Unfortunately, our City Council

(past and present) kept re-appointing the same people over and over again

until a Development Authority assignment began to resemble a U.S. Supreme

Court lifetime appointment. Some of the Development Authority members

will be approaching tenures spanning close to 30 years!

Would it not make sense that

the reason that fewer people are applying for Development Authority posts

is that they have become tired of being rejected for several decades?

I have been making this argument for two years. We have a lot of bright

young men and women that are willing to work towards the betterment of

Peachtree City's future and the door has been slammed in their faces.

Finally, the dam broke. At

the March 15 council meeting, Tennant launched some contention towards

the re-appointment of yet another career Development Authority member.

However, this time, much to Mayor Lenox's dismay, Tennant's position won.

I want to see the Development

Authority get back into the business of luring quality development opportunities

to our community. I am not talking about low-paying factory jobs, but

rather along the lines of a corporate headquarters route much like the

World Airways project that Group VI is building on the Harris property.

It was an unfortunate distraction

when the city had the Development Authority run the Amphitheater and the

Tennis Center. The more logical approach for the city would have been

to create an Entertainment Facilities Authority in the same manner as

other counties and municipalities have used to run stadiums and other

such ventures. I have spoken to several of the Development Authority members,

and there appears to be more of a business focus in the future.

On another subject, I urge

all citizens of Fayette County to attend the Association of Fayette County

Governments meeting on March 27 at City Hall in PTC (7 p.m.). The main

topic of discussion will be the future of the county's school system.

One of the issues that I plan

to take head-on in the campaign for mayor is the effect of land use planning

on our school system. I hope that this gathering of municipal and county

leaders will take it upon themselves to ask two questions: (1) How important

is the school system to our community? (2) What have we learned from the

rest of metro Atlanta and how can municipal and county land use decisions

be made in a way that enhances the school system and our quality of life?

The school system is one of

our best ways to attract quality community-oriented families to our county.

Unfortunately, 37 years in the metro Atlanta area has allowed me the opportunity

to witness the destruction of many municipalities and counties through

poor land use planning. The symptoms of this disease include overcrowded

schools, traffic jams, crime, etc. In fact, many people living in Fayette

County, my family included, are refugees from the destruction of the northern

counties.

One of the great myths is that

the school systems in other areas are sinking and the quality families

are fleeing due to a lack of funding and not improper land use planning.

This myth is debunked by the fact Fulton and Gwinnett counties are consistently

raking in over $100 million annually from local option sales taxes (SPLOST)

and yet their condition is worsening. Gwinnett had approximately 850 trailers

behind their schools last year. Gwinnett voters recently changed direction

and voted in two "slow growth" county commissioners.

I grew up in DeKalb County

when it touted having the best school system in the state. When the symptoms

of destruction began to appear, my parents picked up and moved to rural

Gwinnett County (little did they know!).

Currently, DeKalb County is

undergoing some soul searching. At the March 13 meeting of the DeKalb

County Board of Commissioners, "a moratorium on rezoning requests

and applications for special-land-use permits within the county's residential

districts" (Atlanta Business Chroncle, March 16) was passed by a

5-2 vote. The measure also calls for a study on the impact of residential

real estate development on the schools. Not to belittle DeKalb or Gwinnett,

but it is too little too late.

Our state General Assembly

allows impact fees for bridges, fire stations, roads, etc. but they outlawed

the use of impact fees for our schools. Why? Catering to special interests,

maybe? Why aren't our local elected officials combining forces and demanding

a change?

Cherokee County recently received

$950 per house from a new residential development for their school system.

What can we learn from Cherokee County?

Fayette voters elected to use

bond funding for our schools so as not punish our senior and low-income

residents. We also receive the benefit of a tax deduction, begin building

immediately and we lower inflationary risks with bonds.

Recently the state General

Assembly passed House Bill 656 that will financially punish Fayette County

for using bonds in the future. Why aren't our local elected officials

speaking out on this issue? Unfortunately, state Representative Kathy

Cox missed the financial implications of HB656 while it was still in the

Education Committee.

I introduced the Education

First in Fayette proposal that asks our governmental entities for a set

policy on land use planning as it relates to education, infrastructure,

etc. Hopefully, this will be a source of debate among the attendees at

the Association of Fayette County Governments meeting. Please join me

at the meeting and let's request that our local governments take preventive

measures now instead of practicing crisis management in the future.

Steve Brown

Peachtree City

[email protected]

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