Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, February 22,2023
Fayette County News A7
FCC Approves Agreement with SAFEBuilt Georgia
SAFEbuilt.
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter
sspencer@fayette-news.net
Fayetteville council
members voted unani
mously last Thursday to
approve an amendment to
the building department
services agreement be
tween the city and SAFE-
Built Georgia, LLC for
professional services.
David Rast, director of
community and economic
development, explained
the amendment to council
members and updated
them on SAFEBuilt’s fee
structure.
“As you’re aware, we
entered into an agreement
with SAFEBuilt back in
2020 to handle all of our
building permit, planned
review, and inspection
services. Within the agree
ment with them, it allows
them to analyze their fee
structure on an annual
basis, based on the CPI.
Today, we have not re
ceived any requests for
them to modify that,” Rast
said.
Rast went on to inform
council members of how
they could properly utilize
the amendment to align
with SAFEBuilt’s fee
structure. He also in
cluded how much the city
has already paid for their
services.
“What they have pro
posed is an increase in
hourly rates for the serv
ices that they provide in
addition to the planned
review, which would stay
the same. Essentially, this
would cover any special
requests we have for
structural plan review, fire
plan review, and a couple
other items. I went back
and asked the building of
ficial to give us an idea of
how much we’ve utilized
those,” Rast said.
“I knew it had been
very seldom... and over
the three years of the con
tract, it’s been roughly
about $1,100 in fees that
we have paid them, prima
rily for structural review of
the parking decks at Tril-
ith and the fire review for
the hotels for some of the
larger projects out there,”
he concluded.
Harper,
Continued from A4
decades.
For much of the 80s
and 90s, Fayette was con
sidered a success story.
The upheaval of the airline
industry with Eastern’s
liquidation, followed by
9/11 and the housing
crash, set the county back
for a bit.
An honest self-assess
ment during the last dec
ade determined that the
county had the highest age
of any county in the metro
Atlanta area, with some of
the largest homes on the
largest lots, that kids who
grew up there couldn’t af
ford when it was time for
them to start their own
families.
Without amenities to
attract younger residents,
nor places for them to live,
the county’s own growth
plans had come to fruition
- after adding 10 times the
number of residents.
Fayette is now in a new
phase, led by the com
munity of Trilith, an
chored by movie studios.
The city of Fayetteville has
added some apartments to
attract younger residents,
but there is still resistance
to change, and many
prefer to preserve things
as they are.
The cruel reality is,
whether a community
chooses to grow or not,
time will march on either
way. Nothing will ever stay
the same.
As the state grapples
with ways to assist local
governments who are see
ing economic development
opportunities and the
growth they bring to their
communities for the first
time in decades, there is a
cautionary tale here:
Change is going to happen.
Growth is something best
prepared for, rather than
ignored.
Exurban and rural
communities need to have
an honest and frank dis
cussion with themselves,
involving community
leaders and their citizens.
The question should not
be how to keep things the
way they are forever, for
that is a goal that will al
ways result in failure.
The question needs to
be how do we preserve
who we are, while prepar
ing ourselves and our com
munities to be the place
that our kids and grand-
kids will want to live and
be able to prosper within.
Ludwig,
Continued from A4
were on a pull cart), raked
all the sand traps he was in
(too many to count; sorry,
Marshall), and may have
offered a couple of sugges
tions along the way (“Don’t
go near the ocean” and
“Stop playing in the
sand”).
Marshall started out
with a bang. After bogeying
the first hole, he parred the
next four; no small feat at
Pebble Beach. I thought his
dream from the night be
fore of shooting a 78 just
might come true.
But then the reality of
Pebble Beach took over.
Although Marshall did, in
fact, take 78 shots on his
bucket list day, it was well
before he reached the 18th
hole. But, as I reminded
him throughout the day,
when people find out he
played golf at Pebble
Beach, they won’t ask him
about his score. Rather,
they’ll want to know what
it was like.
