The devil
is in the details.
That's what
the Coweta County commissioners are learning as they
struggle to reach an agreement with 21st Century Coweta
on a contract for funding the economic development group.
Commissioners
balked at 21st Century's latest request on releasing
industrial prospect information to the county during
their meeting Tuesday morning.
The county
wants a list of all prospects, but 21st Century officials
said they would release prospects that share a
"common" interest between the two
organizations.
The
commissioners balked at the request and wanted to make it
clear who was in charge.
"This
county is being run from 22 East Broad St. by five
elected officials," said commission Chairman Vernon
"Mutt" Hunter. It looks like it will be at
least another week before the latest hostilities between
the Coweta County Board of Commissioners and 21st Century
Coweta is ironed out.
Coweta
County contributes nearly $115,000 to the group and
commissioners are adamant that 21st Century should
disclose all contacts made with industrial prospects to
Buddy Harrison, who manages the county's new industrial
park.
But 21st
Century's Rick Tamplin argued previously that if the
contacts are revealed to Harrison, then they should be
revealed to all the developers in the county.
At least
two of the commissioners disagreed with Tamplin's
statements.
"I
don't consider Coweta County as one of your developers.
We're all in this for the business of Coweta
County," said Commissioner Jim McGuffey.
Hunter
pointed out that 21st Century receives taxpayers' funds,
which makes it subject to certain laws.
"When
you become public, you lose some of that privacy,"
he said.
County
administrator Theron Gay said he would keep the
commissioners up to date on negotiations.







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