Being down one councilman didn’t slow the Peachtree City Council down during its “goals and objectives” workshop all day Thursday.
The absence of Eric Imker was nearly an afterthought as council brainstormed a number of goals to shoot for in the coming months and up to two years in the future.
One thing that may be addressed sooner rather than later is the idea of a city-funded corridor traffic study of Ga. Highway 54 West, which is the city’s main choke point for commuters and even at times on the weekends.
In photo at right above, seated at the table from left are Mayor Vanessa Fleisch, Councilwoman Kim Learnard, Councilman Mike King, City Manager Jim Pennington and Councilman Terry Ernst. Photo/John Munford.
Mayor Vanessa Fleisch said she hoped to get that on the agenda for an upcoming council meeting because the matter needs to be addressed fairly quickly to take advantage of “ground work” that has already been established on the matter.
Another short-term matter to address is how to get golf carts safely across Crosstown Drive, and also figuring out a way to get them across Ga. Highway 74.
City Manager Jim Pennington reported that city staff is working on the Crosstown matter which is of importance because of the resurfacing project is due to take place this year. It’s such a top-level issue that Pennington reached into his folder and pulled out a map showing the various crossing sites that have been discussed.
It’s possible the road may be designed with a median in the middle that will allow carts to cross one lane of Crosstown at a time and then wait.
New Councilman Terry Ernst noted that the city needs to offer a better way to go across Crosstown, and he urged a solution to cross Hwy. 74 onto TDK Boulevard too, noting that pedestrians and cyclists can cross the road, but under DOT rules golf carts cannot.
“There have to be some ways we can make it more convenient for people to get where they need to go,” Ernst said.
Though the matter is not as immediately urgent, Fleisch said the city needs to look at cart paths along MacDuff Parkway to prevent some path users from having to cross MacDuff twice to get where they need to go.
Council also placed a high priority on taking a detailed look at the master plan for the cart path system.
Ernst noted that the cart path system is “the major attraction of Peachtree City.”
Fleisch said she wanted council to work on improving the city’s aesthetics particuarly since the contract landscaping services have been a challenge in terms of quality compared to when the city used its own landscaping crews. Pennington noted that staff is looking at using several different contractors for landscaping in an effort to see what could possibly work best for the city.
On the longer-term list is a wish initiated by new Councilman Mike King to change city elections to even-numbered years to save election costs and also help boost the number of residents showing up at the polls. That will take a while to flesh out because the legislature will need to approve such a change and it’s surely too late to be considered for the current legislative session.
Another concept discussed by council was the possibility of putting electrical outlets at Drake Field so it could be used more as a community gathering place. The concept is also to take a look at the parks stretching from Drake Field to Picnic Park/All Childrens Playground and Pebblepocket Park as well.
Ernst also suggested allowing employees to volunteer to work on their own to investigate salaries of city employees elsewhere in addition to the pay and classification study that will be ordered by council early this year, as the city is seeking such proposals. One potential problem is that such “volunteers” might have to be paid anyway if they do the work on the city’s behalf, it was noted.
Another issue that won’t be going away soon is a proposal from citizens to allow residents to raise backyard hens. Learnard noted that organizers have a petition with more than 300 names on them.
The city does allow backyard hens, but requires it be on a tract of a minimum of two acres. Learnard noted that other urban areas have allowed backyard hens, and suggested that Ernst and King do their homework on the issue.
“They’ve only been waiting for us to get in office,” Ernst said.
Council will also work on a solution for aging subdivision signs as aging areas without homeowners associations are finding it difficult to maintain it.
Learnard, noting that she lives on Lake Peachtree, noted that the dredging of the lake will likely need to be addressed by the county this year. She also said the organizers of the city’s community garden on McIntosh Trail are hoping to raise funds for a building such as a pavilion to host classes along with a restroom facility.
Learnard also got her fellow council members to address scoreboard issues at the J.I. Meade softball fields, and she expressed some frustration the matter hasn’t been taken care of already.
