East Cobb Government

Attorney general: Cobb commission maps ‘not legally binding’

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Attorney general Cobb commission map
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has said it’s his opinion that reapportionment maps passed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners drawing the boundaries for their own districts are “not legally binding.”

But he said his office cannot initiate a lawsuit under state law and would have to wait for a withdrawn lawsuit to be refiled on behalf of an East Cobb resident in order to take part.

Carr’s spokeswoman, Kara Richardson, sent out a brief statement Tuesday:

“It is the opinion of the Georgia Department of Law that the action taken by the Cobb Commission to pass an alternate map was inappropriate and not legally binding. As we have explained repeatedly to interested parties, Georgia law does not grant our Department the authority to initiate a lawsuit in the current situation. We will, however, not hesitate to engage when and where appropriate should a lawsuit be filed by the right party.” 

Carr’s opinion is something that Republican commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill have been seeking as the commission’s redistricting dispute has reached the courts.

East Cobb resident Larry Savage is a Republican former Cobb Commission Chairman candidate who filed a lawsuit in Cobb Superior Court to invalidate the county maps.

His suit was filed against Cobb Board of Elections director Janine Eveler and after a court hearing earlier this month his attorneys have said they will refile against the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

In October Birrell and Gambrill voted against maps approved by the commission’s three Democratic members that would keep one of them, Jerica Richardson of District 2 in East Cobb, in office.

Those maps were drawn by former State Rep. Erick Allen, then the Cobb legislative delegation chairman, but they were never voted on by the Georgia General Assembly.

Cobb GOP BOC redistricting map
Cobb commission maps passed by the Georgia legislature would include most of East Cobb in District 3 (gold).

The maps that were sponsored by Cobb GOP lawmakers and approved by the Republican-led legislature last year would have drawn Richardson out of her seat and into District 3, which would include most of East Cobb.

Richardson has two years remaining in her term and would have had to move into the new District 2 by Jan. 1 to remain in office.

But she said she would not step down or move, and she, chairwoman Lisa Cupid and commissioner Monique Sheffield vowed to challenge the GOP maps under Georgia’s home rule law.

Birrell and Gambrill have said Cobb’s maps are illegal, becuase the legislature is in charge of reapportionment, and opinions by the legislature’s Office of Legislative Counsel and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office reached the same conclusion.

In response to a request for comment from East Cobb News, Birrell said Tuesday that Carr’s “opinion just confirms the legislative counsel’s opinion and secretary of state’s opinion that the county map is illegal and unconstitutional. Leaves it up to the courts to decide.”

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said the county attorney’s office, which has said the county’s maps are in effect unless and until they are overturned in a court of law, isn’t commenting on Carr’s opinion.

Last week, the Republican commissioners tried to abstain from voting to protest the county maps and were ordered from the dais by Cupid.

Birrell, who was re-elected to a fourth term in November to represent District 3 with the boundaries approved by the legislature, said she’s “not comfortable” voting, not being sure which maps are valid.

Proposed Cobb commission redistricting map
Maps approved by the Cobb commission’s Democrats would keep Jerica Richardson of East Cobb in the District 2 (in pink) that she currently represents.

She was told by the deputy county attorney that the county maps are the ones she should abide by and that legal opinions are only opinions until a court ruling.

Last Friday, Cupid issued a statement from Cobb County Attorney William Rowling that “even if a person has a good faith belief that a law is unconstitutional or invalid in some way, he or she is not at liberty to simply disregard a law based on that personal belief. Instead, that law must be followed unless and until it is struck down by a court of law.”

Richardson has said the home rule challenge may be unprecedented, but so are the legislature’s maps, which skirted typical courtesies to honor local delegation lines.

She started a political advocacy committee to address the issue, For Which It Stance, incorporated by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office as a 501(c)4 domestic non-profit organization, and whose executive director, Mindy Seger, led the East Cobb Alliance, which fought against the now-defeated East Cobb cityhood referendum.

East Cobb News has left messages with Richardson and Seger seeking comment as well as Jason Thompson, an attorney for Savage.

Allen, who unsuccessfully ran for Georgia lieutenant governor last year, is the new chairman of the Cobb County Democratic Committee.

Carr is a Republican re-elected to a second term last November.

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Cobb to seek additional state funds for new Gritters Library

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Gritters Library rendering

Facing a $2.5 million shortfall to rebuild the Gritters Library branch, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to seek additional state funds.

The board voted 3-0 to apply for a $1 million grant from Georgia Public Library Services, a division of the state board of regents, that would go toward construction costs.

In late 2021, commissioners approved an $8.6 million construction contract, including $1.9 million from the state, to build the Northeast Cobb library branch that’s nearly 50 years old, as well as renovate the adjacent Northeast Cobb Community Center.

The current Gritters branch has outdated restrooms and poor drainage has resulted in mold and mildew.

Among the programs that would be part of the new building would include digital literacy training and job training and workforce development with CobbWorks.

In 2018, Cobb commissioners approved spending $2.9 million from the 2016 Cobb SPLOST to renovate Gritters, but a rebuild of the branch was recommended at a cost of $6.8 million.

There was a groundbreaking for the new library in December 2021. But rising construction costs have pushed the price tag to $10.5 million. Last September, commissioner JoAnn Birrell asked her colleagues to approve using county reserve funds to make up the difference, but she couldn’t get the support and withdrew the request.

“It’s near and dear to my heart and it kills me not to be able to move this forward,” she said at the time. “We’ve got some work to do, but we’ll get there.”

It’s not clear where the rest of the funding would come from if another state grant is approved, and at Tuesday’s meeting, Birrell wasn’t on the dais to speak to the issue.

She and fellow Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill were spectators in the board room, removed from their seats after being ruled in in violation of board policies by abstaining from voting in a dispute over the commission’s electoral maps.

Abby Shiffman, an East Cobb resident who is head of the Cobb library system’s board of trustees, said during a public comment session that the Gritters project was first identified in 2014. The current branch, built in 1973 in Shaw Park she said, has been declared a “subpar building” by Cobb property management officials.

She countered comments at a Monday work session that library officials “keep coming back for more funds . . . but this is not true.

