Thursday night, the Peachtree

City Council will consider adopting an increase in the hotel-motel tax

to help fund the Development Authority and Airport Authority and proposed

capital improvement projects for recreational facilities.

Council will also discuss whether

E-bikes should be allowed on the city's cart path system. The Peachtree

City Police Department has recommended they not be used on the paths,

based on their experience in testing the bike for several days.

The proposed hotel-motel tax

increase, from 3 to 5 percent, would generate $940,000. Mayor Bob Lenox

has proposed using $640,000 of that income to pay off a proposed bond

issue that would fund a number of projects in the city, including the

$2.5 million final phase of the tennis center and retiring $2 million

in debt incurred by the development and airport authorities.

The remaining $300,000 would

be divvied up between the city's development authority ($180,000) and

the airport authority ($120,000), according to Lenox's proposal, which

he presented at the city's retreat last month.

However, the development authority's

funding would dramatically decrease over the following several years as

Lenox predicts the amphitheater and tennis center will become self-sustaining

and won't need to be subsidized by the city. The development authority

oversees the operations of the tennis center and the amphitheater.

The Airport Authority's funding

would also decrease over the first several years of the hotel-motel tax

as it pays off $170,000 in debt by the 2007 fiscal year.

As the funding decreases over

time for both authorities, the portion of the hotel-motel tax dedicated

for Peachtree City would increase from 1.32 percent in 2002 to 2.5 percent

in 2001, according to Lenox's presentation. That would boost the city's

share of the hotel-motel tax from $249,000 to $469,000.

The proposed final phase of

the tennis center would include six new covered courts and an office building

complex to house the tennis center staff and other possible tenants whom

are currently being sought.

The proposed bond issue would

also pay for the purchase of Drake Field and improvements to that area

in addition to $1.2 million for an additional basketball court and gymnastics

area at the Kedron recreation facility. It would also fund $200,000 of

improvements at Falcon Field.

Meanwhile, on the E-Bike front,

council will be presented with information about the bikes, which can

be pedal-powered, powered by an electric motor or a combination of both.

The police department tested

an E-Bike recently but has recommended that they not be allowed on the

city's cart paths. Currently, city ordinances allow golf carts as the

only motorized vehicles that can be used on the paths.

The E-Bike's speed, which is

controlled by a unit on the handlebars, can reach a maximum of 14 or 18

mph depending on the model.

A police memo indicated that

the E-Bikes had brakes that locked easily and the bike was difficult to

pedal alone due to its weight. The memo also said the E-Bike's slick tires

would not be conducive to handling hazards on the cart path such as tree

roots, wet pavement and loose pinestraw.

Meanwhile, Barbara Evans, owner

of the local E-Bike store, has responded to the criticism of the E-Bike.

In a letter to city officials, Evans said the weight of the E-Bike is

not a safety factor.

She also argues that the E-Bike

is an "electric assisted bicycle" under Georgia law, and not

a moped. The police memo claimed that the E-Bike handles more like a moped

than a bicycle because of its weight.

In the letter, Evans said the

tires on the E-Bike tested by the police department have side knobs to

give it control over loose terrain.

Evans also agreed with the

memo's suggestion to limit E-Bike usage to people at least 16 years old.