Is A Deal Still A Deal?

By D. Jefferson Bean / Staff and John Fredericks / Staff

Johns Creek City Council members don't think so. But Alpharetta Mayor Arthur Letchas, from the old school, who remembers when your word was your bond and a handshake meant something, still thinks it does. 

Along with Alpharetta councilmen Doug DeRito, D.C. Aiken, and Mike Kennedy, Letchas made an appearance at City Hall in Johns Creek to address that council's plan to impose additional fees upon non-resident users for using Ocee Park. The controversial decision by the Johns Creek City Council -- which has drawn fire from citizens of Alpharetta and the 18-year-old Ocee Park Athletic Association (OPAA) -- would charge non-residents a 50 percent surcharge fee to use their city parks. According to the OPAA's website, unstructured fees for non-residents will increase from $210 to $315 per recreation league sport. The new policy would also implement a two-week priority registration period for non-residents, a $15 non-resident fee for all recreation programs (excluding Autrey Mill), and a 50 percent non-resident fee for park facility rentals (excluding Autrey Mill.)

Characterizing the move as "a revenue grab and an attempt to shrink one program in an effort to give other programs a foothold within the park," OPAA officials point out that Ocee Park actually predates the City of Johns Creek: "Ocee Park is unique in that it was built, long before the City of Johns Creek was contemplated, by the volunteers of what are now Alpharetta and Johns Creek. Fulton County did little to support the park and volunteers invested time and money to make the park what it is today. You cannot step on a field, sit on a bleacher, turn on a light, sit under a shade structure, or anything else in that park without thanking the countless families of Alpharetta and Johns Creek for what they created with their dollars and their time."

THE TAKEDOWN: WHOSE PARK IS IT, ANYWAY?

At the root of the controversy is a 2006 "gentleman's agreement" between Letchas and then soon to be Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker. Given the rash of annexations and incorporations that year, it was inevitable that conflicts of interest with regard to possession and use of facilities would arise. Rather than incorporating into Johns Creek, many owners of parcels surrounding the park chose annexation by Alpharetta. Letchas subsequently agreed to cede Ocee Park to Johns Creek, provided that the owners of adjacent properties would have access to the facility at no additional charge, as if they were residents of Johns Creek.

Every homeowner's property that backs up to the park in all directions is in the city of Alpharetta.

Alpharettans believed that the four-year-old "handshake" agreement would hold in perpetuity. To their surprise and disappointment, though, Johns Creek had something different in mind. To Arthur Letchas, it was as much a matter of honor as of money.

"I'll make this real simple," the veteran mayor of Alpharetta told the John Creek Council.  "I don't have a problem if you charge our residents fees for Newtown Park or Autrey Mill, but the agreement we had back in 2006, between Mayor Bodker and myself states that we treat our residents equally. Ocee Park was completely surrounded by Alpharetta residents, and it really didn't make a lot of sense for that park to come into Johns Creek, but we saw the need for a new city [to have a park]. The agreement we have is on Ocee Park. The bottom line goes back to this: we have an agreement from 2006. We said we would treat our residents equal. When governments break their bonds, when they change their minds after a while; that is the reason these young people to do not trust politicians -- because of breaking their word. I asked our three sitting council members to back off on the aggressiveness toward Ocee Park because we had an agreement with you. And I would ask you to hold to that agreement. Charge us non-resident fees on the other aspects, but stick to the agreement that we have."

Johns Creek city officials then countered. Councilman Dan McCabe moved to table the matter for future discussion but received no second. Councilman Randall Johnson reminded the audience that Alpharetta raised its own non-resident fees in 2006. Johnson and Councilwoman Bev Miller both referred to Alpharetta's "aggressive" bids to seize Ocee in the past. Also mentioned was the fact that Johns Creek has invested millions of dollars a year in its parks. "Johns Creek has some valid arguments and legitimate concerns," remarked one Alpharetta lawmaker. "But do they justify breaking a standing agreement that applies only to a single park?"

Common sense suggests otherwise. Ocee Park's success is the result of a joint effort. Although Alpharettans were previously exempt from non-resident fees, they still pay to use the park. Considering their role in creating it in the first place, they're hardly asking for a free ride.

"THE PARK HEIST SIX" - A VERBAL AGREEMENT THAT AIN'T WORTH NOTHIN'

The Johns Creek City Council voted 6-1 to break the deal Bodker made with the city of Alpharetta, thereby giving Alpharetta residents the "New Jersey Salute."

Bodker, to his credit, voted against the measure. At least he kept his word.

But the other six Johns Creek elected officials could care less. They need cash to pay for their 75 new cops, all their brand new police cars., their plush office complex, and their "social media" staff spin doctors, all of which have pushed up their operating expenses. So after failing to get their miss-guided city charter change to make it easier to float debt and raise taxes, they voted to squeeze some green out of hapless Alpharetta residents who trusted their broken promise in the first place.

After all, they vote in Alpharetta, not Johns Creek. They're easy prey for coin hungry local politicians. The "Park Heist Six" took a page out of the late Louisiana Sen. Russell B. Long's book: "Don't tax him, don't tax me, tax that man behind the tree -- 'cause he don't vote for me. Hee-hee!" 

Unless Alpharetta and Johns Creek can arrive at a mutually acceptable solution, this is a lose-lose situation. This kind of inter-city squabbling benefits no one: not the kids who play ball in Ocee Park; not the volunteers who put time and money into making it what it is today; not the residents of the surrounding area, who now justifiably feel betrayed; and not Johns Creek, which stands to lose face among its neighbors, and see it's Ocee Park participation plummet when loyal Alpharetta residents seek another city run alternative.

An agreement doesn't magically expire when it becomes inconvenient for one party. Even in today's atmosphere of moral relativism and situational ethics, good faith and bonds of trust matter. Contrary to popular belief, the law of causality is still in effect. Actions still have long and short-term consequences -- both frequently unforeseen. 

Aside from the predictable result of causing bad blood between neighbors, the resulting distrust and resentment could, for example, easily compromise the effort to create Milton County. "If this is what to expect from these guys, perhaps it isn't such a great idea..." On a more basic level, Ocee residents could simply boycott the park, thereby depriving Johns Creek of considerably more revenue than earned from non-resident fee increases. That scenario is very real, and is likely to play out, at least in the short term.

In a world in which there are no guarantees, all-or-nothing is a dangerous game. It's entirely possible for both parties to end up with nothing. It might behoove Johns Creek to bear this in mind, and reverse their "Welch" vote.

Perhaps those same Alpharetta residents will boycott Johns Creek retailers as well, making unsuspecting shop owners victims in a backstabbing move they had nothing to do with.