A conceptual rendering of the proposed Lidl store at the Canton-Piedmont intersection.
After trying twice in the last five years to open a store in Northeast Cobb, the German discount grocery chain Lidl has set its sights on a new location in the area.
Plans filed last month with the Cobb Zoning Office show Lidl is requesting rezoning of 3.47 acres at the southwest intersection of Canton Road and Piedmont Road for a 31,000-square-foot supermarket.
There’s a vacant building there now that formerly housed a Rite Aid pharmacy, which is across from Covenant Presbyterian Church.
The land, which includes an undeveloped parcel behind the former Rite Aid building, is zoned neighborhood shopping (NS) and Lidl is requesting community retail commercial (CRC) designation.
A hearing before the Cobb Planning Commission is scheduled for Dec. 6. The filing is preliminary and does not yet include a staff analysis or recommendation.
The store hours would be from 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
Lidl is also asking for a number of variances (you can read through the filings here), including a reduction of the minimum number of parking spaces and related to fire access and signage.
The CRC category calls for at least 158 spaces. Lidl is seeking a hardship waiver to cut that number to 120-135 spaces.
“Due to the odd shape of the site and the existing topography on the western portion of the site, we do not anticipate bring able to achieve the 158 required parking spaces,” said an architectural engineering letter sent to Lidl dated Sept. 6 and that is included in the filings.
The proposed site plan (see below) would call for a “full access driveway” at the back of the property onto Piedmont Road, and a right-out exit onto Piedmont Road southbound, right before the intersection.
Another entrance to the store would be on Canton Road between a Captain D’s restaurant and the new Bar 44 sports lounge.
Lidl also is requesting another hardship for fire access. The county requires that fire vehicles have access of no greater than 150 feet from all sides of a building.
Lidl said there’s only enough room for access around three sides, and is asking for an access distance minimum of 300 feet.
The engineering letter said the building will be fully sprinkled, and that state law allows for that limit to be relaxed when that is the case.
Lidl initially sought a Northeast Cobb location at the site of the former Park 12 Cobb movie theater, but that request was turned down by Cobb commissioners in 2017, citing traffic reasons.
Lidl was to have been the anchor tenant of the mixed-use redevelopment of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center, but pulled out late last year after the grocery chain couldn’t work out an agreement over traffic access on Sandy Plains Road.
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If you’re looking for information and a the wait-time map for the U.S. Senate runoff, click here.
ORIGINAL STORY, OCT. 17
As it has done previously, Cobb Elections and the county government’s GIS office are teaming up up to provide an estimated wait-time map for early voting during the 2022 general elections.
If you click the information icon in the upper-right corner you’ll find a color-coded legend explaining the wait times and other information.
Voting activity has been busy at several locations Monday morning, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road), where the wait times were estimated to be around 30 minutes.
That’s one of two locations in East Cobb that will be open for all three weeks of early voting, including the next two Saturdays, Oct. 22 and 29.
The East Cobb Government Service Center also has a drop box for absentee ballots that is available during early voting hours only.
Cobb Elections officials have begun mailing out absentee ballots. The deadline to apply to receive one is Friday, and you can apply online by clicking here.
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operations officer for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, said this morning that Cobb voters have requested more absentee ballots thus far (23,136) than any other county, and that 216,754 applications for absentee ballots have been submitted statewide.
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A ribbon-cutting was held last week for the opening of Bar 44, a sports lounge on Canton Road in Northeast Cobb.
Among the dignitaries on hand were Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell and representatives from the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
The business gets its name from Alade Aminu, one of three partners in the venture who played basketball at Georgia Tech from 2005-2009.
Aminu wore No. 44 for the Yellow Jackets and later played professional basketball with the Miami Heat of the NBA, then Europe, Turkey, Israel and Lebanon.
He also helped Nigeria’s national team qualify for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Aminu said Bar 44 is an “upscale” sports lounge serving “elevated” bar food, cocktails, hookah and a weekend brunch.
The menu also includes wings, chicken dishes, salads and tacos.
Bar 44 features 15 large screen televisions for sports viewing and a lounge area “giving patrons a skybox feel.”
“I noticed that while living in Marietta, there wasn’t anywhere to go and watch the game with the elevated vibe I was looking for,” Aminu said in a release. “This is something that the neighborhood can be excited about, and I’m thrilled to bring a new sports lounge like this to the city. This will be the first of many Bar 44 locations.”
The other partners involved in Bar 44 are Abdul Olayiwola, and Gary Ellis.
