East Cobb Government

Mabry Park construction plans delayed again, will be reconsidered in November

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Mabry Park

Not for the first time, Mabry Park construction plans have been put on hold. The three members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners who voted on Tuesday to table the item are pledging that it won’t be for long, but that it must be done.

The Northeast Cobb commissioner who fought long and hard for her community to have a passive park doesn’t think any further delays are necessary, even though this one may be for only a month.

“It’s long overdue,” commissioner JoAnn Birrell said, choking up with emotion and pleading for her colleagues to approve a $2.85 million construction contract at Tuesday’s regular meeting. “I see no reason to hold this.”

By a 3-2 vote, however, the commissioners voted to table approval of the contract, to Integrated Construction and Nobility, Inc., with the measure slated to be taken up again on Nov. 14.

Commission chairman Mike Boyce wants Mabry Park and other projects approved by voters through SPLOST referendums to be reviewed for long-term operations and maintenance costs, since that funding comes out of the annual county budget.

The SPLOST impact statements and a policy proposed by Boyce to govern them are among the topics at a commissioners retreat next week. That’s why Boyce said he sought the delay.

By law, projects approved via SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) must be funded. How to pay for their recurring expenses has been a vexing one for commissioners, who recently voted to spend $20 million in reserve money to balance the fiscal year 2018 budget.

“The project that got caught between a rock and a hard place is Mabry Park,” Boyce said. “We’re going to commit to these parks, but we have a bigger problem here and we need to solve this now.”

Boyce was supported by East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, whose district now includes Mabry Park, and Bob Weatherford.

Tabling the Mabry Park contract approval comes a week after the commissioners hotly debated additional funding for the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, another SPLOST project that has more staff and higher operational costs than the East Marietta Library it is replacing.

The Cobb Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs has indicated that once that complete, Mabry Park will incur an initial one-time cost of $22,230 for maintenance tools and equipment. Starting with the fiscal year 2019 budget, ongoing annual expenses are estimated to be $104,922. Of that total, $73,122 will go for staff salaries and benefits, and another $31,800 is projected for utilities and operational supplies.

Birrell cited the decade-long process of SPLOST approval, the development of the park master plan and the formation of the Friends of Mabry Park citizens group, which has raised more than $60,000 to help fund the project, located on 26.5 acres at Wesley Chapel Road and Sandy Plains Road.

JoAnn BIrrell, Mabry Park
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell represented the area around Mabry Park until this year following redistricting. (East Cobb News file photo)

“It’s a crying shame that we’re still discussing the construction of Mabry Park,” she said.

But Ott, who inherited the Mabry Park area this year due to redistricting, said it’s prudent for a delay so the board can work through the impact statement policy.

“We cannot continue to build things and not open them because they’re not funded,” Ott said.

He also pointed to unfinished projects in his district, including Hyde Farm (whose proponents have raised more than $350,000) and shifting $1 million in sidewalk funding as part of a series of “very difficult” decisions that have had to be made because of existing commitments.

Hania Whitfield, a former executive board member of the Friends of Mabry Park, was one of several citizens who spoke Tuesday to urge the commissioners to approve the construction contract.

“Many have lost faith they will be able to use the park,” especially seniors, she said. “There is an indisputable lack of green space access in the Northeast Cobb portion of the county.”

Boyce, supported by parks advocates during his successful campaign last year to oust former chairman Tim Lee, said the need to hammer out an impact statement policy can’t be postponed.

“We have to stop and put this together,” he said. “We have to start with something.

“Once we get this process in place, we will never have this problem again.”

 

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Mabry Park construction contract on Cobb commissioners agenda

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Mabry Park

The long-delayed development of a passive park in Northeast Cobb could formally come to fruition Tuesday night. On the Cobb Board of Commissioners regular meeting agenda is an item that would provide funding for a Mabry Park construction contract.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 2nd floor boardroom of the Cobb BOC building, 100 Cherokee, St., in downtown Marietta.

A low-bid proposal of $2.85 million was submitted by Integrated Construction and Nobility, Inc., of Whitesburg, Ga., to develop the 26.5-acre tract of land at 4470 Wesley Chapel Road designated for Mabry Park.

The company has a previous history of working with Cobb Parks and Recreation, including recent renovations to Sewell Park.

The county purchased the Mabry Park land with funding from the 2006 Cobb Parks Bond Program, but has nothing further due to the recession.

In August, bids for the construction project went out, and the Friends of Mabry Park citizens group was ecstatic. The group has tempered its enthusiasm somewhat because of longer-term funding issues.

A message on the Friends of Mabry Park Facebook page urged supporters to turn out for Tuesday’s meeting because “we need to let the Board know how important Mabry Park is to our area!!” Here’s more:

“We’re not home free yet… While the park was voted on and approved by the residents of Cobb, funded in the SPLOST and is required to be built, there are rumors that it could be delayed while funding for future maintenance is resolved.

“It’s been 11 years since the County purchased the land. We’ve waited long enough…”

The Mabry Park construction contract item comes on the heels of the commission’s delayed vote earlier this month to fund additional staffing for the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

Commissioners adopted a fiscal year 2018 budget in September that includes contingency funding to close a $21 million shortfall. This came not long after they declined to increase the property tax millage rate.

While Cobb voters have approved new facilities in the SPLOST, annual funding of operations comes from the county budget, and commissioners have hotly debated how to resolve the issue.

In a related item on Tuesday’s agenda, the board will vote on choosing a contractor for sidewalk improvements that include servicing Mabry Park once it’s developed. A low bid of $783,000 for the 0.4-mile project was submitted by Excellere Construction of East Cobb.

