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J " H
NEWS
FAYETTE
COUNTY
4*THE TRUTH SINCE 1886 4*
INSIDE:
VOL 151, NO. 20
WEDNESDAY, May 17, 2023
Sandy Creek, Aloje Dominate
at State Track and Field, Bl
$1.00
INSIDE: GBI Investigates OJjrcer Involved Shooting in Coweta County, A2
INSIDE: Temporary Inman Road Closure Starts May 30, A3
Commissioners Consider 12.5% County Employee Raise
Luke Haney
Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
Commissioners favor
ably discussed County Ad
ministrator Steve Rapson’s
proposal to increase Fayette
County employee pay by
12.5 percent across the
board during last week’s an
nual retreat.
“I feel confident that we
could put a budget together
to stay within the millage
rate we have with a 9.5 per
cent tax increase and not
have to make a millage rate
adjustment,” commented
Rapson.
The discussion began
during the “Recruitment
and Retention” portion of
the retreat, when it was
noted that vacancy rates
have increased for public
safety officials in Fayette
and surrounding com
munities.
Rapson first presented a
6.25 percent increase for all
county employees, with
another 6.25 percent step
increase for certified public
safety officers.
This would result in a
9.5 percent property tax in
crease, which equates to a
$47.12 yearly variance,
based on a home valued at
$350,000, according to offi
cials.
Rapson says the increase
will not solve the vacancy
problem, which is seen na
tionwide, but notes, “When
officers have to drive
through Peachtree City to
Fayette County and can
make more money to stop in
Peachtree City, I think we’ve
got to compete with those
around you.”
Chairman Lee Hearn
commented that he favors
the hike, and Commissioner
Eric Maxwell said he re
ceived no negative feedback
See Employee Raise, A6
Sameeha Lalani
Emann Shariff
Marc Van Zyl
Emma Mineva
Aadhav Sundar
Alvaro Molina
Courtesy of Fayette County Schools
Titoluwa Alofe Andrew Graddy
Cassidy Scoggins Makayla Coffield
Top Students for Class of2023 Named
Fayette County Public
Schools will soon celebrate
graduation, and the Class of
2023 valedictorians and sa-
lutatorians for the five
county high schools will be
at the head of the class on
May 26.
Fayette County High’s
valedictorian is Sameeha
Lalani, who will attend
Georgia Tech and major in
biology.
Fayette County High’s
salutatorian is Emaan Shar
iff, who will attend Georgia
Tech and major in computer
science.
McIntosh’s valedictorian
is Marc Van Zyl, who will at
tend Georgia Tech and
major in computer science.
McIntosh’s salutatorian
is Aadhav Sundar, who will
attend Georgia Tech and
major in biomedical engi
neering.
Sandy Creek’s valedic
torian is Emma Mineva,
who will attend the Univer
sity of Georgia and major in
international affairs and lin
guistics.
Sandy Creek’s salutato-
See Top Students, A6
Car Show, Cart Path
Closure Dominate
Commission Meeting
Luke Haney
Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
Three motions regarding
the denial of various aspects
of an event permit and noise
ordinance variance for Rick
Ross’s upcoming car and
bike show failed with split
votes during the May n
Fayette County Commission
meeting.
The motions came on
the heels of three public
participants who voiced op
position to the event, noting
that the event has grown to
include a festival-style con
cert, emphasizing growing
concerns for traffic conges
tion and safety.
Commissioners Eric
Maxwell and Charles Rous
seau motioned and sec
onded the three motions -
one to have the county at
torney file an injunction to
stop the function, one to
deny the noise ordinance
variance request, and one to
ask that the county manager
deny the application for a
conditional use permit as a
whole.
All three motions were
defeated by 3-2 votes.
Chairman Lee Hearn
and Commissioners Edward
Gibbons and Charles Oddo
agreed that they were not
for or against permitting the
event but expressed a need
for more information. Dis
cussion and potential action
will take place at the com
mission’s May 25 meeting.
When asked by commis-
See Commissioners, A5
PTC Releases First Quarter Reports
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
PEACHTREE CITY -
As Peachtree City continues
to expand and explore new
avenues that cultivate PTC
Mayor Kim Learnard’s
“Three Rs” (roads, redevel
opment, and recreation),
the city continues to display
growth, as seen in the city’s
first quarter reports for
2023.
The reports convey
changes and advancements
in areas of executive serv
ices, human resources and
risk management, library
services, financial and ad
ministrative services, tour
ism, fire, police, and plan
ning and development.
In the executive services
department, it was reported
that the city’s mobile appli
cation saw 6,488 total vis
itors total in the first quarter
of 2023, along with 58 total
open records requests.
One highlight for the de
partment was the passage of
the special purpose local op
tion sales tax, with 73.6 per
cent of participants voting
“yes” to the SPLOST re
newal countywide. Peach
tree City residents made up
51 percent of the SPLOST
votes, despite residents only
equating to 32 percent of
the entire Fayette County
population, according to the
report.
In human resources and
risk management, reports
indicated that 10 new hires
entered city government in
Qi, with only two sep
arations. The city has a total
of 308 employees.
In the library services
department report, 29,461
active users utilized local li
brary services in the first
quarter. That included 1,837
computers used, 17,175 e-
books downloaded, and
4,526 reference assurances.
There were also 27,430 in-
person visits to the library
reported.
From the financial and
administrative services sec
tor, 1,252 new golf carts
were registered among res
idents between January and
March, with 652 new golf
carts registered among non
residents. Additionally, 56
new businesses reportedly
opened in the city.
In tourism, there have
been high counts of inter
actions reported on the vis
itor website for PTC, with
425 total calls made to the
city inquiring about various
attractions and options for
visitors staying in the city.
Regarding the depart
ment of fire and emergency
rescue, the fire department
reports 1,067 total runs,
along with 244 falls re
ported. Calls received by the
department range from falls
to shortness of breath to
back pain, hemorrhage, or
bleeding. Additionally, the
department logged 1,411
hours of firefighter fitness
training and 317 hours of
EMS training.
Compared to Qi of
2022, PTC Police Depart
ment noted a first-quarter
increase of shoplifting by 54
percent and an 18.8 percent
increase in total arrests,
See First Quarter Report, A6
New CERT team members Courtesy of PTC
17 Graduate PTC CERT Program
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
On May 4,17 students of
the Peachtree City Com
munity Emergency Re
sponse Team (CERT) were
presented with graduation
certificates for completion of
the 11-week training course.
Graduates of the CERT
program receive training in
a variety of topics and skills,
including basic medical
treatment, light search and
rescue, active threat aware
ness, fire and utilities safety,
and emergency prepared
ness. Students have an op
portunity to practice learned
skills during a mock disaster
exercise.
According to the CERT
website, the team utilizes a
Federal Emergency Man
agement Agency (FEMA)
program designed to pre
pare individuals to help
themselves, their families,
and their neighbors in the
event of a disaster, with a
focus on the first 72 hours.
Training focuses on edu
cating individuals on the
hazards that one may en
counter in the community
by training them in lifesav
ing skills they may need to
use in the event of a cata
strophic event.
The team may also give
critical support to first re
sponders in emergencies by
providing immediate assis
tance to victims, managing
utilities and small fires, or
ganizing spontaneous vol
unteers, and by collecting
disaster intelligence.
According to the training
website, CERT is about
readiness, people helping
people, rescuer safety, and
doing the “greatest good for
the greatest number of
people.” CERT is a positive
and realistic approach to
emergency and disaster sit
uations where citizens will
be initially on their own and
their actions can make a dif
ference.
INSIDE:
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