Fairburn officials

are expected to meet with Fayette County commissioners next week to discuss

a property owner's request to have Fayette County land annexed into the

city.

Commissioners

last week reacted as if the request had come from the city, but City Attorney

Bradford Sears said the City Council has not yet decided whether to approve

the request.

Collier Gladin,

executor of the estate of Nannie C. Gladin, has requested annexation into

the city. Gladin's 42-acre tract is on Milam Road and 22 acres of the

property overlaps into Fayette County.

If the request

were approved by both Fairburn and Fayette, the city would then be considered

a Fayette municipality and would be required to participate in joint service

delivery negotiations as part of House Bill 489, a state law requiring

cooperation between counties and cities.

"I think

HB 489 makes it clear that they would have to participate in intergovernmental

associations," he said.

Sears said

the situation would be similar to that in Palmetto. The South Fulton city

is primarily in Fulton County, but a small part spills into northern Coweta

County.

"Fairburn

would still be primarily a Fulton County municipality," he said.

The annexation

petition was filed about 45 days ago, and City Administrator Tony Cox

said this is the first petition the city has received since the General

Assembly passed HB 489.

"I don't

even care to dignify that kind of request with my time and effort,"

said Fayette County Commissioner Linda Wells when the request was presented

to the commission last week.

Wells voted

against the motion to invite City Council to a joint meeting.

The other three

commissioners voted in favor of asking Fairburn officials to the commission's

June 6 work session to discuss the matter. The meeting is at 3:30 p.m.

City officials aren't sure whether council members will be able to make

it, but said Mayor Betty Hannah is planning to attend.

"I have

serious concerns about whether we ought to vote for such a thing [as the

annexation], but I do think we should invite them down here and hear what

they have to say with an open mind," said commission Chairman Greg

Dunn.

"It's

a ploy," Wells said, for Fairburn to avoid being sued by Fayette

County if it moves forward with its plans to provide sewer service to

parts of Tyrone. If the annexation were to go through, Fairburn would

no longer need Fayette's permission to provide the service across county

lines, she said.

The city might

also then be entitled to a portion of Fayette County's sales tax revenue,

and would be able to accomplish future annexations without the county's

permission.

The property

is between the Bedford School, a private school, and the Landmark Mobile

Home Park.

Fayette County

Attorney Bill McNally said state law requires that, when such a request

is presented, the county has the option of setting a joint meeting within

15 days, or rejecting the request without a hearing.

He said in

deciding how to act on the request, the county and city must consider

four factors:

Whether the

annexation is reasonable for the long-range economic and overall well-being

of the county, school district and municipality;

Whether the

health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the county will be negatively

affected;

Whether the

annexation will cause negative fiscal impact on the county, schools or

the city if that impact is not mitigated by some kind of agreement, and

The interests

of the property owner seeking the annexation.

Sears' letter

says that Fairburn intends to put the property into an AG-2 zoning district,

an agricultural designation, but Wells expressed concern the city might

later rezone it for high-density residential use.

Fairburn has

no fire service, so Fayette would have to provide that service, she said.

If Fayette

rejects the request but Fairburn approves it, the city would have the

option of appealing to Superior Court. A visiting judge would have to

hear the case.