The sidewalk will be built on the east side of Wesley Chapel Road from Garrison Mill Elementary School to Sandy Plains Road, connecting pedestrians to nearby subdivisions as well as Mabry Park.

Bells Ferry Road cleanup project includes Cobb police chief

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Bells Ferry Road cleanup
Cobb Police Chief Mike Register (third from left) and commissioner JoAnn Birrell (center) with members of the Bells Ferry Civic Association at Saturday’s Keep Cobb Beautiful project. (Cobb Police Department photo)

Press release:

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, Police Chief Mike Register, and about a dozen of his officers joined a group pounding the pavement to clean up the Bells Ferry Road corridor on Saturday.
 
The county leaders joined members of the Bells Ferry Civic Association in the effort. The Association keeps tabs on the stretch of Bells Ferry near I-575 as part of the “Adopt-a-Mile” program. Keep Cobb Beautiful runs the “Adopt-a-Mile” program.
 
The group spent several hours cleaning up the shoulders and curbs, finding everything from cigarette butts to car parts to bottles and cans.  In the end, they filled nearly 30 bags of trash.
 
This was the second time Chief Register brought his officers to a community cleanup. “It’s not all about catching criminals,” Register said.  “It’s that partnership with the community that is very valuable and very precious and doing things like this brings us closer together as a community.”
 
“It means a lot to the community to keep our county clean, and we’re happy to show we’re willing to contribute to that,” said Commissioner Birrell.

Northeast Cobb restaurant gets liquor license despite community opposition

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Paprik'a, Northeast Cobb restaurant
The proposed Paprik’a restaurant is located at the former sites of a Pizza Hut and Donny’s Home Cooking on Sandy Plains Road. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a request for a liquor license for a proposed Northeast Cobb restaurant that has been fought by nearby residents for the last two years.

By a 4-1 vote, the commissioners granted the alcohol permit to Naseeb Rana of Kasbah Corp., who wants to open the Paprik’a Restaurant at 4674 Sandy Plains Road. The space has been empty since 2015, and is adjacent to the Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center, at Sandy Plains and Woodstock Road (Highway 92).

Only commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose district included the area until last year, voted against Rana’s application. The commissioners took up the matter after Rana appealed a denial for a pouring license by the Cobb License Review Board.

Residents from the Chatsworth, Jefferson Park and Jefferson Township neighborhoods, located just south of the commercial area off Sandy Plains, have said Rana has not been forthcoming with her plans since trying to get the alcohol license.

Paprik'a location map
The star signifies the proposed Paprik’a restaurant site. Click for a larger view.

They said she hasn’t always communicated with the neighborhood about her plans and expressed concern about traffic and parking issues.

“This application has been denied twice, and there have been so many red flags,” said Lisa Hanson, representing the Chatsworth Homeowners Association. “We are all for a renovated building.”

Hanson said Rana initially had proposed opening a nightclub at the location that would be open very late, and a stop-work order was issued. Those events, Hanson said, “made us question whether this application was following law.”

Both Rana, a graduate of Lassiter High School, and her attorney, Lisa Morchower, denied there were ever plans for a nightclub. Rana said she wants to have valet parking for Paprik’a since there’s limited space around the building, and explained that she has revised her menu to reflect her business’ primary function as a restaurant.

Morchower said the proposed hours for Paprik’a would be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

Rana said she was being unfairly “targeted” by the community, and insisted that her restaurant is similar to others in the area. “I don’t see why my small restaurant will make such a big impact,” she said.

Sandra Richardson, the Cobb business license manager, said the Paprik’a site was originally a Pizza Hut that opened in 1998 and served alcohol. After that, a restaurant called Donny’s Home Cooking operated at the location until 2015 but did not serve liquor.

Hanson said nearby residents have also dealt with noise issues from the Movie Tavern, which opened in 2013, with garbage trucks making pickups late at night. She said there have been numerous violations of other stipulations by DDR Sandy Plains, the shopping center property owner.

But commissioner Bob Ott, who represents the area, said he was satisfied with the application and said that if traffic and parking ever become an issue, the community can raise them at that time.

“We have to let the restaurant open before we know,” he said, adding that Rana’s appeal hearing often felt like a zoning hearing. “Alcohol doesn’t increase traffic. Ms. Rana has her work cut out for her, but she’s made a tremendous effort to change her menu.”

Ott said that unlike a zoning, a liquor license holder has to satisfy all stipulations and be approved for renewals yearly.

Birrell said: “I’ve heard the concerns of the community, and I cannot support this.”

The Sandy Plains Village area has been in transition recent years. It was the location of a Kroger and Stein Mart before the Movie Tavern opened. A Walmart Neighborhood Grocery also opened there in 2013 but closed earlier this year.

Sewell Mill Library funding approved; East Marietta branch to begin closure

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Sewell Mill Library
East Cobb News file photos

After a brief but sometimes testy conversation Tuesday morning, the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved the completion of funding for the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center on Lower Roswell Road.

The board voted 3-2 to spend $284,227 to fund five full- and part-time positions for fiscal year 2018 in order to proceed with the opening of the new facility on Dec. 4.

East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, chairman Boyce and commissioner Bob Weatherford voted yes; commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Lisa Cupid voted no.

Operations at the East Marietta Library, located adjacent to the new Sewell Mill branch, are expected to wind down this week.

The funding includes the transfer of $94,491 from the budget for the East Cobb Government Service Center, which will move some of its business office functions to the tag office in the same building (previous East Cobb News post here).

Ott said he worked with staff from the Cobb library, parks and public services staff to pare down the price tag for the Sewell Mill Library funding from around $700,000 to less than $300,000. The funding source is from “one-time monies” that has become a touchy topic on the commission as it voted this summer not to raise the property tax millage rate and as it adopted the FY 2018 budget with nearly $20 million in contingency funding.

