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.
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 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
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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.
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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.
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Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved a $690,809 contract for traffic improvements at the intersection of Old Canton Road and Holly Springs Road.
Funding for the project is provided in the 2016 Cobb Special Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Glosson was the low bidder against six other companies, and the measure was approved by commissioners on their consent agenda.
A total of $1 million was budgeted for the project, which will include the construction of pedestrian refuge islands, a guardrail, signage and striping at a three-way intersection.
About $170,000 has been spent in initial costs, and another $27,000 will be spent to relocate water lines (to be paid with Cobb Water System funds).
Initially the project called for a roundabout, but that option was removed after feedback from the community and Cobb DOT staff after open house sessions.
What’s shown above is a concept map; to see a larger view click here.
The project is expected to take around six months once construction begins.
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A week after he lost his re-election bid to one of his colleagues, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce pledged to assist her as she is set to take office in January.
He also expressed dismay over heated disputes involving the presidential election, both at the national and state levels.
At the end of Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners regular meeting, Boyce congratulated Commissioner Lisa Cupid, who defeated him with 53 percent of the vote.
He’s a Republican who like other countywide GOP office holders was swept out in a Democratic surge. Cupid, currently the only Democrat on the five-member board, will lead a 3-2 Democratic majority when she takes over.
Noting that more than 300,000 people voted in Cobb County, Boyce said that “I think that’s a great example of true democracy in action.
“I think it’s also important as part of this process that we have a transition in grace. That we acknowledge the voice of the people, we hear them and we move on.”
He said it’s important for Cobb citizens “that this message gets out loud and clear to our national and state leaders that this transition is part of the election process.
“I find it extraordinary that four years ago nobody complained about the results of the election, and four years later we have people who question the integrity of the voting process—because they lost.
“That doesn’t reflect well of leadership. That doesn’t happen in Cobb County. That’s not going to happen in Cobb County as long as I’m the chairman.”
Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are facing Jan. 5 runoffs against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively, and as the close voting in Georgia in the presidential race appears to have set up a recount.
Without citing any specifics, they accused him of mismanagement and a lack of transparency. Raffensperger responded by saying that if there has been any illegal voting it “is unlikely” it would rise to the numbers to change the outcome in Georgia.
“As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate,” Raffensperger said. “I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that.”
(Loeffler and Perdue are holding a runoff rally Wednesday morning at Cobb Republican headquarters in Marietta.)
Democratic president-elect Joe Biden leads Republican president Donald Trump in Georgia by around 10,000 votes, after Trump led by more than 370,000 at the end of election night.
But as has been the case in other states, notably Pennslyvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden moved ahead based largely on absentee ballots.
Biden made a victory speech on Saturday but Trump has not conceded, as his campaign is alleging voter fraud in those states and elsewere. He’s also refusing to cooperate in any transition efforts.
Boyce, who defeated then-chairman Tim Lee in 2016, is a retired Marine colonel who mentioned that it’s Veterans Day on Wednesday, “a great time to remember what we stand for. Many of us fought for freedom and still fight for freedom we all fight for freedom in our own ways.”
He said the best way to to that “is to acknowledge the will and voice of the people and to continue this transition in grace.”
Cupid will become the first Democrat to head county government since longtime chairman Ernest Barrett retired in 1984, and will be the first woman and African-American to hold the position.
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Dr. Jackie McMorris, Cobb’s county manager, has named James (Jimmy) Gisi as the county’s deputy county manager. Gisi is filling the position after the Board of Commissioners appointed McMorris county manager last April. He will step into the new position on November 15.
Gisi has served as the director of Cobb’s PARKS department since December 2016. He previously held the P.A.R.K.S. director position for 10 years before serving as the executive director of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association. In addition to his more than 33 years of government expertise, Gisi holds a Bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Georgia and a Master’s degree in public administration from Valdosta State University.
“Jimmy has worked for the county in various capacities and always stands ready and willing to help anytime we need his assistance,” said McMorris. “His experience working in parks and recreation, as well as government services and legislation, is going to be a great asset to help move the county forward for generations to come.”
“It is truly an honor to be selected as Cobb County’s next deputy county manager. I appreciate the confidence and trust the county manager has placed in me and I look forward to joining her management team,” Gisi said. “Cobb County is truly a great place to live, work, play, and raise a family. Our employees are the best at what they do and we should always strive to maintain our high standards while also seeking to raise the bar of service delivery.”