“This is not just a rebuild of a library in dire need,” Shiffman said. “This is an investment to fit the meeds of our taxpayers and all of the citizens of Cobb County.”

Before the vote, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said that “we will be looking for unique ways to support this” but she did not suggest how the rest of the funding would be derived.

Based on public feedback, she told her colleagues, “this is an important project and I appreciate your support in moving this forward.”

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Cobb Republican commissioners leave meeting over abstention

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Cobb Republican commissioners abstain
Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell listens to Deputy County Attorney Debbie Blair about the board’s rules for abstaining from voting.

The two Republican members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners were asked to leave the elected body’s first meeting of 2023 Tuesday morning after they said they would abstain from voting on agenda items.

GOP members JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb and Keli Gambrill of North Cobb tried to abstain in protest of a commission redistricting map that’s the subject of a lawsuit.

The board’s three Democratic commissioners in October approved a redistricting map that keeps District 2 Democratic commissioner Jerica Richardson in her seat.

But the Republican-dominated legislature approved maps last year that would draw her into Birrell’s District 3, which now covers most of East Cobb.

A lawsuit has been filed opposing the county’s home rule challenge, claiming that only the legislature can conduct reapportionment.

Birrell and Gambrill, who were both re-elected in November, have repeatedly stated that the county-approved map is not legal.

There was a hearing in Cobb Superior Court last week seeking an injunction against the county maps, but a ruling has not been issued.

Before the first agenda item on Tuesday, Birrell asked Cobb Deputy County Attorney Debbie Blair which maps the commission was “operating under” for the meeting.

Blair responded the county map is considered to be in effect. Birrell cited an opinion from the Georgia legislature’s Office of Legislative Counsel (you can read it here) that the commission’s resolution is unconstitutional, and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office has reached the same conclusion.

“It has no bearing whatsoever,” Blair replied, saying that the attorney for plaintiff in the lawsuit—East Cobb resident Larry Savage—was voluntarily dismissing the suit for technical reasons and is expecting to have it refiled.

“That is their opinion,” Blair said of the legal opinions, “that the procedure we conducted was not proper. That is not the opinion of the county.

“Until it is overturned by the courts, it is a valid process that we did follow.”

Democratic Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid tried to prevent Birrell from pressing the issue at that point, saying it wasn’t part of the meeting agenda.

“I’m just not comfortable with the makeup of the board, not knowing, this is still pending,” Birrell said.

“This is a state issue that we don’t control.”

At the first item up for a vote—approval of a typically routine certificate for a swimming pool construction at a home in the Chattahoochee Plantation neighborhood in East Cobb—Birrell and Gambrill abstained.

Cupid initially recorded the vote with the clerk as approval of the certificate by a 3-0 vote with two abstentions, then asked for a legal clarification.

Blair said commissioners cannot abstain from voting unless they have a “valid” conflict of interest that should have been expressed in advance.

They also must leave the dais before abstaining from a vote, Blair said.

“The conflict is the votes with [maps] the county is saying are in place,” Birrell said. “Everything is going to be a conflict, and I’m abstaining.”

Cupid then called for a recess followed by an executive session, according to Birrell, who told East Cobb News after the meeting that the county attorney “advised if a commissioner is present they have to vote unless there is a conflict of interest. I feel that this was a conflict of interest for me since a ruling on the maps has not been decided.”

When the executive session was over, Cupid asked Birrell and Gambrill to cast votes on the same agenda item. They both declined, and Cupid called for another recess and asked her two colleagues to “remove themselves from the dais.”

They were told they would be escorted away by security if they did not leave their seats voluntarily.

When the meeting resumed again, Birrell and Gambrill were absent from the dais, having been dismissed by Cupid. They watched the rest of the meeting in the guest seating area of the board room.

“The chair’s ‘use of force’ by ordering the police officer to remove us from the dais when no crime has been committed would have resulted in a lawsuit against the chair and county,” Gambrill said, as neither “Commissioner Birrell nor I broke any laws.”

(You can watch a replay of the meeting below; the sequence above occurred between 4:00 and 40:00, including the recesses.)

Gambrill told East Cobb News in a message Wednesday morning that as far as procedures go, Cupid should have made a motion to rescind the vote in which Gambrill and Birrell abstained before asking them for another vote.

“Coming back from [executive session] and demanding Commissioner Birrell and I to vote when there was no active motion on the floor—is dictatorship at its finest,” Gambrill said.

“In addition, after the chair removed us from the Board, she then changed the vote to 3-0 with Birrell and Gambrill absent. This is false.”

The three remaining commissioners, all Democrats, went through the rest of Tuesday’s meeting agenda.

At the end of the meeting, Cupid remarked that she was hopeful that all five commissioners will be in attendance at the board’s next meeting later this month and that “we will be abiding by the rules of procedure.”

Should the county lose its legal challenge, Richardson may be forced to step down from office, triggering a special election for the remaining two years of her term.

Under state law, Richardson would have had to move into the new District 2 by Dec. 31 to be eligible to run in 2024. But she has vowed to defy what she said has been an “unprecedented” vote by the legislature to reapportion a sitting elected official out of a seat.

Cupid said at Tuesday’s meeting that based on legal advice from the county attorney, the maps approved by the commission’s Democratic majority “are the maps that stand until there is a successful legal challenge in a court of law.”

Birrell and Gambrill also have complained that the county attorney’s office has not sought a response from the Georgia Attorney General’s office, which thus far has not formally weighed in.

“An opinion by the Attorney General’s office is an opinion,” Cupid said. “It does not determine the outcome nor the work of this board.”

Cupid added that “I cannot allow for this board to be a circus for people to share differences of opinion that are completely outside of our rules of procedure.

“I hope that the public understands that and I hope our commissioners understand that.”

In response to questions from East Cobb News, Birrell reiterated her concerns via e-mail that she and Gambrill “have asked for the Attorney Generals’ opinion in the past and again today as this is a state issue.”

The commissioners’ next scheduled meeting is Jan. 24.

