This election should be about planning for Fayette’s future

The polls are open from now until July 20 and Fayette has some important decisions to make. Two county commission posts and one school board position are up for grabs.

The county is staring down a host of major challenges, many of which have barely been mentioned in all of the campaign rhetoric about ‘roads to nowhere’ and ‘who voted for TDK when’ and ‘so-and-so just loves MARTA and/or kudzu-munching goats.’

The big, very gray elephant in the room is the demographics of the county itself. According to the 2009 Census estimate, Fayette’s once steady growth has ground to a halt. And the people here are getting older at a rapid rate.

Our quality of life, schools and public safety remain superb, but the demand for Fayette exceptionalism seems to be dwindling. The out-of-control prices of the pre-recession real estate bubble pushed young families out to more affordable growing communities like Coweta -- the same types of young families who had been settling in Fayette during the early to mid-‘90s.

The school board planned for continued growth, but the nearly empty Rivers Elementary School and the dozens of empty classrooms throughout the district stand out as very physical reminders of what the future potentially holds.

In metro Atlanta, only Clayton County’s growth rate is now slower than Fayette’s. That may seem like a blessing for those of us who enjoy the county’s rural feel, but it presents a host of unique challenges.

Without demand for housing, property values will continue to slide -- even after the recession’s affects fade. With a booming senior population, Fayette will see more and more households graduate to fixed retirement incomes. This will obviously change the nature of Fayette’s business community. If current trends continue, sales taxes will keep shrinking in over-retailed Fayetteville. Coweta’s growth in the Senoia and Thomas Crossroads areas will suck taxes and investment out of the county on the other end (i.e: the new Sam’s Club going in a stone’s throw from the county line).

As sales go down, stores will close. As tax receipts slide, services will either be cut or property taxes will need to be raised. We’re seeing that this year in Peachtree City, where city staff has made it clear that the dire five year budget outlook has more to do with the city approaching build-out than it does with the economic downturn.

Restoring a healthy level of growth is not a cure-all for Fayette’s challenges, but growth does provide a margin of error.

With a constantly increasing tax base, it is relatively easy to provide the infrastructure and services to accommodate new residents. Once the growth goes away, the taxpayers are still paying for that infrastructure, but resources are suddenly very limited.

The school board and county commission candidates who will be receiving my vote this summer are the ones who have solid plans to both restore modest levels of growth and simultaneously confront the challenge of transitioning Fayette to a mature, sustainable community capable of thriving with a large senior population.

The six locals in the contested primary races have until July 20 to convince me and others that they are the right leaders for this difficult time.