Bar 44 is located at 2755 Canton Road. For more information visit its website: www.bar44atl.com.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to g
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
From Oct. 17-Nov. 4, Georgia voters can cast their ballots in person in advance of the Nov. 8 general election.
The 2022 elections feature new boundaries for all elected offices due to redistricting, and voters in East Cobb will see very different maps for their elected representatives than the previous 10 years. More on that further down in this post.
When, where, how to vote
Early voting will take place at select locations around the county, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road) as follows:
Oct. 17-21, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Oct. 22, Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 24-28, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Oct. 29, Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 31-Nov. 4, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more locations for early voting and drop boxes, click here. Cobb voters can cast early ballots at any location in the county regardless of where they live.
For the first time ever, Cobb County voters will be able to vote on Sunday, after the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration approved an early voting date for Oct. 30. That will take place from 12-4 p.m. at the new Cobb Elections office at 995 Roswell Street.
The Cobb Elections office and the Cobb government GIS office also are teaming up again with an estimated wait-time map for early voting, with updates provided at each location by the polling managers.
Voters also can request an absentee ballot for any reason, but the drop boxes available during the 2020 elections are more restricted this year.
There is a drop box at the East Cobb Government Service Center, but it is open only during early voting hours.
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Oct. 22, and ballots can now be mailed in through election day. You can get an application online from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office by clicking here.
But absentee ballots must be received at the Cobb Elections office or delivered to a designated drop box by 7 p.m. on Nov. 8, when the polls close for good.
The Secretary of State’s office also has launched BallotTrax, which enables absentee voters to securely follow their ballots, whether they were mailed in or dropped off in person.
Georgia voters will be deciding all statewide constitutional offices—governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, etc.—as well as a U.S. Senate seat
They also will choose all 14 members of the U.S. House and all members of the Georgia General Assembly, both the State Senate and State House.
The Cobb Solicitor’s race is the only countywide office up for election this year. Two seats on the Cobb Board of Commissioners and three seats on the Cobb Board of Education also will be determined.
The new Cobb Commission District 3 area includes most of East Cobb, and Republican incumbent JoAnn Birrell will be seeking a fourth term against Democrat Christine Triebsch (District 3 map).
On the Cobb school board, Post 4 Republican incumbent David Chastain is being challenged by Democrat Catherine Pozniak (Post 4 map) in an area that includes the Kell, Sprayberry and some of the Lassiter attendance zones.
East Cobb News will be featuring candidate interviews in these races in the coming week.
U.S. House
District 6 will have a new representative, as Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath is seeking the 7th District seat. The new 6th includes East Cobb, some of North Fulton, Cherokee and Forsyth counties and all of Dawson County (East Cobb portion of 6th District map).
The candidates are Democrat Bob Christian of Forsyth, an Army veteran and small business owner, against Republican Rich McCormick, an emergency room physician who previously ran in the 7th district.
Reapportionment also placed some of East Cobb in the 11th District, which stretches from Bartow and Cherokee counties to include much of Cobb and northern areas of the city of Atlanta >(see Cobb portion of map).
Republican incumbent Barry Loudermilk of Cassville is seeking another term against Democrat Anthony Daza of Atlanta, who owns a ballroom dancing business in Buckhead.
Georgia Senate
Redistricting also carved up East Cobb into additional seats in the General Assembly.
In the State Senate, District 6 has been vacated by Attorney General candidate Jen Jordan, a Democrat. Her successor will be Republican Fred Glass, a financial advisor, or Democrat Jason Esteves, a former chairman of the Atlanta school board (East Cobb portion of District 6).
District 32 formerly covered most of East Cobb but now has only a portion (see Cobb area of map), stretching to areas of north Cobb, Woodstock and Cherokee. Republican incumbent Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick of East Cobb is seeking another term against Sylvia Bennett, a social worker.
Most of Northeast Cobb and a good bit of Johnson Ferry Road corridor is now located in District 56, which includes North Fulton (see East Cobb portion of map). The Republican incumbent, John Albers of Roswell, is on the ballot, and is facing Democrat Patrick Thompson, a clean energy entrepreneur, also from Roswell.
Georgia House
A sliver of District 37 remains in East Cobb (see map) in a Marietta-based seat held by Democrat Mary Frances Williams. She is seeking another term against Republican Tess Redding.
Three other East Cobb incumbent House members, also Republicans, are seeking re-election.