Fleisch suggested looking at an expansion of the Keep Peachtree City Beautiful campaign so those volunteers could collect trash at bins all over the city, assuming the duties from city employees.
It would also allow volunteers to focus on certain areas of the cart path that have trouble with rubbish, she added.
“Certain areas don’t look as good as others, and they need some work,” Fleisch said.
Mayor Vanessa Fleisch said she hoped to get that on the agenda for an upcoming council meeting because the matter needs to be addressed fairly quickly to take advantage of “ground work” that has already been established on the matter.
Another short-term matter to address is how to get golf carts safely across Crosstown Drive, and also figuring out a way to get them across Ga. Highway 74.
City Manager Jim Pennington reported that city staff is working on the Crosstown matter which is of importance because of the resurfacing project is due to take place this year. It’s such a top-level issue that Pennington reached into his folder and pulled out a map showing the various crossing sites that have been discussed.
It’s possible the road may be designed with a median in the middle that will allow carts to cross one lane of Crosstown at a time and then wait.
New Councilman Terry Ernst noted that the city needs to offer a better way to go across Crosstown, and he urged a solution to cross Hwy. 74 onto TDK Boulevard too, noting that pedestrians and cyclists can cross the road, but under DOT rules golf carts cannot.
“There have to be some ways we can make it more convenient for people to get where they need to go,” Ernst said.
Though the matter is not as immediately urgent, Fleisch said the city needs to look at cart paths along MacDuff Parkway to prevent some path users from having to cross MacDuff twice to get where they need to go.
Council also placed a high priority on taking a detailed look at the master plan for the cart path system.
Ernst noted that the cart path system is “the major attraction of Peachtree City.”
Fleisch said she wanted council to work on improving the city’s aesthetics particuarly since the contract landscaping services have been a challenge in terms of quality compared to when the city used its own landscaping crews. Pennington noted that staff is looking at using several different contractors for landscaping in an effort to see what could possibly work best for the city.
On the longer-term list is a wish initiated by new Councilman Mike King to change city elections to even-numbered years to save election costs and also help boost the number of residents showing up at the polls. That will take a while to flesh out because the legislature will need to approve such a change and it’s surely too late to be considered for the current legislative session.
Another concept discussed by council was the possibility of putting electrical outlets at Drake Field so it could be used more as a community gathering place. The concept is also to take a look at the parks stretching from Drake Field to Picnic Park/All Childrens Playground and Pebblepocket Park as well.
Ernst also suggested allowing employees to volunteer to work on their own to investigate salaries of city employees elsewhere in addition to the pay and classification study that will be ordered by council early this year, as the city is seeking such proposals. One potential problem is that such “volunteers” might have to be paid anyway if they do the work on the city’s behalf, it was noted.
Another issue that won’t be going away soon is a proposal from citizens to allow residents to raise backyard hens. Learnard noted that organizers have a petition with more than 300 names on them.
The city does allow backyard hens, but requires it be on a tract of a minimum of two acres. Learnard noted that other urban areas have allowed backyard hens, and suggested that Ernst and King do their homework on the issue.
“They’ve only been waiting for us to get in office,” Ernst said.
Council will also work on a solution for aging subdivision signs as aging areas without homeowners associations are finding it difficult to maintain it.
Learnard, noting that she lives on Lake Peachtree, noted that the dredging of the lake will likely need to be addressed by the county this year. She also said the organizers of the city’s community garden on McIntosh Trail are hoping to raise funds for a building such as a pavilion to host classes along with a restroom facility.
Learnard also got her fellow council members to address scoreboard issues at the J.I. Meade softball fields, and she expressed some frustration the matter hasn’t been taken care of already.
Fleisch suggested looking at an expansion of the Keep Peachtree City Beautiful campaign so those volunteers could collect trash at bins all over the city, assuming the duties from city employees.
It would also allow volunteers to focus on certain areas of the cart path that have trouble with rubbish, she added.
“Certain areas don’t look as good as others, and they need some work,” Fleisch said.
