Even though

many residents were disappointed that Wal-Mart and Home Depot are on their

way to Peachtree City, some significant good news came to the burgeoning

Ga. Highway 54 west area late this year in one of the city's top stories

of 2001.

The DOT confirmed

in November that the stretch of highway will be widened from two to four

lanes by late 2004 or early 2005. That's good news to those who sit in

traffic jams on the clogged artery during morning and afternoon rush hour

traffic.

The DOT even

decided to spend money on a project for next year that could ease the

traffic crunch much quicker: realigning the intersection of Huddleston

and Paschall Road so traffic from Coweta County on Hwy. 54 can avoid the

intersection of 54 and 74.

Other top Peachtree

City stories for the year include:

Planning activist

Steve Brown is elected as Peachtree City's next mayor after a runoff election.

Billing himself as the candidate with regional solutions, Brown defeated

Gary Rower in the runoff for the seat vacated by 10-year Mayor Bob Lenox,

who couldn't run for another term. Municipal attorney Murray Weed was

elected to replace councilwoman Carol Fritz and Steve Rapson was retained

in his current seat by voters. Rapson was appointed to council to replace

Robert Brooks, who resigned and was later appointed to the Development

Authority.

In that same

election, citizens turned down several recreation bond proposals, including

the purchase of the Braelinn Baptist Church campus to convert it into

a community center. Voters also shot down a plan for more playgrounds

and picnic shelters and another plan to renovate Drake Field.

In September,

the City Council approved annexing 80 acres on the north end of MacDuff

Parkway to be part of a 181-acre, 350-home subdivision planned by John

Wieland Homes. Plans for the subdivision include a site for an elementary

school in the future and a fire station. The land was once included in

the 900-acre 1,700-home annexation proposal for the West Village area,

which was denied by council last August.

Construction

on the Wal-Mart and Home Depot site began in the late summer. Just weeks

ago, it was learned that a church adjacent to the property, Line Creek

Baptist, is working to sell its land to RAM Development, which is developing

the superstores along with other commercial parcels along Ga. Highway

54 West.

Construction

began late fall on the final expansion of the city's tennis center. Once

complete, it will give the center six more covered courts along with a

clubhouse building that has a snack area and locker rooms. The $2.5 million

facility is not without controversy, however, as some members of council

argued the price tag warranted the city getting voter approval in a referendum.

Two electric

vehicles were approved for use on the cart path system this year: E-bikes

and GEM Motorcars. The E-bikes, which can be pedal-propelled or totally

powered by electricity, travel at up to 14 or 18 mph. The GEM Motorcars

will be limited to its low speed setting, which reaches 15 mph although

it has a higher speed setting for 25 mph. The GEM Motorcars can also travel

on most city streets with speed limits no more than 35 mph.

City Clerk

Nancy Faulkner resigned in March after she was not reappointed clerk by

the City Council in January. Faulkner was given a settlement package that

included six months' salary ($22,179) and $7,500 for tuition to a paralegal

school. In January, council decided to appoint City Manager Jim Basinger

as City Clerk until the clerk's duties could be delineated in the charter.

But it was later discovered through an open records request that there

was a plan to have Basinger discipline or fire Faulkner after she was

not reappointed. According to notes kept by Basinger of an October 2000

meeting between Mayor Bob Lenox, Councilwoman Annie McMenamin and City

Attorney Rick Lindsey, the reasons justifying Faulkner's termination included:

an allegation that Faulkner asked McMenamin to lie for her about Faulkner

viewing of a copy of the pay plan and another allegation that Faulkner

lied in a deposition about comments city Councilman Dan Tennant made to

her that were of a sexual nature.

Faulkner, who

later became employed as City Clerk in Fairburn, said Tennant never made

any inappropriate remarks to her.

Council eventually

decided to change the clerk's role in the charter by making the clerk

report directly to the city manager instead of city council as the previous

charter indicated.