A Note from the Mayor

Citizens of Peachtree Corners

We have made a lot of progress since the Mayor and Council were sworn in as your City’s first elected officials on April 15, but we still have much to do prior to July 1st -- our first official day of incorporation – and even more before the end of the year.  To give you some idea of where we are on the journey, here’s an overview of our progress and plans. 

Key accomplishments, to date, include:

• Selected a site for City Hall.  We are currently negotiating a lease on 147 Technology Parkway.
• Launched a search for a City Manager. 
• Engaged a City Attorney and consultants with solid experience starting up cities.
• Established a 90-day land use moratorium to provide an orderly transition of services from the County as well as to avoid the undesirable land use issues experienced by other new cities during their transition.
• Established a fiscal year and began work on a budget.
• Reviewed numerous presentations on City organizational structure, the planning and zoning function, facility options, banking options and call center operations. 

On July 1st, you will see little change in who provides municipal services.  The City’s founding Charter provides a transition period with the County that goes through December 31, 2013.  We will use this time to plan a careful transition of current county services. 

Some of the many issues we expect to address over the next several months include:

• Choosing a bank
• Setting a budget (public hearings)
• Contracting with an answering service to provide prompt customer service via the phone.
• Establishing Intergovernmental Agreements with the County defining our transition of services.
• Adopting Gwinnett County’s ordinances on July 1st to assure a smooth and predictable transition
• Implementing our Planning & Zoning function
• Establishing a Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals (resident volunteers).  
• Setting a millage rate.
• Hiring a City Manager; setting up City Hall.
• Selecting a vendor to outsource Planning & Zoning and Code Enforcement.
• Beginning the Long Range Land Planning process (normally takes 18 months; opportunity for citizen input).
• Beginning the Solid Waste Plan (lengthy study; opportunity for citizen input). 

As you might imagine, this is not a comprehensive list, but does give you an overview of what your elected representatives will be working on in the months ahead. 

We welcome your attendance at our weekly City Council meetings currently held on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. at the , 5600 W. Jones Bridge Road.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at Mike.Mason@cityofpeachtreecornersga.com.

Also, please visit the City’s official website – www.cityofpeachtreecornersga.com – for updates on Council activities.

Thanks for your continued support of our efforts on your behalf,

Mike Mason,
Mayor, City of Peachtree Corners

Editor's note: The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the writer and do not necessary reflect those of Peachtree Corners Patch. If you have an opposing view to the one expressed here, send your opinion to the Patch editor. Please include your phone number so we may contact you.