That approved budget didn’t include Sewell Mill Library funding. Ott and Boyce said the county was obligated to move ahead with the transition now due to contractual obligations in demolishing the East Marietta Library building, creating a parking lot for the new library and rebuilding the road that leads into the adjacent Sewell Park.

“The reality is we have a $10 million investment the board has known about for years, and it’s been dropped in my lap,” Boyce said, then veering into a philosophical statement.

“Libraries reflect the culture of our society,” he said. “It is important to open up this facility that residents have been expecting for a long time.”

East Marietta Library
The East Marietta Library opened in 1967.

Birrell and Cupid objected to funding the Sewell Mill Library now, saying they wanted take up the matter at a commissioners retreat later this month. Birrell suggested a delay in opening the new branch until January.

“I understand that we can’t build things like this and then leave them empty,” she said. “My concern is the timing.”

Cupid concurred: “Why this can’t wait another 20 days is beyond me.”

She cited other unmet funding requests—including Cobb non-profits, the purchase of police body cameras and wish lists from other government agencies—as equally valid, and questioned the wisdom of using contingency funding for sustained expenses.

“There’s no way of knowing if we’re going to have this money year after year after year,” Cupid said.

Ott, who had suggested closing another library in his district, the Lewis A. Ray branch in Smyrna, to solve the contingency problem, became visibly upset.

“Don’t sit here and make inaccuracies,” Ott snapped, demanding that Cupid not interrupt him. “You did not reach out to address your concerns.”

Cupid said the finalized agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting came to her late.

Boyce said the vote over Sewell Mill Library funding is “the first of many battles we’re going to have” because the board voted against his proposal in July to raise the millage rate 0.13 mills (previous East Cobb News post here).

Weatherford said that amounts to just $4 million, or one percent, of the overall county budget, so “blaming everything on that vote is erroneous.”

Birrell, who had suggested closing the East Cobb Library during the budget process, reiterated her concerns of getting into a habit of dipping into contingency.

“We’re going to be digging a deeper deficit that we’re never going to overcome with one-time money,” she said.

Changes proposed for East Cobb Government Service Center

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East Cobb Government Service Center

At a town hall meeting in August (East Cobb News post here), East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said he was reviewing operations at the East Cobb Government Service Center to find cost savings.

That was in response to a proposal by East Cobb’s other commissioner, JoAnn Birrell, to close the East Cobb Library (which didn’t happen when the commission adopted the FY 2018 budget a couple weeks ago), and due to a $21 million budget gap.

The review has been complete, and Ott said on Friday that he is proposing a restructuring of the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) that he will present formally at a commission meeting Tuesday.

In his weekly e-mail newsletter, Ott said he is recommending to close the business office only at the government center (where you pay property taxes and water bills and apply for business licenses).

Everything else will remain open—the Cobb police and fire precincts, the community rooms and the tag office. In his proposed changes, Ott wants to transfer the services provided at the business office (except for the water bills) across the hall to the tag office. Here’s what he’s sharing with the public for now:

“As a result of discussions between staff and Carla Jackson, Cobb County Tax Commissioner, those services will be available in the tag office. So, if you pay your property taxes or renew your business license at the government center you will still be able to just in a different location.  Some have expressed concerns about potential lines and wait times. This year when I renewed my vehicle registration there were only three people in the line so I don’t anticipate long lines after the restructuring.
 
“The only service which will not be available at the tag office is paying your water bill. Currently, there are approximately 150 people using that service which makes it hard to justify $200,000 in expenses. Additionally, everyone can pay their water bill online if they don’t want to mail in their payment.

“As you can see, for most in East Cobb the restructuring will mean little change.”

There is a proposal at Tuesday’s commission meeting to divert nearly $95,000 from the government service center operations to fund increased operating expenses of the soon-to-open Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

The agenda item (pp. 238-240) includes the addition of one full-time and five part-time staff for the new facility, which is replacing the East Marietta Library and is slated to open in December. There also are four new staff positions listed under the Cobb Parks and Recreation  budget for cultural center operations.

The commissioners did not include funding for the new library when they adopted the budget, saying they would return to resolve the issue this month. The transfer of $94,491 from the government service center budget would make the proposed new library funding total $284,227 for FY 2018.

Isakson praises U.S. Senate committee passage of CHIP reauthorization

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Press release:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today (Oct. 4) applauded committee passage of legislation he cosponsored to continue the state Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, for five years.

The bipartisan Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure Act, S.1827, also transitions CHIP to its traditional federal-state partnership over time and provides additional protections for low-income children and flexibility for states. U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, CHIP reathorization

During his opening remarks, Isakson reiterated his commitment to ensuring payments to safety-net hospitals are extended before the end of the year. Isakson highlighted the negative impact to Georgia hospitals if payments to disproportionate-share hospitals that treat uninsured patients in Georgia are reduced. Under the current Affordable Care Act law, payments to safety-net hospitals are now eligible to be cut unless Congress acts to keep the payments at current levels.

“In Georgia, that’s going to be a loss of $780 million over seven years to our most needy hospitals,” said Isakson. “It’s going to mean people most in need of health care are not going to have it there. The [Affordable Care Act’s] promise was that everyone would be insured, so disproportionate-share payments would be withdrawn.”

These safety-net hospitals receive some federal funding through Medicaid and CHIP for accepting low-income patients, but Obamacare would begin withdrawing these payments in 2018 under the flawed premise that all individuals receiving hospital care would have insurance.

“Our experience has found that not to be true,” said Isakson. “These hospitals are treating people and not being compensated, and if we continue to reduce DSH [disproportionate-share hospital] payments, we’ll see that many hospitals that are open today will not be open. So I will be working between now and the end of the year, hopefully with all of you, to extend the [current] DSH payments for two more years, at least until 2018 and 2019.”

