East Cobb Government

Cobb commissioners, officials to meet with trash companies

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John Swierenga, Trash Taxi
East Cobb resident John Swierenga, owner of Trash Taxi, addressing commissioners Tuesday.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners and the leadership of the county’s solid waste department have scheduled a “summit” next week with private trash disposal companies.

Cobb government said in a release on Friday that the meeting will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 2 p.m. at the Cobb Civic Center (548 S. Marietta Parkway).

The county release said trash company leaders are being summoned “to address a history of complaints by residents in Cobb County of missed pickups, poor customer service, and lack of recycling services.”

The meeting comes several days after commissioners heard a proposed code amendment change that would limit trash pickup services to one private hauler for each of the four commission districts.

But at Tuesday’s commission meeting, Jonathan Jenkins, Director of the Cobb Sustainability, Waste, and Beautification Department, said he had not met with trash companies since 2019, and did not seek their input before proposing the code amendment changes.

“About 20 haulers in Cobb County could be put out of business,” said John Swierenga, an East Cobb resident and owner of Trash Taxi, during a public comment period.

“Large capital [would be] needed to bid on these contracts,” he said. “We face restrictions because there’s no disposal capability we have.”

Swierenga and his brothers started Trash Taxi in 2004, and the company serves around 16,000 customers, mostly in northwest Cobb. Trash Taxi recently expanded into some areas of East Cobb.

He estimated that between 90,000 to 100,000 Cobb citizens get their trash service from small haulers, and that big companies are struggling.

One them, Swierenga said, called him to ask if he could send Trash Taxi trucks to Gwinnett County to help pick up their garbage.

Jenkins said he got the idea for dedicated haulers for a particular area of the county from Gwinnett, which recently implemented that ordinance.

“This proposal, if enacted,” Swierenga said of the Cobb proposal, “could be a colossal failure.”

Citizen complaints have focused strongly on American Disposal, one of the bigger haulers that has bought up smaller competitors to consolidate its market position.

Cobb citizens opposed to the county designating trash service also addressed commissioners Tuesday, including Hill Wright of East Cobb.

“Just stop,” he said. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Earlier Tuesday, at a work session on code amendments, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb wanted the trash proposal to be tabled until January.

She and fellow Republican Commissioner Keli Gambrill said they do not support eliminating competition in trash service, and other commissioners expressed concern about the proposal.

But Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said there would be enough time to modify the proposal before a scheduled vote Sept. 27.

Wednesday’s meeting is being billed as a work session. It is open to the public, but there will be no public comment period.

The meeting can be seen on Cobb TV and citizens can e-mail  trashcomplaints@cobbcounty.org with comments and feedback.

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Cobb to spend $1.45M to hire consultant for strategic plan

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Jimmy Gisi, Cobb deputy county manager
Jimmy Gisi, Cobb deputy county manager

In a split party-line vote, the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a request to spend $1.45 million to hire an outside consultant to develop a strategic plan for county government.

The board’s three Democrats voted to approve a contract with Accenture LLP to prepare a long-term “guiding document,” in the words of Deputy County Manager Jimmy Gisi, to pull together a number of service issues and objectives.

Those include, according to an agenda item:

“A world-wide pandemic, justice reform, affordable housing, and employee retention are just a few of these challenges. The strategic plan will be the primary strategy to lead the on-going vision and priorities of Cobb County. The plan will include measurable objectives to help improve the County’s responsiveness to the public, to adapt to changes in the economy, to remain competitive, to welcome tourists, to sustain the County’s assets, and to recommend a unified vision for years to come.”

Republicans JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill voted against, objecting to the cost and questioning the need for such a study.

“I know there is a need for a strategic plan,” Birrell said, “but to spend $1.4 million with all the other studies that we have going on. A million here, a million there. I cannot support it.”

Gisi told her the county negotiated down the cost with Accenture, whose initial bid was $1.8 million. The process is expected to take through the end of the year and will include public engagement, produce a long-range vision (10-20 years) and and five-year plan from 2023-2027.

Accenture, a management and professional services consulting firm, would employ eight of its staffers on the Cobb strategic plan project and would need space for up to five of its staffers at county government offices as well as parking.

(More about the project summary can be found by clicking here; Accenture’s “statement of work” can be found by clicking here.)

Gambrill said the county hasn’t taken any steps to implement a five-year plan that was laid out by former Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce in 2017.

“I can’t support this and I don’t expect a rebuttal,” she said.

But County Manager Jackie McMorris told her that was simply about restoring county services to pre-recession levels.

“We’ve never done a five-year financial plan,” McMorris said, referencing Boyce’s aspirations for what he called providing services for a “five-star county.”

Chairwoman Lisa Cupid was eager to approve the contract, saying “we finally have something we can say will help provide guidance” on establishing long-term objectives.

During a public comment period, East Cobb resident Leroy Emkin blasted the spending proposal, saying such a study should be conducted by county department heads.

Cupid responded by saying that “while we have competent employees at Cobb County, this project is outside their area of expertise.”

Commissioner Jerica Richardson of District 2 said before the vote that “it’s vital that this is truly strategic and comprehensive.”

Accenture’s statement of work calls for public engagement sessions in October, and long-range vision document by the end of October, a five-year strategic draft in November and the finalized five-year document by December.

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Sewell Mill Creek streambank repairs at Fullers Park approved

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Sewell Mill Creek streambank repairs
The ground along Sewell Mill Creek at the front of East Cobb Park has been raised into a slight crest to reduce flooding. ECN photos

Heavy flooding last September in the East Cobb area caused significant damage to the homes and properties of residents who are still dealing with stormwater-related issues nearly a year later.

The rains also caused Sewell Mill Creek to swell over, as it has done before, onto the low-lying East Cobb Park and Fullers Park.

The front quad of East Cobb Park was severely eroded after water rushed over the flat surface along the creek.

After several months, the streambank area was reworked to produce a crest between the creek and the walking path and front quad. A park bench was relocated to the front, close to a small “free library” box.

Similarly, Cobb Parks and Recreation wants to restore and stabilize a portion of Sewell Mill Creek downstream at nearby Fullers Park that also was affected by those floods.

Doing so, according to an agenda item presented to Cobb commissioners, “will stop further erosion and deterioration of the streambank and enhance the visual experience of those walking in the park.”

On Tuesday, that request was approved unanimously, with funding coming from the new 2022 Cobb SPLOST.

The lowest bidder, Integrated Construction and Nobility, Inc. offered a cost of $199,700 in bidding that took place last fall. Bids went as high as $556,000, but even the lowest bid was more than what county officials estimated for the project.

So they negotiated with the contractor to reduce the project cost to $104,500. The funding source specifically is the Countyside Parks Subsurface Infrastructure account, which is earmarked for $1.5 million over the next six years.East Cobb Park streambank repairs

That was one of several individual infrastructure contracts approved Tuesday by commissioners.

