Cyndi Plunkett has gotten to know a good bit of Peachtree City's ins and outs over the past few years as a member of the city's Recreation Commission.

Plunkett, 44, has been here 14 years and lives in the Centennial subdivision. She said she has always taken an interest in city government.

She has particularly enjoyed attending some of the more controversial City Council meetings, including the one about the commercial rezoning request to put a Walgreens drug store on the site of the Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, which council ultimately denied.

Plunkett said she wants to make sure the city is fiscally responsible, but it's also important to make sure the city is safe by supporting the public safety agencies. That includes the police department and the fire department, which also provides emergency medical services.

"I really don't think we need less of any of those things," Plunkett said. "We need to find other ways to fund what we need."

Plunkett said she wants to spend the city's money as wisely as she spends funds for her family. She admitted to cringing at times when hearing council members talk about grant funds, saying, "Oh, we've got this money."

"I'm thinking, 'OK, guys, it's not yours,'" Plunkett said.

With Delta Air Lines having difficulties and Fort McPherson closing in the future, the city needs to have someone on council who is sensitive to the needs that many citizens will have in light of those situations, Plunkett said.

Plunkett has been an attorney and also owned the Education Station store for seven years. She currently is a stay-at-home mom of three kids.

Although the city will ultimately need the at-grade crossing and the bridge farther to the north to extend MacDuff Parkway to Ga. Highway 54, there is no reason for the city to "roll over" and approve an annexation just for those purposes, Plunkett said.

"We don't need to annex anybody into Peachtree City," Plunkett said. "They need us more than we need them."

Plunkett said she preferred the city give more control to city staff in making recommendations about possible annexations.

Plunkett also noted that traffic at the intersection of Hwys. 54 and 74 is about to become "untenable." Although residential construction has slowed down in the city, areas all around the city are growing and additional vehicles will be added to the city's traffic load, she said.

"We need to work with the county, state and the federal agencies to make sure the cost to the taxpayer is minimal or the least intrusive possible," Plunkett said.

A fix for the intersection of Rockaway Road and Ga. Highway 74 is also important, Plunkett said, as every time she goes down there for youth softball, "I feel like I'm taking my life and my children's lives into my own hands." Plunkett said she wants to get police more involved in areas where there are traffic difficulties.

Plunkett's children, a 5-year-old and two 11-year-old twins, all go to public school here, and that gives her time during the day to serve as a council member, she said.

Plunkett wants to see the city's relationship with the Georgia Department of Transportation and with the CSX Railway improved also.

The city is facing a legal challenge for the failure of its Development Authority to pay $1.4 million in outstanding loans to Peachtree National Bank for operation and construction at the city's tennis center and amphitheater. Plunkett said that the city attorney, city manager and current mayor have all said the debt is not owed by the city.

"If the city attorney tells you its illegal to pay the debt, I'd not be willing to do that," Plunkett said.

If the city is ultimately responsible for the money, council should "make every effort to fix it and make it right," she added. "I don't think I should pay for something I didn't get."

The venues are now being operated by the city's Tourism Association, a five-member board appointed in much the same manner as the city appoints members to the Development Authority. The Tourism Association has never assumed paying the outstanding debt despite the fact the DAPC incurred the loans for the tennis center and amphitheater which the association now operates.

Plunkett said she, too, would have voted against the commercial rezoning sought for the 3-plus-acre site currently occupied by Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, which was wanting to sell the parcel to a developer who would build a Walgreens drug store. Plunkett said she understood the frustrations of church members, but it could be that the next proposal for the site "may be great" and must be considered by council.

Stormwater is also an issue that will have to be tackled by council, Plunkett said. Some of the city's stormwater pipes are about 40 years old, she said.

City staff is preparing a plan to create a stormwater utility that will be paid for with fees charged to homeowners and businesses.

Plunkett said she didn't expect everyone to agree with her all the time.

"But I will make an effort to find out what the issue is and do my homework," Plunkett said.