Now, from my own per
sonal experience, I can do
the latter as well.
Pebble Beach is every
bit as difficult as you might
expect. Although the
course is a lot shorter than
most - perhaps all - of the
courses you see the profes
sional golfers play on tele
vision, the greens are a lot
smaller than you’d think.
The tiny greens only make
the course that much har
der.
The ravine that bisects
the par four 8th is one of
the most intimidating fea
tures in all of golf: walk up
to the ledge, look down,
and you’ll find a 200-foot
drop - straight down - to
the valley below. I’m pretty
sure that’s where Mar
shall’s tee shot on that hole
ended up, because we
never did find it (RIP, Ti-
tleist 2).
The wind blowing off
the Pacific - primarily on
the back nine - can wreak
absolute havoc with a golf
ball. In fact, the third
round of this year’s pro-am
was suspended due to high
winds. Marshall was play
ing the course just three
days after that.
The iconic 18th hole, of
course, is every bit as dan
gerous as it looks on televi
sion. It’s a long par five
completely exposed to the
Pacific Ocean, ominously
looming along the entire
left side of the fairway as a
watery grave for an errant
shot.
After the round was
over, I walked into the
locker room inside the
clubhouse. There were
lockers for every golfer
who has won a major
championship at Pebble
Beach. Names everyone
would know. Jack Nick-
laus. Tom Watson. Tiger
Woods.
And, of course, Arnold
Marshall on the tee at # 18
Palmer, even though he
never won a major cham
pionship there. Rather, it
was to commemorate his
long and storied career at
Pebble Beach. Most no
tably, his duel with Jack
Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S.
Open.
Before he passed away,
Palmer had this to say
about that particular tour
nament: “I would have
loved to have won an
Open at Pebble Beach,
which I thought I was
going to do.” Unfor
tunately, Jack Nicklaus
had a different idea in
mind.
The world-famous Peb
ble Beach Golf Links.
Beautiful, yet treacherous.
Magnificent, yet terrifying.
For Marshall, it was a
round of golf he’ll always
remember.
And for me, a walk I
could never forget.
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Broder,
Continued from A4
serious crime. Proposed
legislation that would im
pose stiff mandatory sen
tences with no chance for
the possibility of parole for
those convicted of recruit
ing new gang members is
one way to reduce the pres
ence and impact of gangs in
our community.
This new legislation would
be in addition to the prohi
bition against engaging in
crimes to further criminal
street gang activity, which
my office regularly applies
in prosecutions to further
increase the chance that
gang members are taken
off the streets and away
from our children.
Let us hope and pray that
this legislation passes.
Our office will continue to
send a strong message to
gang members that this cir
cuit is no place to do busi
ness. Working together
with law enforcement, the
legislature, and the com
munity, we can keep these
gangs out of our backyard
and our children safe.
b
Shelter Pets
of the Week
Fayette Humane Society
Georgie
Georgie is a handsome, one-
year-old male that was found
along a hiking trail. He’s a
snuggle bug when play time has
ended and loves to sleep in your
arms. Georgie would do well in
a home with another active cat
as a playmate. He is not fond of
dogs but could adapt to a family
with a dog.
If you’re interested in adop
ting Georgie, please complete a
no-obligation pre-adoption form
at fayettehumane.org. If you have any questions, email the Fayette Humane
Society at info@fayettehumane.org or call 770-487-1073.
Royal Animal Refuge
Violet
Violet is 11 years old and an ab
solute dream! This golden girl en
joys being right by your side, if she’s
not napping. She’s a proper lady
and needs to take just about every
thing slow. Once you are friends
she adores you and showers you
with gentle kisses.
Interested in meeting this de
serving girl?
Violet is available for adoption
at Royal Animal Refuge, located at
414 Jenkins Road in Tyrone. For
more information on adopting,
visit www.royalanimalrefuge.org.
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