Mayor Steve

Brown has written County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn to express displeasure

that a new long-range plan to improve county recreation facilities omits

Peachtree City entirely.

The $19 million

proposal, which is supposed to meet the county's recreation needs for

the next 20 years, also omits Tyrone.

"Peachtree

City was never consulted, nor asked, for input by the county's consultants,"

Brown wrote to Dunn.

"I cannot

help but wonder if a majority of the County Commission has forgotten that

the inhabitants residing within the borders of Peachtree City (and Tyrone)

are also county residents," Brown continued.

Both Peachtree

City and Tyrone maintain their own recreation departments; Most all of

the Fayette County Recreation Department's facilities are located in or

very near Fayetteville, which does not have a recreation department of

its own.

Though it has

no means to pay for it now, the County Commission approved the plan 4-1

in a meeting Sept. 3. Commissioner Herb Frady, a former mayor of Peachtree

City, approved the plan. Peter Pfeifer, who represents a portion of the

city, voted against it because it only proposed serving "61 percent

of the population."

With approximately

33,000 residents, Peachtree City accounts for about one-third of Fayette's

estimated 102,000 population.

For years,

as the city's master plan was developed and recreational facilities added,

the gap widened between city facilities and those owned and managed by

the county.

For example,

the city has four swimming pools, including the indoor Kedron Aquatic

Center, while the county has none.

But two "aquatic

centers with seven-lane lap pools" are part of the county plan. The

study suggests the county needs one swimming facility now, and anticipates

another aquatic center for the future. Each center would cost $1.7 million,

according to the proposal.

Brown doesn't

disagree with the need; as the only indoor facility in the county big

enough to accommodate competitive swimming, Kedron Field House is often

reserved for the county's high school swim teams in winter.

It is the way

the county redistributes recreation funds to the city that is inadequate,

Brown insists. For years, the county paid the city $50,000 to make up

for the disparity. Last year, the figure was renegotiated to $150,000,

but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to leave the city out of future

county recreation plans.

"The

funds from the county are but a drop in the bucket of what it costs to

maintain our recreational facilities," Brown wrote. "I beseech

you to amend your plan in a manner that addresses the needs of all county

residents."

In adopting

the plan last week, Dunn appeared to defend it by saying, "It's only

a plan, and I'm sure some things will be shifted around."

There is no

timeframe for moving forward on any of the recommendations in the proposal.

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