Commissioners also ratified a previous decision by Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris to authorize emergency drainage repairs on Turtle Cove Court in the Somerset subdivision of East Cobb.

Cobb DOT replaced 120 feet of a 36-inch corrugated metal pipe that had failed and caused a sinkhole, threatening the safety of the street. The curb and gutter were also replaced, as were two catch basins and some pavement.

The repairs were completed in July and cost $308,550, with the funding coming from the 2022 Cobb SPLOST Transportation Improvements Plan.

Commissioners also voted to approve sidewalk construction in two areas of Northeast Cobb. One is a half-mile stretch on the north side of Davis Road, between Williams Road and Shallowford Road, for $726,727.

The contractor is Glosson Enterprises and the funding is coming from the 2016 Cobb SPLOST ($568K) and another $129.7K from the Capital Projects Fund Commission District 3 Sidewalk Development.

Glosson also was awarded a $476.7K contract to build a sidewalk on the east side of Shaw Road between Piedmont Road and Woodrush Road. That’s a third of a mile, with $250K coming from the 2016 SPLOST and $204K from the same Capital Projects Fund account.

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Birrell asks for Cobb to delay proposed trash service changes

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Birrell seeks delay trash service changes

Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell asked Cobb solid waste officials Tuesday to explore other options to a proposal to dramatically alter how private trash haulers operate in the county.

During a work session, Birrell said she was opposed to a proposal by Cobb Sustainability, Waste and Beautification director Jonathan Jenkins to designate a sole trash hauler to provide pickup and recycling services in each of four areas of the county.

The trash proposal, prompted by lingering complaints about inconsistent service in recent years, has drawn some citizen opposition.

“I’m in favor of an open market and people choosing who they want,” Birrell told Jenkins. “Restricting it to one hauler per district is not the solution to the problem.”

She wanted to have the matter pulled and held until the county next considers code amendments in January, “to meet with the haulers and the public.”

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said at a later meeting Thursday night that none of her colleagues are in favor of reducing service to one hauler per district, but that there is plenty of time before next month’s public hearings on code amendments.

“We’ve been dealing with this for years now,” Cupid said. “Residents have been dealing with this for far too long. This is our best opportunity to do something.”

The work session was for presentation purposes only; commissioners will hold public hearings on the code amendments on Sept. 13 and Sept. 27, before voting on them on the latter date.

Birrell, a three-term Republican from Northeast Cobb who is seeking re-election in November, is a former consultant for Waste Management, and disclosed that she has not been employed in the industry in a decade.

She said that if the county would put trash services out for bid, she would recuse herself, but that she would want to be involved with other possible ordinance changes.

Cobb County Attorney Bill Rowling said that the proposed code amendment, as written, would allow only four trash haulers in the county, in each of the four commission districts.

“I don’t know if there are four haulers that could take on the magnitude of that kind of lift, to gear up” to provide such an expanded level of service, he said.

He added that while those “are policy issues,” there are “a lot of legal obligations” the county would have to meet.

Birrell acknowledged longstanding complaints about trash service, but said Tuesday after the new proposal was submitted, she’s heard from many citizens who are happy with their service.

“This needs to be looked at some more,” Birrell said. “There are other options we can look at.”

Cobb trash service proposals
Jonathan Jenkins, Cobb Sustainability, Waste and Beautification director

Citizens and businesses in unincorporated Cobb contract with private trash services. There have been numerous complaints about one provider in particular, American Disposal, which has bought up a number of other smaller haulers in recent years.

Commissioner Monique Sheffield of South Cobb said that she has supported revoking the license of “one company in particular” that she did not name and would not want to penalize other service providers for the acts of “one bad apple.”

Jenkins said that performance issues have increased in particular since the recession.

More than 60 haulers once provided those services, he said, but that number dropped by a half by the time of the recession; Cobb customers are currently served by 18-20 trash providers.

Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb called the trash proposal an issue of government stepping in far beyond what it should be doing.

She said she hasn’t received many complaints about trash services from her constituents in District 1 since the pandemic; Jenkins said he’s heard most from residents in Districts 2 and 3 in East Cobb.

Gambrill also was upset that Jenkins hadn’t met with her before crafting the ordinance change; he replied that he had discussed the issue with her in a virtual meeting.

When Gambrill asked Jenkins if he had met with any haulers, he said his last meeting with them was in the fall of 2019.

Cupid—who earlier in the work session admonished Gambrill for questioning Jenkins in what she thought was an adversarial tone—pointed out that other proposed ordinance changes haven’t always involved discussions with those in various industries and professions.

When Cobb was changing the code regarding massage parlors, Cupid said, “we didn’t talk to masseuses,” and she rattled off several other similar examples.

But Gambrill said such a proposal—to have the county assign private trash haulers—”has not been on the books. This is completely new. . . . When they’re new they go through an extensive community process” before being voted on.

Cupid replied that “this is not completely new or it would be completely underlined.”

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Water boiling advisory issued for parts of Northeast Cobb

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Northeast Cobb water boil advisory

UPDATED, Tuesday, 11 A.M.:

The advisory has been lifted.

The issue affected some businesses in the area. The Paradise Grill restaurant closed for business Monday and on Tuesday the Chick-Fil-A Lassiter on Shallowford Road was selling bottled beverages and milkshakes and not tea, coffee, lemonade and soft drinks.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Cobb County Water System has issued a water boiling advisory for parts of Northeast Cobb after a water outage occurred Monday morning.

The advisory is expected to continue throughout Monday afternoon for the Sweat Mountain area, as well as along Sandy Plains Road to Davis Road and Shallowford Road to Wesley Chapel Road.

The advisory urges residents as well as businesses in the area to boil drinking water for at least a minute.

Cobb County government said in a release that the outage was due to a level sensor failure at the Sweat Mountain Water Storage Tank, causing “water pressure in parts of the water system to drop to low levels for a period.

“When this occurs a potential health hazard may exist in these areas of zero pressure from backflow and/or back-siphonage of water of unknown quality into the water distribution system.”

While water service has been restored to the disaffected areas, sampling continues to take place, and consumers should continue to follow the advisory before using water for drinking, cooking or preparing baby food.

For questions or information call 770-419-6200.

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Proposed changes to Cobb trash pickup draw citizen opposition

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Cobb trash pickup proposed changes
Several private trash haulers currently serve the East Cobb area.

A plan to assign trash haulers to specific parts of Cobb County will be presented to the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday, as they begin dig into proposed code amendment changes to county ordinances.

The work session will take place at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

The full agenda can be found by clicking here; the meeting also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

Commissioners have already been hearing from citizens about the trash pickup proposal, which is designed to alleviate collection issues that have existed in Cobb for several years.

