City of East Cobb committee leader declines to identify group, or indicate when public response may take place

The president of a committee exploring possible cityhood for East Cobb is declining to identify those he has been meeting with and is not indicating when the group may begin a community dialogue about the issue.

Joe Gavalis, a resident of the Atlanta Country Club area, said in response to written questions from East Cobb News this weekend that he and others he has been discussing cityhood with are still examining a feasibility study released this week.

That study, commissioned by his Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, Inc., was conducted by Georgia State University researchers, who concluded that based on the data they were given to work with, such a city is “financially feasible.”

The most likely next step would be introduction of state legislation, a two-year process that would require a public referendum. If such a bill is introduced next year, the earliest such a vote could take place would be 2020.

Gavalis said if “a review of the GSU study and the community response indicate a desire to proceed,” the group “will work with our elected officials to introduce appropriate legislation.”

He would not say when the public would be fully briefed on the cityhood group’s plans, only that “meetings with our fellow citizens in our community will be initiated” and media outlets “utilized.”

The group also has launched a website, but there’s no other information there than what’s previously been released.

Gavalis said he began the cityhood inquiry “after hearing that others in our county were looking to form a new city,” a reference to conversations taking place in South Cobb, and to see if a new city of East Cobb would be feasible.

During that process, he said, “hundreds of neighbors, business owners and social groups were engaged in recent months about their interest in creating a city in East Cobb. Many asked me to spearhead a loose-knit group to help foster debate regarding the idea.”

He did not identify anyone by name. The only other name that has been made public about the cityhood committee is G. Owen Brown, who is listed on state filing documents as the group’s incorporator. Brown is the founder of the Retail Planning Corporation, an East Cobb-based commercial real estate firm located on Johnson Ferry Road.

Gavalis said that one of the driving forces behind East Cobb cityhood is more local control of government services. Currently, he said, each of the four Cobb district commissioners serves 175,000 people. In the City of East Cobb map that’s been proposed, each city council member would represent around 12,000 citizens, “who would be better served regarding local services and other issues.”

Commissioner Bob Ott, who represents District 2 that covers the proposed city map, has pointed out previously that roughly 40 percent of property tax revenue comes from his district. He has said some residents have told him they don’t think they’re getting their money’s worth.

His district also includes the Cumberland-Vinings-Smyrna area, with major corporate and commercial offices, but it is not part of the proposed City of East Cobb.

For a more detailed map of the proposed City of East Cobb, click here.

When asked which services were priorities for the cityhood group, Gavalis said that community development (which includes planning and zoning), police and fire “are high on the list.” State law requires new cities to provide a minimum of three services.

Gavalis is a retired federal agent who serves on the Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission and has also been on the Cobb Elder Abuse Task Force. He noted that regarding East Cobb cityhood, “discussions have always taken place since former Cobb Commissioner Bill Byrne proposed a city [in the 2012 elections], and there have always been cityhood movements in metro Atlanta over the last decade.”

Gavalis said there is an East Cobb cityhood steering committee that “is an unofficial group of citizens with knowledge of our community who have volunteered to look at the issues of forming a new city with no pre-set determination for or against a city.”

He said those individuals, whom he also declined to identify, are also examining the feasibility study.

That study cost $36,000, according to a copy of the contract East Cobb News obtained through an open records request. Here’s the full report, which was delivered to the cityhood group on Dec. 7.

Gavalis also would not identify who paid for the study, saying only that “citizens, neighbors and business owners have financially contributed for the cost.” He’s anticipating other donations in the future but would not elaborate.

He also declined to indicate how much the group is paying Phil Kent, CEO of the Cobb-based Insider Advantage political publication and panelist on the Fox 5 public affairs program “The Georgia Gang.” Kent has been retained by the cityhood group to serve in a public relations capacity.

The proposed City of East Cobb map that the cityhood group released doesn’t include all of what’s considered East Cobb. With a population of 96,000, it contains only unincorporated Cobb east of I-75 that is in Cobb Commission District 2, and outside the Cumberland Community Improvement District.

Asked why areas north of Sandy Plains Road are not included in the map, Gavalis would say only that the map “uses boundaries of voting districts already set by the legislature. The proposed map is clean, with no conflicting boundaries.”

The feasibility study indicated that no property taxes would need to be levied above what East Cobb residents are paying for county services.

Gavalis also was asked to respond to citizens who may be happy with the services they’re getting and worry that they might be asked to pay for another layer of government.

“Many residents are not happy and have concerns about the county adequately addressing the values and wishes of East Cobbers.”

He also would not identify those residents or specify their concerns.

Gavalis said that the proposed city is based on a tax base that’s 85 percent residential and 15 percent commercial, similar to Milton in North Fulton. He said officials there have indicated they have not raised the millage rate since 2006.

The GSU study for East Cobb suggested a millage rate of 2.96 and said it may even begin operations with a surplus of nearly $3 million.

“A smaller government can focus on providing the services important to their residents in a timely fashion and can work closely with their citizens to create the type of community they desire,” Gavalis said.

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