About Fayette County news. (Fayetteville, GA) 2009-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2023)
A8 Fayette County News Wednesday, April 19,2023 From Pancakes to Policy: COC Meets for Legislative Update Leah Banks Investigative Reporter leah@fayette-news.net FAYETTE — On April 12, members of the Fayette County Chamber of Com merce and community leaders gathered at “The Chamber Meeting Place” to discuss legislative updates and press ing community topics at the chamber’s Pancakes and Pol icy event. Breakfast was served at 7:30 a.m. and attendees were able to network and discuss a variety of subjects ranging from crime to economics. At 8 a.m., the discussion began with three panelists: State House District 72 Rep. Josh Bonner, State House Dis trict 73 Rep. Karen Mathiak, and State Sen. Valencia Seay. The three panelists presented thoughts on how legislation has progressed “on the hill” in recent months, as well as pressing community topics that have been discussed in Fayette County. When detailing the 2023 legislative session, panelists were asked how they believed the session went, all together. Both Seay and Mathiak stated that they believed the session was slow, but it was good to see that members of the House and Senate were willing to work together and com municate effectively, especially with the turnover in leader ship within the state house. “When you have a change over in leadership, you’re in uncharted territory, and the first day we started, I sat back and I was physically sick,” Ma thiak said. “And I said, ‘Oh my God, what is this going to be like?’ But by lunch time, it felt better.” Mathiak went on to praise the leadership on both sides of the aisle, recognizing the ca maraderie and the joint dis cussions on topics. “I believe that we do have great leadership on both sides of the aisle. Not only the aisle, but both chambers have some good leadership. It’s going to take a little bit to get our feet underneath us, but I think we did incredible,” Mathiak said. Bonner highlighted new members of the Georgia House of Representatives, which he stated is 46, and began to discuss logistics of the session. “The session is actually a two-year cycle, so any legisla tion that is introduced in this past session can still be con sidered in the next year,” Bonner said. “We had, I be lieve, 46 new members in the House, and then we had about a dozen or so new committee chairs. We didn’t know we were going to need a new speaker until about three weeks or so prior to the ses sion, so that was a significant event. So, you know our ses sion looks a lot better in the rearview mirror rather than the front windshield.” Bonner made it a point to mention that the House was willing to focus on the more important issues that needed to be passed within the bills on the floor, rather than waiting until the following year. When the topic of leader ship was brought to the panel, Mathiak did not shy away from discussing the leadership styles that vary from person to person in an effort to reach a common ground. “When it comes to leader ship, everyone leads in a dif ferent manner. Some people are doves, some people are lions. I think that what we saw was the ability to speak to each other, especially from one side of the aisle to the other. Our majority and minority leader ship had a good relationship and built on good relation ships that they probably had beforehand,” Mathiak said. Seay placed an emphasis on the importance of having women in positions to allow their voices to be heard in a platform that is predomi nantly male dominated. “In the chamber where I work, I call it the ‘Boy’s Club’. One, the Senate side of 56, we are the minority party, and being of the minority party, the women are just not as present. When you have a woman in the room with a voice, things get out immedi ately. The biggest thing is com munication. When we are deliberating on behalf of the people, we’re all in this to gether,” Seay said. In fulfilling their duty mandated by the Constitution, House representatives were able to fund pay raises for law enforcement personnel, as well as provide an increased amount of money toward the HOPE scholarship. “Over the last two years, it will amount to about $4 billion in relief to taxpayers... Last year we passed a bill that re lieved $1 billion in taxpayer money,” Bonner said. As the conversation con tinued, a topic of crime was brought to the panelists and each one had his or her own take on how