On Monday, March 8, Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will hold two events to share our 2021 State of the County address:
State of the County address at Cobb ChamberDuring the Cobb Chamber’s Marquee Monday luncheon at the Coca-Cola Roxy, Cupid will discuss how Cobb continues to provide outstanding customer service despite the challenges of a global pandemic, address community concerns, support the business community and maintain fiscal stability. She will also highlight the county’s biggest successes and milestones from 2020, as well as our goals for 2021 to continue moving Cobb forward. Registration is open now through March 3 for those attending in person. To attend virtually, register for the event by selecting the virtual attendance option. For more information, or to register, click here.
State of the County community eventCupid will also host a State of the County address for the community on the evening of Monday, March 8. This will be an excellent opportunity for residents to learn about progress and goals in our community and to ask questions. Due to socially-distanced protocols, the event will be open to a small number of interested attendees who will be randomly selected. If you would like to attend in person or know someone who would, please email the names to comments@cobbcounty.org.Everyone is also invited to attend the address virtually. More information will be shared soon about this event.
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The Cobb Animal Shelter will resume previously scheduled appointments for adoptions and surrenders as early as Friday after closing over the weekend due after two dogs were tested for strep zoo.
The county issued a statement Wednesday saying that the two dogs tested negative for strep zoo, which is a bacterial infection that is contagious for animals.
The shelter, located on Al Bishop Drive in Marietta, will undergo a deep cleaning followed by a phased reopening. Staffers will be contacting those people who had appointments canceled when the shelter closed to rearrange their visits.
Due to COVID protocols, appointments are necessary for people wanting to adopt pets from the shelter, or to turn them in. You can call 770-499-4136 for more information and to book an appointment, or visit the shelter’s website.
This is the second time in four months the Cobb Animal Shelter closed because of strep zoo cases in dogs, including the death of one animal. Two years ago, two dogs died at the shelter after strep zoo outbreak.
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A zoning category that’s being requested for the proposed Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment in East Cobb was dropped from the Cobb County Code by commissioners on Tuesday.
In making code amendment changes, commissioners eliminated the ROD-1 category (Redevelopment Overlay District), although it won’t affect the status of the Sprayberry Crossing application.
That remains pending, and is scheduled to be heard in March after several continuances. The change to drop ROD-1 is effective immediately, so new new applications will be taken.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3, which includes the Sprayberry Crossing area, said “I feel like [the zoning category] is not needed” and that anyone seeking to redevelop properties on the county’s designated redevelopment list could apply for other zoning categories.
Atlantic Residential, an Atlanta-based apartment developer, has proposed converting the run-down shopping center at Sandy Plains Road and East Piedmont Road into a mixed-use development with apartments, townhomes, senior living, a grocery store, other retail and community space.
That application was first filed last fall, and has been revised several times, including a new site plan in January that eliminates green space (see below).
The latest site plan calls for 125 apartments, 125 senior living apartments, 44 townhomes, 36,000 square feet of retail and 8,000 square feet of office space. Most of the retail space would be for a grocery store.
The apartment numbers have been reduced from nearly 200 and the story height has come down from five to three.
This is the first zoning case brought under ROD-1, which was created in 2005 and is designed to spur redevelopment of blighted properties.
Sprayberry Crossing has long been included on a redevelopment list approved by commissioners.
ROD-1 projects are “site plan specific,” meaning that there aren’t minimum lot sizes, setbacks and buffers that are required in most rezoning cases.
At least 10 percent of the housing units in an ROD-1 project must be set aside for residents making no more than 80 percent of an area’s average median income.
Sprayberry Crossing still has a few businesses open, but is largely empty, and nearby residents have been organizing for years for its redevelopment.
But other residents have been opposed to Atlantic Residential’s plans, some for traffic reasons but many because of the apartments.
Some have also asserted that the ROD-1 provisions don’t allow for apartments at all.
The commissioners’ vote to scrap ROD-1 was 5-0. Birrell asked that the code change be made effective immediately instead of March 1, as had been in the code.
“There could be something filed between then and now,” she said.
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We’ve been asked by some readers about the status of tax filing assistance that’s been provided by the AARP at Cobb libraries for the last few years, and today got some answers.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Cobb County Public Library System announced Monday that those AARP Tax-Aide sessions will not be taking place.
Retired accountants had been on hand at various branches to help citizens with their tax filings, but some of those sessions last year were cancelled when the pandemic began.
The library system said in a release late Monday afternoon that 1040 federal 2020 tax forms will be provided as long as supplies last.
But like everything else you do with the libraries for the moment, you’ll have to order those materials in advance for curbside pickup.
The branches have been closed to patrons since December due to rising COVID case rates, but checked-out materials have been available on weekdays
Those pickup hours are Mondays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact your specific library branch to order tax forms.
Here’s more from the library system’s release:
“Curbside service for library items reserved in advance is offered at all CCPL locations except the Switzer Library in downtown Marietta as the facility is under renovation and the Sweetwater Valley and Lewis A. Ray libraries.