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Water main replacement work to begin under Sope Creek

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Sope Creek water main replacement work begins
Open Street Map

From the office of Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell:

Project update: Construction of the Blackjack Mountain 36-inch Water Main Replacement project for Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority (CCMWA)

The contractor has remobilized back to the project site and will begin the Jack and Bore installation underneath Sope Creek at the intersection of Wallace Road and Barnes Mill Road. Due to the rain last week, the contractor will be finishing out drilling and blasting this week at the intersection. They will likely start excavation of the bore pit and possibly begin the underground trenchless jack and bore within the following two weeks.

 

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Top East Cobb 2022 stories: Cityhood referendum defeated

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East Cobb anti-Cityhood sign removed

In May a portion of the East Cobb community was asked about incorporating into a city, more than three years after the issue first came up.

The result of a May 24 referendum was a resounding no, with 73 percent voting against cityhood.

The East Cobb Cityhood referendum was one of three that went down to defeat, along with Lost Mountain and Vinings. In November, voters in Mableton barely approved a cityhood referendum, making it the first new city in Cobb County in more than a century.

But the East Cobb campaign was different from the rest, especially the increasingly contentious tone of the debate.

It started in late 2021, when the East Cobb cityhood group sprung a surprise on the public, adding expensive police and fire services that the other cityhood movements did not include.

Instead of a city of more than 100,000 floated in 2019, the 2022 proposed map showed a population of around 60,000 for a city of East Cobb, roughly along the Johnson Ferry Road corridor.

During the 2022 Georgia legislative session, former Rep. Matt Dollar made several changes to legislation calling for the East Cobb referendum, including moving it up from November.

After committee hearings, more changes were made to how the East Cobb city council members and mayor would be selected. Cobb government officials expressed concern that they wouldn’t have time to assess the possible financial impact to the county if cityhood referendums passed.

But the East Cobb bill eased through the legislature, and Dollar promptly resigned his seat to take state government job.

For the next two months, public events got even more heated.

Supporters of cityhood said a new city would curb an incursion of high-density development in East Cobb that was trending elsewhere in the county.

Opponents said a new layer of government wasn’t needed, and that taxes and other local government costs would go up.

In addition to the anti-cityhood East Cobb Alliance, cityhood proponents had to go up against Cobb government officials who said they were providing objective information at town hall meetings.

The cityhood group balked, accusing the county of campaigning against the referendums.

As the referendum date neared, lawsuits were filed to stop the East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings votes, citing unconstitutional provisions.

But a Cobb judge ordered the referendums to go ahead as scheduled.

The East Cobb Alliance turned up the heat further, alleging that the cityhood group added police and fire because it needed the Cobb fire fund millage to avoid imposing additional property tax rates for a new city.

The cityhood group denied that charge and another by the Alliance for not filing a campaign finance report, saying it wasn’t required.

When the final votes were counted, the pro-East Cobb vote won only one precinct, around the Atlanta Country Club where many of the cityhood group’s leaders live.

The cityhood group scrubbed much of its online presence and said little after the vote, telling East Cobb News in a prepared statement that “make no mistake; the facts have not changed. East Cobb will be under increasing growth and tax pressure from Cobb County to urbanize our community. Our polling told a different story from the results last night. Cobb’s policy direction explains why the county worked so hard to stop the cityhood effort(s).”

Mindy Seger of the East Cobb Alliance said after the referendum that there’s an interest in trying to “raise the bar for Georgia’s Cityhood process. The community has the mic, we hope those in authority are listening.”

In October, the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood was fined $5,000 by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission and submitted a campaign financial disclosure report showing that it had raised $112,525 and spent $64,338.

The East Cobb Alliance reported total contributions nearing $30,000 and disbanded its operations.

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Cobb home rule hearing prompts Birrell to cancel swearing-in

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Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell said Friday she won’t be holding a scheduled swearing-in ceremony in public next week because of a court hearing about county redistricting.Cobb adopts $1.4B fiscal 2023 budget

Birrell said in a statement in her weekly e-mail newsletter that “due to a conflict in scheduling with the hearing regarding home rule I will be sworn in at a private ceremony. Thanks for understanding.”

She was to have taken the oath on Wednesday afternoon at the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting room for her fourth term in office, representing District 3 in East Cobb, followed by a reception.

But a hearing has been called for the same time in Cobb Superior Court for a lawsuit filed by an East Cobb resident to stop the county’s efforts to invoke home rule over commissioner redistricting.

Larry Savage, a Republican candidate for Cobb commission chairman in 2012, 2016 and 2020, is the plaintiff in the suit, filed in Cobb Superior Court.

The suit claims that a vote by the Commission’s Democratic majority in October to file maps to keep District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson in office is illegal, and that only the Georgia legislature can conduct reapportionment activities.

The Republican-dominated General Assembly approved a map this year (see bottom) to draw Richardson, a first-term Democrat, out of her home in East Cobb, which would mostly be in District 3.

Savage’s claims echo those of Birrell and other state and local Republican officials.

But Richardson, local Democratic leaders and her other supporters have said that while the county’s action may be unprecedented, so is the legislature’s action in drawing a sitting incumbent official out of her seat.

Larry Savage, Cobb Commission Chairman candidate
Larry Savage

Cobb officials filed a contested map—proposed by Democratic Cobb legislative delegation chairman Rep. Erick Allen but which were never voted on by the legislature—with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, anticipating a legal challenge.

Under state law, Richardson would have to change her legal residence to the new District 2 by Saturday in order to run for re-election in 2024, but she said she’s not moving.

Should the county’s legal challenge fail, Richardson would likely be removed from office and a special election would be called to fill the remainder of her term.

Birrell has said publicly that what happened to Richardson is unfair but that the home rule challenge is “politically motivated.”

During the legislative session, Cobb commissioners attended delegation meetings as the maps were being drafted.

Birrell opposed Allen’s map, which included much of the city of Marietta, concerned it wasn’t majority-Republican. She won with only 51 percent of the vote in 2018, but got 59 percent in winning re-election in a mostly-East Cobb district in November.

In recent months, both commissioners representing the East Cobb area have attended a number of public events in what would be the new District 3, including a town hall Richardson held regarding the delayed Lower Roswell Road traffic project.

Birrell also has included news and information about developments in what would be her new district that are currently in District 2.