At today’s committee vote on the CHIP legislation, Isakson filed two amendments to the Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure Act to extend DSH payments for 2018 and 2019 and to provide greater fairness for hospitals in states such as Georgia that have a high uninsured population. Although the amendments could not be attached to the CHIP measure under the Finance Committee’s rules, Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, committed to working in the weeks ahead on extending other health care programs with expiring authorizations.

The Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure Act, passed the Senate Committee on Finance by a voice vote and now moves to the full Senate for consideration. 

The Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure Act would:

  • Extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program funding through fiscal year 2022;
  • Maintain the federal matching rate at current statutory levels through fiscal year 2019, change to 11.5 percent for fiscal year 2020, and return to a traditional matching rate for fiscal years 2021 and 2022;
  • Create protections and flexibility under the maintenance-of-effort provision. 

Former Mountain View ES site redevelopment plans go before Cobb Planning Commission

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Former Mountain View ES site

After being delayed from consideration last month, a proposal to redevelop the former Mountain View Elementary School site into a mixed commercial complex will be heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor meeting room of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta. The meeting can be seen live on CobbTV (Comcast Cable Channel 23) or live-streamed on the Cobb government website (link here).

The zoning application Z-053-2017 (link to packet item here) is being submitted by Brooks Chadwick Capital, LLC, which is proposing to convert the 13.8-acre site on Sandy Plains Road near Shallowford Road from residential (R-20) to CRC (community retail center). Brooks Chadwick and Jeff Fuqua, a private developer, are planning a facility that would include retail shops, banks, restaurants and possibly a supermarket.

Their plans call for 103,000 square feet of developable commercial space and around 600 parking lots.

The reason the land is zoned residential is because that’s the zoning category for most school properties. The sale of the land to the developers by the Cobb County School District is contingent upon rezoning.

In the zoning application, Brooks Chadwick indicated the proposed commercial complex would have daily opening hours as follows:

  • 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., for the restaurants;
  • 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. for the grocery store;
  • 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for retail.

The Cobb zoning staff is recommending approval, with the following conditions:

  • a deceleration lane for each entrance on Sandy Plains Road;
  • installing a flashing yellow arrow for left turn movements at the existing signal;
  • developer contribute 100 percent of the cost for traffic signal modifications;
  • keeping inter-parcel access between the development and Mountain View Community Center.

Related story

Another major rezoning application in East Cobb is being delayed again. That’s an application by SSP Blue Ridge, LLC, which wants to rezone 21 acres at the northwest intersection of Terrell Mill Road at Powers Ferry Road for a commercial and residential development anchored by a Kroger superstore (agenda packet here).

First submitted in July, Z-012-2017 is being continued by Cobb zoning staff until November (previous East Cobb News story here).

Here’s the full agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting. The Cobb Board of Commissioners zoning hearing is Oct. 17.

Cobb fiscal year 2018 budget approved in close vote

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Cobb fiscal year 2018 budget

After a lengthy public hearing and discussion and the possibility of not approving a budget today, the Cobb fiscal year 2018 budget was adopted by the Board of Commissioners.

The $403.4 million budget is based on the millage rate of 6.76 set by commission in July, and using $19.7 million in contingency funding—”one-time monies” in budget parlance—to balance the budget. More than $1 million for Cobb community charities was not included in the budget, and representatives of many of those organizations were vocal about keeping their funding.

The new budget includes funding for the East Cobb Library, which commissioner JoAnn Birrell had proposed closing, but does not include funding for the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, which will replace the East Marietta Library and is slated to open this winter.

Like the funding for the charities, funding for the new library is expected to be taken up by the commissioners in the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

What follows is a live-blog format of the public comment period, both from the public and the commissioners, that was updated as the budget proceedings took place.

We’ll have other matters from today’s commission meeting, including the approval of the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan, posted separately.

We’ll also link to the final budget document once it’s made available online. Here’s the original.

1:41 PM: The budget passes 3-2, with Boyce, Birrell and Bob Weatherford voting yes, Ott and Cupid voting no.

1:28 PM: Chairman Mike Boyce is the last member of the board to speak, saying “budgets are never easy.” Regarding the non-profits, he said many provide services that government should be doing, but they do it better. “This isn’t black and white. The bottom line is we can’t give you what we don’t have . . . money because of the millage rate.”

Carving out a budget based on a 6.76 millage rate includes figuring out how “to provide services this county has come to expect.” He said “we’re a five-star county” and that he hopes conversations over the next few months will result in some kind of consensus from the board in the future.

Boyce makes motion to approve budget, with Birrell seconding.

1:15 PM: South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid said the budget situation today is “the direct result of the millage rate vote [from earlier this summer] that I did not support.” She also said that the situation is “not only mind-boggling but somewhat shameful,” and cited cuts in assistance to community non-profits, the continued limited hours for libraries and more.

“This is a not a good situation that we’re in today, to not pass a budget” that will “put us in a worse situation. There are real people with real needs that are attached to” what is tied into the budget.

She also referenced how the needs of the Braves are being accommodated, but not those who benefit from community charities. “I’m just troubled by this whole ordeal.” Cupid said she cannot support the budget proposal.

1:08 PM: The public hearing is closed, and the commissioners are making some opening comments during their discussion period. Northeast Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell said: “Is this a perfect budget? No. But is pretty much a flat budget” and she supports it.

East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said he would like to see some details on how to deal with the one-time money, but “I don’t see it there.”

1:01 PM: Michael Paris of East Cobb, head of the Council for Quality Growth, spoke in support of the proposed budget. “Go forward and make sure we continue to make this county great,” he said.