“Cobb libraries will also offer limited free printing of federal and state forms when contacted in advance by phone and given the form number or name. This service will not include instruction books. Library staff is unable to answer tax questions or provide advice about which forms to use.
“Residents are encouraged to review tax-filing information at irs.gov and dor.georgia.gov for details that apply to individual circumstances, including virtual resources for tax-filing assistance. Tax season has been delayed as the IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue announced 2020 tax filings will be accepted beginning on February 12, a few weeks later than normal tax-filing schedules.”
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Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark.
Due to a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine supplies, Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Friday it is temporarily “pausing” appointments for the public.
Since early January, the health agency had been releasing appointment slots each Friday for the following week, prioritizing health care workers, first responders and people ages 65 and older.
But the latest update, which didn’t specify when vaccinations might resume, indicated that current supplies may not increase until March or April.
In a message on its website, Cobb and Douglas Public Health also said that those who have a previously scheduled appointment for a first or second dose “will not be affected by this change unless you have been contacted.”
The agency said that when more appointments become available, they will be posted on its website and social media accounts.
In its status update on Friday—you can read through it by clicking here—Cobb and Douglas Public Health said it has administered 14,000 doses of the COVID vaccines since early January, including 11,896 at Jim Miller Park in Marietta.
But only 410 doses were given at Jim Miller on Friday, down from nearly 700 that had been distributed on Monday. That figure was provided in a briefing Tuesday to Cobb commissioners by Cobb and Douglas Public Health director Dr. Janet Memark.
In her remarks, Memark said the agency was “prioritizing second doses” and that “if we have some extra we’ll schedule a first dose.”
But as the week continued the available vaccine doses began running out.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being given by Cobb and Douglas Public Health, which is hopeful that it soon will get supplies of the Astra Zeneca and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. The latter is a single-dose vaccine.
As of Saturday there have been 50,173 confirmed COVID cases in Cobb County from PCR tests and 11,923 more from antigen tests since last March.
A total of 693 have died in Cobb since that time, and 38 have been reported since Monday. Those include 13 deaths reported on Wednesday and 12 on Thursday.
The case rate is starting to drop slightly in Cobb, as are the community spread figures. As of Saturday, the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people in the county is 661, after surpassing 1,000 earlier this month.
Earlier this week Cobb and metro-Atlanta school board members and superintendents sent letters to Gov. Brian Kemp asking for school staff to be prioritized for vaccines, but on Tuesday his spokesman said that Kemp “has repeatedly stated—as recently as today—that as soon as Georgia begins to receive increased vaccine supply, teachers and school staff will absolutely be included in any expanded criteria.”
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Shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, when next week’s appointments were released, they were already filled.
On Saturday morning Cobb County government sent a message saying that it’s holding a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday with health department leaders to answer the public’s questions about the vaccinations and appointments.
You’re also invited to send questions in advance to comments@cobbcounty.org.
The current phase of testing is for health care workers, first responders and people 65 and older, and it’s the latter group we’re hearing from most of all.
People are frustrated that the server for the appointment page is down—it’s been crashing all week—or when they’re able to get through, there are no more bookings available.
As we posted earlier this week, Cobb and Douglas Public Health is taking appointments a week at a time, based on vaccine ability.
A few comments we got Friday night:
Please take care of these older people! The website is the only way and it is constantly jammed.
I have tried all day every day for last 2 weeks when vaccine became available and have not been able to get through. I am 82 and been praying every day as I am doing what I should ie wearing Masks, staying mostly home and am scared due to very high people in hospital with COVID.
On Tuesday, Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, admitted that “there are just not enough vaccines” to meet the heavy demand.
Late Friday afternoon, she said there only 80,000 vaccinations available a week to providers throughout Georgia.
“Our bi-weekly talks with the Georgia Department of Health reveal that they are actively working on plans to further increase the number of providers able to offer vaccinations including large retailers like Wal-Mart and Kroger,” she said. “Although it is difficult to hear as this pandemic wears on, we urge patience to allow more providers to come online to offer the vaccination.”
She said growing COVID case numbers “is an additional concern to an already dire situation.” In the last two weeks, there have been more than 10,000 PCR and antigen cases in Cobb and Douglas counties, with the highest levels of hospitalization yet during the pandemic, which is in its 11th month.
Memark said that while “we are all fatigued and stressed by the effects of this year-long pandemic . . . the vaccine is here and will be distributed faster and faster. We must all do what we can to give this plan time to work. The cases are exceptionally high right now. We will be feeling the effects of holiday gatherings. We urge all citizens to do what needs to be done to control the pandemic. Try your best to not leave your homes unless you absolutely have to leave. Try to telework when you can. Try not to gather with those outside of our households. Wear your masks in public. Wash your hands frequently. Do not leave your homes if you have COVID-19 or are in close contact with someone who had it.
“Working together as a community is the only way we will beat this pandemic.”
