Tennant to PTC citizens: Don't get discouraged

Tennant to PTC citizens:

Don't get discouraged

Fellow citizens, each of you

was kind enough to send me an e-mail stating your opposition to the proposed

Wal-Mart on Highway 54 West across from Planterra Ridge. There was a packed

house at the council meeting last night, and if you were there, you saw

what happened.

Unfortunately, there was an

eleventh hour "agreement" reached where our city attorney advised

that under a rather complicated set of road improvements, the proposed

big box would be in compliance with the Traffic Impact Ordinance.

Remarkably, this conclusion

was reached even with the already approved 399 apartments being built

down the street, the Cedarcroft subdivision, and the Wieland project,

to say nothing of the Avenues project, which will open early next year.

All of this on an already terribly burdened two-lane road.

I received this notification

only minutes before the meeting began, so while I was prepared to "hang

my hat" on the fact Wal-Mart was not in compliance with our

Traffic Impact Ordinance, I nonetheless understood the overwhelming desire

and wishes of our community and stated categorically (and once again solely)

that I would not support the big box at that location because I believed

it would be a major safety hazard on a two-lane road, and not in

the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of Peachtree City

citizens.

Well, Mayor Lenox and council

members Fritz and Brooks voted to approve the project since they believed

we no longer had a legal ground to stand on, and I can honestly understand

their position. Although I understand my counterparts have their own set

of thought processes and rationale for making decisions (and I do not

bear any ill will toward any of them), I wish they would have been willing

to fight in court if that's what it took, but they saw otherwise. We put

up a good battle, but we lost.

What upsets me more than anything

really is the fact that literally hundreds of people showed up to the

meeting [Thursday] night, many for the first time, and they saw their

government not vote in accordance with their wishes. A lot of people

left with disillusionment and with a firm belief that you just can't fight

city hall.

Well, keep the faith. We need

folks like you to stay involved. Please don't get discouraged and give

up on staying active in the process.

I personally believe there

is tremendous value in expressing one's opinions in a letter to the editor.

If you feel so moved, the e-mail address is [email protected] .

It is probably a good idea to get your letters in no later than Monday,

so that they will be printed in next Wednesday's edition.

Thanks for the opportunity

to serve you.

Dan Tennant

Councilman