The Peachtree City Council agreed Thursday to loan the city's Development Authority $4,596 to cover the premium due the end of this month on liability insurance for the authority's officers and directors.

The gesture was intended to help the struggling authority get back on its feet, city officials said.

In a memo to the mayor and council dated April 8, City Manager Bernard McMullen explained that the former intergovernmental agreement, dating from July 2001, included details on the hotel/motel tax the DAPC was to receive to operate the city's amphitheater and tennis center, as well as supplements "for the purposes of debt service and economic development."

When the DAPC gave up management of the city venues in November, it stopped receiving the guest tax revenue and was left essentially broke and holding debt estimated at more than $1 million owed to two local banks.

Mayor Steve Brown wanted to make it clear that no revenue from the city will be used to address the debt issue.

On March 15, the DAPC board agreed to request $4,596 from the city to pay the insurance premiums, according to a letter from DAPC Attorney Mark Oldenburg.

Brown said helping out the DAPC members financially at this stage was the right thing to do.

"I have no problem doing that for the current officers because they're doing a good job of trying to rectify the past problems," said Brown, who fought to get control of the amphitheater and tennis center away from the DAPC for nearly two years, finally succeeding last fall.

The Peachtree City Tourism Association now runs the venues.

"It would be unfair for the city to leave (the DAPC) exposed when they're trying to do the right thing," said Brown.

Five of the seven DAPC members are brand new, appointed by the council since January to replace those who resigned in the wake of last fall's controversy.