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All Cobb County Government offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Although our annual celebration of his life and works will look different this year, we encourage you to enjoy our virtual event, in partnership with the Cobb NAACP.
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The director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health said Tuesday the agency ran out of its allotted COVID-19 vaccines on the first day that people age 65 and older could book an appointment.
In remarks Tuesday to the Cobb Board of Commissioners, Dr. Janet Memark apologized for the website crash, but said no new appointments will be released until the agency gets more vaccines.
She said all appointments for the rest of this week are already booked, and that another shipment of vaccines is expected soon to get through the end of next week.
“There are just not enough vaccines for everybody,” said Memark, who didn’t disclose the initial number of vaccines her agency received.
On Monday, 700 vaccines were administered in a drive-thru set-up at Jim Miller Park, and the agency has vaccinated 2,500 people in all. She said the eventual goal is to be able to provide 1,000 vaccines a day in Cobb.
Those 65 and older and their caregivers, and first responders, are eligible for the vaccines in the state’s 1A+ phase.
Even late Tuesday afternoon, the scheduling link for booking an appointment gave a busy server message. Memark said the Georgia Department of Public Health server was running at 210 percent capacity, and that a new server had to be found to handle the demand.
The Cobb and Douglas Public Health website, which was down for most of Monday, is back up and running, and is offering basic information on the vaccine appointments process.
Memark said appointments are necessary—there are no walk-up vaccines being offered—and that those eligible for them can go to another county and get them.
But demand is high everywhere, she said, noting that in a nearby county, a limit of 9,000 appointments were made in six minutes.
She said Georgia DPH is working on a universal scheduling program that should be available soon.
“Please be patient with us,” Memark said, adding that her agency will be releasing more appointment slots when more vaccines are delivered.
“A week at a time,” she said. “As demand ramps up, we pray that production ramps up.”
She said even when improvements are made to the appointment system, “it will probably not be perfect.”
Georgia DPH also has created a COVID vaccination locator page that has details about availability, hours and contact information.
Here’s some updated information sent out by Cobb and Douglas Public Health about scheduling an appointment:
Cobb and Douglas County Residents,
If you are a first responder, healthcare worker, or 65 years of age or older, please click on one of the links below to schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Appointments are posted one week at a time due to uncertain vaccine availability. Please check back each Friday after 5 p.m. for appointments for the coming Monday-Saturday.
Please Note: COVID-19 appointments for this week (week of 1/11/21) have all been filled.
Everyone must have an appointment to receive a vaccine. Individuals may come together in the same car if they have appointments for the same day, even if different times.
Please be patient as Cobb & Douglas Public Health is adding appointments to the system no more than a week at a time due to uncertain vaccine supply.
There are a limited number of appointments each day, so you may not get an appointment right away.
Please follow the instructions in your appointment confirmation email.
Memark continued to encourage citizens to wash their hands, socially distance and wear masks in public, but urged people not to go out unless absolutely necessary.
“We are in a very dire situation,” Memark said. “There is no end in sight right now.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 427 new COVID cases reported in Cobb, following a single-day record of 96 last Thursday.
Cobb’s community spread data reached new heights on Tuesday, with a 14-day average of 923 cases per 100,000 people.
Eight more deaths were also reported Tuesday, giving Cobb 589 since last March, the second-highest number in Georgia.
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After a long line of speakers—more than two hours’ worth—had come before her, new Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid offered brief remarks Thursday at her official swearing-in ceremony.
“Everything that could be shared has been shared,” Cupid said at the Cobb County Civic Center.
Other elected officials, business and community leaders and members of her family took the podium before her.
Cupid, who for two terms was the sole Democratic commissioner representing District 4 in South Cobb, officially became the head of government on Jan. 1, after defeating former chairman Mike Boyce in November.
“I never thought this would be in the cards for me,” Cupid said of her career in politics and public service. “But I am so grateful and honored and humbled.”
As she was listening to the other speakers, Cupid said, “my heart was filled with love. And anybody who knows me know I never want to let those I love down. I kept hearing all these people who were expressing love and I don’t want to let you or any citizen of Cobb County down.”
During her campaign, she ran on a platform of “moving the county forward” by expanding relationships and partnerships across broader sections of Cobb County.
She will lead an all-female, five-member Cobb Board of Commissioners that will have a black Democratic majority.
Cupid is the first woman and the first African-American to lead the county government. Two of her predecessors, both Republicans, spoke on her behalf.
“The voters couldn’t have made a better choice for a difficult time,” said Bill Byrne, who served as chairman in the 1990s and ran unsuccessfully against then-chairman Tim Lee in 2012.
“Cobb needs her today more than any chairman in the past. She has the focus, the ability and the support to do that.”
Sam Olens, who was the chairman when Cupid was first elected, noted how she’s the latest in a long line of elected officials in Cobb who’ve come from somewhere else.
“Cobb is a community open to new ideas and new leadership,” Olens said. “She desires to make a difference and she will.”