In District 44 (map), which has retained much of its Northeast Cobb boundaries, GOP Rep. Don Parsons is seeking another term against Democrat Willie May Oyogoa, a travel advisor.
Longtime State Rep. Sharon Cooper, a Republican, was drawn into District 45 (map) after two close calls in District 43. Her Democratic opponent is Dustin McCormick, who unsuccessfully ran for a special election in District 45 in April after the resignation of GOP Rep. Matt Dollar.
John Carson, a Republican, is running again in District 46 (map), which retains most of its Northeast Cobb base and goes into Cherokee County. His Democratic opponent is Micheal Garza, the owner of a web development business.
A new legislator from East Cobb will be chosen in District 43 (map). The Democratic candidate is Solomon Adesanya, a restaurant owner. Republican Anna Tillman is a geologist.
We’ll have more coverage of these races as early voting continues.
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A request to alter an existing site plan to allow for a King’s Hawaiian Bakery and Restuarant in Northeast Cobb is being delayed to November.
An attorney for Stein Investment Group, which is building a self-storage facility at the former GTC Cobb Park 12 Cinema, asked for the continuance in a letter to the Cobb Zoning Office Monday.
The case (you can read the filings here) was to have been considered Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners. Stein wants to amend the site plan approved by commissioners in 2021 at the northwest intersection of Shallowford Road and Gordy Parkway for a 3,200-square-foot restaurant with 29 parking spaces.
King’s Hawaiian is a fast-casual restaurant chain with nearby locations in Lithia Springs, Flowery Branch and Gainesville.
Garvis Sams asked for the delay for several reasons. His client is continuing meetings with area residential groups, and King’s Hawaiian is working on a landscape plan.
A revised agenda issued late Friday afternoon by the Cobb Zoning Office also notes that plans for a car wash and gas station at Shallowford Road and Trickum Road and that has been continued three times before is being pushed back to November by the zoning staff.
The full zoning hearing agenda can be found by clicking here. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb Government Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.
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The following food scores for the week of Oct. 10 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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The Cobb County School District has modified a new crisis alert system after an employee accidentally triggered a Code Red signal in 11 schools this week.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale made brief, prepared comments at a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night but didn’t give many specifics, including the names of the schools.
He said it was a “human error,” and not the new system itself, that led to the inadvertent Code Red alert at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, putting the affected schools on a short lockdown.
The Cobb school district recently switched to a new crisis alert system provider and said it would conduct Code Red drills on all 112 school campuses this school year.
The district spent $2.9 million to purchase the Centigex system, which was dropped by the Charlotte-Mecklenberg school district in North Carolina when parts of the system weren’t working properly.
That replaced AlertPoint, which cost the Cobb school district $5 million when it was implemented in 2017.
But that system malfunctioned in 2021 when all 16 Cobb high schools were put on lockdown due to what district officials said was a deliberate cyber attack.
Ragsdale also would not elaborate on what the changes were to the new system, called CrisisAlert System, saying that “training will be repeated to certain groups of employees.”
Nor would he saw how one employee could have triggered such an alert.
“The steps we have taken will reduce the chance of human error,” he said, adding that he couldn’t explain more because a personnel matter also is involved.
“I apologize that we have to engage in these kinds of drills,” Ragsdale said. “This is the world in which we live and we must take every step possible to ensure our students and our staff are safe.”
The Cobb school board voted Thursday night to approve a $2.8 million roofing contract for Mt. Bethel Elementary School in East Cob that is expected to be finished by July 2023.
The board also approved a contract to spend $419,518 co purchase 11 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe police vehicles for use by the Cobb County School District’s police department.
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The suspect has been identified as Durrell Harris, 34 or 35, of Green Bay, Wis., whom Marietta Police said has numerous outstanding warrants in Wisconsin.
Marietta Police Public Information Officer Chuck McPhilamy said he did not know what the warrants for Harris are in Wisconsin.
Harris has been booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on felony charges of false imprisonment, possession of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer and marijuana possession.
Harris is being held without bond, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
McPhilamy said police received text messages Thursday afternoon from someone asking for help from a unit at The Falls at Sope Creek apartments, saying the suspect had threatened the individual and children and that there were weapons in the unit.
An arrest warrant states that police were dispatched to the complex at 1950 Roswell Road at at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, giving “multiple verbal commands . . . . loudly,” including from a patrol car’s public address system for the suspect to come out the apartment.
Another texter also said that the man in the apartment had multiple weapons and had his seven-year-old daughter with him, and had installed several surveillance cameras in the apartment, according to McPhilamy.
