Witness our greenbelt areas.

Even today when traveling Crosstown Boulevard from Ga. Highway 74, at

first glance, you cannot tell you are only a few feet from a shopping

center. Good planning is good sense. Needed businesses living in harmony

with the community.

Compare that to Ga. Highway

54 on the city's west side! Our first day in PTC I saw the local police

patrol quietly on our residential street just to make sure all was well.

This is a regular occurrence. Job well done, guys and gals! I felt immediately

at ease.

The very city itself is intertwined

with golf courses for beauty and recreation and golf cart paths meant

for practical ecologically sound transportation within the city. The paths

also offer joggers, seniors and children on bicycles a safe and beautiful

way to exercise. Paradise seemed real and at hand. It should be no surprise

that many of us weren't paying attention. After all, who would even think

of changing our beautiful city?

Growth, and, yes, even added

traffic problems associated with it, should be expected. Any community

has but two choices, grow or die. The issues here are not concerned with,

"Should we grow?" It is rather, "How should we grow?"

We, you and I, have allowed some of our current administrators to rule

said anything, so it must have been okay!"

This same reasoning was recently

used in a very ethically questionable use of city council funds for a

substantial severance-payoff of a city employee, which we all need to

ask a lot more questions about. It allows the council to honestly say,

"Hey, I never voted for it!" Yet it was done.

This is just one example of

how we have ended up where we are today. The belief that "back-room

deals" and use of tax revenue without open discussion and justification

to you and me, the taxpayers, simply has to end. Further, laws, regulations

and city codes need to be obeyed by everyone.

On the big box issue: It seems

now that some of our administration has out-thought themselves. The law

and codes seem clear. Since The Avenue, all traffic patterns in this area

have changed drastically. According to our laws, the traffic surveys are

no longer valid.

RAM, per the current codes

can reapply for the development they wish, but at square one. It appears

that under the current law they can do so and develop the area they intend,

but with restrictions on the size of the buildings which our current administration

thought they passed after the approval of the big boxes of Wal-Mart and

Home Depot.

This was done so our city would

obtain the impact fees needed by our sagging overspent budget and yet

allow the administration to profess agreement with opposing such structures.

Now what? Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

These practices, and I think

we all are suspecting by now that there are many more yet to be discovered,

all suggest to me intentional deception, lack of concern for the public

interest and well-being, and disrespect for the citizens and current businesses

in Peachtree City.

But this again, fellow citizens,

is our fault. We have allowed this to happen and to continue. We you and

I need to get involved. Our time is a precious limited asset to all of

us, but unless we spend some of it to correct our plight, then we deserve

what we get. We made the mistake of trusting our leadership. Don't compound

this error by allowing it to continue!

Whenever possible, attend council

meetings, especially the one this Thursday, June 7! They are held at City

Hall on the first and third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. These meetings

belong to you, not any one person! The itinerary for the meeting and topics

are posted on the city website. If you have Internet access, it is https://www.peachtree-city .

Also listed there are the council

member's and mayor's e-mail, phone numbers, and fax numbers. The proposed

budget for our city is there. too; it makes good reading. Even with the

proposed bond issues (increases in taxes), the ink turns red in three

years! This information is also available by calling 770-487-4657 or visiting

City Hall directly.

If you cannot make it to the

meetings, but have questions or comments, let our leaders know about it.

Make your voice known. If you do not like what is going on or have questions

about something, ask.

Do not support the "silent

consent administration" any longer. Someone "let the dogs out"

and they have drawn attention to many problems and issues which call for

all of our attention and action.

It's time for the citizens

to take back Peachtree City!

Rick L. Gauthier

Peachtree City

[email protected]