Cupid is a native of Michigan who earned an engineering degree at Georgia Tech, then stayed to attend graduate and law school and is raising two sons she and her husband are home-schooling.
“I’ve always had people supporting me, to help get me on this path,” Cupid said after taking the oath of office.
Let’s all help to remove that burden and weight together,” she said. “Nobody here can shoulder all the work that it’s going to take for us to continue to move this county forward.
“It always has been and always continue to be about teamwork.”
Cupid will preside over her first public meetings as chairwoman next Tuesday during a business meeting that starts at 9 a.m.
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During her swearing-in last week Cobb District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson said she’s conducting an open process to fill the many appointed roles citizens play on various county boards and authorities.
Here’s what she posted on Monday:
Happy to say that over 100 people have applied to be appointed to a board- a major milestone. We are wrapping up round 1 of interviews and selections for the immediate appointments, but still have multiple rounds to go!
We want at least 500 people to apply (there are at least 100K eligible applicants in the district and even more in the county), so please apply. We will interview you and identify your best fit!
There are more than 40 such boards and authorities, most with positions appointed by commissioners, and include the Cobb Planning Commission, the county’s library and recreation boards, neighborhood safety commission, cemetery preservation and animal services board.
Richardson, who officially assumed office on Jan. 1 (official bio here), will be holding a Facebook live event Monday to introduce her staff. That event takes place from 6:30-7 p.m. and can be viewed by clicking here.
The first meeting of the Cobb commissioners for the year takes place next Tuesday.
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Promising to “connect Cobb” with a collaborative approach, new District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson took the oath of office Thursday morning embodying the change in political leadership in the county.
The 31-year-old Equifax technology manager made that pledge with her hand on her grandmother’s Bible, and with another new Cobb commissioner, Monique Sheffield, and incoming chairwoman Lisa Cupid, also in attendance at the Cobb Civic Center.
They’ll make up a Democratic majority of African-American women on the five-member Cobb Board of Commissioners, which also will be all-female.
But for Richardson, whose family came to metro Atlanta from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, she spoke of how she wants to represent her adopted home community in broader terms.
“Every time there’s an historical moment, it gives you that opportunity to recalibrate and set a new standard,” Richardson said. “Because everyone has the opportunity to reflect, and there’s so much greatness that comes out of those pauses.”
Those remarks echoed the theme of her first campaign for public office, which touched on what she saw was the need to make connections not just with those in other commissioner districts, but also with Cobb’s cities, local school boards and other components of the community.
Richardson invited outgoing Republican District 2 Commissioner Bob Ott, who is retiring after three terms, to speak.
Before handing her the keys to his office, he said he was he was pleased with “a smooth transition” that’s been taking place since she won the Nov. 3 election.
Although they’re from different parties and have different outlooks on politics, Ott said the citizens of District 2—which stretches from Mabry Park in Northeast Cobb to the Cumberland-Vinings-Smyrna area— “want to see harmony, not political infighting.
“I like to say that potholes do not have parties,” he said. “People don’t care whether you have a D or an R by your name. They just want it fixed.”
Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard said of Richardson, his campaign manager for his 2017 campaign for the state senate: “She thinks big.”
“Imagine if we pushed on the same path, at the same time and in the same direction,” Howard said. “She gets ready to get down and do the work. We need more people like Jerica.”
Former State Sen. Doug Stoner said Richardson represents what has made Cobb dynamic over the years—an infusion of newcomers.
“We need new folks with new ideas and new perspectives,” he said. “It helps Cobb County keep up with a changing world.”
Richardson will be only the third District 2 commissioner. Before Ott’s 12 years in office, Joe Lee Thompson was commissioner for 16 years.
She has formed what she calls a a community advisory cabinet, and she’s taking applications for individuals to serve on boards appointed by commissioners.
Richardson also said she has a list of 14 priorities that she’ll be releasing in detail soon. At the top of that list is a spirit of collaboration, done with the understanding that while the county has had a past that hasn’t been fully inclusive, there has been progress along the way.
“We think of where we’ve been, where we are today and where we want to be,” she said, “and that should be inspirational.
“Reflect on what this means and dream again. Dream of the possibilities. This is our opportunity to set a whole new standard.”
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Tokyo Valentino put up a temporary sign on Johnson Ferry Road that the county ordered be taken down. (ECN file)
Right before Cobb County government shut down operations due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the county’s community development office issued a business license to a company saying it wanted to open up a clothing store in a former mattress store building on Johnson Ferry Road.
On March 11, 1290 Clothing Co. LLC got approval to add to the retail market of East Cobb’s busiest commercial thoroughfare.
Except it turned out not to be a pure-play clothing store.
When the store opened in June, the pink and light blue signage was for a Tokyo Valentino location, the latest in a string of metro Atlanta adult retail stores owned by Michael Morrison, whose legal battles with local jurisdictions go back more than 20 years.
Since no rezoning was required, however, Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott said at the time that the county could take no action.