12:29 PM: Ray Thomas, a South Cobb resident, expressed concern that the budget proposal includes contingency funding despite an improving economy and rising Cobb tax digest. “What happens when things really get tough? . . . This is very disconcerting.” He said the county has two choices: cut back services or find more revenue, and he cited a rise in the millage rate.

12:23 PM: Dan Daniel, a longtime East Cobb resident and volunteer at the East Cobb Library, pleaded with the commissioners to keep that branch open. If it closes, he said, nearby residents would have to go a great distance to patronize the library system.

12:01 PM: The public hearing on the budget is continuing, but we’re taking a break. This very well may be an all-day meeting, given what else is on the agenda, and what looks to be a commission impasse on the budget. Some very impassioned speakers already, and there are more to come.

11:22 AM: The directors of a number of community service organizations, including MUST Ministries, Family Promise of Cobb County and the Cobb Schools Foundation, are speaking on behalf of continuing the county funding they receive. The proposed budget does not include charities funding.

A retired citizen, John Morgan, asks the commissioners to consider “what will your legacy be?” especially as it pertains to Cobb’s homeless, and cites several Bible passages. The crowd applauded as he concluded.

11:05 AM: The first speaker is East Cobb resident Abby Shiffman, the chairwoman of the Cobb library board of trustees, and she’s urging the commission not pass a budget today, especially as it pertains to the library budget. “How can you pass a budget without specifics?” she asked, noting that the library system has suffered “cut after cut after cut” with no increase in funding, including expansion of library hours, since the recession. The notion of closing a library branch (Birrell has proposed closing the East Cobb Library) “without a true hearing is something I cannot understand.”

BTW: Tonight is the Cobb Library Foundation’s gala dinner, “Booked for the Evening,” featuring East Cobb author Jonathan W. Jordan, that’s one of the year’s biggest fundraising events for outside money to support the library system.

Read more

Cobb 2018 budget adoption, 2040 comprehensive plan on Friday agenda

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A postponed meeting from last week that was to include the Cobb 2018 budget adoption and the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan will take place Friday.

Bob Ott, Cobb 2018 budget adoption
District 2 commissioner Bob Ott.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will meet starting at 10 a.m. in the 2nd floor room of the Cobb BOC building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

The meeting was rescheduled because county government was shut down due to Tropical Storm Irma. Before commissioners vote on the fiscal year 2018 budget, a final public hearing on the budget will take place.

Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce has proposed an $890 million budget (PDF here), with $405 million for the general fund, and without a millage rate increase. After losing a battle in July to boost the millage rate to fully fund the 2008 Cobb parks bond referendum, Boyce is proposing to use $21.5 million in contingency funding to balance the budget.

East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott has gone on the record stating he does not support a millage rate increase and called for a budget review to find cost savings (East Cobb News post here).

East Cobb Library
The East Cobb Library opened at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center in 2010.

He’s also been feuding with his fellow East Cobb commissioner, JoAnn Birrell, who has proposed closing the East Cobb Library to help balance the budget. At an August town hall meeting at that same library branch—the second-busiest in the Cobb public library system—Ott said he would propose closing an “underperforming” branch elsewhere in his district but has not publicly elaborated since then (East Cobb News post here).

East Cobb residents spoke out loudly at a previous public hearing before Birrell defended her proposal to close the East Cobb Library. More than 5,000 people have signed an online petition to keep it open.

Addoption of the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan is on Friday’s agenda, which reflects “Cobb’s vision, policies and goals based on the existing plan and community involvement,” according to documents explaining the plan update process.

Hearings, revisions and other work going into the 2040 plan have been ongoing since 2015. The final draft was completed on Sept. 5, with final revisions explained here.

Several East Cobb citizen activists have been critical of the proposed Cobb 2040 report, concerned about the influx of high-density development in the East Cobb area.

The county is required by the state to adopt a plan and submit it for review by the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Also on Friday’s agenda are the following East Cobb-related items:

  • A change order to approve $194,700 in funding to resurface Dickerson Road, located off Lower Roswell Road, where a new subdivision, Crossvine, is being built by Lynwood Development;
  • An appeal by the owner of a proposed bar in northeast Cobb whose application for a liquor license was denied. Naseeb Rana of Kasbah Corp. wants to open an establishment in the Sandy Plains Village shopping center called Paprik’a which would have outdoor seating close to residential homes. Citizens from the Chatsworth and other subdivisions have strongly protested the application, saying the noise and late hours are incompatible with the community. They also said other establishments in the area serving alcohol are all-indoors and that Rana has not been responsive to community concerns;
  • East Cobb resident Ross Cavitt is expected to be appointed Cobb communications director, after more than 20 years as a reporter at WSB-TV (East Cobb News post here.)

Lidl Grocery East Cobb proposal rejected by commissioners

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A long-delayed site plan amendment by Lidl Grocery to convert the Park 12 Cobb theater into a supermarket was voted down Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

At their monthly zoning hearing, the commission voted 4-1 to turn down the application by the German-based grocer to build a store on Gordy Parkway at Shallowford Road, site of the cinema, in a case that received heavy community opposition. Park 12 Cobb, Lidl Grocery

“This use is too intense for this location,” said commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose District 3 includes the theater location, which is close to three subdivisions and several parks as well as Lassiter High School.

She also cited traffic and crash data analysis in moving to deny the application. The number of accidents in the area—including the busy Shallowford/Sandy Plains intersection—has gone up dramatically in recent years.

Birrell said 42 accidents were recorded there in 2014, 61 in 2015, 82 in 2016 and through May of this year, 26, for a total of 211 accidents.

