Alpharetta Development Authority Vice-Chairman Mike Kennedy announced today that he will seek one of the two open seats on the Alpharetta City Council this November.

Kennedy has been actively involved in Alpharetta civic affairs as a member of the Alpharetta Economic Development Authority and a member of the Kimball Bridge Coalition citizens group. He says he wants to make sure that the city continues many of the policies that made Alpharetta a great place to live during the boom times.

“Despite the economic downturn, Alpharetta is in far better position financially than most other cities in the area”, Kennedy said. “We are one of only two cities in Georgia with a Triple-A bond rating, that keeps our interest costs low and allows us maintain a high level of services while also offering another increase in the homestead exemption to the voters this fall. We need to continue to budget conservatively while making sure that the nuts and bolts of city government, such as road maintenance, intersection improvements and police and fire services, continue to be adequately funded.”

One area Kennedy is focused on is water supply.

With the recent ruling by a federal judge that Georgia, Alabama and Florida have three years to resolve their water dispute and have the agreement approved by Congress, Kennedy says local leaders need to look at all options to ensure that Alpharetta citizens and businesses have the water they need if the state and the U.S. Congress can’t work out an agreement.

“The state of Georgia has managed to get itself into a real mess on this water issue. With our state electing a new governor next year and the almost permanent dysfunctional state of the Congress, I think we need to make sure that we look out for ourselves on a local level. This may be an issue that is too large for Alpharetta to go it alone, but I am willing to work with other cities and counties to make sure that we are prepared for the worst if our state and federal leaders can’t work out an arrangement to provide the water we need”.

Kennedy points to Canton as an example of a city that took its future into its own hands. Canton, in partnership with Cobb County, is building the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir which will provide Canton with 11 million gallons of water per day and Cobb County with an additional 33 million gallons per day.

“It may not be feasible to do something similar here in Alpharetta. It may be too expensive and we may not be able to do something like our own reservoir. But we have to put everything on the table and look at all of our options to make sure we can provide such a critical resource to our citizens, if necessary”, Kennedy said.

“Given the track record of the three states involved and the US Congress, I’m not willing to leave the future of our water supply 100 percent in their hands. In this case we truly have to plan for the worst and hope for the best”.

Another area that concerns him is the amount of vacant retail space in the city.

Kennedy says that economic conditions have significantly slowed the number of developer applications for retail space, but he believes that the city should make sure the current available space is filled before approving additional retail construction.

Kennedy said that with significant turnover expected on the council within the next couple of years, his years of experience on the Alpharetta Economic Development Authority and as a community leader will allow him to hit the ground with a short learning curve.

He has already picked up significant support from several current city council members as well as other community leaders and expects to announce other endorsements in the coming weeks.