to curb the in creasing amount of gang vio lence impacting the community. For Mathiak, community involvement is key to curbing gang violence, but for Seay, the problem is that guns are being placed in the wrong hands at increased rates. “So, I’m going to take some pretty strong attitudes toward gangs. We’ve put some new legislation in,” Mathiak said. “We’ve just got to stop. Enough is enough when our children are involved.” The meeting concluded with a brief question and an swer session among the pan elists and attendees. The trusted source JgS for taking care of your 7K&. Azalea Estates ASSISTED LIVING RETIREMENT COMMUNITY 105 AUTUMN GLEN CIRCLE - FAYETTEVILLE - AZALEAESTATES.COM Call to Schedule a Tour Today! 770-461-0039 Meetings & Events Email your Meetings and Events to sspencer@fayette-news.net or submit online at www.fayette-news.net. Charges may apply. Earth Day Celebration: April 22, 12:30-4:30 p.m. at City Center Park, lo cated at 210 Stonewall Avenue West in Fayetteville. Brooks Farmers Market: Located at 963 Highway 85 Connector in Brooks, the farmers market will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 22, May 27, June 24, July 22, Aug. 26, Sept. 23, and Nov. 18; 4-8 p.m. on Oct. 28 and Dec. 3. Peachtree City Library: Located at 201 Willowbend Road in Peachtree City, the li brary holds regular events for all ages. Visit peachtree-city.org/ 125/Library to view a calendar of upcoming events. March of Dimes - March for Babies: April 22, 8 a.m. to noon, at Drake Field, located at 155 Willowbend Road in Peach tree City. Fayetteville City Hall Open House: April 26,10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fay etteville City Hall, located at 210 Stonewall Avenue West in Fayetteville. Fore Our Community Charity Golf Classic: The fourth annual Fore Our Community Charity Golf Classic returns to Braelinn Golf Club in Peachtree City on Friday, April 28. All proceeds of the event will benefit the Healing Bridge Clinic and Midwest Food Bank - Georgia division. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 500 Clubview Drive in Peachtree City. \Valk4Water Fundraiser: April 28, 5:30 p.m., at Peachtree City Church of Christ, located at 201 South Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City. Shred and Recycle Day: April 29, 9 a.m. to noon at City Center Park, located at 210 Stonewall Avenue West in Fayetteville. 12th Annual Bark for Life: April 30,1- 3 p.m. at McIntosh Trail Recreation Com plex, located at 191 McIntosh Trail in Peachtree City. Brooks Woman’s Club Meeting: May 4, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at Brooks Town Hall, located at 961 Highway 85 Connector in Brooks. Cars and Coffee: May 13, 9-11 a.m., at Tyrone Museum, located at 881 Senoia Road in Tyrone. Miles for Midwest 5K: May 13, 8 a.m., at Real Life Center, located at 220 Parkade Court in Peachtree City. 13th Annual All American 5K/10K: May 20, 8 a.m. to noon, at McIntosh Trail Recreation Complex, located at 191 McIn tosh Trail in Peachtree City. Kids to Parks Day: May 20, 2-5 p.m., at Drake Field, located at 155 Willowbend Road in Peachtree City. Memorial Day: May 29. Fayetteville Bicentennial Celebra tion: June 3 in downtown Fayetteville. Juneteenth: June 19. Fayette MCA Holds Talk on Urban Wildlife Wildlife in urban areas is becoming increasingly more common, and a pub lic program on Tuesday, April 18, addressed the topic. Kaitlin Goode, urban wildlife program manager for the Georgia Depart ment of Natural Re sources, spoke at 10 a.m. at the Fayette Master Gar dener Association meeting at Bridge Community Center, located at 225 Wil low Bend Drive in Peach tree City. FMGA is a non-profit gardening group that is open to all area gardeners. One is not required to be a master gardener to join or attend its meetings and free programs. “Social time” began at 9:30 a.m. and a business meeting at 11 a.m. followed the pro gram. For more information on the group and how to get involved, contact Wanda Dunn, a member of the FMGA communica tions committee, at 770- 833-9272, or email at wandapdunn@gmail.com. OEA NATIONAL^ ACK TRK for safe disposal. Saturday, April 22 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Keep them safe. Clean them out. Take them back. LOCATIONS Fayetteville Police Department 760 Jimmie Mayfield Blvd, Fayetteville, GA 30215 Peachtree City Police Department 350 GA-74, Peachtree City, GA 30269 Fayette County Sheriff Office 145 Johnson Ave, Fayetteville, GA 30214