“Lidl would be better suited in a shopping center [on a major road] than in a standalone location on a two-lane road” that’s the primary point of access for residential communities, she said.

The Cobb zoning staff recommended approval for the grocery plan, which was first presented in May. Lidl attorney Parks Huff maintained that “this is not a difficult decision. This is technically a property rights issue and needs to be approved.”

Commissioner Bob Weatherford was the only vote in favor. While Lidl didn’t need rezoning, chairman Mike Boyce wondered why Lidl continued to insist upon a proposal that had such strong opposition (including an active Facebook group): “This one takes the cake.”

JoAnn Birrell
District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell. (East Cobb News file photo)

Huff, who said at the outset of the hearing that the application should be “a very routine matter,” claimed that many of those against Lidl’s plans “want to keep the movie theater as much as anything.”

Some in the audience groaned, but traffic and density issues dominated the discussion. Citizens against the Lidl proposal displayed several accident photos while making their remarks.

“We’re not opposed to this as a commercial property,” said Laura Hickman, who lives in the Highland Park neighborhood off Gordy Parkway. A grocery store, she said, “is too intense for this piece of land.” The Lidl proposal also was opposed by the East Cobb Civic Association.

Huff said the number of parking spaces would be reduced from the current 379 spaces  to 187 for the grocery store, and that landscaping and architectural plans would be an improvement from a movie theater. But East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said the detriments to the proposal have to considered as well as the benefits.

Lidl Grocery
Opponents of the Lidl Grocery plans presented photos of accidents in the vicinity to make their case. (CobbTV screen shot)

“The traffic pictures speak for themselves,” he said.

Some citizens suggested that Lidl look elsewhere for a new site, perhaps at the old Mountain View Elementary School, which is being proposed for mixed-use redevelopment. An application for that property was to have been on the September zoning agenda but has been continued to October.

Lidl Grocery, Taqueria Tsunami cases on Cobb zoning agenda

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After several months of delays, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will finally get to consider a proposal to convert one of only two East Cobb movie theater complexes into a grocery store.

Taqueria Tsunami East Cobb
A site plan amendment is being proposed to allow for a Taqueria Tsunami restaurant at the old Caribou Coffee location on Johnson Ferry Road. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

Lidl Grocery’s application to redevelop the Park 12 Cinema on Gordy Parkway (near Shallowford Road and Sandy Plains Road) highlights a busy BOC zoning meeting that starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The meeting takes place in the second floor board room of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta (here’s an agenda summary).

The Lidl case (agenda information here) was first scheduled to be heard in May, but has drawn significant community opposition. Some nearby residents fear traffic will increase in a busy corridor near Lassiter High School.

Some opponents also have created a Facebook page and begun an online petition drive against Lidl’s proposal, mainly to preserve the cinema. Lidl is a German grocery chain looking to expand into Georgia.

The Lidl case will be heard in the “other business” category. These are for applications that don’t have to go through a full rezoning process. Also on the OB list is a site plan amendment filed on behalf of Fork U Concepts, proprietors of the Marietta-based Taqueria Tsunami restaurants.

The proposal (agenda information here) would remove the drivethru at the now-closed Caribou Coffee location at 1275 Johnson Ferry Road, and to increase parking to 42 spaces with restriping. The old Caribou/Einstein Bros. Bagel location is being eyed by Fork U to expand the Latin-Asian fusion concept to East Cobb.

As East Cobb News has reported, the amendment has been recommended for approval by the East Cobb Civic Association, as well as the Cobb Planning Commission.

The proposed redevelopment of the old Mountain View Elementary School complex on Sandy Plains Road for mixed commercial use also will appear on Tuesday’s agenda, but is likely to be delayed at the request of the applicant.

A redevelopment project at the northwest intersection of Powers Ferry Road at Terrell Mill Road is being continued by the Cobb zoning staff until October.

Full zoning staff analysis of each September agenda item can be found here.

Cobb cleans up after Irma; travel alert issued for Sandy Springs

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Johnson Ferry Road at Princeton Lakes Drive
A northbound view of Johnson Ferry Road at Princeton Lakes Drive, at 11 a.m. Tuesday. (Georgia 511 photo)

Cobb County got plenty of rain and high winds and power outages on Monday as Tropical Storm Irma engulfed metro Atlanta and Georgia, but it could have been a lot worse.

Cobb schools and government remain closed today as the cleanup continues following the passage of the large storm, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression.

Two people died in metro Atlanta and more than 1.5 million customers in Georgia lost power during Irma, whose arrival prompted a statewide declaration of a state of emergency.

Some motorists are out on the roads and some businesses are open today, but local and state officials are warning of downed trees and power lines, debris and standing water.

Compared to other communities in metro Atlanta, Cobb dodged the worst of Irma. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Georgia Power reported around 50 power outages in the county remaining (after several thousand initially), compared to several hundred in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Clayton (here’s more).

Georgia Power outage map
In this Georgia Power outage map as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the red colors indicate power outages between 5k-15k, orange 500-5k and green under 500.

Cobb EMC reported late Monday evening that fewer than 200 customers were without power, but hasn’t updated that figure this morning.

Many of the dozens of roads in Atlanta, Fulton County, DeKalb and elsewhere that closed Monday still hadn’t reopened as of late Tuesday morning. Cobb DOT as yet hasn’t identified any road closures but all major East Cobb thoroughfares are open; we’ll be getting out soon to take a look around.

Also hard-hit in Monday’s storm was Sandy Springs, adjacent to East Cobb, where a man died when a tree fell on his house while he was sleeping.

Several major roads in Sandy Springs remain closed this morning, and Cobb officials urged motorists who may be headed there to seek alternative routes.