Under the proposed trash pickup amendment, four trash pickup zones would be created, and each would be designated a single hauler. Other haulers would not be allowed to service that zone.

Citizens organizing against that change, proposed by the head of the Cobb Sustainability, Waste and Beautification Department (click here to read), don’t like not having a choice and say their trash bills will go up.

A reader opposed to the change told East Cobb News that “many of us are happy with our small business haulers and don’t want the inefficient county to take over and make such demands to destroy free market competitive solutions.”

A website called Save My Cobb Trash Collector has been launched to fight the proposal. It was created by East Cobb resident Hill Wright, who said he’s heard from a number of citizens who also are upset by the proposal.

He said he’s spoken to trash haulers and they’re not happy either, with some of the smaller ones fearful they’ll be put out of business.

The website claims that Cobb is planning to charge customers an 18 percent additional fee to their trash bill.

That information isn’t in the proposed code amendment, but Wright told East Cobb News he’s heard that figure from speaking with county staffers.

The fee would be used in part to create a call center to handle citizen issues with trash pickup service.

The trash pickup change “would cause the service to get much worse,” he said. “They’re trying to solve the problem by creating a monopoly” that would be the lowest bidder.

“The lowest bidder will likely be a large company which is already not able to provide consistent service.”

American Disposal has been the dominant hauler in the Cobb area, buying up smaller competitors in recent years. But it’s also been the subject of numerous customer complaints.

Wright said some of the feedback he’s received on his website is from citizens who’ve told him they’ve left American and wouldn’t want to be forced to use them again.

Wright has used Hugh’s Garbage Service for years, and says he’s very happy with it. When he traveled frequently on business, he arranged for his trash to be picked up inside his home.

“It cost a little more, but it was worth it,” he said.

Wright said he understands the intent of the code amendment but wishes the county had been informing and working with the trash haulers.

“It’s going to hurt some people and destroy some small businesses,” he said.

The East Cobb area is serviced by several private haulers, and the Acworth-based Trash Taxi recently entered the community providing trash and recycling services.

Cobb code amendments are updated twice a year, and the current proposals cover 10 areas of the ordinance:

Administration; building regulations; fire prevention and protection; licenses, permits and businesses; nuisances; parks and recreation; solid waste; streets, sidewalks and public places and zoning.

The Cobb Community Development Agency is coming back to commissioners to attempt to regulate AirBNB short-term rentals, especially AirBNBs (Chapter 78).

The proposed amendment would require a short-term rental certificate from the county business license office, a local agent to be available 24 hours a day and following occupancy and vehicle limits.

The county also is proposing to expand its authority in the inspection of multi-family rental housing units (Chapter 18) to include a required occupational tax for apartment complex owners and inspection of a portion of a complex’ units every year.

Commissioners will hold specific public hearings on the code amendments on Sept. 13 and Sept. 27, before voting on them on the latter date.

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$1B in Cobb 2022 property tax bills issued; due Oct. 15

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Cobb 2022 tax bills due

The Cobb Tax Commissioner’s Office has mailed out 2022 property tax bills that are due by Oct. 15.

According to a release issued by Cobb government on Monday, those include 267,850 tax bills and total $1.099 billion for county services, special tax districts and the Cobb County School District.

Of those bills, 252,206 are for real property coming to $1.027 billion, while 15,644 personal property bills add up to $72 million.

The chart below breaks down anticipated collections in each category; roughly two-thirds of the receipts are for schools, followed by the Cobb government general fund and Cobb fire services.

The Cobb tax digest grew by 12.3 percent in 2022, according to the Cobb tax assessor’s office, with much of that due to rising assessments.

Cobb commissioners recently passed a fiscal year budget of $1.2 billion that becomes effective Oct. 1. They kept the general fund millage rate at 8.46 mills but raised the fire fund from 2.86 to 2.99 mills.

The Cobb school board adopted a fiscal 2023 budget of $1 billion that went into effect on July 1, maintaining the previous millage rate of 18.9 mills.

For a $500,000 home assessed at $200,000, the estimated tax bill is a little more than $5,500, with nearly $3,600 of that amount in school taxes and nearly $1,400 for the county general fund.

Cobb 2022 property tax breakdown

Those figures may vary, depending on the amount of a homestead exemption applied tot he county generalfund or an exemption for school taxes for property owners aged 62 and older.

Cobb’s six cities send out their own tax bills.

The Cobb Tax Commissioner’s Office details the 2022 tax bills.

Payments may be made online at cobbtax.org via e-Check, debit, or credit card

Phone payments can be done via an automated system by calling 1-866-PAY-COBB (1-866-729-2622).

The address for standard mail payment is Cobb County Tax Commissioner, PO Box 100127, Marietta, GA 30061.

Those paying in person can go to the Cobb Property Tax Division (736 Whitlock Avenue) and the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road)

There also are 24/7 drop boxes for checks/money orders made payable to Cobb County Tax Commissioner at those locations and others.

For questions or information, email tax@cobbtax.org or call 770-528-8600.

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Cobb settles lawsuit with Uber driver, agrees to pay $250K

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The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the county and six Cobb police officers by a woman who claimed they violated her constitutional rights nearly five years ago.Cobb County logo, Cobb 2017 elections

The board voted 5-0 to pay Sharon DeArmond and her attorney a total of $250,000 stemming from a 2017 incident on Windy Hill Road.

The lawsuit, filed in 2019, alleges that the officers—including Ofc. Collin Robles, Lt. Bruce Danz and Ofc. Kelvin Ramirez who were identified in the settlement agreement—unlawfully detained her.

Her suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, charged police with illegal search and seizure, false arrest and causing her emotional distress.

The suit claims that on the evening of Oct. 12, 2017, DeArmond, an Uber driver, dropped off a passenger at an extended stay hotel on Interstate North Parkway.

She then drove to a parking lot between the Pappasito’s and Pappadeaux restaurants on Windy Hill Road and waited for her next fare, according to the suit.

DeArmond she stopped to light a cigarette when officers approached her with their police lights on and aimed their guns at her.

Her lawsuit claims DeArmond’s phone was taken from her and police searched her car without explaining why. An officer ordered her to be handcuffed and she was told her previous rider was a prostitute.

DeArmond says in her suit she was placed in the back seat of one of the police cars and was taken to a parking lot of a nearby office park, which was poorly lit.

She said an officer searched through her purse and was eventually allowed to drive away, but “was in no condition to continue driving Uber for the night,” the lawsuit states.

According to the settlement agreement, DeArmond will receive $146,238 and her attorney, Lisa Lambert, will be paid $103,762.

The commissioners added the settlement agreement vote to their agenda and did not discuss the matter before the unanimous vote.