When East Cobb Newsfirst reported in late May that 1290 Clothing Co. might be a Tokyo Valentino store instead, Morrison denied that.
By late October, as the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted to revoke the store’s business license on grounds of misrepresentation, Morrison’s attorney said during a contentious due-cause hearing that he would “would hate to see a county revoke a business license because some people—a small majority—don’t like it.”
While there were plenty of East Cobb residents who publicly opposed a sex shop in their community, many others were not, suggesting a live-and-let-live approach.
Ott, who’s retiring at the end of the year, defended the county’s action to shut down Tokyo Valentino—which had a store in the city of Marietta closed this summer on similar grounds—and to overhaul the county’s adult business ordinance.
In both instances, Cobb hired Scott Bergtold of Chattanooga, a lawyer who’s helped other metro Atlanta jurisdictions shape legislative and legal measures against Morrison’s businesses.
Ott sponsored a package of code amendment changes that could be seen as being designed to put one business out of business.
On Nov. 29, the county filed formal papers in Cobb Superior Court seeking revocation of Tokyo Valentino’s business license; you can read the complaint here.
Tokyo Valentino has not yet responded, and the store remains open pending a likely appeal.
“The question is, how was the business opened?” Ott said in a recent interview. “The court case is not about the sex shop. It’s about the validity of the business license.”
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At the end of their final meetings last Tuesday on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, outgoing chairman Mike Boyce and retiring District 2 commissioner Bob Ott made some farewell remarks that you can watch in full below.
Although he didn’t always agree with Boyce on policy matters—especially a 2019 tax increase—Ott said of his fellow member of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church that “I don’t know of anybody who pounded the pavement more than you did to get elected.”
“I want to thank you for all the time you’ve put into the county,” said Ott, a Republican who declined to seek a fourth term.
To commissioner and chairwoman-elect Lisa Cupid, who defeated Boyce in last month’s elections, Ott said “you’re taking on a big role at a big time. I wish you all the best. . . . What I would say to you is, don’t forget your family. Family comes first.”
Cupid, who has represented District 4 in South Cobb the last eight years, is the mother of two sons who are being homeschooled. She will be sworn in Jan. 7.
Ott also presented a special gift to District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb, a copy of the original Mabry Park master plan.
Birrell was a driving force behind the creation of the park, which opened in 2019, and by then was located in Ott’s District 2.
“I won’t miss all the phone calls and e-mails,” said Ott, who will be succeeded by Democrat Jerica Richardson, who will be sworn in Dec. 31. “It’s amazing how many you can all write.”
Boyce, an East Cobb resident who first ran for chairman in 2012, defeated incumbent Tim Lee in a 2016 Republican runoff.
He opened his remarks by thanking the county government staff, saying the board “is not the face of this county.” He mentioned in particular Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, and her staff, for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We just really need to do the right thing here,” Boyce said. “Wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance. We must take responsibility for each other.”
A retired Marine Corps colonel, Boyce said of his first stint in public office that “this was the fastest four years of my life. That tells me that what we did together was fun. If it’s a bad time you can count every minute.
“I focused every single day on what I thought was best for the people of this county. The message I want to leave is with this board. I hope that you’ll take some time to appreciate what you have done this year. You have been extraordinary.”
Referencing the board’s distribution of $132 million in federal CARES Act funding to help those affected by COVID-related closures, he told his fellow commissioners that “you have represented the best of what it is not just to be an elected official but what it is to be an American and a compassionate human.”
The board authorized spending to help small businesses retain employees, for mortgage and rental assistance, for food distribution and to aid county non-profits.
“This has been the challenge of a generation and probably a century and you have stepped up to the plate,” Boyce said.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb County Public Library System said Friday the seven branches that have been reopened since July will be closed “until further notice” because of rising cases of COVID-19.
Those branches include the East Cobb Library, the Mountain View Regional Library and the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.
In a press release, the system said patrons can continue to reserve checked-out items for curbside service at those branches, plus Gritters Library in East Cobb and four others elsewhere the county.
Curbside service hours are Mondays from 10 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. and Tuesdays-Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. The Cobb library branches that had been reopened had been closed on the weekends.
The 12 library branches open for curbside service also will provide telephone reference services during the hours.
In the last eight days Cobb has had two record “date of report” COVID case numbers, including a new high of 443 on Friday.
The “date of onset” metric—or when a case was confirmed by a county health agency—also has been rising in recent weeks, and steeply.
The rising case numbers prompted the Cobb County School District to go all-online to finish the fall semester, and on Friday the district reported 346 new cases in the past week, including 23 at Walton High School.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the rate of community spread in Cobb County is at its highest point since the pandemic began in March, with a 14-day average of 554 cases per 100,000.
Here’s more from the Cobb library system on resources that will remain available to the public:
All outdoor Cobb library book return boxes will remain open, with the exception of Switzer Library as the facility in downtown Marietta is under renovation.