McPhilamy said that texter told police the man, later identified as Harris and a resident of the unit, has “multiple warrants from two other states.”
The arrest warrant states that the suspect refused to let a female inside the apartment leave, and he ordered her to barricade the door. According to the warrant, she was told to sit on the couch and not to get up and was not able to leave until police rammed open the door.
McPhilamy said a search warrant was executed by the Marietta Police Crime Interdiction Unit at 8:20 p.m. and two females—a seven-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman—escaped.
Police said the girl is the suspect’s daughter and the woman, Anayaa Tate, from Ohio, “is a recent acquaintance of the suspect and has cooperated with investigators.”
The standoff continued for nearly four more hours, and McPhilamy said nearby residents were evacuated. He said once police gained entry to the apartment, they found the suspect in a “safe room” he had constructed inside a closet in the apartment (see below), but he would not come out and was tazed.
The warrant states that Harris was taken into custody at 12:45 a.m. and that no weapons were found in the apartment.
McPhilamy said that after Harris faces charges in Georgia, he will be extradited to Wisconsin.
Marietta Police said they found Durrell Harris inside a “safe space” he constructed inside the closet of his apartment on Roswell Road.
Updated, 12:45 a.m. Friday:
Police said the suspect was taken into custody without injuries, and more information will be released later Friday.
Original Report:
Marietta Police said a suspect was barricaded in a Roswell Road apartment complex Thursday night, prompting a heavy law enforcement response.
Numerous police vehicles surrounded a building at The Falls at Sope Creek (1950 Roswell Road), and a SWAT response also has been called, according to Marietta Police.
Social media postings did not indicate the reason the suspect has been barricaded. There was a police officer on the stairwell apparently speaking to the suspect.
At 10:18 p.m., Marietta Police said two females were released from the apartment “but the suspect remains inside. Please pray for a peaceful resolution!”
Among the vehicles lined up in front of the building in question is a van from Cobb County Animal Control.
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Starting Friday morning, commuters can begin using the Windy Hill-Terrell Mill connector.
It’s less than a mile, but is expected to alleviate traffic in a busy corridor of East Cobb along Interstate 75 and the Northwest Express Lanes.
Local dignitaries, including elected officials, county transportation and development leaders and civic participants took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
The four-lane connector costs $45.8 million, with nearly $30 million coming from the 2016 Cobb SPLOST (special local-option sales tax) and the rest from Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority.
The connector is accessible on Windy Hill Road by the Spectrum Circle/Interstate North Parkway and moves northbound to Terrell Mill, ending at the intersection of Bentley Road.
The road also features a multi-use trail on the west shoulder that connects to the Bob Callan Trail system, which ultimately hooks up with the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area trails.
Among those on hand for the ribbon cutting were Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, former Commissioner Bob Ott, Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris, Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler, Cumberland Community Improvement District executive director Kim Menefee and Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance president Patti Rice.
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The 5th anniversary of The Coder School in East Cobb will be observed this month with a special Halloween costume event.
The franchised afterschool coding program, is inviting students from its locations in East Cobb at the Shallowford Falls Shopping Center (3142 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 430) as well as Johns Creek and Suwanee on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 4-7 p.m. in their costumes.
Once at the event, costume contest participants will get their pictures made to be posted online for a virtual vote.
“The parties will be going simultaneously and the vote will take place online,” said Jerry Massey, The Coder School franchisee at all three locations. “We will tally up the votes from all three centers to choose one final winner.”
The winners at each location will receive a portable video game console.
“This is just a fun event we wanted to do for our kids to celebrate our anniversary,” he said. “Not only will there be cake, goodies and games, but we will also award the winner of the best costume contest with a new Nintendo Switch Lite.”
Massey and his wife Kim started the East Cobb location in 2017. The Coder School, which is based in Silicon Valley, teaches coding to children ages 8-16 and has more than 50 locations in 15 states.
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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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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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The Cobb Board of Education will be asked Thursday to spend $2.836 million to replace the roof at Mt. Bethel Elementary School in East Cobb.
That request is coupled with a $1.14 million roof replacement request for Kennesaw Mountain High School that will be presented during a work session Thursday afternoon and is expected to be acted on during a voting session Thursday night.
The work session begins at 3 p.m. and the voting session starts at 7 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District central office, 514 Glover St., Marietta.
The full agendas for the public meetings can be found by clicking here. An executive session follows the work session.
