Coweta County may soon have

a sports council to help lure lucrative tournaments and their tourism

dollars to the area.

But the issue engendered a

spirited debate at the County Commission Tuesday meeting when the issue

came up for a vote.

"I thought this was just

on the agenda for discussion. I didn't know we were going to vote

on it," said Chairman Vernon "Mutt" Hunter.

Commissioner Larry DeMoss,

who spearheaded the effort for the council, said the issue had been talked

about for months and he was ready to vote for it.

"We need to take the bull

While the other commissioners

supported the council, they agreed with Hunter that some issues needed

to be further clarified. DeMoss proposes increasing the county's

hotel-motel tax by one percent to pay for the council, but the city of

Newnan would also have to agree to increase the rate on their hotels.

"I'm a little touchy

about raising taxes, but this would bring in more revenues to the county,"

Wood said.

While stopping short of actually

voting for the council, the commission agreed to let DeMoss take the matter

before the Newnan City Council for discussion.

"We need to see if Newnan's

going to approve it, since if they don't, there's no reason

to have county attorney Mitch Powell draw up a resolution," said

Commissioner Leigh Schlumper.