The court hearing on Wednesday will be heard by Judge Ann Harris.

Cobb commissioners redistricting resolution
A Cobb commission district map at left was submitted by the county to challenge the legislative-approved map at the right. District 2 is in pink, District 3 in yellow.

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Birrell to be sworn in for fourth term as Cobb commissioner Jan. 4

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Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell will be sworn in for a fourth term next week.Birrell sworn in 4th term Cobb commissioner

Her swearing-in ceremony takes place Wednesday, Jan. 4 in the second floor Board of Commissioners Meeting Room, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta, starting at 3 p.m.

A reception follows in the learning center.

Birrell was re-elected in November from District 3, which includes most of East Cobb. She is one of two Republicans on the five-member board.

The other, Keli Gambrill of District 1 in North Cobb, was sworn in for a second term before Christmas.

They were the only commissioners up for election in 2022.

District 3 has included Northeast Cobb and most of the city of Marietta.

It’s unclear where the lines for the new District 3 will fall in January, however.

The Georgia legislature approved reapportioned maps to include most of East Cobb in District 3.

But Cobb County is officially challenging those lines following a vote by the board’s Democratic majority under home rule provisions.

The Democrats want to keep essentially the same lines that apply today after District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson was redrawn out of her East Cobb home.

Those maps have been filed with the legislative reapportionment office. Cobb is expecting the state to file a legal challenge.

Birrell has said previously that while she doesn’t think what happened to Richardson was fair, she doesn’t think the county’s legal challenge will succeed.

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Top East Cobb stories for 2022: Trash hauling proposal draws fire

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John Swierenga, Trash Taxi
John Swierenga of East Cobb, head of the Trash Taxi service

A proposal to regulate private trash haulers in Cobb County prompted a heated response from citizens and garbage services alike, and was put on hold until 2023.

Cobb commissioners tabled plans to designate a single hauler for each of the four commission districts and enact related measures in September, when they updated code amendments.

The proposal came after years of complaints of lagging service in all parts of the county.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb was adamant that the county had no role to play in regulating private trash service, and thinks commissioners shouldn’t be wading again when code amendment updates will be presented in January.

But commission chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who organized a roundtable of county trash haulers, said it’s a public health matter when trash isn’t reliably collected.

The haulers, including East Cobb resident John Swierenga of Trash Taxi, said they were blindsided by the proposal and haven’t heard from the county in years.

“We would like to hear of complaints that we can respond to in 24-48 hours. We can fix this without disrupting what we have.”

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Cobb approves facial recognition contract for public safety

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Cobb approves police facial recognition contract
Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer

Over the protests of some citizens, the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a contract for Cobb Police to use facial recognition technology for criminal investigations.

The department has been part of a complimentary pilot program with Clearview AI, one of the leading facial recognition platforms. The three-year contract comes with a cost of $17,995 a year.

During a lengthy and often impassioned presentation, Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said the Clearview algorithm is ranked the best in the industry, and that he and his staff have been meeting with commissioners and members of the community to develop a draft policy to guide how the technology will be used.

VanHoozer repeatedly defended Clearview AI, which is used by more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The platform uses artificial intelligence to find online photos from publicly available sources to find matches of criminal suspects. VanHoozer said the Cobb Police policy for using Clearview AI has taken long to develop due to concerns about how it might be used.

“There are some large misconceptions about this product and our intent,” VanHoozer said during the presentation (you can watch it in its entirety below). “I’d be happy to speak with those have been speaking up on this subject” because some of the information, he added “is inaccurate.”

One of the citizens opposed to the contract is Robin Moody of East Cobb, who mentioned during a public comment period before VanHoozer’s presentation the fines and other penalties racked up by Clearview AI for privacy rights violations in Europe, including collecting images of the faces of people without their consent.

She also said that AI hasn’t eased concerns about racial profiling.

Another citizen, during the same public comment period, said that “I don’t give you permission to use my face.”

VanHoozer said Cobb will not use Clearview AI to scan people in crowds or at public gatherings, and use of the technology will be limited to authorized investigators who must log in and provide a case number.

He said Clearview AI is just another tool to help police investigate possible suspects in crimes, and nothing more.

“Emerging technology often collides with privacy concerns,” he said. “Sometimes it takes some time to work those things out.”

But the value of the technology to Cobb Police during the pilot program has been invaluable, he said.

The Clearview AI tool helped police identify a cold-case homicide suspect and also identified the ringleader of a violent home invasion that included children being kidnapped, among other investigations.

VanHoozer said that his department governs itself with an “even stricter policy” so that citizen concerns “are strongly mitigated.”

He said Clearview AI does not do broad public surveillance, such as at public meetings and sporting events, nor does it take footage from doorbell cameras and streetlights.

“What this product does for the most part is take a photograph of a known offender and compare that to a database that has images that are legally obtained and publicly available so that we can identify that individual,” VanHoozer said.

He said the effort to craft the policy and to educate the public about how Clearview AI will be used has been complicated by what he said is information that’s “consistently” being reported incorrectly in the news media.

“We get that nobody wants to live in a police state, including me,” he said. “We would not ever do the things that have been alleged here today. I feel strongly that this is the right thing to do.”

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Cobb DOT to request funding for Lower Roswell redesign work

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Lower Roswell Road project redesign
A proposed raised median would prevent left-turn traffic coming out of Parkaire Landing to Lower Roswell Road in a high-accident area.

Back in October we reported on Cobb DOT’s plans to have parts of the Lower Roswell Road project redesigned after a good deal of community feedback, including at a robust town hall meeting.

At that town hall, organized by Commissioner Jerica Richarsdon, Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler said the bike lanes would be taken out in favor of a wider multi-use trail, among other things.

On Tuesday, he’ll be asking the Cobb Board of Commissioners for $192,810 for new engineering design work to reflect those changes.

The additional redesign work is expected to take 6-8 months. A major transportation program that has been nearly a decade in the works will be delayed yet again, with a tentative completion timeframe—barring any other setbacks—for 2026. 

The agenda item can be found by clicking here; some of the other suggestions and complaints expressed at that town hall at the East Cobb Library aren’t included, including continuing concerns over a proposed median along Lower Roswell between Johnson Ferry Road and Davidson Road. 

