The Development

Authority of Peachtree City has approximately $250,000 of unpaid bills

left over from its $2.5 million expansion, which added six covered courts

and a office building to the city's tennis center.

The authority,

however, has an agreement not to take out any more loans, so it must broker

a deal with the city council as to how the $250,000 in cost overruns will

be paid.

Authority member

Robert Brooks said the talks could be initiated through councilman Murray

Weed, who with councilman Dan Tennant helped negotiate with authority

representatives the deal to create a new recreation and entertainment

authority.

Virgil Christian,

the executive director for the Development Authority, said the cost overruns

amounted to approximately 10 percent of the project. Businesses waiting

to be paid include Group VI, which was the general contractor on the project,

along with Flat Creek Construction, which built the extra courts, Christian

said.

There are also

outstanding bills for architecture design work, security services and

signs for the facility, Christian said.

The $250,000

figure was included in the $1.456 million of debt that the authority has

for improvements made to the tennis center and amphitheater. Some of the

debt was also used for operating expenses, as the authority borrows money

seasonally to pay for deposits on acts for the amphitheater's summer concert

series. Once the tickets are sold, the authority is able to repay that

loan.

The office

building includes classroom space that is being used by Clayton State

and College University to offer continuing education courses; officials

hope the university can begin offering college-credit classes in the near

future.

The new building

also houses the tennis center staff, most of whom were located off-site

in rented office space before the building was opened. The authority also

built a restaurant area which has been vacant for some time after the

company that originally leased it shuttered its operations.

The authority

is actively seeking another restaurant company to run the Ashland Grill,

which has a dining patio that overlooks some of the tennis courts.

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