East Cobb News

Cobb commissioners are holding up a vote on an appointment to the county’s Development Authority after a heated discussion that’s rare for such an agenda item.

Newly elected commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb wanted to appoint J.C. Bradbury, a Kennesaw State University economics professor, to the body that considers such things as tax abatements and other economic development incentives.

Commissioners’ appointments are usually routine and for the most part are approved without a hitch. But Gambrill was upset when she said she was told right before Tuesday’s meeting by commission chairman Mike Boyce that he wanted more time to consider Bradbury’s appointment.

Boyce said he understood that two of the five commissioners were against Bradbury’s appointment and that since he was the swing vote, he wanted a delay.

The Development Authority is comprised of seven members appointed by county commissioners. Bradbury would replace Bob Morgan, whose four-year term has expired.

Bradbury has been a critic of Cobb’s publicly-subsidized deal with the Atlanta Braves to build SunTrust Park, and remains openly skeptical of economic impact claims county officials have made since the stadium opened in 2017.

Gambrill said other commissioners’ first-time appointments were easily confirmed, and said the delay over Bradbury is an example of “pure patronage and politics at its worst on this board.”

The Development Authority has come under greater scrutiny in recent months for its votes to provide tax abatements for new commercial projects, including the Kroger superstore that’s part of the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project under construction.

Gambrill said her appointment was being stymied “because [Bradbury] holds a different opinion from some on this board.”

Bradbury—who’s outspoken against tax subsidies in general, including those made to the state’s film industry—would be representing the interests of citizens, Gambrill further stated, “and not the interests of the economic powers” in the county.

She said she sent her colleagues information on Bradbury on Aug. 29 and heard no response until right before Tuesday’s meeting. Boyce said he wasn’t aware of opposition before then and asked her to “walk the halls” to gather support.

“It’s your recommendation but it’s a board appointment,” Boyce responded. “All I’m saying is that there needs to be more time.”

East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott took Boyce’s side, saying commissioners table votes all the time, including a new package of tax incentives they approved on Tuesday for a new hotel complex (see item below).

He also said it was “wrong to make a public accusation against a commissioner who asks for more time.” All of them have an obligation, Ott said, to do their “due diligence.”

Commissioner Lisa Cupid of South Cobb said she supported appointing Bradbury and thought Gambrill’s appointment “is being treated unequally.”

She said “this is less an issue of procedure and more of substance . . . but you still need three out of five” votes to approve an appointment.

In late 2013, Ott and fellow East Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell voted for the nearly $400 million bond issue to help finance what’s now called SunTrust Park, while Cupid was the only vote against.

Boyce defeated then-chairman Tim Lee in 2016, making the way the voting process was conducted a major campaign issue. Since coming into office, Boyce also has boasted of the economic benefits he said the stadium has brought to the county, including The Battery and other new development in the area.

The vote to table consideration of the Bradbury appointment to Sept. 24 was 5-0. In other action Tuesday, the commissioners agreed to development incentives for a planned dual-branded hotel next to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in the Cumberland area.

NF IV-VA ATL Cumberland LLC, which would operate a Hilton Garden Inn and a Home2 Suites by Hilton (rendering above) will get more than $350,000 in permit fee savings and will be allowed to pay sewer development fees in increments.

The two hotels would have a total of 260 rooms and create 70 new jobs. Michael Hughes of the Cobb Community Development Agency said the county government would net an economic benefit of $1.15 million over 10 years and the Cobb County School District $1.46 million in additional tax revenue over that time.

The measure, which passed 4-1 (with Gambrill voting against) had been tabled at Ott’s request because of parking concerns that he had. Ott said all the criteria for meeting the county’s guidelines for getting incentives (more details here) had been satisfied.

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