County action threatens bonds' fate in Georgia, foe says.

ATLANTA -- Clayton County, Ga.'s decision last week to buy the proposed site of an Olympic volleyball stadium could further jeopardize validation of a revenue bond issue proposed to fund the venue, according to an opponent of the transaction.

Under a plan hammered together last month, the Clayton County Tourism Authority -- not the county -- had planned to buy a 79.4-acre water park directly from developer Ronnie Thornton for $4 million. The acquisition would have been funded through a $4.8 million bond issue sold by the authority, which would cover both the land purchase and construction of an 8,000-seat stadium.

The water park, Atlanta Beach, is the proposed site of the 1996 Olympic volleyball competition.

The Tourism Authority will now buy the property from the county rather than the developer, according to Carl Rodenhizer, chairman of the Tourism Authority. County commission chairman Crandle Bray said the county approved the purchase "to avoid extra costs and to satisfy Olympic officials."

James Trammell, a retired Air Force colonel who battled the original proposal, stands by his belief that the volleyball bonds are actually general obligation debt in disguise. He said the county's recent action weakens the revenue bonds' potential validation before the county's superior court next month.

Trammell called the county's authorization of the general fund purchase of the property a "horrible" decision. He has said that the water park cannot generate sufficient revenue to finance the authority's proposed bond funding.

"The authority will rely on the county's taxing power to bolster any fund shortfalls and leave Clayton County taxpayers exposed to unfair levies," Trammell said in an interview last week.

Ron Dodson, a county commissioner, said he agrees with Trammell. Dodson, who voted against the measure, said he is "concerned about taxpayers' money because the property was overvalued."

Bray "reversed the plan," said Dodson. "I hope I'm wrong and the park can pay for itself, but I don't think it can.

"It's just a screwed-up issue."

Although the county will now be buying the water park, the authority still plans to sell the $4.8 million revenue bond issue to finance the purchase, Rodenhizer said.

After purchasing the property from the county, he said, the authority will draft a new intergovernmental agreement to lease the water park back to the county. The county will then operate the facility.

Tourism Authority vice chairman Richard Chatham, who presided over the authority's original decision to purchase from Thornton, was unavailable for comment.

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