The Future

[Don Haddix]

Where is PTC heading? That is a critical question in a time of financial, economic and employment hardships that are causing budget problems and crises across the nation, to which PTC is not immune.

I became the liaison to DAPC (Development Authority of Peachtree City) with this concern in mind.

DAPC has overcome the stigma and debt issues of the old development authority. It has strict accounting, records and oversight procedures in place by its own demand. The members are good people wanting to work for PTC.

Examples of current efforts now under way:


Training - Take their job skills and add specialized development skills to them.
Redevelopment - They are tasked to work on redevelopment of areas of PTC in need of rejuvinating. Currently one fair sized piece of property is being actively pursued with the owner.
Filling empty spaces. Two businesses are being pursued to take residence at this time.
Joint ventures with universities, professional organizations and such to seek, not wait, for new research, tech, medical and other high end ventures to move to PTC. Two are being pursued currently.
Seek out and aid industries and professionals who want to relocate to the suburbs to move to PTC to cut such things as commute times to aid in employee retention.
Work with the FCDA in joint efforts.
Work with existing PTC industry to retain them and bring in associated industry and meet needs that will allow and promote their expansion in PTC.
Be flexible to new ideas and opportunities.

This is not a widely published Authority but one that will critical to the future of PTC. We cannot just wait for businesses to come to us as was done in the past, usually giving us only retail. We must move from reactive to proactive.

In meeting with some key persons from the region it is agreed PTC is a ideally located and in a position to become a tech and medical center in Georgia in areas of training, education, design, research, manufacturing and supply of services.

Logistics, demographics and needs are changing. We must change with them or be left behind.

If we do not PTC will end up with mass transit and other realities that will diminish our Village and quality of life. We must become a suburban hub of the right mix of employers and residents or we will be doomed to being just another spoke on the Atlanta wheel.

The suggestion box is always open in this area. Ideas, thoughts and concerns are always welcome, by me, to aid in this arena. Please feel free to share yours.

[Don Haddix]

Here are some issues and realities we have to face:


Law Enforcement:

Golf cart path issues. For safety and the ability to enjoy the paths they must be addressed.
Gang pressures. To deny we have outside pressures from gangs is simply unrealistic.
Crime. To deny the sources of crime are growing ever closer to Fayette County is unrealistic.
Drugs. To deny there are not issues and the relationship to gangs and crime is unrealistic.
To deny Peachtree City is far safer than most of the rest of the country is based in fear, not reality. We are one of the safest cities in the US. But that cannot be an excuse for failing to act on the realities stated above to remain so.
We have limited law enforcement resources. So, we must be as efficient with what we have as possible and understand if we want more we must be willing to raise taxes to add more. With changes in the Police Department and the Sheriff's Department I believe things will improve greatly.


Development. Adding to what was said in the first post we must rethink Peachtree City as being mainly a commuter city. Yes, there will always be commuters, but being seen as a commuter city must change. The idea significant economic facilities must be within metro areas is changing. Decentralizing to where the employees live is a growing model we must embrace as a new model. Smart Growth is the vision of cities that will succeed, not any growth, usually meaning homes and retail, which is where we were and still are for some.
Cleanliness. We need to become far more conscience of where our trash goes. Cart paths, roads, parks and such are not trash cans. We need to recycle more. We need to maintain our homes conscientiously.
Uniqueness. Again today, when out, I was told PTC is becoming Every Where Else. That we have lost our uniqueness. Why? Big Boxes, Big Shopping Centers and Big Housing developments. Some wanting to create a 'downtown,' which PTC was deliberately created to not have. And now some calling for Mass Transit. We need to return to Village or we will be just everywhere else with no chance of recovering to what we were to be. Village 'downtowns' are fine. But a singular PTC 'downtown,' isn't.
Education and awareness. Does everyone need to be well versed in every aspect of PTC government and services? No, and in reality cannot actually be unless part of local government and services. But everyone should be at least aware of what is going on so they can be an informed electorate that actually votes. Our voter turnouts are disappointing, at best.

I truly believe we are at a critical crossroads that will determine if we recover our old identity or if we replace it with a new, traditional suburban one.