Peachtree City Mayor Steve

Brown cut short public comment during a discussion at Thursday night's

City Council meeting of his request to convene a series of workshops to

investigate the creation of a sports and entertainment authority.

Brown, who made a name for

himself criticizing other officials before he ran for mayor, said public

comment wasn't necessary because council was trying to determine whether

or not the issue deserved to be studied further in workshops.

"I didn't want to get

in a heated debate on the tennis center," Brown told The Citizen

Tuesday. "The issue is not about the tennis center; it's about holding

public information workshops about forming a new authority."

During the council meeting,

the mayor stopped Tate Godfrey, the chairman of the Development Authority,

who was asked to speak by councilwoman Annie McMenamin.

Peachtree City resident Bill

Aleshire and Mike Hofrichter of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce

also wished to address council but were denied the opportunity.

"We had public comment

'til 1:30 a.m. on the first go-round and if this passes we'll have hours

and hours and hours of public comment," Brown said after McMenamin

argued that the public should be allowed to speak.

"The purpose of the workshops

is to have the discussion and to have the openness that you're accusing

me of not providing," Brown later replied.

Aleshire was the most upset

about being muted. After asking to comment for a third time and being

denied by Brown, Aleshire made a scene.

"I want to address a problem

with you," Aleshire said.

Brown told Aleshire the matter

was not a public hearing and he would be glad to meet with Aleshire personally,

but that didn't smooth out the matter.

"This is for the public

because you are making things public with your e-mails," Aleshire

said.

"No sir, my e-mail is

to one specific person. You're making it public with my e-mail. No, stop

it. Let's go on with the agenda."

Brown believes a sports and

entertainment authority should be created to operate the city's tennis

center and amphitheater, both of which are currently operated by the Peachtree

City Development Authority. That way, the Development Authority could

focus on its original goal of economic development: attracting business

and industry to the city, Brown said. Brown wants to include the Development

Authority, the Recreation Commission and the Chamber of Commerce in the

workshop plans.

The mayor waved off Godfrey

immediately after McMenamin asked him to address some of Brown's allegations,

saying council was still discussing the matter. At a later juncture, Hofrichter

stood up to be recognized but was told, "Hold on a second, Mike,"

Godfrey told The Citizen Friday

that he would have told council that the authority does not support Brown's

proposal, but if the authority was invited to participate in a workshop

that it would.

Hofrichter, who is chairman

of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, said he wanted to offer the

chamber's willingness to participate in the workshops and declare that

the chamber doesn't support changing the operation status of the tennis

center and amphitheater.

After the meeting, Hofrichter

approached Brown and asked why he wasn't allowed to speak. He says Brown

rudely informed him that he was not allowed to because he was not an elected

official.

"He has made an art form

out of exercising his right to speak out against government," Hofrichter

noted of Brown's activist background when he was a mere citizen.

But now that Brown is mayor,

Hofrichter said, his agenda appears to be changing.

"We were there to work

in cooperation with him," Hofrichter said. "But it seems like

he doesn't care what the business community has to say."

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