The commission meeting will take place in the second floor board room of the Cobb Government Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

The full agenda packet can be viewed by clicking here.

You also can watch on the county’s website, Facebook Live and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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Cobb launches UDC page, announces December public meetings

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The Cobb Unified Development Code project has a new web address and two public meetings have been scheduled for early December as an independent consultant begins its work.Cobb UDC page launches

Cobb government said Monday that public meetings will take place next week—Monday, Dec. 5 at the North Cobb Regional Library (3535 Old Highway 41 Northwest, Kennesaw) and Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the Switzer Library (266 Roswell Street, Marietta).

Both meetings are scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Other meetings throughout the county will be announced at a later date.

The UDC is a project of the Cobb Community Development Agency, whose goal, according to a county release, “is to produce a document that encourages and enables development and redevelopment in identified centers while preserving the unique character of the county’s rural areas.”

Community development officials said it’s needed because development regulations in Cobb date back to the 1970s.

“The project,” according to the county, “also aims to protect existing neighborhoods, conserve natural and historic resources, support economic development and provide an opportunity for various housing types.”

Cobb commissioners in a split vote in August approved spending nearly $500,000 to hire Clarion Associates, LLC, a nationwide land-use and planning consulting firm which has provided services for a UDC in Hall County and design and development guidelines in Savannah.

Some critics of the UDC proposal in Cobb have called it “a war on the suburbs,” but agency officials said it’s an increasingly common approach to pulling together all components of development projects.

The consultant’s work will take place over an 18 to 24-month process, starting this winter with public meetings and feedback sessions and opportunities.

A code assessment process will start in the spring of 2023, followed by a draft UDC expected to be presented in the spring of 2024. Public hearings of that draft are slated from summer-fall of 2024.

The new Cobb UDC page includes a timeline of that process, along with zoning, development and design documents and project updates and other materials.

Citizens also can submit questions and sign up for project updates and other information, provide comments and review and comment on draft documents.

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Cobb officials respond to court clerk whistleblower claims

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As the Georgia Bureau of Investigation begins a probe of the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s office, Cobb government officials responded Tuesday to some of the claims made by that office’s accounting manager.

Jackie McMorris, Cobb County Manager
Jackie McMorris, Cobb County Manager

Cobb government issued a release Tuesday afternoon saying that some of the comments made by Maya Curry—who is alleging that Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has collected more than $400,000 in passport application fees since taking office in January 2021—contain “misleading information.”

Curry, who was hired to work in the clerk’s office in March, is claiming that Taylor ordered her to destroy records about the passport application fees when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed an open records request seeking that information.

Under state law, court clerks are allowed to personally keep such funds. But Rebecca Keaton, Taylor’s predecessor, forwarded some of those monies to the county’s general fund.

And the amount of money Curry alleges Taylor had collected far surpasses her annual salary of around $170,000.

In a letter dated Thursday to Cobb commissioners and other county officials, Curry’s attorney, State Rep. Stacey Evans, wrote that Curry was contacted by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris to say that she was being placed on leave pending an investigation and that “adverse action” may be coming her way.

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said in the county release that McMorris was responding to a call by Curry about being the subject of a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint by another employee in the clerk’s office, and that her responses were about that complaint, and not her allegations about Taylor.

Cavitt’s statement also said that McMorris was unaware of any issues involving passport fee records when she spoke to Curry and that she was returning a phone call from Curry.

“Since Ms. Curry works for an elected official, Dr. McMorris would not have the authority to place her on administrative leave, nor was there any discussion about ‘adverse action,’ ” according to the Cobb government statement.

The Cobb Superior Court Clerk is a state constitutional elected officer who maintains court records, including real estate transactions.

While the clerk’s office is funded by the county, the Cobb government statement said that the Cobb Board of Commissioners “does not oversee or control its operation or hiring practices.”

Commissioners were presented with an agenda item for their meeting last Thursday from Taylor to forward $84,000 in passport application fees to the county. But that item was withdrawn shortly before the meeting.

Curry’s allegations (you can read her attorney’s letter here) include a comment by Taylor that “we’re just going to Donald Trump this thing,” a reference to deleting any files or records that would be germane to an open records request.

Curry said Taylor has demanded that she leave the office and has had her access to office systems terminated.

A Cobb judge requested the GBI investigation, according to a GBI release.

In the county statement, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said that “I look forward to this matter being rectified and the county getting answers on whether the general fund is due any of those fees.”

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Cobb strategic plan hearings set; online survey released

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Cobb County Government is holding what it’s calling community listening sessions in each of the four commission districts to gauge citizen input into its Comprehensive 5-Year Strategic Plan.Cobb strategic plan hearings set

It’s a chance for the public to provide feedback on various county priorities and services and what county officials are saying is “the primary strategy to lead the ongoing vision and priorities of Cobb County.”

A public session for District 2 starts at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 at  the Boy Scouts of America Atlanta Area Council (1800 Circle 75 Parkway). That’s followed at 6:30 p.m. by Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s quarterly town hall meeting.

You can RSVP for both by clicking here.

Another strategic plan session will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the Mountain View Community Center (3400 Sandy Plains Road).

An online survey for the strategic plan also is available and can be downloaded and filled out by clicking here. The survey will be open through Dec. 23, and paper copies will be available at library branches and senior centers.

Cobb commissioners recently voted to spend $1.45 million to hire Accenture LLP, an outside consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive long-range strategic plan that includes a shorter-term element for the years 2023-2027.

A county release said Accenture helped formulate the survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete.

“A significant component is getting input from those who live or work in Cobb about what they see as the county’s priorities,” the release said. “Residents can provide feedback to formulate initiatives based on community needs and help the county develop and deliver better services.”

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Cobb passes home rule redistricting resolution in party-line vote

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Cobb commissioners redistricting resolution
The current Cobb Commission map (at left) shows District 2 in pink; a redrawn map (at right) placed most of East Cobb in District 3, shown in yellow.

Cobb commissioners voted along partisan lines Tuesday to submit an unprecedented home rule resolution over commissioner redistricting to the state in a dispute that’s expected to be decided by the courts.

