Cobb commissioner to hold storm damage town hall Thursday

Cobb storm damage town hall — *Denise Canteli showed commissioners photos of storm damage at her property at Terrell Mill Estates.*

Following our story from earlier this week about a citizens’ group seeking help from last month’s storm damage:

Several of those citizens addressed Cobb commissioners Tuesday to describe what had happened to their properties, and what they said was a lacking response by the county.

One of them was Denise Canteli of Terrell Mill States in East Cobb, who showed photos of flooding caused by a collapsed storm drain, to Pebble Hill Drive where she lives, and in her yard.

She said that when she called the county’s stormwater office, “they said it’s our responsibility,” and she never heard back. “This is an unacceptable answer.”

Canteli said the aging stormwater infrastructure that’s in her community—and she noted plenty of new development nearby in the Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill corridor—”doesn’t meet 2021 demands.”

She fought back tears when she said that “I refuse to be a retention pond for Cobb County.”

Her remarks came during a public comment period, when commissioners don’t directly address citizens. But chairwoman Lisa Cupid asked Cobb Emergency Management to confer with Canteli when her speaking time was over.

Some citizens have created a group called the September 7 Storm Damage Advocacy group. East Cobb resident Hill Wright is one of them, and accused the county of having “reactive, not proactive leadership when disasters happen.

“What we see is a bureaucracy that is broken and lacks compassion,” he told commissioners.

On Wednesday, the group sent out a reminder that District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson is holding a virtual town hall Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Richardson announced the town hall during her comments near the end of the meeting but didn’t reference the complaints of the public commenters.

The attendance link can be found here: https://staff315236.typeform.com/to/uBdm8vrf

From the September 7 group statement Wednesday—and they’re asking citizens who have lingering storm damage to report it:

The advocacy group is anxious to hear how the county will close the “clear gaps” in storm management and the gaps in aid for the people who are devastated and facing ruin. The group plans to address Cobb’s lack of “as built” records of shared community storm drainage assets, which the county is using to deny responsibility for the failure of these assets along with the lack of maintenance for these assets.
As Adam Stewart, member of the advocacy group, said, “The power company comes and cuts the trees near the lines before the storm because they know the rate payers can’t do it and they know if they don’t, that the lines will be damaged when the storm comes. Storm drainage should be the same way!”
If you have storm damage as a result of the Sept. 7 torrential downpour, go to www.SaveEastCobb.com and click on the storm damage button at the top.