In addition to offering curbside service at Cobb libraries, Cobb library online digital resources – eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital magazines, streaming videos, databases and more – are offered through www.cobbcat.org.
Information about reference questions from the public is also provided through the library’s virtual reference service, Ask-a-Librarian, at www.cobbcat.org/ask-a-librarian.
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Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce will preside over his final meeting Tuesday.
With the end-of-the-year deadline approaching, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will be asked Tuesday night to approve most of what’s left of its allocated federal CARES Act funding.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and can be seen on Cobb County Government’s website, YouTube and Facebook pages and its CobbTV public access Channel 23 on Comcast.
The CARES Act requests on Tuesday’s agenda call for spending $350,000 for rental assistance for people facing eviction due to COVID-related business closures, and another $350,000 to provide emergency food assistance to those in need before the end of the year.
Another $105,1000 is being requested by CobbWorks for job-training programs. In addition, the agenda item also asks for an unspecified amount of funding to be reimbursed to Cobb public safety agencies for payroll expenses related to the COVID response.
In October commissioners approved spending 20 percent of those costs with CARES Act money through Dec. 26. Tuesday’s agenda item calls for reimbursing the county’s general fund, fire fund and E-911 payroll accounts for the police and fire departments, emergency management agency and sheriff’s office.
Under the CARES Act, all spending must be designated by Dec. 31. The funding was approved by Congress to help state and local governments mitigate the economic, food, housing and other impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns.
Cobb County Government received $132 million in CARES Act funding. The biggest amount of that money, nearly $50 million, was used to provide grants to more than 3,000 locally based small businesses. Another $14 million was approved to assist renters and homeowners with rental and mortgage payments, and nearly $2 million was given to non-profits who provide food assistance.
Tuesday’s meeting will be the last for Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce, who was defeated in his re-election bid by Commissioner Lisa Cupid, and for Commissioner Bob Ott, who is retiring after three terms serving District 2, which includes part of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Vinings area.
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Bob Ott at the construction site of the new Braves stadium; at a town hall meeting; and at one of many community events during his 12 years as a Cobb commissioner.
Bob Ott’s tenure on the Cobb Board of Commissioners began with a major crisis, and it’s ending with one.
The District 2 commissioner took office in 2009 not long before catastrophic flooding heavily damaged parts of Cobb County, especially along the Chattahoochee River.
As he prepares for his final meetings on Tuesday, he said he’s pleased with efforts by the board to assist Cobb citizens, business owners and non-profit groups reeling from COVID-19 and related shutdowns and closures.
“From the great floods to the pandemic,” Ott noted in an interview with East Cobb News this week.
He’s been making parting remarks to community groups and sharing memories and photos with readers of his weekly e-mail newsletter in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, there will be a final zoning hearing in the morning, and a regular meeting in the evening. Ott said he’ll be publishing an open letter and is planning a farewell address to deliver as the gavel comes down on a 12-year career as a commissioner.
The only regret he has, he said, is not being able to close out with town hall meetings that he says is among his proudest accomplishments.
Ott speaking to an East Cobb business group in September.
“That’s probably the hardest part of all this,” said Ott, who pledged accessibility when he was first elected.
In addition to the town halls, he started a weekly newsletter, following what he had seen from former Congressman Tom Price, and for five years was the host of the “2Talk” program on the Cobb government’s public access channel in which he interviewed county department heads and other officials.
A Delta Air Lines pilot who had not been involved in politics until a zoning case near his home in the Powers Ferry corridor, Ott said opening up the process of government to citizens has been an important part of what he sought office to achieve.
But since he defeated former commissioner Joe Lee Thompson—who had appointed him to the Cobb Planning Commission—in 2008, the demands of the job have become considerable.
“I don’t think people know what the job entails,” Ott said. “It’s more of a full-time job than working at Delta.”
Each of the four district commissioners is paid a part-time salary, and has a full-time administrative assistant. When he announced in January he wouldn’t be seeking a fourth term, Ott made similar overtones.
It’s a job that Ott, a Republican, is handing off to his successor, Democrat Jerica Richardson, who is being sworn in on Dec. 31. He’s met and spoken with her several times since her election on Nov. 3, and has invited her to meetings with staff.
“I’m a firm believer that I needed to include her in on that,” said Ott, who endorsed her Republican opponent, Fitz Johnson.
Ott said while he advised Richardson to keep some of his appointments for the sake of continuity, “I told her I won’t be telling her how to do that job.”
Ott at a citizens meeting during the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford Master Plan process.
From civic groups to a stadium
A native of Westfield, N.J., Ott came to metro Atlanta in 1991 as a Delta pilot. After he got married and settled into a home in Terrell Mill Estates, a major residential zoning proposal came that he and other nearby residents opposed.
He parlayed that activity into serving as the president of the East Cobb Civic Association before his appointment to the planning board.
Starting the town halls as a commissioner, he said, was important for citizens to feel as though they had a connection with the government.
“The felt like they had a voice,” he said.