The 3-2 vote was the second of a required two votes to invoke home rule provisions. The board’s three Democrats voted in favor, and the two Republicans were opposed.

During reapportionment earlier this year, District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson, a first-term Democrat who represents some of East Cobb, was drawn into the new District 3 with incumbent Republican commissioner JoAnn Birrell.

Richardson said never before has the Georgia legislature redrawn a county commission incumbent into another district during the middle of a term, and called that an example of state overreach into local matters that home rule is designed to prevent.

Cobb Republican lawmakers ignored a map drawn by State Rep. Eric Allen, the county’s Democratic legislative delegation chairman, that would have left the current lines relatively unchanged, and instead pushed through a map that put most of East Cobb into District 3.

That’s the justification Richardson and her Democratic colleagues gave for making a home rule challenge that Birrell and other Republicans said flouts the Georgia Constitution.

The resolution, which includes reverting the commission district maps to those drawn by Allen, starting Jan. 1, 2023, does not have any bearing on 2022 general elections.

Legislatures in Georgia have the duty to conduct reapportionment.

In its legal challenge, Cobb will be asserting that the state pre-empted the county’s home rule powers, a claim that hasn’t been tested regarding redistricting.

Commissioner Jerica Richardson

“The electoral district lines established by HB 1256 [Allen’s map, which was not voted on], satisfy the traditional redistricting principles of compactness, contiguity, respect for political boundaries, preserving communities of interest, and protection to incumbents,” the Cobb resolution states.

“I love my district—it’s a true slice of America,” Richardson said in prepared remarks before the vote. “Local government is the operational arm that comes the closest to the community.”

She said that the “historic precedent” of the home rule challenge isn’t just about how her district was redrawn, but preventing the legislature from enacting similar measures that would trample on local home rule.

“This is about the balance of power between all 159 counties and the state,” Richardson said.

Richardson moved to a home off Post Oak Tritt Road in 2021 from an apartment in the Delk Road area, which remains in the new District 2.

She has until Dec. 31 to move into District 2 if she wants to seek re-election in 2024, and some public speakers at Tuesday’s meeting suggested that she do that.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell

Birrell, who is seeking re-election this year to a fourth term in the new District 3, repeated previous comments that while she thought what happened to Richardson was unfair, the home rule resolution is “politically motivated” and said “this board has no power or authority over the legislature.”

She said the county should take up the issue with the legislature during the 2023 session.

Keli Gambrill, the other Republican commissioner, stressed that “this is not personal. It’s about the rule of law and we can’t be making things up as we go along.”

Richardson’s mother Valerie spoke emotionally on her daughter’s behalf, saying she was “appalled that this election can be null and void after two years.”

She said GOP legislators not only ignored Allen’s map but did not consult with commissioners before having their own drawn up.

“Did they think [Jerica Richardson] would move back to her old apartment or just cry?” Valerie Richardson said. She also referenced previous District 2 commissioner Bob Ott, saying that if he were still in office, “this would not have happened.”

Valerie Richardson also referenced the Civil Rights movement, and asked “Do we have to wait another 100 years to fix this wrong? You have the authority to fix this now.”

Cobb Republican Party Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs said that while she likes Richardson, the maps approved by the legislature were signed into law early this year and wondered why Democratic commissioners didn’t issue a home rule challenge then.

“This was an apparently calculated plan by Commissioner Richardson,” Grubbs said. “She chose to move in 2021, knowing that redistricting was coming.”

A home rule challenge, Grubbs added, is “not fair to the citizens of Cobb County.” She wanted Richardson to recuse herself due to a “major conflict of interest,” which would have resulted in a tie vote.

Richardson not only didn’t recuse herself, she seconded the motion to adopt the resolution.

South Cobb Commissioner Monique Sheffield, a Democrat, took issue with those who suggested Richardson move, saying it’s code for “you don’t belong, go back to where you belong. . . . She has a right to live anywhere in her district.

“When there was flooding in East Cobb [in September 2021], it was Commissioner Richardson, not the state, holding town halls and advocating on your behalf.”

The board’s other Democrat, Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, in acknowledging the Cobb resolution as “a novel question of law,” said that “this is not something that we can just move past . . . this is not something that we can just take lying down.”

Cobb County Attorney William Rowling said during the discussion that the Allen map would be filed with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, where it’s expected to be challenged by the state Attorney General’s office.

In March, after the Republican maps were adopted, Richardson vowed that “I will not step down.”

On Wednesday, she wrote a message on her Facebook page saying that due to the resolution, “on January 1, I will continue to work on behalf of my constituents and no longer be forced to resign 2 years before the end of my term. I appreciate all that came out to have their voices heard and the support for defending local control. It was a beautiful showing of our Cobb community.

“We still have much work to do and must stay committed to doing the good works daily. We cannot forget that the tenets of a republic must be defended, and not taken for granted. The only guarantee is that we will always defend our community regardless of what is yet to come. In the meantime, it’s full steam ahead on the issues that matter to you: infrastructure, economy and workforce, quality of life, and breaking the walls of division.”

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Cobb stormwater work session postponed; Richardson to hold virtual session

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Cobb stormwater work session postponed
Stormwater damage to a residential property off Robinson Road near East Cobb Park in Sept. 2021.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners’ scheduled work session on stormwater issues was postponed Tuesday due to the length of a regular meeting earlier in the day.

The county public information office said it would be rescheduled.

Commissioners were to hear a presentation and an analysis by the Cobb Water Department of stormwater management issues and the possibility of assessing an impact fee.

District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson will hold a virtual community meeting Saturday focusing on the stormwater issue. The session starts at 11 a.m. and you can register by clicking here.

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Contested East Cobb liquor store license upheld by commissioners

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East Cobb bottle shop appeals liquor license denial

Cobb commissioners voted Tuesday to uphold a decision by the Cobb License Review Board to grant a liquor license for a new bottle shop on Johnson Ferry Road.

By a 4-1 vote, commissioners confirmed the decision to grant a beer, wine, liquor and Sunday pouring license to WellSpun Investments Inc., which plans to open the Habits Bottle Shop on 2940 Johnson Ferry Road.

