A standing-room-only

crowd was treated to the views of Peachtree City Council candidates Tuesday

night at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center.

While some

comments drew applause and the candidates were genteel, it was clear there

were differences of opinion amongst the would-be mayors and council members.

The questions, submitted by a variety of audience members, drew a variety

of responses.

Regarding city

finances, some felt strongly about cutting the budget to prevent future

property tax increases; others felt staffing cuts might be necessary.

Still others disagreed with council's decision to raise taxes this year.

No one disagreed,

however, with the need to cooperate with Fayette County and other nearby

jurisdictions particularly in the arena of working with the state Department

of Transportation.

A sampling

of the opinions presented by the candidates:

Post 4 candidate

Carol Fritz, the incumbent, said she supported further annexation of land

on the west side of the city "with a very, very careful plan"

since the city will likely provide services to that property anyway.

Post 4 candidate

Gerald Ostrowski opposes such annexation, citing the trailers used at

local schools who can't keep up with growth patterns.

Mayoral candidate

Gary Rower said he wants to solve traffic congestion at the intersection

of Ga. highways 54 and 74 by asking executives in the industrial park

to stagger their work shifts.

Mayoral candidate

Frank Murphy said the extension of TDK Boulevard into Coweta County would

alleviate traffic at 54/74 also.

Mayoral candidate

Dan Lakly said he thought the city could get more help at the intersection

Mayoral candidate

Steve Brown said he thought land planning and zoning would help the traffic

problem, particularly if the city works with Tyrone and south Fulton County

which are "going to explode" in terms of growth.

Post 3 candidate

Nancy Faulkner said she thought it was important to extend the southbound

turn lane on Hwy. 74 for traffic wanting to got east on Hwy. 54.

Post 3 candidate

Steve Rapson, the incumbent, said it is important for the city to work

with regional planning agencies like the Atlanta Regional Commission and

the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to make sure traffic improvements

are funded; he added that the traffic improvements for Wal-Mart and Home

Depot were already underway

Faulkner and

Rapson agreed they wouldn't support the property tax increase recently

imposed by council; Faulkner said the city could have gotten by on the

increased property valuations alone while Rapson said there was no need

for any property tax increase this year.

Brown said

the city could hire more part-time workers instead of hiring full-time

employees to reduce the budget.

Murphy said

he feels the city is not overstaffed.

Rower said

city staff is "operating at the minimum."

Lakly said

he wasn't up to speed on the city's staffing levels by department, but

he "would never go out and willfully look to cut staff from one department

over another."

Post 4 candidate

Alison Chambers said she thinks the city's toughest upcoming challenge

would be battling crime and traffic, especially in light of the Wal-Mart

opening next year and the length of time between hiring a police officer

and being able to put him or her on duty; Fritz said she thought balancing

the budget would be most difficult, adding "this year it was very

tough."; Weed said he didn't see one large challenge but rather a

number of smaller ones which could be handled "and the big things

will take care of themselves."

Post 4 candidate

Murray Weed said he supported the projects on the bond issue referendum,

adding that they could be operated without a tax increase.

Ostrowski

said he supported mandatory classes on golf cart safety rules with a requirement

that one person from each family attend a class; later, he apologized

to the audience for not being prepared for the forum and he pledged to

be prepared "next year."

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