Ott oversaw community-driven processes to create master plans in District 2, including areas along Powers Ferry and Johnson Ferry roads, in Vinings, and most recently, the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area.
Ott, right, and former Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee with Boy Scouts at a Braves-related event.
The biggest vote Ott cast was for the 2013 memorandum of understanding with the Atlanta Braves for a new baseball stadium in the Cumberland area.
The normally accessible Ott stayed out of the public eye for two weeks after the proposal was revealed, holding a town hall meeting the night before he joined the board majority in a 4-1 vote to approve the deal.
He said he understands why some citizens still remain chastened about the process, but maintains that the stadium—now called Truist Park—and subsequent development surrounding it “has been a huge revenue generator for the county.”
Ott said the area has seen an increase of more than 22,000 jobs, and has sparked redevelopment interest in ancillary areas, including the Powers Ferry corridor.
After the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shutdowns that closed many businesses and threw many workers out of jobs, Cobb County received $132 million in federal CARES funding.
Ott proposed spending $50 million for small business owners to stay afloat, and a special panel formed by the Cobb Chamber or Commerce’s SelectCobb economic development arm selected 3,715 businesses to receive the grants.
Commissioners also approved CARES Act funding to provide mortgage and rental assistance and to help non-profits who provide food for those in need.
But if those affected by pandemic closures “don’t have a job,” Ott said, “they can’t take care of their families. We had to figure out a way to keep these businesses open.”
A low-tax Republican—Ott frequently told citizens he’d never vote to raise their property taxes—he says that government works best “when it helps people help themselves.”
Ott said his biggest town hall crowd was in early 2019 regarding East Cobb cityhood.
Political and personal change
Ott’s transition to a private citizen comes as the county is undergoing a political, demographic and generational transition.
He’s been part of a 4-1 Republican majority; in January, Democrats will have a 3-2 majority following commissioner Lisa Cupid’s election as board chair over Republican incumbent Mike Boyce.
Ott—who feuded with Boyce and predecessor Tim Lee, another fellow Republican, on taxes and spending issues—said of the partisan dynamics on the board that “there’s a lot more to the job than what you see from the outside.”
He wouldn’t predict what issues might be prominent on a Democratic majority, other than continuing budget and COVID responses.
While he admitted there probably will be some 3-2 party-line votes, “there’s no guarantee” it will happen on all major votes.
Former commissioner Thea Powell was Ott’s aide during the Atlanta Braves stadium deal.
“You’ve got to give Democrats a credit,” he said, noting how the Cobb precinct maps in countywide elections looked very similar. “They campaigned where they knew they needed to.”
Ott’s been coy about his involvement with a group pushing for East Cobb Cityhood. He held a packed-house town-hall at the Catholic Church of St. Ann in March 2019, explaining that “you have to be able to talk to the people.”
The day after that meeting, an incorporation bill requested by the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb was introduced in the Georgia legislature by State Rep. Matt Dollar.
A good bit of vocal opposition brewed after that, and last December the pro-cityhood group said it wouldn’t pursue legislation after some commissioners and legislators said they didn’t support it.
Those include Republicans and conservatives who’ve said a city would add another layer of government.
Ott never publicly offered his thoughts at the time, but says now that if people in East Cobb “get concerned about the direction of the board, that conversation might start back up again.”
For the time being, Ott is stepping away from public activities. He noted he has only a few items on his January calendar, involving Boy Scouts and other groups at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, where he’s a longtime member.
He said he’s working on some projects around the house, including woodworking, and enjoys a wine-making hobby, and other “things I haven’t had time time to do.”
He and his wife Judy are also becoming empty nesters. Their daughter Katie is a recent graduate of Berry College and their son Chris attends Auburn University.
Since the pandemic, Ott has been tracking local and state COVID-19 data in a daily e-mail he sends to around 50 people, including elected officials and school superintendents.
Ott hasn’t flown for Delta since March but is on call as a pilot for international routes that include Amsterdam and San Juan, and has 16 months until his federally mandated retirement at age 65.
He said it’s unlikely he’ll seek elective office again, but eventually thinks he’ll be involved in public life in some fashion in the future.
“Twelve years in politics is a long time,” said Ott.
Ott and his wife Judy at a farewell reception for Cobb commissioners this week.
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Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott sends along word that Ansie Krige, the longtime branch manager at the East Cobb Library, died suddenly on Dec. 5.
“She loved that library,” said Ott. “It’s a huge loss.”
Thomas Brooks, a spokesman for the Cobb County Public Library System, said in a statement that Krige’s passing “was unexpected and we haven’t heard an update from her family. Ansie had a major, positive impact for the East Cobb community for many years.”
A private celebration of her life will be held in Denver.