That’s in the former location of Jackie’s Wine and Spirits, which has moved close by, to 3140 Johnson Ferry Road.

Jackie’s hired attorneys from the prominent Cumberland law firm of Taylor English Duma LLP to fight the new shop’s application.

Nearby residents also expressed opposition during the initial phase of the request, as the Cobb Business License Division denied the application. WellSpun appealed to the License Review Board, which granted the license in August.

But during a special public hearing Tuesday, the Jackie’s store attorney, Scott Jones, said the WellSpun request should be denied due to its proximity to two day cares and a church.

WellSpun hired a noted attorney as well, Parks Huff, known for his work in zoning cases, who said that Jackie’s doesn’t “want to have any competition.”

He showed a map of liquor stores in the East Cobb area (see below), showing that Jackie’s has a significant portion of the area to itself.

“They’re asking you to overturn a decision, not a recommendation,” he said of the License Review Board’s application.

The 2940 Johnson Ferry Road address is in a strip mall located close to the Sacred Tapestry church, which meets in another retail center.

One of the day care centers Jones referenced, the Princeton Montessori School ,has since closed. Commissioner Jerica Richardson asked Ellisia Webb, the Cobb Business License Division manager, if the distance between the store space and that day care played a role in the initial denial of the license.

“It could have,” Webb said.

Sam Hensley, an attorney represented the Business License Division and the License Review Board, admitted this was “a bit of an unusual situation” because state regulations are involved in liquor store licensing, as opposed to alcohol licenses for restaurants and convenience and grocery stories.

Jackie’s contended that the distance between the two liquor stores would be less than the minimum of 1,500 feet. Hensley said the measurements need to be made in as straight a line as possible, literally from front door to front door.

Huff claimed during the hearing that the distance was 1,560 feet by his calculations.

Another bone of contention was whether the Montessori school could be classified as an educational institution subject to the distance requirements. Huff said the now-closed facility is a day care center (as is the nearby Primrose School of Lassiter).

Richardson moved to uphold the liquor license. Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb was the only vote against, and there was no discussion among the commissioners beforehand.

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Cobb commissioners OK redistricting resolution in split vote

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Cobb redistricting resolution approved
Commissioner Jerica Richardson said the home rule resolution is an option to address the legislature’s “unprecedented” redistricting against the wishes of the Cobb delegation majority.

In a strict partisan vote, the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved the first of two votes Tuesday to take an unprecedented step at invoking home rule powers over redistricting.

The board’s three-member Democratic majority voted to approve a resolution that would redraw the four commission districts according to a map accepted by the Cobb legislative delegation.

That map, which was not voted on by the Georgia legislature this year, would have kept current District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson in her district, which includes some of East Cobb as well as the Cumberland-Vinings area.

The two Republican commissioners voted against the resolution, saying it’s a violation of the Georgia Constitution for local governments to conduct reapportionment, which is a task of the legislature.

Another vote has been scheduled for Oct. 25 before the resolution would be sent to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, but a lawsuit by the state is expected in response and the matter will likely be resolved in the courts.

“We begin to make history with this vote,” Richardson said.

A map approved by the Republican-dominated legislature redrew Richardson, a Democrat in her first term, out of the East Cobb home off Post Oak Tritt Road that she moved into last year.

She would have to move into the newly redrawn District 2 by Dec. 31 in order to keep her seat. Her term expires at the end of 2024, but she has said since the legislative session that she will “not step down.”

Before Tuesday’s vote, she reiterated previous public remarks that the legislature’s action to draw a sitting commissioner out of office during a term is unprecedented, and needs to be challenged.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell

She said it’s the opinion of the county’s legal counsel that the Georgia Constitution allows for local governments to claim home rule powers.

That has not occurred with regards to redistricting. “That it has not been used in this manner does not mean it cannot be used in this manner,” Richardson said before the vote.

District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, a Republican whose new district includes most of East Cobb, said of the resolution that “this action is illegal” and goes against the state constitution.

She said she twice asked Cobb County Attorney William Rowling for a second opinion but noted that “this was not done,” then read from a letter by the state Office of Legislative Counsel questioning the constitutionality of the resolution.

Rowling responded that several times the language in that letter stated “it appears” and took issue with referenced federal redistricting cases.

“Federal cases do not speak to Georgia law,” he said. When Birrell asked him if home rule could apply to local redistricting in Cobb’s case, he said “Yes ma’am. I do think it’s undecided.”

Keli Gambrill of North Cobb, the other GOP commissioner, accused her Democratic colleagues of “playing politics over enforcing policy” in advancing the resolution in executive session.

Judy Boyce

She also said the “local courtesy” tradition of the legislature honoring county delegation maps isn’t law, and Cobb “has no legal authority to enact redistricting.”

Monique Sheffield, a first-term Democrat who represents South Cobb, said Richardson was elected for four years “and she should have the opportunity to do so.”

That was the sentiment of public speakers in support of the resolution. They included Jackie Bettadapur of East Cobb, who is the head of the Cobb Democratic Party. She didn’t identify herself as such, but said that Cobb’s Republican lawmakers who presented their own maps “went rogue” in getting them approved.

“This is voter nullification,” she said, adding that the GOP “is overturning 2020 election results.”

“State overreach into local government matters has got to stop,” Bettadapur said. “Give voice to our votes and honor the 2020 election results” that resulted in the first Democratic majority on the commission since the 1980s.

Pam Reardon of East Cobb, a Cobb Republican activist who also didn’t mention her party ties, countered by saying that the approved maps are the law and that “this lawsuit is going be a colossal waste of taxpayer funds.”

She said Richardson, who narrowly was elected in 2020 by roughly 1,200 votes over Republican Fitz Johnson, knew redistricting would occur and moved “all the way across District 2” into her new home.

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid tried to move the vote up on the agenda to allow public speakers to have their say beforehand.

But she couldn’t get a majority, and after the vote, speakers on either side of the issue had their say.

They included East Cobb resident Judy Boyce, whose late husband, Mike Boyce, was the Republican chairman from 2017-2020.