Funding for the Mt. Bethel and Kennesaw Mountain roof projects comes from the Cobb Education SPLOST V sales tax collections. According to an agenda items, both projects are expected to be finished by July 2023.
Also on the school board’s agenda is the request for a $419,518 contract to purchase 11 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe police vehicles from Hardy Chevrolet, Inc. for use by the Cobb County School District’s police department.
The funding for that also comes from SPLOST V, which continues through the end of 2023.
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We noted that plans for a two-story Starbucks have been delayed until the November zoning calendar and that the owners of Camps Kitchen & Bar have purchased Moxie Taco from the Moxie Restaurant Group and will be renaming it the Green Coyote Cantina.
In another part of the retail center, a new shop is holding its grand opening this week. It’s the second location of the Rose Jasmine Flower and Decor Studio, and two days of events are taking place Friday and Saturday from 12-4.
It’s located at 255 Village Parkway, Suite 740, next to Fit for Life Personal Training, and offers what it calls “chic, elegant and modern arrangements.” Rose Jasmine claims to be the first “24/7 availability flower shop in Atlanta.”
The grand opening festivities include music, appetizers, champagne, raffle prizes, gift cards to use at the store and a wrapped arrangement master class by founder and owner Anastasia Sudarikova.
Visitors also can go to a DIY floral station to prepare their own signature wrapped arrangements for a discounted price.
Sudarikova opened the first Rose Jasmine store in Owings Mills, Md. in 2017. Rose Jasmine specializes in fresh boxed arrangements for same-day delivery by couriers wearing white gloves. The store also sells floral complements like balloons and rose petals, preserved and dried florals and a variety of boxes and arrangements.
Online orders and curbside pickup service are available.
The store hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and couriers can deliver 24/7.
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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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The United Methodist Women’s ministry at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in East Cobb will be holding its Holly Jolly Craft Show in November.
The show will take place on Friday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church (1770 Johnson Ferry Road).
The show features more than 50 arts and crafts vendors, a silent auction, door prizes, a bake sale and frozen meal sales, as well as a quilt drawing and a gift basket drawing.
There also will be photo opportunities with Santa Clause and baked good made during the show.
Admission is free to the public; all proceeds from the sale benefit the Mt. Zion UMW’s work with charities helping women and children.
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
790 Weybourne Court, 30066 (Chastain Commons, Sprayberry): Charlotte Welch, trustee to Meridian Trust Real Estate Investments; $280,000
2272 Rosemoore Walk 30062 (Rosemoore at Harper Woods, Sprayberry): Steven Clover to Bikal and Andreia Dhakal; $491,500
2737 Vintage Reserve Unit 15, 30066 (Vintage Club, Sprayberry): Bradley Coleman, executor to Salli Jane Parker, Kelci Emily Kimbro and Kassidi Kole Kimbro; $277,610
500 Piedmont Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): Duncan Land Investments to Angelene Bisnott; $395,000
2378 Wilderness Way, 30066 (Wilderness Ridge, Sprayberry): Garrett Tucker to William and Allison Bates; $460,000
3927 Vinyard Trace, 30062 (Arthurs Vinyard, Pope): David Frykman JHB Homes LLC; $410,000
1550 Blackjack Drive, 30062 (Blackjack Hills, Sprayberry): Susan Abballe to Xiang Ying Zuo and Xue Zhang Gao; $450,000
2870 Cobb Street, 30068 (Cobb Estates, Wheeler): Bradley and Mackenzie Deal to Amber and Andrew Alley; $426,000
3554 Clubland Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): Beatriz Montalvo to John and Vianna Kovalsky; $685,000
465 Salem Woods Drive, 30068 (Salem Woods, Wheeler): Opendoor Property Trust to Carlos Otero and Anthony Buccellato; $280,000
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
A makeshift “photo booth” was set up at the Sewell Mill Baptist Church Saturday for a pumpkin patch and fall produce sale held by Holland Botanical (previous story here).
Visitors could get their pictures taken (many were taking snaps of their kids sitting on the bales of hay) as they shopped for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Some of the proceeds benefitted the church’s Richards Christian Academy, including raffle tickets sold for the large 75-pound pumpkin in the front.
On Sunday Holland Botanical will be taking its produce and pumpkin patch setup to the Sukkahfest at Congregation Etz Chaim (1190 Indian Hills Parkway), from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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If you have a Halloween-themed event coming up that’s open to the public, we’ll be glad to post that on our calendar listings. E-mail calendar@eastcobbnews.com.
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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.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