A longtime resident of Cobb County, Gisi resides in Powder Springs with Angela, his wife of 36 years. He is an ardent college football fan, avid hunter and spoils his three (soon to be four) grandsons anyway he can.
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After soaking in the reality of winning her first stab at public office—and culminating an historic election in Cobb County in the process—District 2 commissioner-elect Jerica Richardson admitted there’s some sobering work ahead for her and her colleagues in the coming months.
She’s one of two new faces on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which in January will have a Democratic majority and will be all female.
That majority also is made of black women, including Richardson, a 31-year-old Equifax manager, who edged out Republican Fitz Johnson in this week’s elections.
Chair-elect Lisa Cupid defeated incumbent Mike Boyce and Monique Sheffield was elected to succeed Cupid as District 4 commissioner in South Cobb.
As of Saturday, and with a few absentee and provisional ballots to count, Richardson was leading Johnson by 1,224 votes, 53,642 to 52,418 (updated results can be found here).
Johnson essentially conceded on Thursday, saying “it doesn’t look great.”
“I was hearing from a lot of people that [the closeness of the results] was because of the quality of the candidates,” said Richardson, who called Johnson “a Cobb County success story. He ran a real cordial race.”
After running the campaigns of Cobb State Rep. Erick Allen and Cobb school board member Jaha Howard, Richardson said she viewed her maiden campaign as an effort to “build bridges in deep waters.”
It was among various metaphors she’s used in her “Connecting Cobb” theme of her campaign (previous ECN story here).
In succeeding retiring commissioner Bob Ott, she’ll inherit a distinct district in itself. In includes most of East Cobb below Sandy Plains Road and the Cumberland-Vinings-Smyrna area.
Johnson won most of the East Cobb precincts, and Richardson prevailed in the latter.
“Colors on a map don’t tell the whole story of a community,” said Richardson, who lived in a neighborhood near The Avenue in East Cobb and now resides in the Delk Road area.
Part of her campaign outreach, she said, has been to “cut through echo chambers. If this is an opportunity to build those bridges then this is that year.”
Tackling a county budget affected by the continuing economic fallout from COVID-related lockdowns and other consequences of the pandemic loom large.
“There are going to be some really hard conversations,” Richardson said. “What are our priorities? Our focus? Our vision. And we’ll have to make decisions based on that.”
Among short-term priorities, she favors closing the Sterigenics plant “until further notice.” Homeowners living near the Smyrna-based company that sterilizes medical equipment have filed a lawsuit over what they claim have been cancer-causing emissions.
On a broader and longer-term scale, she said it’s going to be vital to bring as many individuals and areas of Cobb to the table to hash them out, to “build the synergy” of a community she said hasn’t been fully represented on the board.
“The commissioners haven’t had a united vision,” she said, noting that in recent years, it’s been four Republicans and one Democrat—Cupid—who’s often voted alone.
“I don’t see people as red or blue, I see them as an individual,” Richardson said.
During the campaign, Richardson set up some “open office hours” to get to know voters—in a socially-distanced manner—and plans to keep doing so.
She campaigned on a few occasions with Howard, who’s become a firebrand on the school board, angering his Republican colleagues and most recently, taking a knee during the pledge of allegiance at a meeting.
Richardson said “that’s not my method, but I will be having conversations with different groups of people.”
She said Howard was responding to school parents who weren’t being heard, “but he was always willing to listen.”
Richardson acknowledged that a new dynamic on the commission will take some getting used to in Cobb County, which has been dominated by a white, conservative and mostly male political establishment for decades.
“When things change, there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty,” she said. “The only way we’re able to overcome the challenges that we have is to focus on love,” and what she says are the three unifying things that are of utmost importance: expanding liberty, empathy and opportunity” for Cobb citizens.
“If we can do those things, we can overcome every challenge,” Richardson said. “I really believe it.”
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By a unanimous 5-0 vote Tuesday, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted to revoke the business license of Tokyo Valentino, a sex shop that opened in East Cobb in June.
The store had its license suspended in September, pending an appeal, and had been allowed to remain open. The hearing was delayed by a month at the request of Tokyo Valentino.
