For 30 years I have been disappointed

Board of Education and the Fayette County Board of Commissioners. My remarks

are not intended to underrate the members of those boards, but only the

performance of the boards, irrespective of the personnel comprising the

boards. I have said many times that any citizen who volunteers to provide

a public service for residents is to be commended.

In the very earliest days of

Peachtree City, it became publicly known that 15,000 contiguous acres

of land had become the property of a major developer. Subsequently, from

time to time, the public was advised that the 15,000 acres would be developed

into a planned community, of which 20 percent of the area would be devoted

to open space forever. The residential portion of the town would likely

be made up of a number of villages (perhaps four to 10) to accommodate

a population of from 35,000 to 80,000 persons. The town would also provide

for commercial and industrial activities and facilities.

Later the major developer announced

that the initial development would proceed immediately, and anticipated

an initial rapid rate of growth. The Fayette County Board of Education

did not respond to the probable need for increased educational facilities,

despite the increasing population of school-age people. Even though the

anticipated rapid growth was recognizable as for real, the Fayette County

Board of Education did nothing.

As the population of grade

school children increased to justify the project, the major developer

built and equipped a grade school on Wisdom Road and donated the new facility

and surrounding campus to the Fayette County Board of Education. Since

that time, the Fayette County Board of Commissioners' reaction to the

public announcements described above was to ignore them so far as facility

planning is concerned. It was unavoidably evident that the increased highway

traffic of a newly planned community would render inadequate the single

east-west road connecting Coweta County and Newnan on the west, to Fayetteville

and the eastern border of Fayette County on the east.

I am firmly convinced that

further expansion of the Atlanta Metropolitan area must be to the south

and will overrun Fayette County. I believe the expansion into Fayette

County may well accelerate with the termination of the current economic

downturn, which could occur as early as next spring, but no later than

three years, and a substantial "build-out" in about 20 years,

plus or minus five. The prospect of such imminent development should alert

both the Fayette County Board of Education and the Fayette County Board

of Commissioners to take immediate positive action.

Certainly long overdue has

been the development of a highway between Coweta County on the west, and

the eastern border of Fayette County at about the latitude of Crosstown

Road. I am aware that the problem of air pollution has made financing

for highway construction unavailable at this time. However, I do not believe

that the determination of right-of-way, and the acquisition of property

in the proposed right-of-way need be delayed.

I am not aware of any Fayette

County Board of Commissioners' actions with respect to the foregoing,

the lack of which action will further delay highway construction when

financing is allowed. The need for additional highways through Fayette

County must be assessed continuously.

There has been evidenced in

the past that some Fayette County Board of Commissioners' actions have

reflected an attitude that Fayette County residents living in incorporated

areas have, through local governing authority, the advantage of providing

for the best public interest, and that the unincorporated areas have no

such local governmental service, and therefore, the equivalent must be

provided for those areas by the County Commission for the exclusive benefit

of the unincorporated areas.

This is wrong! The Fayette

County Commission must accept the authority conferred on it by approved

state legislative action to equitably provide governmental services and

benefits to all residents of the county, irrespective of residence in

incorporated or unincorporated areas. Likewise, the costs of such services

and benefits must be shared equitably.

There is evidence that the

Board of Commissioners has deemed that Lady Luck has blessed Fayette County

with little incorporated gold mines, of which Peachtree City is the richest.

In the matter of the new county

jail, the governing authority of Fayette County (chairman and commissioners)

has determined that the public interest of Fayette County will be served

best by the action of acquiring a new jail, the cost of which must be

shared equitably, irrespective of taxpayer location, incorporated or unincorporated.

So let's take a hypothetical

situation: Suppose the governing authority of Tyrone (mayor and council)

believes that the public interest of Tyrone would best be served by having

and operating its own jail. The cost of construction and property must

be imposed on the residents and property owners of Tyrone taxpayers. If

relief of cost of operations of a county jail cannot presently be extended

to Tyrone taxpayers, the county commission should vigorously approach

the state legislature to provide the course of action which would not

only permit, but assure, equitable credit to the town of Tyrone.

How important is size of town?

Millions of people, including me, choose to live not in a big city. However,

millions of people live in New York City and its immediate environs, happily

taking advantage of features only available in a big city, such as an

educational opportunity offered by an Ivy League university, other colleges,

and branches of state universities, practice and enjoy the fine arts,

major league sports, employment from common and blue collar to highly

specialized work, convenience of internal pedestrian transportation provided

is not necessarily bad.

Howard A. Morgan

Mayor of Peachtree City,

1972-1978

Peachtree City Council,

1980-1984

Peachtree City Water and

Sewage Authority, 1987-1992

Member of McIntosh Trail

Planning and Development Commission, 1970s and 1980s

Current Treasurer, Fayette

County Library Board