Trees were reported down on Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs, not far from the Chattahoochee River and the border with East Cobb. Here’s the advisory sent out by Cobb government this morning:

“The City of Sandy Springs is asking all motorists to stay off the roads on Tuesday. Georgia Power is not able to begin repairs on any down power lines until Tuesday morning.

“Sandy Springs has more than 30 roads impacted by down power lines. Of those, ten roads are major connections for residents throughout the metro area as part of their daily commute including: Spalding Drive, Riverside Drive, Johnson Ferry Road, Powers Ferry Road, Lake Forrest, Northside Drive, High Point Road and Glenridge Road.

“There is no timeline on when to expect roads to reopen. The City has closed its offices on Tuesday and encourages other businesses within the city to do the same.”

And as we noted here yesterday, the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for today, including the final public hearing and adoption of the fiscal year 2018 budget and passage of the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan has been postponed to Sept. 22.

How did you fare during the storm? Let us know! Send your news, including photos if you have them, to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

We’ll post another update later today after we take a drive around the community.

Vote on Cobb County budget, other commission meetings delayed due to weather

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A final public hearing and vote on the fiscal year 2018 Cobb County government budget was scheduled to take place on Tuesday but is being put on hold because of Tropical Storm Irma.

Cobb government offices are closed Monday and Tuesday (East Cobb News coverage here) due to severe weather.

Shortly after 12 p.m. on Monday, Cobb government announced that Tuesday’s regularly scheduled Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting was being rescheduled for Friday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m.

Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce
Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce.

At that meeting, commissioners will conduct a final public hearing on the budget and vote on final approval. Chairman Mike Boyce is recommending an $890 million spending package, with $405 million coming from the general fund, and no millage rate increases (East Cobb News coverage here and here).

The Sept. 22 meeting also will include a vote on the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan, a road map for suggested future land use and other long-term community growth and development strategies to be submitted to the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The commission’s agenda work session that was to have taken place Monday morning has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m., following the commission’s monthly zoning hearing (which starts at 9 a.m.)

The commission’s work session also slated for today will take place instead on Monday, Sept. 25, at 1:30 p.m., and will feature additional budget presentations.

All of the board’s meetings will take place in the second floor boardroom of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

East Cobb pipeline installation finalized as project nears completion

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East Cobb Pipeline Project
Lower Roswell Road near the Sope Creek Bridge was the last area for the East Cobb Pipeline Project water main to be installed. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

The new 54-inch water main along a 6.1-mile stretch of Lower Roswell Road and Terrell Mill Road has been put in place. But the East Cobb Pipeline Project isn’t quite finished.

Post-installation work continues and will conclude with repaving. The $47 million project, which began two years ago, will still involve some traffic disruption in the coming weeks. More about what’s ahead from Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, who sent out this message on Friday:

Over the next several weeks, the East Cobb Pipeline project will come to a close. Commuters will continue to see crews on site performing final backfill, testing, paving and cleanup activities with single lane closures decreasing in frequency. By the end of this week, the entire pipeline will be filled with water for pressure testing the week of 9/11 while other crews continue to prepare the road for repaving. During the week of  Sept. 18, disinfection of the pipeline will take place, as well as possible paving from Sope Creek to Lindsey Road, depending on weather and progress. After testing and commissioning of the pipeline, final resurfacing will take place by Cobb County Department of Transportation. For questions or concerns, please call the project hotline at 770-514-5301. 

More delays sought for major East Cobb rezoning cases

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When the Cobb Planning Commission meets Thursday morning, two of the most notable cases on the docket may not be heard at all.

That’s because of continued delays in those proposals for major retail, shopping and restaurant developments in East Cobb.

The Planning Commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

One of those East Cobb proposals, to redevelop the northwest corner of Powers Ferry Road at Terrell Mill Road, is definitely being continued to October. That’s Z-012-2017, submitted by SSP Blue Ridge LLC, and calling for a mixed-use complex covering 21 acres, anchored by a Kroger supermarket.

The case has been rescheduled to be heard by the Planning Commission on Oct. 3.

The site of the former Mountain View Elementary School also is being proposed for a new center to include restaurants, shops, banking and grocery options on 13 acres of the east side of Sandy Plains Road, just south of Shallowford Road.

Old Mountain View Elementary School
Plans to redevelop the former Mountain View Elementary School site include seven buildings and 103,100 total square feet. Click to see larger map.

That case, Z-053-2017, is included in the regular agenda to be taken up by the Planning Commission, but it may be continued. The Cobb zoning staff has offered full comments and a recommendation of approval with conditions.

But at last week’s East Cobb Civic Association meeting (previous East Cobb News coverage here), members were notified that the applicant, Brooks Chadwick Capital, LLC, has asked for an extension to continue working with the community.

Another application by SSP Blue Ridge that was on Wednesday’s agenda also has been continued to October. That’s SLUP-008-2017, a special land use permit request near the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill proposal to build a self-serve storage facility on an acre along Terrell Mill Road (the land is currently zoned for residential use).

Another proposal for a storage facility in the Canton Road corridor is on the Thursday agenda.

Z-050-2017, by Storage Development Group, would allow for a 760-unit facility on 3.39 acres on the west side of Canton Road, north of Sylvan Drive (staff recommends approval with conditions). Rezoning would be from Offices Services (OS) to Neighborhood Retail Commercial (NRC). The applicant also is seeking a land-use permit (LUP-010-2017) for the site (staff recommends approval with conditions).

As was noted here last week, on Sept. 19, at their monthly zoning hearing, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will consider a site plan amendment that would allow for Taqueria Tsunami resturant to be built at the former Caribou Coffee/Einstein Bros. Bagel site on Johnson Ferry Road, below Merchants Walk (previous East Cobb News coverage here).