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Cobb DOT to start Bill Murdock Road-Pine Road realignment

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Proposed Bill Murdock Road-Pine Road realignment
Cobb DOT will remove the “S” curve intersection and place it nearer to the new Walton sports complex.

Design work for a planned realignment of the intersection of Bill Murdock Road and Pine Road at Walton High School will be the subject of a public hearing Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

It’s one of several Cobb 2022 SPLOST projects by Cobb DOT that requires public hearings because the engineering and design costs exceed $100,000.

Design and engineering work for other road projects in the East Cobb area on Tuesday’s agenda include the following:

  • Holly Springs corridor improvements
  • Shallowford at Gordy Parkway West
  • Canton Road corridor improvements
  • Barnes Mill Road sidewalk

Those are specified as line items in the Cobb 2022 SPLOST notebook. The Bill Murdock-Pine Road project is not, as it’s lumped into a category for improvements in a school zone.

The realignment is part of ongoing construction at Walton of a new sports complex, which will house a varsity baseball field and tennis courts.

We asked the county for more details about the realignment, and Cobb DOT said that “S” curve will be removed, and pedestrian movements between the school and Pine Road will be improved in coordination with the Cobb County School District.

There’s not a cost estimate for the design or construction work included in Tuesday’s agenda item. A total of $4.1 million has been designated for SPLOST collections for school-zone DOT projects countywide through the end of 2027.

Construction on the Walton athletic complex is just getting underway with groundclearing of the nearly 25-acre tract. That project, which costs $6.7 million and is funded through the Cobb Education IV SPLOST, is expected to be completed by December.

Access points will be on Pine Road for the baseball field and Providence Road for the tennis courts. There will be parking for 80 vehicles.

The Holly Springs Road project is estimated to cost $3.9 million and includes improving the intersection at Post Oak Tritt Road.

The Canton Road corridor improvements have a project cost of $2.4 million and will stretch along much of that route.

Improvements at Shallowford Road and Gordy Parkway West are estimated to cost $700,000.

Those are all “Tier 1” projects in the Cobb 2022 SPLOST, which began collecting sales-tax revenues in January after being approved by voters in 2020. It is expected to generate $750 million in revenues both for county projects and those in Cobb’s six cities.

The Cobb DOT public hearings Tuesday will take place at the start of the meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

The full agenda can be found by clicking here; also on the agenda is a final draft of the 2040 Cobb County Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Update to be submitted tothe Atlanta Regional Commission. Agenda item here; final draft here.

The hearing also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

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Cobb adopts $1.2B fiscal 2023 budget; maintains millage rate

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Cobb adopts $1.4B fiscal 2023 budget
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell supported raising the millage rate for fire services, saying “they’re hurting and they need to be revived.”

In a split vote along party lines, the Cobb Board of Commissioners adopted a $1.2 billion fiscal year 2023 budget Tuesday night that expands the size of county government and provides substantial employee pay raises.

Commissioners also voted to maintain the general fund millage rate and other millage rates except the fire fund, which is going up slightly.

The board’s three Democrats voted to adopt the budget, with Chairwoman Lisa Cupid saying that while the spending package isn’t a “panacea . . . it helps us to move significantly further ahead” in addressing what she has long said are chronic staffing, salary and other issues that have affectEd service provision.

The budget includes the creation of 147 new jobs in what have been described as “critical” positions and a rise in the minimum wage for county employees from $11.50 to $17 an hour.

The two Republicans voted against the budget for varying reasons. Keli Gambrill cited “philosophical differences in budgeting” and the growing amount of reserve funding that totals nearly $52 million, saying that “to me, we are expanding government.”

JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb repeated publicly expressed doubts about the higher minimum wage. “I’m concerned if it’s sustainable year to year,” said Birrell, who also wants the county to prioritize filling existing vacancies before creating new jobs.

Commissioners also approved, by a 4-1 vote, to implement the recommendations of a new pay and classification study by a consultant that will cost $22 million in the new budget, and nearly $2 million in the current budget.

Among the recommendations is an average pay increase for full-time workers of nearly 11 percent. Gambrill was the lone vote in opposition.

The general fund millage rate—funded by property taxes and that provides for most of the budget—is staying at 8.46 mills.

But the fire fund is rising from 2.86 mills to 2.99 mills. The extra 0.13 mills is being transferred from a parks bond that is due to expire, and after fire officials said they have been deferring capital maintenance and other expenses.

Birrell supported that increase, saying in recent years, the fire fund rate has been reduced twice.

“They are hurting and they need to be revived,” said Birrell, who is seeking a fourth term in November and who has frequently said public safety needs should be at the top of budget priorities.

Cobb Tax Assessor Stephen White

The board’s vote came after a brief recess called by Cupid, who allowed public commenters to chime in, and they did so in occasionally intense fashion.

As she heard in a town hall in East Cobb last week, quite a few wanted the board to roll back the millage rate, saying inflation is taking a toll.

The Cobb tax digest has grown by 12.3 percent in 2022, netting an additional $60 million for the budget. But property tax assessments have gone up astronomically across the county.

Jim Jess of the Franklin Roundtable, a conservative group based in Cobb County, said rising gas prices alter “how people spend money in their households. People out here are hurting,” referring to senior citizens and workers who aren’t getting much of a pay raise.

Salleigh Grubbs, head of the Cobb Republican Party, told commissioners “you don’t acknowledge the looming recession.”

Debbie Fisher of East Cobb accused the county of not properly notifying the public of a tax increase in the millage rate for the fire fund.

Another East Cobb resident, Leroy Emkin, used his time not to comment on the county budget, but to rail against the World Economic Forum, the Green New Deal and wind turbines, speaking in fulminating fashion from prepared remarks.

Another East Cobb resident rose in support of the budget.

“I don’t know if Cobb is planning any wind farms,” said William Parker, “but the planet is on fire.

“Yes, some people are hurting. But it costs money to operate a county.”

Residential and commercial properties are assessed roughly every three years in Cobb County, tax assessor Stephen White said, and the state can penalize counties if they don’t perform updated fair market value assessments.

“We’re taking in a tremendous amount of [tax] money,” Gambrill said. “I agree that we need to be rolling back the millage rate.”

Birrell and Cupid are holdovers when commissioners rolled back the general fund millage rate in 2016, then faced a $32 million budget shortfall two years later.

Cupid voted for a tax increase pushed by her predecessor, Mike Boyce, while Birrell voted against it.

But with some county departments reporting staffing shortages of as much as 40 percent—including DOT, water and other frontline services, “now is the time for auction,” said commissioner Jerica Richardson, whose district includes part of East Cobb.

County department heads had requested a total of 658 new positions.

“Tonight will not be a panacea,” Cupid said. “But I believe that we are making the right decisions for today.”

The fiscal year 2023 budget takes effect Oct. 1.

