Several months after rejecting a request to spend $1 million to help finance a veterans memorial, Cobb commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved allocating $2 million to help get the long-awaited project started.
After some discussion, commissioners agreed to revise the 2022 Cobb sales tax (SPLOST) revenues to allocate an additional $2 million to help close a funding gap for the memorial, to be built near the Cobb Civic Center.
That project, begun by the private Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, is expected to cost a little more than $6 million, and design revisions will be necessary.
In August, commissioners rejected a proposal by Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb to use $1 million from her contingency account, citing issues with a memorandum of understanding and concerns over rising costs stated by the private group.
However, on Tuesday, commissioners said the situation was different, and that the $2 million isn’t diverting funding from other needed projects, or those on the SPLOST project list.
Commissioner Erick Allen, whose District 2 includes the area where the memorial will be built, said there were no other viable funding solutions to start the project, which has been more than a decade in the making.
There are unresolved administrative issues, and Cobb PARKS director Michael Brantley said that a project designer needs to be hired to develop a new conceptual plan.
Cobb commissioners previously approved spending $3 million in what’s been billed as a private-public-partnership. Cobb has more than 60,000 veterans
The original cost was priced at $8 million, but private fundraising struggles have delayed the project. Commissioner Keli Gambrill asked Brantley if doubling the spending request from last August would be enough to complete the project.
He said it would not, “but it would be extremely close” based on the latest estimates “on what it would take to build out.”
Brantley added that there is not a designer hired yet to provide more specific renderings and details, and that there are several options available.
He said “having the funding in place” would ideally be needed to “move forward to start looking at those options.”
Gambrill also said she was disappointed other community projects weren’t included in the vote. Deputy county manager Bill Volckmann told her another list would be forthcoming, but this one was submitted to reflect “the priorities of the board.”
Birrell, who has been vocal about supporting the veterans memorial, said the memorial was always slated to be a county park. She said a new MOU will be produced and said that “there is still work to be done, but what we’re trying to do today is to get to the $5 million and solidify this once and for all.
Donna Rowe, head of the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, a former Army nurse in Vietnam, told commissioners before the vote that “I cannot deeply express the gratitude of every veteran in Cobb County and Georgia, or those that I served with in battle, but I do want you to do know that the hours spent, the months spent by you do not fall on deaf ears.”
“I cannot thank you enough.”
Related:
- Cobb announces 2026 MLK celebration, day of service events
- Senior center expansion, Tritt Park plans on SPLOST list
- Cobb officials propose relocating East Cobb Library
- Cobb to hold public meetings on proposed 2028 SPLOST
- Public feedback sought on new Cobb government website
- Cobb Library Foundation starts fundraising merchandise shop
- Cobb finance director to become deputy county manager
- Cobb commissioners approve stormawater fee in split vote
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Simple solution guys, stop voting for SPLOST. All it is, is wasteful government spending. It only goes to building new things (thus ripe for corruption.) And does not go to maintaining what was built. Ultimately this increases our parks department expenses. It doesn’t increase the departments already meger budget. Which means, 10 years down the road they’ll have to increase our taxes to pay for all this junk.
I am all for honoring vets. We have 5 or 6 civil war battles in this county. (Though most have been over ran by gas stations and golf courses. All that is left are little signs.) Why not throw up some (significantly cheaper) memorials at these locations. Throw a parks event for vets at some and raise funds for various veterans charities that do more for vets than an obelisk. There you go, saved us tax payers millions, generated funds to help vets, and taught some people about local events. This could be done with the current parks budget.
I used to live in Dunwoody and I have small kids. Every time we went to Brookrun park, the vet memorial is empty.
The money is coming out of taxpayers pockets and are groceries are expensive enough. 6 million could house or provide food and medical care for a whole heck of a lot of homeless veterans instead you’re making a concrete idol to make it seem like you care about veterans while they starve and are homeless.
To top it off if any homeless veterans try and sleep on one of the benches at the veterans memorial you’ll haul them off to jail. Wouldn’t want your pretty veterans memorial filled with reminders of how many veterans are struggling because money’s being spent in the wrong place.
Instead of some grandiose memorial I would prefer my tax dollars go to actually assist the veteran themselves. One must suppose that Mrs. Birrell and other proponents have never heard of the Georgia Veterans Retirement Home. Our money would be better spent there or with some other cause that would help veterans.