She said she voted in the May primary with the new lines in effect, including District 3, in which Birrell is seeking a fourth term against Democrat Christine Triebsch.

The resolution doesn’t affect 2022 elections, but it could create chaos if it ultimately prevails, and Boyce urged commissioners not to vote for home rule.

“What happens to my vote?” she said, getting emotional. “What you did today nullifies my vote. I deserve to have my vote honored. How does this work now?

“I don’t think what you’ve done today is legal. It’s politically motivated.”

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Cobb Public Library fall book sale returns to Cobb Civic Center

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Weekend events, Cobb Library Book Sale

Submitted information:

The Fall Book Sale will be held at Cobb Civic Center October 14-16, 2022.

Materials for sale include books for all ages in both hardcover and paperback, DVDs, Books on CD and audiocassette, and magazines. Prices range from 10 cents to $4.00. Find a price list here.

Cobb Civic Center is at 548 South Marietta Pkwy SE, Marietta, GA 30060. Hours for the sale are Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm. There is plenty of free parking.

Acceptable forms of payment are debit, credit, cash, and checks. On Friday until 1 pm electronic devices are not permitted. While we hope you will buy lots of materials, we are only able to sell up to 2 boxes of items at a time on Friday until 1 pm. Please plan to pay and take items to your vehicle before coming in to shop some more. On Sunday we will be working to sell out the Civic Center so please come to buy, buy, buy!

All profits from this book sale go directly to buying more items for Cobb County Public Library’s 15 branches and bookmobile. For more information, please visit cobbcounty.org/library.

 

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Cobb stormwater analysis, impact fee options to be presented

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Cobb storm damage town hall
Damage to a yard in Terrell Mill Estates after September 2021 flooding.

Nearly a year after Cobb commissioners asked the county water department to examine the possibility of imposing a stormwater impact fee, they will hear a preliminary analysis on Tuesday.

A work session has been called for Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. “to present information on stormwater management services and the preliminary analysis of a stormwater fee based on impervious surface,” according to the agenda item.

Since 1994, stormwater management has been handled by the Cobb water system, and is funded by water and sewer revenues. A consultant recommended the county impose a stormwater fee in a 2005 report, but no action was taken.

The county has admitted it lacks staffing and resources to adequately handle demands on the system.

The agenda item for Tuesday’s work session states that “there is a significant backlog of stormwater maintenance projects” including the maintenance of more than 400 detention ponds.

There have been numerous sinkholes resulting from pipe failures

Following floods last fall that damaged the homes and yards of residents in East Cobb and other areas of the county, the subject has taken greater precedence.

Commissioner Jerica Richardson held several virtual meetings. Since a December 2021 meeting the water system has been looking at how other other metro Atlanta jurisdictions manage stormwater utilities and how they charge for them.

A potential impact fee based on impervious surface of a property, instead of water and sewer usage, was raised at the time.

But commissioners were divided along partisan lines, with the board’s two Republicans opposed.

One of them, JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb, said she wasn’t in favor of adding another utility fee with water rates going up in Cobb.

When East Cobb News asked Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt about what specifically will be recommended by the water department Tuesday, he said that “they are still working on final details before presenting it to the board.”

Since it’s a work session, there won’t be a vote. The meeting will take place in the second floor board room of the Cobb Government Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

You also can watch on the county’s website, Facebook Live and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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East Cobb bottle shop opponents appeal liquor license approval

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East Cobb bottle shop opponents appeal liquor license

Community members opposed to a liquor store that plans to open in the same location vacated by another bottle shop on Johnson Ferry Road have appealed to the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

Commissioners will conduct a public hearing Tuesday to hear the appeal of residents and nearby business owners, who say the area doesn’t need another liquor store.

WellSpun Investments Inc. applied in March for a liquor, beer, wine and Sunday sales license for Habits Bottle Shop at 2940 Johnson Ferry Road, near the intersection of Freeman Road.

It would replace Jackie’s Fine Wine and Spirits, which relocated nearby to 3140 Johnson Ferry Road, and would be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

WellSpun was initially denied a liquor license in June by the Cobb Business License Division, then appealed to the Cobb License Review Board, which granted approval in August.

Opponents, who have hired an attorney, Christina Moore of Taylor English Duma LLP, have said the new store is located close to two pre-schools and religious space and isn’t suitable for an area with young people. Some also expressed traffic concerns at that intersection.

The store is less than 600 feet from the Princeton Montessori School and the Primrose School of Lassiter and is less than 400 feet from Sacred Tapestry, a Methodist-affiliated entity that holds worship services at an adjacent strip mall.

The License Review Board typically grants waivers for distance requirements if there’s not opposition.

(Also on Tuesday’s agenda is a consent item to grant a liquor license for a new Canton Road sports bar on Canto Road, whose owner has appealed a denial of a liquor license due to its proximity to a church.The review board is recommending commissioners approve the license for Bar 44, and there has been no known opposition.)

Since Jackie’s moved, the landlord has been advertising the 2940 Johnson Ferry Road space as suitable for a liquor store or retail use.

But letters from community members initially filed in March, and included in Tuesday’s agenda item for the hearing (you can read through them here) say that there are plenty of establishments in the vicinity that sell alcohol in addition to Jackies: Walmart, gas station convenience stores and restaurants.

“There are currently 10 stores selling distilled spirits within a 5 mile radius with many more selling wine and beer,” wrote one citizen. “The proximity to schools and impact on traffic are two very important additional reasons why we object to this application.”

Another resident said “we don’t need one more establishment for the teenagers at Pope and Walton High School to buy from, and inevitably pay a legal adult to buy alcohol for them. I know this due to the fact that I went to Walton High School and my daughters went to Pope High School.”

In response to a questionnaire from the review board, Salim Rajan of WellSpun said he would require employees to card “if a customer appears to be under the age of 40” and that employees will be terminated if they have been found to have made an underage sale.

The Tuesday hearing will take place at the end of the meeting, and will be conducted like a formal court proceeding, with witnesses sworn in, evidence introduced and cross-examination allowed.

The full agenda for Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting can be found by clicking here. It will take place in the second floor board room of the Cobb Government Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

You also can watch on the county’s website, Facebook Live and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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