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East Cobb residents challenge Cupid on budget, diversity issues

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Less than a week before a new fiscal year county budget is to be adopted, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid took her message about taxes, spending and other issues to an East Cobb audience that was largely skeptical of many of her priorities.

A town hall Wednesday at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center dubbed “All In Cobb” was the last of four such meetings she’s held in each of the Cobb commission districts.

With East Cobb-area commissioners Jerica Richardson and JoAnn Birrell in attendance, Cupid said during the nearly two-hour event that the concerns she heard have been similar around the county over the last month.

Some East Cobb residents didn’t like seeing a slide presented by Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid about diversity issues.

Her proposed fiscal year budget of $1.4 billion holds the general fund property tax rate at 8.46 mills, but due to rising assessments many Cobb homeowners will be paying substantially higher taxes.

Cupid defended a proposal to add nearly 150 new county positions and raised the minimum wage for county employees to $17 an hour due to chronic staff shortages in many departments, including road maintenance, stormwater management and public safety.

She said while they don’t come close to addressing all those needs, with this budget “we’re going to try to fix” what she said have been long-standing concerns.

“What you’re getting from your government are beautiful buildings like this one,” she said. “I think Cobb County can do better” to provide services for a county of nearly 800,000.

“I keep hearing not to spend” on certain priorities, she said, “but you still want stellar services. It’s not working right now.”

Throughout the evening, she tried to tie affordable housing to budget and spending issues, because “people who work here should be able to afford to live here.”

She noted that the average price of newly built homes in Cobb averages around $300,000. A county employee making her proposed minimum wage of $17 an hour would earn only $33,000 in gross pay, not nearly enough to afford even that.

But a woman in the audience who owns rental housing said that some of her tenants have been forced to leave because they couldn’t afford to pay higher rents. She said she reluctantly raised them because of skyrocketing assessments.

East Cobb resident Craig Harfoot said a record Cobb tax digest is a “false digest” due to higher assessments.

“That’s too much taxes,” she said, pointing out that such renters “are the people who need” affordable housing options.

“It’s a challenge and I recognize it,” Cupid said.

Another resident said when she travels to West Cobb, she sees new sidewalks and pocket parks and “I feel like East Cobb has become the golden goose.”

Cupid said it’s a comment she hears wherever she goes in the county.

East Cobb resident Craig Harfoot said the Georgia legislature needs to look at how property taxes are reassessed.

“You’re pricing all the poor people out of their homes,” he said.

But Cupid rebuffed calls in the audience to “roll back” the millage rate in light of the proposed budget being nearly $100 million more than the current fiscal year.

“We’re trying to address things that we haven’t addressed for years,” she said. “I’m keeping the millage rate but we’re not funding” for the level of service she hears citizens demanding.

Making repeated references to Rumpelstiltskin—about turning straw into gold—Cupid said that “rolling it back won’t help that.

“There is this misperception about how robustly resourced the county is.”

Others were cool to government-driven ideas for resolving affordable housing issues.

East Cobb resident Leroy Emkin blasted the proposed creation of a diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Cobb County government.

When a resident challenged her about letting the market dictate housing costs, Cupid—who holds engineering and law degrees—said “there’s a place for government and there’s a place for the market. They co-exist.”

Some shouted “noooooo!” at those remarks.

Some audience members were rankled about a slide Cupid presented about diversity, saying it’s not just about race, but also geography and income levels, among other factors.

A woman said “I don’t treat anybody differently” to some cheering.

East Cobb resident Leroy Emkin, a frequent commenter at commissioners’ public address, was critical of a proposal in the budget for the creation of a diversity, equity and inclusion officer position.

“What the hell do we need a director for that kind of office?” he said to considerable applause.

County manager Jackie McMorris corrected his assertion that it would cost $400,000, saying that the $150,000 to be earmarked for that post—suggested by Cupid’s predecessor, the late Mike Boyce—comes from federal COVID-19 stimulus funds and is just one job, with no staff.

McMorris acknowledged “a philosophical difference in what we value,” including the acceptance of American Rescue Plan Act funds altogether.

Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris said the proposed FY ’23 spending package “is just not a bloated budget.”

After the town hall, Birrell said she was hoping for more discussion on the budget.

“There are some things I like and some things I don’t like,” said Birrell, who is up for re-election in November in a newly redrawn district that includes most of East Cobb.

She didn’t offer any particulars, but Birrell and fellow Republican commissioner Keli Gambrill have expressed concerns about future budget impacts should the $17 an hour minimum wage be adopted.

“Some things are critical, that we need,” Birrell said. “But I am concerned about this budget being sustainable,” especially when many citizens are reeling from higher tax assessments and inflation.

Commissioners will hold a final public hearing on the proposed budget and millage rate next Tuesday night before voting on adoption then.

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Cobb commissioners accept Rite Aid opioid lawsuit settlement

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Cobb settlement Rite Aid opiods lawsuit
Missy Owen, Davis Direction Foundation

Cobb commissioners on Tuesday accepted a settlement with Rite Aid for $3.5 million after nearly four years of opioid-related litigation.

By a  4-1 vote, commissioners approved the settlement with the pharmacy chain as part of a “bellwether” series of lawsuits that included local governments in Durham, N.C. and Montgomery County, Ohio.

For several years, Cobb has been near the top in drug overdose deaths in Georgia, with nearly 200 in the year 2020, a majority of them from fentanyl and other opioids.

The lawsuit alleges that “Rite Aid failed to effectively monitor and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids from its retail stores and failed to implement measures to prevent diversion of prescription opioids, which contributed to an increase in opioid addictions, overdoses, and deaths” in Cobb, Montgomery County and Durham.

The lawsuit also claimed that “Rite Aid failed to adequately train pharmacists at its retail stores on how to adequately handle prescriptions for opioids and failed to institute policies and procedures at its retail stores to avoid the diversion of opioids.”

A trial was to have begun next year; Rite Aid admitted to no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, which will cost it $10.5 million total to all three jurisdictions.

Cobb also has joined broader litigation against opioids manufacturers, who are being sued for damages stemming from the opioids epidemic.

Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris will be forming a committee to determine how the Rite Aid settlement money is to be spent. The most likely designation could be for recovery and treatment expenses.

Before the vote Tuesday, Missy Owen of the Davis Direction Foundation, an addiction recovery non-profit, urged commissioners to agree to the settlement so the community can “begin to focus on the real task at hand—saving lives.”

Her son Davis died of a heroin overdose in 2014 at the age of 20. Since then, she and her husband founded the foundation that bears Davis’ name, as well as The Zone, a space off Fairground Street in Marietta for those in long-term addiction recovery.

She also began a recovery roundtable with former Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds that continues.

Owen said there were 30 hospitalizations in last month alone in Cobb for fentanyl poisoning, and that “15 of those 30 thought they were taking something other than fentanyl.

“No amount of money will ever make this right,” Owen said, fighting back some emotion. “When you ask a mother to put a price on the life of a child, there will never be enough to cover the cost. However, we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good that can be done with this settlement money right now.”

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell thanked her for her comments, saying “I know that it was difficult to speak up.”

Commissioner Keli Gambrill also noted Owens remarks but said that she wouldn’t vote to accept the settlement because “the lawsuit does not address the root cause” of substance abuse and addiction.

For more information, including locations for treatment, visit the Opioid Awareness in Cobb County resource page.

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Cobb County announces proposed tax increase, millage rates

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Cobb proposed tax increase
Bill Volckmann, Cobb Finance Director

After unveiling the proposed fiscal year 2023 operating budget on Tuesday, Cobb County government on Thursday officially posted a notice of a tax increase that also will be subject to several public hearings in July.

The proposed budget of $1.15 billion does not include an increase to any millage rates, including the general fund, the primary source of revenues that comes from property taxes.

But due to a 12.63 percent increase in the Cobb tax digest this year, that constitutes a tax increase according to state law, since a “roll back” in the millage rate to equal the current FY 2022 budget of $1.04 billion is not included.

Public hearings must be held by the Cobb Board of Commissioners advertising a tax increase, and they are scheduled as follows, with adoption scheduled for July 26:

  • Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m.
  • Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

A release from Cobb government Thursday detailed the proposed millage rates that have been proposed for the FY 2023 budget, which would take effect Oct. 1:

  • General Fund 8.46 mills;
  • Fire 2.99 mills;
  • Debt Service (Bond Fund) 0.0 mills;
  • Cumberland Special Services District II 2.45 mills;
  • Six Flags Special Service District 3.50 mills.

The proposed budget would include revenues totalling $865 million from those millage rates, compared to $768 million in the current budget.

Most of the rest of the revenues would come from Cobb water system revenues.

Similarly, the Cobb Board of Education announced this week it also will be holding public hearings next July since it is retaining its millage rate for fiscal year 2023 with additional revenues.

The county has not yet posted the full FY 2023 budget on its website as Finance Director Bill Volckmann mentioned on Tuesday; here’s a copy of what was presented Tuesday to commissioners that runs 41 pages.

The budget would add 147 new full-time positions throughout county government, add a merit raise, raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour and add other recruitment and intention incentives to address that Cobb officials have said are critical staffing shortages.

Most of the increase in the tax digest, a projected $50 billion, is due to rising property assessments.

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Proposed Cobb FY 2023 budget would create 147 new positions

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Cobb proposed FY 2023 budget

The Cobb fiscal year 2023 operating budget proposed Tuesday would create 147 new positions in county government as part of a concerted effort to address what have been labeled serious staffing and employment issues.

The proposed budget of $865 million from all millage rates is up from the current fiscal year 2022 adopted budget of $768 million.

The overall proposed budget from all revenue sources is $1.15 billion, up from $1.04 billion. The majority of those additional revenues comes from water bills.

General fund revenues—which are paid for in property taxes—would rise from $496.7 million to $564.2 million for FY 2023.

There is not a proposed property tax increase for the general fund millage rate, which is 8.46 mills. Due to the Cobb tax digest increasing by 12 percent this year, that still constitutes a tax increase, since the millage rate will not be rolled back.

County officials said budget documents will be made available on its website at this link; you can watch Tuesday’s budget presentation, which lasts around two hours, by clicking here.

At a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session Tuesday, Cobb finance director Bill Volckmann said the budget figures don’t include costs for a class-and-pay compensation system that will be implemented in September.

Many of the priorities are aimed at employee recruitment and retention, and Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said the new positions are in response to feedback from constituents.

“We want to make sure our employees are valued because that’s how we provide value to our citizens,” said Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who’s complained for years that previous commissions haven’t adequately staffed, paid and retained employees in critical positions.

“I feel like we can stand tall knowing we’ve been responsive to the years of concerns and the culmination of that over the last year.”

Among her priorities is an increase in the minimum wage for county employees to $17 an hour, which is up from around $9-$10 an hour.

There is a performance-based merit raise (budgeted at 3.5 percent), continuing a step-and-grade compensation system for public safety employees, increased funding for capital maintenance projects and more funding for Cobb and Douglas Public Health and the Department of Family and Children’s Services.

The proposal also would reduce the number of years for employees to be vested in the county pension system from 10 years to five years.

Cobb FY proposed 2023 budget

Cobb FY proposed 2023 budget

Cupid summarized some of the new positions, saying some would be added for Cobb DOT for road projects and maintenance and code enforcement and some public safety positions.

The proposal includes new positions in the Cobb Police Department, seven new positions the Fire and Emergency Services Department and six new jobs in the Emergency 911 Department.

Volckmann said another 32 jobs would be created in the court system.

She said an unspecified number of new jobs would be created in the Cobb Parks, Recreation and Public Affairs Department organize special events and programming.

Cupid said that was to address “sense of place” issues that came up during three failed cityhood referendum efforts, including one in East Cobb.

She also said the budget would include funding to conduct a “disparity study” relating to businesses owned by women, minorities and disabled veterans.

Commissioners Keli Gambrill and JoAnn Birrell, the board’s two Republican members, said they couldn’t support the disparity study.

Gambrill also expressed concern about how the employee pay raise costs may be funded over the long term.

“While we do have a [tax] digest growth that will cover this change, and this increase this year, we might not have this digest growth in two years,” she said. She said that would especially affect renters who’ve received federal COVID-related assistance the last two years.

“The last time we had a tax increase [2018] it hit them the hardest, because commercial property owners are not exempt with the homestead exemption,” Gambrill said. “This will have a future impact to the most critical needs right now in our county.”

County department heads had requested more than 650 new positions across the board, coming to $178 million in new spending.

Earlier this month commissioners approved a request to spend federal COVID-related American Rescue Plan Act funds for outsourced salaries and staff retention bonuses in “critical” positions in transportation, water, and parks and recreation.

Most of the new proposed jobs would be in what Volckmann said were departments that didn’t have many vacancies, with the exception of Cobb DOT.

Cupid said filling current vacancies would be emphasized before the new positions. Cobb government has been producing content in recent weeks about staff shortages, claiming a reported 1,000 vacancies across all government agencies.

Birrell expressed concern about requesting additional jobs with so many existing vacancies.

Volckmann said as an example that in the police department, most of the vacancies are for officers. The new requests, he said, would be for specialty positions.

“We made it very clear that these are critical positions,” County Manager Jackie McMorris said, addressing Birrell. “If you asked them to go back and cut more, ‘is to do your job, continuously, without the resources you need to do it,’ that’s not fair to them.”

Among the new proposed jobs is an events coordinator for Cobb parks, recreation and cultural affairs.

