We are very lucky to get 30

percent of the city's registered voters to participate in an election.

Very sad, but very true. Of those who do take the time to vote, would

you say older voters have a disproportionate influence in the outcome

of an election?

Of course they do. Is it because

they are smarter than most people? Perhaps, but a far more accurate choice

of words would be to say that they are wiser. They know the value of a

vote, they don't take it for granted, and they effectively let their collective

voices be heard. Which explains, in part, why we have a Gathering Place,

of course.

Unfortunately, if you are 15,

you don't have a vote. That doesn't make you any less important than anyone

else, but you simply don't have a dog in the fight.

Well, bow wow. Call me crazy,

but I'm ready to go to bat for you.

Frankly, I figured if the referendum

to buy Braelinn Baptist Church and turn it into a Community Center had

passed, the community's youth would indeed be served well. Needless to

say, that did not happen. Unfortunately, "what ifs" don't get

us very far at this stage of the game.

So, I have my own Field of

Dreams. If we build it, they will come. And when they come, they will

very likely not be doing something they shouldn't be doing. Our kids have

a lot of time on their hands, and sex, drugs, and alcohol happens right

here in our own little Utopia, whether you want to admit it or not. In

my opinion, we have not adequately provided for this segment of our community

for too long. And though they may not vote, they still count.

Now what I am not advocating

is to shoot first and ask questions later. A great deal of thought and

planning needs to go into this.

Where will be build such a

facility or can we use an existing structure? How are we going to pay

for it? Exactly who will it serve? What will it offer? Can we coordinate

something with the county in order to pool our resources? Are Friday nights

for middle school and Saturday nights for high school students? What kinds

of activities and formats are wanted? What kind of staging areas are needed?

How do we effectively maintain adult supervision without being oppressive?

Can we integrate the private sector into the equation? How can we ensure

the facility is a useful complement to PTC should it ultimately fail in

its primary mission? Quite obviously, the list goes on and on.

I have my own ideas as to the

answers to these questions, but that's the whole point. Nobody has all

the answers.

My college degree is in marketing,

and I make my living listening to my customers. Not trying to sell them

something they don't want, but actually listening to what they say and

figuring out a way to solve their problem.

Well, that is exactly what

we need to do here. We need to listen. We need to gather together those

who can inject energy, creativity, feasibility and practicality into the

mix such that we wind up with the best possible finished product. It will

take teamwork and commitment from everyone. To that end, I have presented

to Mayor Brown this vision and he has endorsed the concept wholeheartedly.

We need to bring together focus groups to learn everything we need to

learn, and then find a way to do it, and do it right.

Please feel free to contact

me with your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. I am but one person who

wants to make a difference, but there is power in numbers.

It is my goal to have a facility

or program ready to go by the end of my term next year. Let's complete

the mission, and let's make everyone count. Thanks for your support.

Dan Tennant

Peachtree City Councilman

[email protected]

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