With a midnight deadline looming,

the Peachtree City Council found something on which to agree Sunday night,

voting unanimously to dip into the council contingency fund to salvage

the jobs of more than a dozen full-time employees of the tennis center

and amphitheater.

The 5-0 vote to accept the

plan, proposed as a last-ditch effort by Mayor Steve Brown just a week

ago, came after weeks of growing tension and division over how best to

manage the venues after the Development Authority contract had expired.

Scheduled to start at 9 p.m.,

the meeting was finally called to order by Brown at 9:12, and it was clearly

all business. Discussion was minimal and to the point. When questions

were asked, they were answered pointedly by city staffers.

The vote to approve the temporary

employment contract for a period of seven weeks was made at 9:29. Five

minutes later, the meeting was adjourned.

The management contract transfered

hands at midnight Sunday.

Nearly all of the employees

affected were in attendance, and most appeared relieved they would have

jobs the next morning.

One who was absent was newly

elected council member Judi-ann Rutherford, whose job will be affected

But concerns were expressed

about insurance and revenues, where the funds previously earmarked to

the DAPC would now be routed, and how the Tourism Association would pay

back the city after Jan. 17, when the past-due on seven weeks of salaries

will be due.

City Manager Bernard McMullen

said the maximum impact the seven-week period would have on the city is

estimated at $45,000 in salaries, another $5,391 in medical and dental

benefits and $8,400 for pro shop equipment, all of it to come out of the

council contingency fund.

"This fund would be reimbursed

with revenue received during this period from lessons and court fees,"

said McMullen. Tennis Center Senior Pro Sean Ferreria estimates the facility

will bring in about $30,000 in revenue over the period, mostly from court

fees and lessons.

Additionally, sponsorship fees

and ticket sales revenue will start rolling in for the amphitheater after

the first of the year, further reducing the debt owed.

The funds collected by the

city from the hotel-motel tax cannot be expended by the Tourism Association

until it gets the legal clearance from the IRS as a nonprofit corporation;

and the DAPC no longer qualifies for the funds because it isn't conducting

tourism-related activities.

That's why the escrow-type

account held in the name of the recreation commission will be established

to safeguard that money until a decision is made next year by the new

council, said Paul Salvatore, financial services director.

There were six main recommendations

in the agreement as approved by the council Sunday:

- Authorize the hiring

of existing Tennis Center and Amphitheater employees, except for the tennis

pros, at current salaries and as temporary city employees for a period

of seven weeks.

- Authorize a payment

on condition of approval to the DAPC of approximately $5,391 for the exclusive

use of paying two months of medical insurance for nine employees and dental

insurance for four employees. This benefit is being offered as a severance

benefit by the DAPC, providing coverage through Jan. 31, 2004.

- Authorize the deposits

of any sponsorship funds received between now and the time of the transfer

to the tourism association.

- Approve the existing

fee schedule for the Tennis Center in the interim.

- Approve $8,400 to purchase

equipment owned by the Pro Shop that is needed by the pros to conduct

lessons.

- Authorize the assignment

of the Ashland Grille lease from the DAPC to the city of Peachtree City.

McMullen explained that the

tennis pros don't have to be categorized as contract employees, because

the city's Leisure Services department already has a job classification

for "instructors."

Councilman Steve Rapson, who

is also chairman of the Tourism Association, pointed out that there are

several vacancies on the tennis center staff and suggested those could

still be filled between now and Jan. 17.

There was no acknowledgment

from either side of the impasse that canceled the Nov. 20 meeting and

threatened city business through the end of the year.

Annie McMenamin arrived with

little fanfare and chatted privately with City Attorney Meeker prior to

the meeting. When the meeting adjourned, she quickly headed for the doors,

saying she would have no further comments for the media.

In an interview on the night

she and Tennant stayed away from the scheduled council meeting and threw

the PCTA plans into chaos, McMenamin restated her dislike for the politics

of Brown and her determination to leave the council with some dignity.

"I once told Steve Brown,

'I'm one of the few people you can't fire,'"

she said on Nov. 20. "I represent the people of Peachtree City, and

I have served 13 years in that capacity and hopefully by now the people

know they can trust me to take care and look after this town."

Dan Tennant also slipped out

of the meeting quickly after it ended. Monday afternoon, he said responded

in an e-mail that he had no further comments to make.

"I'm glad some type

of temporary resolution was reached and that the employees were rightfully

protected," Tennant wrote.

McMenamin and Tennant have

just two council meetings remaining, this Thursday, and then again on

Dec. 18. They will leave office with the swearing in of their respective

replacements, Judi-ann Rutherford and Stuart Kourajian, on a date still

to be determined, said McMullen, but most likely Monday, Jan. 5, 2004.

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