Here’s more from what Ott distributed Friday in his e-mail newsletter:
Cobb Library staff members and community leaders expressed shock over the unexpected loss of Ansie Krige. She led the staff of one of the Cobb library system’s busiest locations. She was known as an advocate for education, health, and positive social connections for the East Cobb community. Many library patrons regularly sought her out during their visits to the library to share in conversations about family, literature, animals, and more. Known as a gracious host to library patrons, guest authors and speakers at the library, Mrs. Krige developed innovative programs and built a library collection aligned with community needs. Among the signature programs for the library system she developed is the Senior Wellness Series offering exercise, yoga, physical therapy assessments and more to capacity crowds of senior citizens. In lieu of flowers, the Krige family requests donations in memory of Ansie Krige to the Humane Society.
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Cobb Commissioner-elect Jerica Richardson has announced that she will be sworn in on Dec. 31, representing District 2 that includes part of East Cobb.
She’s one of several newly elected office-holders who will be having swearing-in ceremonies that will be live-streamed on Cobb TV and Cobb County Government’s online channels.
That’s due to COVID-19 restrictions that will limit ceremonies to small gatherings.
Richardson, a Democrat, will officially take office on Jan. 1, succeeding Republican Bob Ott, who is retiring after three terms.
Her swearing-in takes place on Dec. 31 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cobb Civic Center.
Richardson was the featured speaker Tuesday at a breakfast of the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. You can watch her full remarks, which were given at the Indian Hills Country Club, in the video below.
A first-time candidate for public office, Richardson is a technology manager at Equifax. She edged Republican Fitz Johnson in the Nov. 3 general election on a platform of “Connecting Cobb.” (See campaign stories at the bottom of this post for more details.)
The East Cobb Area Council also on Tuesday honored Mitch Rhoden as its 2020 East Cobb Citizen of the Year. That presentation is at the end of the video.
Also appearing at Tuesday’s breakfast was Ott and commissioner Lisa Cupid, who recently defeated incumbent Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce.
She will be sworn in as chairwoman on Jan. 7 at 3 p.m., also at the Cobb Civic Center.
Boyce and Ott will be serving in their final meetings next Tuesday, Dec. 15, when the commission has its last business meeting and zoning hearing of 2020.
Cupid, Richardson and District 4 commissioner-elect Monique Sheffield will form a Democratic majority when the Cobb Board of Commissioners meets on Jan. 12.
Cobb Government issued the following schedule of live-streaming of swearing-in ceremonies it is showing, starting this Thursday. It’s tentative and subject to change:
3:45 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 10
Judge Jason Marbutt
Ceremonial Courtroom
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Friday, Dec. 11, is the deadline for Cobb County homeowners who have been affected by COVID-19 to apply for up to $4,800 in mortgage payment assistance. Cobb homeowners who have fallen behind in their mortgage payments due to a COVID-19 related involuntary financial hardship, medical hardship, death of a spouse/co-borrower, can still apply for up $4,800 of mortgage payment assistance, as well as optional homeownership counseling. Applications will be accepted through Dec.11 at www.CobbHomeSaver.org.
The funding will come out of the $132 million allocated to the county in the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The “Cobb HomeSaver Program” provides mortgage payment assistance and/or homeowner counseling to Cobb County homeowners that have been adversely affected by COVID-19.
Cobb County Homeowners should visit CobbHomeSaver.org for a complete list of the eligibility criteria and to apply. Grant applications will be accepted on a “first-come, first-served” basis. The grant amount awarded to homeowners may vary.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Today, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, joined by the Cobb Chamber and the Cobb County Coalition of Business Associations proclaimed November 28 as “Small Business Saturday” in Cobb County, and urged all residents to support small businesses and merchants on this day and throughout the year.
“At the Cobb Chamber, the strength of our small business community is a top priority. And, this year, Cobb’s small business owners need our community’s support and patronage now more than ever, said Sharon Mason, President and CEO of the Cobb Chamber. “Small Business Saturday is a great way to unite our neighbors in investing in local merchants, shops and restaurants. Join us in supporting our local small businesses not just on this day, but all year long.”
Since its inception in 2010, Small Business Saturday, backed by American Express, has promoted the significance of supporting small, independently owned businesses across the country. Falling between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is dedicated to supporting the diverse range of local businesses that help create jobs, boost the economy, and keep communities thriving across the country.
Per the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are currently 30.7 million small businesses in the country, representing 99.7 percent of all businesses with paid employees. From 2000-2018, small businesses were responsible for nearly 64.9 percent of net new jobs created. Sixty-two percent of U.S. small businesses reported the need for consumer spending to return to pre-COVID levels by the end of 2020 in order to remain in business.
Small Business Saturday is supported by advocacy groups, as well as public and private organizations across the country. In 2019, U.S. consumers reported spending a record high of an estimated $19.6 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday. Ninety-five percent of consumers who shopped on Small Business Saturday said that it encourages them to shop or eat at small, independently-owned businesses all year long, not just during the holiday season.
For more information about Small Business Saturday and how to participate, visit shopsmall.com or contact Pam Woo, of the Small Business Saturday Coalition, at pwoo@wipp.org.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
On Monday, March 8, Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will hold two events to share our 2021 State of the County address:
