Social Circle citizens are concerned drag strip will slow development; they think you should be, too.

By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

The Concerned Citizens of Social Circle are not happy with the idea of a drag strip in their idyllic community; moreover, they're organized and they've got a plan
.
"Create chaos."

With 47 in attendance at Monday night's two-hour meeting at W.H. Stanton Memorial Library, the Concerned Citizens held a discussion of the potential economic effects the drag strip would have on Social Circle and on the surrounding area, at one point specifically addressing the viability of Stanton Springs, a 1600-acre, live-work development on the edge of Morgan County.

Owned jointly by four counties (Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton), Stanton Springs is dangerously close -- at least enough to feel the effects, according to the Concerned Citizens -- to the location of the proposed drag strip; in fact, the two properties sit across from each other, separated by Interstate 20.

Only 10 years in to the 30-year project, the Concerned Citizens are worried taxpayers' investment in the development will be wasted should the drag strip be built.

"They won't build the residential part of it [Stanton Springs]," Concerned Citizens member Roy Parker, who called Stanton Springs representatives, said. "If they build that drag strip, they [Stanton Springs] can't do what they were going to do."
As far as employment, the drag strip should bring about 40 primarily part-time jobs, while Stanton Springs, a light manufacturing development, is proposed to bring at least 1,000 jobs to the area in the next 10 years, according to discussion. In addition, the restaurants, hotels and other businesses that would be constructed due to the development would create even more jobs.

Concerned Citizens cited the success of other TPA Realty Services' -- the developers of Stanton Springs -- developments, Johns Creek and Technology Park/Atlanta, as models for what they hoped Stanton Springs would become, an economy booster.

"You've got two successful areas developed that are multi-million dollar draws."

And they don't want to jeopardize that by permitting a drag strip to be built within earshot.
"This is not the end of this. Money talks, and we're going to be here a long time."

Stanton Springs Project Manager Paul Michael (whose name and e-mail address was given at the point of contact at the meeting) was contacted via e-mail in the wee hours of Tuesday morning; no comment was received as of press time.
Morgan County commissioners should plan for Concerned Citizens at the next meeting; the group has plans to address the governments of all the surrounding areas.

The Concerned Citizens will meet again on Thursday, Jan. 21. Keep up with the movement by logging on to their Web site: ccosc.com.