According to my research in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the idea to merge the cities of Alpharetta, Mountain Park and Roswell came about in 1983 in response to another proposal down in Atlanta to consolidate the city of Atlanta with Fulton County. The idea gained a little steam by 1985 when then Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young began pushing aggressively for some action on the consolidation of Atlanta with Fulton. In response to Mayor Young, State Representatiave Luther Colbert (R-Roswell) came out and, according to an AJC article, strongly urged Roswell, Mountain Park and Alpharetta to "see what they have in common for possibly merging into one city"
Roswell Mayor W.L. Mabry was tentatively positive. At least he thought it merited discussion. Mountain Park Mayor Joyce Ayers was tentatively positive as well. But Alpharetta Mayor Jimmy Phillips said emphatically, according to a 1985 AJC article, "(My Council does not) have any interest in consolidating anything."
By 1987 the idea had really gained momentum because Rep. Colbert actually introduced a resolution on January 26 to establish a study committee to look at the consolidation of these north Fulton cities. At about this same time, Senator Sallie Newbill (R-Sandy Springs) put forth an identical resolution in the state Senate.
Again, Mayors Mabry and Ayers were positive, and interestingly, even the Alpharetta City Council voted on January 29th of that year to back the creation of a study committee. But then something happened. Alpharetta City Council meet again on February 9th and voted to withdraw their support. Alpharetta Mayor Jimmy Phillips came out talking strong, saying that there was no need to support the study if you simply were not interested.
Alpharetta was definitely a key player in this picture. Once Senator Sallie Newbill heard that the city of Alpharetta had opposed the proposal to create a consolidation study group, she withdrew her resolution from the Georgia Senate.
Very interesting history and surely someone out there will recall these events. It makes you wonder how different our lives would be up here in north Fulton had this come about.