After a due-cause hearing that lasted more than two hours, commissioners rejected appeals by the store’s attorney that the county’s action to suspend the license was based on arguments that were “not material,” and posed constitutional issues.
The county’s business license division in September alleged that Tokyo Valentino’s owner, Michael Morrison, misrepresented the intent of his business with the application of a license under the name of 1290 Clothing LLC as a general retail clothing store.
That license was granted in March, but when the business opened on June 9 at the former Mattress Firm store at 1290 Johnson Ferry Road it was as Tokyo Valentino.
Morrison owns five other adult retail stores under the Tokyo Valentino name in metro Atlanta and a similar store in Brookhaven called Stardust.
Scott Bergthold, a private attorney from Chattanooga hired by the county and who specializes in defending local adult retail ordinances, said the change from 1290 Clothing to Tokyo Valentino “was a clear bait and switch.”
He presented exhibits during the hearing showing that adult retail items not listed on the business license application—lotions and lubes, sex toys and smoke products—comprised 70 percent of what was on display at the East Cobb Tokyo Valentino store.
Clothing—specifically lingerie—accounted for only 14 percent of the inventory, according to a listing introduced as an exhibit.
Cary Wiggins, the attorney for Tokyo Valentino, pointed to several businesses in Cobb that ended up doing something different than what they indicated in their business licenses, but they were not shut down.
He said the county had no proof that Morrison, listed on state business formation documents for 1290 Clothing as the manager but not on the county business license application, was the head of the East Cobb business.
The person listed on the latter, Tomika Hugley, left that job, and in an August e-mail presented by Bergthold, said she “wanted to cut all ties.”
According to an e-mail Bergthold presented, Hugley contacted Ellisia Webb, the county’s business license division manager, that she wanted the 1290 Clothing business license to be cancelled.
“I was not involved in the ordering of any inventory or products,” Hugley wrote in the e-mail. “I have pleaded for my previous partners to make changes and they have refused to do so. . . . The store that currently exists should apply for a proper business license.”
Wiggins said comments by Morrison made in news media accounts, including East Cobb News, and cited in the allegations were not relevant to the county’s case.
“Mr. Morrison has the right to not give the papers a straight answer,” Wiggins said. “You are allowed to lie.”
Wiggins also said his client “did not intend to break the law. It’s a good business. It’s a clean business. To hold those newspaper quotes against him are improper.
“Who did he mislead? The reporter for the East Cobb News? Well good.”
In late May, East Cobb Newsfirst reported that a business named 1290 Clothing had received a business license amid concerns that it would become a Tokyo Valentino store instead.
When East Cobb News reached Morrison for contact, he said that “I have no idea what you are referring to.”
Morrison told other outlets he wasn’t sure what might go into that space, and at one point said it would sell “electric dance music” and “festival clothing.”
That was before the store opened on June 9, and it didn’t need needing any rezoning due to the general commercial rezoning for the property that’s been in effect since the 1970s.
A number of local residents signed an online petition, and in September commissioners overhauled the county code—with provisions drafted by Bergthold that place more restrictions on sexually oriented businesses.
East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott told Wiggins that other businesses that misrepresented themselves have been shut down, especially restaurants that don’t sell enough food to meet requirements to hold an alcohol license.
“You did not make your case,” Ott said shortly after midnight, near the end of a contentious hearing.
Tokyo Valentino has been embroiled in legal disputes in other metro Atlanta jurisdictions, but this was its first store in unincorporated Cobb.
In June, the Marietta City Council revoked the business license of a Tokyo Valentino store on Cobb Parkway for 180 days, saying the store inventory didn’t match what was on its application.
Tokyo Valentino is appealing that decision in Cobb Superior Court. The East Cobb store is likely to remain open with an expected appeal of the commission’s decision.
Wiggins hinted at possible legal action Tuesday, citing the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the First Amendment.
Lisa Cupid, the only attorney among the commissioners, told Wiggins that she wondered if “there was an intent to mislead when you don’t list the core of the business. It makes me perceive that there is some desire to mislead.”
Wiggins said later that he “would hate to see a county revoke a business license because some people—a small majority—don’t like it.”
He said his client “did its best within the bounds of the law to complete the application.”
Before the vote, however, chairman Mike Boyce said “I can’t get over an application by somebody who bowed out,” a reference to Hugley.
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