McMorris said existing staff are constantly overextended handling groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings and special events for the many activities that take place at those facilities.

When Birrell asked what an events coordinator would do during slower periods, McMorris interjected: “There is no off-season in Cobb. It’s not just the mowing and the Little League.

“There are events year-round. There are events you ask them to prepare for. There is plenty of work for that events coordinator to do.”

County department heads, McMorris continued, showing some emotion, are so conservative that “they don’t want to ask you for the basic things that they need.”

Three public hearings on the budget and millage rate have been scheduled for July, with adoption scheduled for July 26:

  • Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m.
  • Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

Fiscal year 2023 begins Oct. 1 and continues through Sept. 30, 2023.

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Construction costs ‘elevated’ for new Cobb Police Precinct 6

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Cobb Police Precinct 6

Cobb County officials will be asking commissioners Tuesday to set what they’re calling a “Guaranteed Maximum Price” to complete the building of the new Cobb Police Precinct 6 in Northeast Cobb.

According to an agenda item, the new station to be located next to the Mountain View Aquatic Center was earmarked with $5 million in funding from the 2016 Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax.

But the estimated price tag for the facility has grown to more than $5.5 million, according to the agenda item, which is recommending a build-out in stages.

“Due to currently elevated construction costs, budgeted funding is insufficient to complete build-out of the entire facility as designed,” states the agenda item.

The initial phase would include the construction of the exterior, front office spaces and a community room area, and provide space for on-site equipment access.

“When additional funding is identified, continuation of the project will be revisited at that time,” according to the budget item.

County officials are requesting $536,973 from county reserve funding to complete the project.

The new precinct initially will not have a patrol zone and instead will house police specialty units. Groundbreaking was held last November, after commissioners approved a two-phase contract with the Batson-Cook Company.

The first phase costs are $723,980 for design and other work. In the agenda item for Tuesday, the proposed Maximum Guaranteed Price for construction is $4,736,378, bringing the overall costs to $5,460,358.

Most of the East Cobb area is currently covered by Cobb Police Precinct 4, located on Lower Roswell Road.

That precinct runs from the Powers Ferry Road area to the east side of Canton Road.

Commissioners also will be asked on Tuesday to formally accept $73,824,239, the second of two lump sums from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Those funds are designated for state, local and other governments as part of the continuing response to COVID-19 and can be used for infrastructure upgrades, rental and small business assistance and support for essential workers.

There also will be a public hearing at the start of the meeting for the initial draft of Cobb County’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Update.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

The full agenda can be found here; there are two public comment sessions at the start and near the end of the meeting.

The meeting also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

 

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Cobb commissioners to hear fiscal year 2023 budget proposal

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Cobb commissioners public comments

The Cobb government fiscal year 2023 budget proposal will be presented to members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners next week.

Cobb government said in a notice Tuesday that county finance officials will make the presentation at a work session on Tuesday, June 28 at 1:30 p.m., following adoption of the 2022 Cobb tax digest by the Cobb Board of Tax Assessors.

Three public hearings on the budget and millage rate have been scheduled for July, with adoption scheduled for July 26:

  • Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m.
  • Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

The current fiscal year 2022 general fund budget of $496.6 billion was adopted a year ago by holding the property tax rate at 8.46 mills and included a pay raise and progress on implementing a step-and-grade salary plan for public safety personnel.

The overall budget from all funding sources topped $1 billion, the first time it’s crossed that threshold in Cobb.

But as a new budget season begins, the fiscal picture in Cobb is being painted as grim, even with tax digest growth projected in excess of 10 percent.

It would be the first double-digit increase in Cobb in more than a decade, with a projected record of $48.4 billion. Property tax assessments were sent out earlier this month, with some rising more than 20 percent from last year.

Cobb tax assessor Stephen White said that home values increased by an average of $66,000 from last year.

But Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has not indicated whether she will be proposing a reduction in the millage rate.

In recent months county officials said they are seriously struggling to fill numerous staff positions. Last week commissioners approved a request to spend federal COVID-related American Rescue Plan Act funds for outsourced salaries and staff retention bonuses in “critical” positions in transportation, water, and parks and recreation.

County department heads have been submitting budget requests that would add nearly 700 employees to address those shortages.

Those requests—which come to a budget of $1.2 billion, an increase of nearly $180 million from last year—are unlikely to all be filled.

Only five new full-time positions were filled in the current budget, and commissioners said it was a no-frills package. Employees got a 3-percent pay raise and some capital management funding was replenished.

Cupid said at the time that the county cannot continue “to fall behind on the basic things.”

But staff vacancies have continued to grow, and service provision has fallen off. Among the tasks to be performed by outsourced Cobb DOT staffing, for example, include mowing right-of-ways and conducting other basic road maintenance work.

Cobb government has been producing content in recent weeks about those issues, claiming a reported 1,000 vacancies across all government agencies.

Cupid is holding town halls in each of the four commission districts starting next week through mid-July.

The budget presentation work session on Tuesday will take place in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

The work session and budget and millage rate hearings also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

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Cobb government offices closed Monday for Juneteenth holiday

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Cobb government closed Juneteenth
For a larger view click here.

For the first time, Cobb County government is observing Juneteenth, and all offices, including courts and library branches, will be closed on Monday.

June 19 is the designated day for Juneteenth, marking the in 1865 when Union troops freed the last American slaves held in Confederate states.

Cobb commissioners voted last year to begin the holiday starting in 2022. The day off for Cobb employees will cost around $300,000; Cobb currently has 12 official paid holidays every year.

Celebratory events take place all weekend (see the flyer for more information), highlighted by the Cobb NAACP’s cultural festival that takes place all day Saturday at Glover Park on the Marietta Square.

For more information click here.

Other Juneteenth events in Cobb are taking place in Acworth, Kennesaw and Powder Springs. For more information click here.

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Cupid to hold ‘All-In-Cobb’ summer town hall meetings

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Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has scheduled town hall meetings in June and July in each of the four commission districts entitled “All-In-Cobb: Cobb forward together.”Cupid State of Cobb County address

The title has been how she’s referenced state of the county addresses she’s given, and in her weekly newsletter Cupid said she’s planning “o share some highlights of what is going on in our county and to hear from citizens about how we can move forward together.”

The timing of the town halls comes after three Cityhood referendums, including one in East Cobb, failed in May, and before Cupid presents her fiscal year 2023 budget.

The two town hall meetings in East Cobb will be June 30 at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road) in District 3 and July 20 at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road) in District 2.

In remarks this week to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, she reiterated themes of her initial speech, including diversity issues, a proposed 30-year transit tax that’s been pushed back for consideration in 2024 and proposed pay raises for county employees.

Cupid referenced the Cityhood votes in a recent newsletter by saying that “this should be the start of new dialogue. The town halls, forums, and conversations gave us a great opportunity to hear from residents. Now is the time to consider how we can strengthen county services, create communities with a better ‘sense of place,’ and capture the heightened level of engagement these votes encouraged.

