About Fayette County news. (Fayetteville, GA) 2009-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2023)
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. Find relief from: TRUFFLES VEIN SPECIALISTS 90% of treatments covered by insurance! 874 W Lanier Ave .. Fayetteville^GA 302T4 678-833-1444 trufflesveinspecialists.com Varicose Veins Spider Veins Leg Swelling Tired, Achy Legs Heaviness or Fatigue Restless Legs at Night Itching, burning legs Leg ulcers 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. aue ave fk Body That’s FUN to Live in Again is Closer Than You Think! Make TODAY your January 1st I help people who are age 45+ to reach and exceed their health goals with customized lifestyle protocols in the areas of: Food • Movement • Sleep • Stress • Mindset My personalized habit-based coaching helps you achieve a body that’s FUN to live in again!! BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY SESSION TODAY! Jessica S. 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