Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell said Tuesday she wants to set aside $3 million in a proposed Cobb Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) extension to address flooding problems along Columns Drive and in the Sope Creek watershed area near the Chattahoochee River in East Cobb.
She also wants to create another proposed line item for $2 million for upgrades, maintenance and improvements at county parks in her District 3, which covers most of East Cobb.
At a Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Birrell said she is requesting to shift that $5 million total in proposed funding that had been earmarked for the construction of a new East Cobb Library branch, which came in with a price tag of $25 million on a SPLOST project list released in January.
She said that the new library, which would move from Parkaire Landing Shopping Center to a freestanding building on county property, would be slated for $20 million on a SPLOST project list that commissioners will be asked to finalize later this month.
Birrell announced those changes after a brief presentation of public feedback for the 2028 SPLOST, which could go out to a November referendum. Commissioners are expected to vote on establishing a referendum by June.
If that SPLOST is approved by the public, the one-percent sales tax would be continued for a six-year period starting in 2028, and would collect an estimated $1.15 billion for a variety of county construction and maintenance projects.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Deputy Cobb County Manager Bill Volckmann revealed results of an online survey about the 2028 SPLOST, saying that of the 2,088 responses, 84 percent were in favor of renewing the sales tax.
But when breaking down their views of specific projects, only 25 percent said they would support rebuilding the East Cobb Library.
In another sample, 55 percent of respondents said they viewed the East Cobb Library rebuild favorably, while 45 percent said they did not support it (see the slides below for more).
(A summary of the 2028 SPLOST includes upgrades at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center in East Cobb and the construction of a new Cobb State Court facility.)
Birrell said that a new library is needed because the county is spending nearly $400,000 a year in rent at Parkaire Landing, and because it’s the second-busiest branch in the Cobb system and is running out of room.
The East Cobb Library has 17,000 square feet of space, and includes study and meeting rooms as well as a community meeting space. The proposed new branch would have 28,000 square feet at a location that hasn’t been determined.
“We’re still building a nice library, approximately the same square footage, and building our own building,” Birrell said.
But she said other spending needs for the 2028 SPLOST have come up in her district. Sope Creek flooding issues were emphasized by citizens during a recent effort to replace trees along Columns Drive.
In reading from prepared remarks, Birrell said Cobb DOT and Cobb Water would use that $3 million in funding to “provide support to flooding and stormwater projects within the Sope Creek watershed.”
Columns Drive has been easily flooded in heavy rains, in particular in September 2021, when many residential areas in East Cobb were damaged and destroyed due to stormwater problems.
Specific projects for the $3 million, according to Birrell, could include watershed analysis, the bridge on Columns Drive over Sope Creek, flood plan acquisition, offline water retention facilities, streambank restoration and other public stormwater improvements.
She didn’t specify the $2 million in funding for park improvements, but they would apply only to “existing parks and recreation facilities within District 3.”
Birrell has come under fire recently for proposed changes at Shaw Park from some softball parents, who have claimed that proposed pickleball additions would limit softball availability. That proposal has been put on pause for the time being.
Birrell is a four-term Republican who is seeking re-election, but she has a primary opponent in first-time candidate Chris Wasserman.
Related:
- Cobb tax appraiser projects 2026 digest to grow 4 percent
- Cobb government to allocate $5.787M in opioid settlement
- Cobb County Attorney retires; deputy named successor
- Cobb Commissioner Birrell introduces new staff assistant
- Commissioners appoint new Cobb Water System director
- Cobb reverse course, approves $2M for veterans memorial
- Senior center expansion, Tritt Park plans on SPLOST list
- Cobb officials propose relocating East Cobb Library
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SPLOST has become one big slush fund. When Cobb had two lane roads and mostly stop signs SPLOST was needed to fund road and intersection expansion. Now it’s just a slush fund for pet projects. In this case its columns drive where the rich built homes in the flood plain. Now they want all of us to pay to try and keep the water out of their mansions. I’m voting no, this has got to stop.
This is so typical of the way Cobb County government entities operate. Spending $400K a year to rent space in a shopping center when there are buildings, both municipal and privately owned, that could be repurposed such as former schools, offices, warehouses, and fire stations is fiscal mismanagement! Doing things like they have always been done is why folks like Birrell need to be replaced by fresh minds!