At that meeting, the commissioners also will consider a continued application by Lidl Grocery (OB-016-2017) to redevelop the Park 12 Cinema on Gordy Parkway that has generated community opposition. The case has been continued since May.

Ott opposes raising millage rate to close $21M Cobb budget gap

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This shouldn’t come as a surprise: Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott is opposed to raising the millage rate to balance the fiscal year 2018 Cobb County budget.

Bob Ott
Commissioner Bob Ott at his East Cobb Library town hall meeting in August. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

With commissioners scheduled to adopt a budget next Thursday, Ott sent out a lengthy message right before the Labor Day holiday weekend explaining why he would not support a rise in the property tax millage rate to cover an estimated $21 million shortfall.

Commission chairman Mike Boyce has proposed an $890 million spending package (PDF here) that includes using contingency funding to close the entire deficit gap.

In July, Ott helped foil Boyce’s plan to raise the millage rate to fully fund the $40 million 2008 Cobb Parks referendum (East Cobb News coverage here).

The proposed FY 2018 budget would be balanced by using reserve funding from the following sources:

  • $10.4 million from the reserve for a county employees pay and classification implementation study;
  • $5.7 million from the county Title Ad Valorem Tax Reserve;
  • $5.3 million from the county economic development contingency.

Ott, who’s been vigorously opposed to property tax increases in general, said he can’t support raising the millage rate now, for a full fiscal-year budget, with contingency money available. In his weekly e-mail newsletter that came out on Friday, he said:

“I believe it is wrong to raise the millage rate before the BOC uses the money from these funds to pay-down the deficit. Together, at their height, these funds totaled approximately $22 million being held in reserve on top of the county’s ‘normal’ reserve funds.”

He also hinted at this position at an Aug. 17 town hall meeting at the East Cobb Library, just days after the budget was revealed, telling constituents “it’s your money.”

In his Friday e-mail, Ott urged finding ways to reduce expenses in some county services, including two familiar targets of his, the annual transfer of Cobb water system revenues to the general fund, and transit subsidies:

“I don’t believe the answer to addressing this $21 million deficit is simply an increase in the millage rate. A complete review of the budget and expenses should be done to identify and eliminate wasteful spending. Two areas that I believe illustrate inefficiencies in the budget are the need to transfer $20 million per year from the Water System to the general fund and the roughly $17 million a year subsidy of the county transit system. CobbLinc provides invaluable service to many county residents. However, many buses travel the routes virtually, if not completely, empty.”

Ott’s also been in a budget fight on another front, with fellow East Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who is proposing to close the East Cobb Library, citing duplication of services.

After hearing from upset East Cobb residents opposed to shuttering the second-busiest branch in the Cobb library system, Birrell defended her proposal at an Aug. 22 public hearing on the budget. She cited a recent report calling for more police officer hires in Cobb (Birrell has long wanted to create a new police precinct in Northeast Cobb) and said she wants to be good steward of taxpayer money.

At his town hall, Ott said he is considering moving some services at the East Cobb Government Service Center to the East Cobb Library and possibly closing an “underperforming” library elsewhere in his district, but he hasn’t elaborated.

Here’s his full statement from Friday; he said he’ll be detailing more suggestions on budget cuts.

Marietta-Cobb Career Expo is next week; includes readiness workshops

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Details about the Marietta-Cobb Career Expo are being distributed to the public by Cobb County Government:Marietta Cobb Career Expo

Learn how to sharpen up your resume and interview successfully at free readiness workshops and then put those skills into action during the Marietta/Cobb Career Expo. WorkSouce Cobb staff will host Expo Readiness Workshops 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the Cobb County Civic Center. Topics will include career expo success, resume writing, interviewing, netserving, job search over 40 and resume critique. Registration is required. Register by visiting worksourcecobb.org. For more information, call 770-528-4300.

The Marietta/Cobb Career Expo will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Cobb County Civic Center. Employers including Atlanta and North Georgia Building Trades Council, Bank of America, Cana Communications, Carmax, Caraustar, Georgia Tech Police, Hooters, Lockheed Credit Union, Omni Hotel, Verizon, Roswell Police Department and Walden Security will be in attendance looking for qualified candidates. The Civic Center is located at 548 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta. 

Cobb government offices closed on Labor Day

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We know this goes without saying, but Cobb County Government is reminding the public that all of its regular offices are closed on Monday, Sept. 4, for Labor Day, including libraries. County parks will be open, but all offices and libraries will reopen on Tuesday with their normal business hours.

WSB-TV journalist Ross Cavitt recommended for Cobb County communications director

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Ross Cavitt
WSB-TV photo

This just in from Cobb County Government: County Manager Rob Hosack is recommeding the hiring of WSB-TV newsman Ross Cavitt as the new county director of communications.

Cavitt, an East Cobb resident, covers Cobb and northwest Atlanta communities for WSB. “Ross will be a great asset to the county,” Hosack said in a statement. “He is an award-winning journalist and will bring a great amount of knowledge and expertise.”

Here’s more about Cavitt in the county release, which indicates that the Cobb Board of Commissioners is scheduled to approve his hiring on Sept. 12. If confirmed, he will start on Sept. 18 and replace Sheri Kell, who left earlier this year:

Ross Cavitt has more than 30 years in television news, 23 of those at WSB in Atlanta. He has covered some of the biggest stories in north Georgia and has won numerous awards including regional Emmys for “Spot News” and “Live Reporting.” His 2013 coverage of the Adairsville tornado garnered a regional Edward R. Murrow Award. For much of the last decade, Cavitt has been the WSB Bureau Chief in Cobb County where he covered notable stories including the murder cases involving Ross Harris and Lynn Turner.

Here’s more on Cavitt from his official WSB biography.