he voted

against the rest of the council.

One of those times was

during the proceedings for the proposed Mews project at

Ga. Highway 54 and Walt Banks Road, which he thought was

a good idea. He adds, however, that he thinks the current

plan is better.

Most recently, he cast the

sole dissenting vote on the first draft of the traffic

impact ordinance and abstained from voting on the updated

version.

"I understand the

council's frustration," he said. "I just

disagree with their method of solving the problem."

Pace feels that the city

should proceed immediately with implementation of the

suggestions traffic consultants have already made, like

signalization improvements, lane extensions, and turn

lane improvements in various places. "We don't need

to be waiting to do those things," he said.

He is also a proponent of

extending TDK Boulevard from the industrial park in

Coweta County. He credits the industrial park with being

a major contributor to the traffic volume at rush hour,

but all knows it must continue to thrive as an economic

engine in Peachtree City.

"The people who are

working in the industrial park are mostly living in

Coweta County," he said. "It puts the

educational burden on Coweta, which is the biggest

expense, but it also creates a traffic problem here a

couple of times a day."

Without minimizing

Peachtree City's problems, Pace thinks traffic is much

worse in other parts of metro Atlanta. He also believes

that having more opportunities to live, work and shop in

the city could improve the situation. Whether residents

go to Home Depot in Newnan or on the west side of

Peachtree City, they are still going to go through the

intersection of highways 54 and 74, he noted.

Pace is excited about his

own small contribution to easing the traffic flow, which

is his company's move from Eagle's Landing in Henry

County to Westpark in Peachtree City in the spring.

"I can't wait to be able to drive my golf cart to

work," he said.

He places the lion's share

of the blame for the traffic mess in Washington. "I

personally think that it's more of an Al Gore

influence," he said.

"The irony is that

it's [road building restrictions] made the situation so

much worse. Peachtree City's the most environmentally

conscious city in the country. I think a lot of people

were caught off guard all over metro Atlanta.

"The road we need to

build to connect the four lanes coming out of Coweta

County and the four lanes coming into Peachtree City is a

minor project, and to have that sitting idle is criminal.

I don't understand why we can't build a 1.6-mile stretch

of road to relieve that corridor. I wish the people

making those kinds of decisions could see the effect of

those decisions."

Pace's recent statements

concerning the impact fee ordinance and its application

to assisted living facilities reflected a much deeper

concern - his belief that Peachtree City is not

properly preparing for the aging of its population.

He considers his family a

typical one, with two children grown and only one child

left in the school system. As buildout approaches, he

sees a strong possibility of the city lessening its

burden on the school system and youth recreation programs

while greatly increasing the need for senior services.

But if couples looking do

downsize into smaller homes for their retirement years

cannot find them, or if those needing the kind of care

provided in assisted living facilities cannot get it,

they will be forced to move out of Peachtree City, Pace

said.

Another aspect of the

housing market was revealed to him while trying to help

an associate pastor at his church get settled. That was a

most difficult housing search, and Pace is not sure that

younger people in the market for starter homes can find

that in the city right now. "My daughter graduates

from college this year, and I don't know if she can

afford to live here," he said.

One of the biggest

lingering issues in the city as Pace leaves office is

annexation, specifically what should be done about the

West Village. "When I ran in 1995, the prevailing

wisdom was that Peachtree City should annex that,"

he said.

Pointing out that the

property will be developed one way or another, either as

a part of Peachtree City, Tyrone, or unincorporated

Fayette County, Pace said that he would prefer it conform

to city guidelines.

If a plan is not in place

for that area, then projects such as a bridge across the

railroad, which Pace thinks current residents on that

side of town need, will likely not get built because

individual property owners do not have the resources to

get them done, he said.

"I'd like to see us

stay with the plan and build the roads we intended to

build," he added.

Often projects that are

initially opposed turn out to be of great benefit to the

city, according to Pace. He cited the Wyndham Conference

Center as one example, calling it "one of nicest

amenities in town."

As for serving on the City

Council in general, "The hardest part of this job is

trying to represent all of the people," said Pace.

"It's easy to vote for something that everybody's in

favor. It's a lot harder when you're protecting an

individual's rights or the rights of a minority.

"When you've got a

room full of people that really don't want something to

happen, and yet, to accede to their request would require

you to take away the rights of another person."

He considers the current

Home Depot/Wal-Mart a prime example of weighing the

rights of the individual against what he may like to see

happen. Home Depot not the issue, he says, but the

Huddleston family, who has been at that location since

before Peachtree City existed, has the right to sell

their land.

"I've never been one

to micromanage what goes on a site," Pace said.

"I look at whether it matches the plan."

Many of the things he is

most pleased about concering his tenure on the council

are relatively small things. He believes that his idea to

add a public information specialist to the city staff was

a good one. "I felt like we needed a better vehicle

to communicate with the citizens and to open up

government," he said.

He is also glad the church

ordinance suggested a few years ago did not pass, saying

he felt it would restrict religious freedom.

Small, common-sense

decisions working with a lady whose garden extended two

feet into a area setback or swapping land with a man

whose 25-year-old fence was in the wrong place are some

other instances that come to mind when he thinks of

helping constituents. "It would have been easy to

take a hard line," he said. "But that would

have been wrong."

Pace initially took a

neutral position in the 1999 election, not even putting

up a sign in his yard. But he readily offers advice to

his successor, Dan Tennant.

"First I would say

`thank you' for doing it, because it is a scary

thing," he said. "You're really hanging

yourself out there. So I appreciate the people that would

volunteer to do that.

"Always remember it is

a service position. Keep a humble heart, and have

compassion. Pray for wisdom. Do the right thing, and pray

for courage to do the right thing, because it's hard to

do that sometimes when you're facing a hostile crowd.

Something trying to figure out what is the right thing is

the hardest thing."

There are no commissions or

authorities in Pace's future, as he has plenty to keep

him busy, such as the YMCA, the Fayette County Chamber of

Commerce (he becomes a board member in January), and a

ministry for teens known as Young Life that is dear to

his heart.

"I would rather go

back to being a Sunday school teacher than be on some

board," he says of his future civic involvement.

A final thought from the

outgoing councilman reminds citizens that those who serve

on that body are just like everyone else, with families

who hurt when discussions about issues disintegrate into

personal attacks.

"My wife has really

suffered these past four years," said Pace.

"When people write these letters, they need to think

about how they impact these families."