Editor's note: the following letter to the editor was submitted by Roswell Mayor Jere Wood.

--- There is public debate in North Fulton as to whether to support a half penny sales tax increase to help pay for extension of the MARTA rail line to Roswell and Alpharetta. Because the taxpayers of Fulton County would be asked to pay for this, I believe they should be allowed to vote on this question.

I, for one, am in favor of extending MARTA to Roswell. My reasons are as follows: My father grew up in Augusta, Arkansas, on the White River. Augusta was the county seat and a thriving riverboat town. When the railroad was built it bypassed downtown Augusta at the request of the city. When the new highway was built it also bypassed the town at the city's request. The last time I visited my father's hometown they had no traffic problems and the historic downtown was preserved, but on Main Street almost every store front was boarded up. The only thing moving was a stray dog, and the chief of police came out in his bedroom slippers to see who the strangers were in his town.

When I was growing up, Roswell was a sleepy little town -- smaller than Augusta. The biggest employer was the textile mill founded by Roswell King. My brother and I hunted quail where Blessed Trinity Catholic High School now stands. There was no traffic and few jobs. People questioned the need to build GA-400, and said it was a waste of the taxpayer's money to build a four-lane road to nowhere. Roswell has grown to be one of the largest cities and most desirable addresses in Georgia because of GA-400. Today Alpharetta is home to hundreds of good businesses that provide thousands of high paying jobs because of GA-400.

If we want north Fulton County to continue to attract the best businesses, jobs and people, we need to invest in the best transportation system available. To move people we need cars, buses and trains.

GA-400 transformed Roswell. If not for GA-400, I would have had to move away from my home town to find a good job just as my father had to leave Augusta, Arkansas.

I want Roswell to be a great place not just for me to live, but also for our children and our grandchildren. I believe extending a rail line to Roswell will have the same beneficial long-term effect on my hometown as did construction of GA-400. ---