“Residents made it clear they want a role in land use, zoning, and parks programs. Hopefully, this sparks increased community engagement with commissioners and staff when it comes to amendments to our Comprehensive Plan and participation in zoning meetings. In the weeks and months ahead you can also get involved in the county’s transition to a Unified Development Code among other matters like waste collection.”

All the town hall meetings will be from 6:30-8 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

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Lower Roswell Road project questioned as construction nears

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Lower Roswell road parcels
New turn lanes would be created at Lower Roswell Road and Woodlawn Drive.

As the long-delayed Lower Roswell Road transportation project gets closer to getting underway, some East Cobb residents are speaking out against it.

Land acquisitions are continuing for the $9 million Cobb DOT project, which would stretch from Davidson Road and Woodlawn Drive, and include the construction of a median and turn lanes.

The project (fact sheet; location map) also would provide a connection for bicycle lanes in the community and provide sidewalks.

But it’s been more than a decade since first being proposed, and is being funded with money from Cobb government’s 2011 Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

The county held open houses in 2012 and 2013 and accepted virtual comments in early 2022 before commissioners approved the project’s conceptual plan last year.

“You should declare it infeasible,” East Cobb resident Craig Harfoot told members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday during a public comment session. “You haven’t done anything [with the money].”

Some of that funding has been used for property purchases, and commissioners recently approved condemnations of several parcels for rights-of-way and easements.

Engineering work began in 2012 and right-of-way proceedings began in 2019. Cobb DOT is hoping to start construction early next year, and anticipates taking two years to completion.

But some residents said Tuesday that the project should be scuttled because they claim it’s unwanted and a waste of money.

“It’s so unpopular that two former commissioners chose not to do it in 15 years,” said Jan Barton, referencing Joe Lee Thompson and Bob Ott.

Her remarks included other complaints about county spending—including outside consultants and a proposed new position for a diversity and equity officer—as well as recent zoning decisions in East Cobb.

Others who live in the vicinity echoed her comments.

“It hasn’t gotten off the ground because nobody really wants this,” said Larry Savage, a former candidate for Cobb Commission Chairman. “Nobody’s defending this.”

Savage said the Lower Roswell Road project really isn’t about safety and operational improvements but accommodating a bike and trail plan policy.

Lower Roswell Road project
For a larger view of the Lower Roswell Road traffic project concept map, click here.

He said that since commissioners approved the Complete Streets Concept in 2009, it’s been lucrative for project developers to incorporate multi-use trails in what are billed as transportation improvements.

“Bike trails are a recreational amenity, a good amenity,” Savage said. “But this project is not a safety and operational improvements project.”

Some of the delays were prompted by concerns from business owners along Lower Roswell between Johnson Ferry Road and Davidson Road.

That stretch of the project calls for the construction of a median, with some businesses fearing access would be cut off.

Referring to the Tijuana Joe’s restaurant on the southeast corner of Johnson Ferry and Lower Roswell, Savage it could lose its business.

Harfoot referenced the Papa John’s restaurant and the new Bagel 101 Café on the northeast corner, saying “they won’t have any parking.”

Rob Miller, owner of the Bagel 101 Café, told East Cobb News he hasn’t heard of any complaints thus far, but “I hear the project will make parking in our center even less then it already is and it’s tough to get in and out on the weekends.”

Commissioners didn’t respond to the public commenters, who said there was a community meeting recently with commissioners Jerica Richardson and JoAnn Birrell.

Cobb DOT has said that traffic volume and safety precipitated the project and proposed the median because the crash history in that area is above average (42 on Lower Roswell between Johnson Ferry and Davidson from 2016-18).

The agency estimated daily average traffic volumes along Lower Roswell to be nearly 37,000 on either side of Johnson Ferry in 2015, and projects that number to grow to 37,000 in 2025 and more than 45,000 by 2035.

“For Cobb DOT, this is a long one,” Cobb DOT engineer Karyn Matthews told East Cobb News last summer, referncing the delays, “but we wanted to get the right concept for the community.”

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Cobb DOT: ‘Critical level’ staff shortages hampering maintenance

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Cobb DOT 'critical level' staff shortages
Cobb DOT crews doing maintenance on Johnson Ferry Road at Olde Towne Parkway last winter. (ECN file photo)

The Cobb Department of Transportation will ask county commissioners Tuesday for funding for outside firms to help perform routine road maintenance projects because of what it says are “critical level” staffing shortages.

According to an agenda item for Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, Cobb DOT director Drew Rensler and other county department leaders will request funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

The agenda item (you can read it here) says 41 of the 94 maintenance positions in Cobb DOT are vacant, and the maintenance division has been operating with at least 40 percent vacancies for the past year.

“At this time, the Division has extended regular mowing frequencies by two weeks, and work order completion dates by one month due to shortages in current staffing levels,” the agenda item states.

“The utilization of contracted services will allow the Division to respond more efficiently in providing required maintenance operations countywide, and will prevent the back log of work orders.”

Another agenda item (you can read that here) from Rensler, Cobb Water Authority director Judy Jones and Cobb Parks and Recreation Director Michael Brantley further details staff shortages.

They include 27 percent vacancies in “critical” positions maintaining 90 Cobb parks facilities, 30 percent vacancies in the county’s fleet department, 32 percent vacancies in “critical” positions in property management and 31 percent in the water system.

“The volume of vacancies has strained the respective agencies’ abilities to maintain and operate critical infrastructure which is vital for the residents and visitors of Cobb County,” the said in their request.

The funding requests include $636,000 in outsourced salary expenses in all, with $288,000 for water, $132,000 for DOT, $123,000 for Parks, $58,500 for property management and $34,500 for fleet management.

The department heads also will be asking for “a one-time payment of $1,500 for each frontline field staff member responsible for the maintenance and operation of critical public infrastructure throughout the County.”

The bonuses would apply to employees hired before April 1,  and they must stay with the county for 12 months after receiving it.

While the agenda items were posted with the full agenda (you can read that here), the Cobb DOT and other department infrastructure items were sent to news media outlets Thursday night by Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt.

He noted that Cobb has begun taking applications for $147 million in ARPA funds and received the second installment of $73,824,239 on Thursday.

Government agencies are among those eligible for the funding, as commissioners previously approved criteria that included county infrastructure.

Tuesday’s meeting also will include an update on the county’s agreement with the Atlanta Braves over Truist Park and The Battery and a recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Commissioners also will be asked to issue a proclamation on behalf of state senators Kay Kirkpatrick and Doc Rhett to Judy Boyce, the widow of former Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce, in recognition of his public service.

Boyce, who was chairman from 2017-20, died in January.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

The hearing also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

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