East Cobb branch of Delta Community Credit Union names new manager

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East Cobb Delta Credit Union branch
Jill Dent, the branch manager of the Delta Community Credit Union branch on Johnson Ferry Road, and Regional Manager Eddie Johnson, the former East Cobb manager.

Submitted information and photo:

The Delta Community Credit Union branch at 1205 Johnson Ferry Road has a new manager. While the role is new to Jill Dent, her passion for serving members, especially at this branch, is not. She worked in customer service positions for more than a decade before coming to work for the Cobb County-based credit union.

“I’ve also been a member of Delta Community for more than 20 years, so I knew that any credit union that takes such good care of me as a customer would also be a good employer,” explained Dent. “I came to work in our Johnson Ferry Branch in 2016, and now I love this team, and I love this community.”

After beginning her career at Delta Community as a Member Service Agent, Dent was promoted to Assistant Manager of the Johnson Ferry branch in 2017. This month, she was tapped for the manager position after former manager Eddie Johnson was promoted to oversee all the Delta Community locations in North Fulton and Cobb County.

“We have a large number of business members who do their company’s banking here, thanks to the large number of nearby restaurants, retail stores and medical offices in East Cobb,” said Johnson. “Our members have very high expectations for hands-on customer service, and many of them will ask for a specific teller by name, and are willing to wait to see their favorite. Jill is well prepared to address members’ needs for trustworthy, dependable financial advice and products.”

Dent says she plans to continue being involved in community events, such as the East Cobber Festival, and partnerships with nearby schools like Walton and Pope High. But most of all, she’s excited to continue offering the superior service to our members they have come to expect.

“Many of our members visit on a regular basis – sometimes twice a week,” added Dent. “We have many wonderful opportunities to help them with their day-to-day banking needs, and also with those more complex, ‘lifetime’ milestones, such as buying a new home, or opening a business. I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to help.”

 

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Lower Roswell annexation/rezoning case delayed 90 days by Marietta City Council

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Lower Roswell annexation/rezoning

After another standstill over a proposed annexation and rezoning case on Lower Roswell Road that has dragged on for months, the Marietta City Council voted Wednesday to continue the delay.

By a 5-1 vote, the council approved a measure that would “stay” the annexation and rezoning proposals, along with related action to update the city’s future land use plan, for 90 days.

That’s to provide time for all the parties to discuss Cobb County’s objection to the rezoning based on density grounds and possibly to reschedule mediation between the city and county that was called off last month.

The stay was proposed by council member Michelle Cooper-Kelly, whose East Marietta ward would include the 7.46 acres at Lower Roswell and the Loop that Traton Homes wants to develop into 52 townhomes and single-family homes.

Residents in the adjacent Sewell Manor neighborhood in unincorporated Cobb have opposed the proposal, saying it’s too dense and would worsen traffic woes they face daily.

Many of them were on hand in Marietta council chambers Wednesday, bringing yellow “Save East Cobb” signs they have used during their fight.

Because of the proposed density of the project—nearly seven units an acre—the county had the right to object, but didn’t formalize that stance in January until it was too late.

The Marietta council twice delayed voting on the annexation and rezoning, which was recommended for denial by the city planning commission in April.

Last month Cobb commissioner Bob Ott met with Sewell Manor residents about their concerns, and told them there’s nothing legally preventing Marietta from annexing and rezoning the land.

A couple weeks later, another notice went up in Sewell Manor about Wednesday’s agenda item, but some residents said they weren’t sure until the last minute what might transpire.

They prepared a markup of the Traton proposal agenda item protesting what they called an “incomplete plan” that didn’t include a traffic study and called for 15 variances.

The only council member voting against the delays on Wednesday was Joseph Goldstein, also of East Marietta, who urged there be public hearings before the 90-day period ends.

Cooper-Kelly’s motion would allow Traton, if nothing else happens, to withdraw its application after 90 days without prejudice, meaning it could refile and restart the annexation and rezoning process.

 

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East Cobb retail update: Duck Donuts grand opening is Saturday

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Duck Donuts East Cobb

Following up from a couple weeks ago, about the Duck Donuts location in East Cobb, comes word that the grand opening is Saturday.

The hours are from 8-5, and the festivities will continue on Sunday.

The first 25 customers in line on Saturday will get a coupon for a free dozen donuts to be used at a later date.

Grand opening events include raffles and other giveaways.

The specialty donut shop is the first in Cobb County, and the proprietors are Christine and Andrew Doring.

Duck Donuts is at 1281 Johnson Ferry Road. Daily hours are Sunday-Thursday 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For grand opening details and more, visit the Duck Donuts East Cobb Facebook page or connect on the web at DuckDonuts.com.

 

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Sprayberry Crossing update: Possible mixed-use development would be largely residential

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Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center

Some more information is coming from meetings held last week between a developer interested in the Sprayberry Crossing property and nearby citizens.

Shane Spink of the Sprayberry Crossing Action group told East Cobb News there’s still not a conceptual plan for a possible mixed-use development.

Some of the group’s leaders, including Spink, met last week with the developer, who’s been identified as Atlantic Residential of Atlanta, that specializes in residential and mixed-use developments.

The group, which counts more than 4,700 followers on Facebook, was informed last month about the developer’s interest, after years of haggling with the county and NAI Brannen Goddard, the managing agent for the Sprayberry Crossing Partnership owners, to do something about a long-standing eyesore at Sandy Plains and Piedmont.

Spink said while he was encouraged that the developer wants to get community input, “the details were a little fuzzy and I’m not sure they know exactly what they want to do there, mainly because there could be some larger commercial involved that would take up more space. This was a grocery chain and that didn’t seem concrete yet.”

He said the developer appears to prefer a project with a largely residential component, featuring townhomes, senior living and multi-family units on the 16-acre tract that now houses a few businesses, but that has been largely empty for years.

The details there, Spink said, are still to be revealed, “so we are waiting for the final draw up to see where we are and what we think the community will agree to.

“Bottom line is the community wants change so let’s see what they put on paper. It is such a complicated site with all the different parcels and of course the cemetery in the middle.”

A timeline for discussing a conceptual plan, after a survey and design are completed, may come about in a few weeks, Spink said.

“The bottom line on the residential is that it’s going to have to have a larger component [than what has] been proposed in the past just because that site isn’t going to work as 100 percent commercial. So the community is going to have to accept residential there or it’s probably not gonna work for any developer.”

Joe Glancy of Sprayberry Crossing has added some more details, including the map below of the current property. The green area would be redeveloped, with the yellow area currently containing commercial property.

The commercial portion of the new development, he said, “will likely be ground floor below the residential. The developer could envision that including a small grocer – but that is way down the road and far from certain.” Some greenspace figures to be contained as well.

“According to the developer, one of the reasons why this property is more attractive for residential development is that it sits enclosed with no street visibility and is already fronted by retail development. Additionally, the abundance of retail space surrounding the property makes a large retail commitment unlikely.”

He said Atlantic Residential will continue to survey the site over the next few weeks, develop a plan and bring it to the community.

The developer, he said, isn’t going to seek rezoning “until they are satisfied they have the support of the community.”

Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment
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Citizens make initial comments on proposed Cobb 2020 budget

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Mary Frances Williams, Georgia House District 37 winner
State Rep. Mary Frances Williams

A few Cobb citizens addressed county commissioners Tuesday in the first of three required public hearings on the proposed Cobb fiscal year 2020 budget and millage rate.

The $475.8 million proposed for general fund spending is nearly six percent over the current FY 2019 budget of $454 million.

An overview of the budget proposal can be found here; a more detailed line-item budget proposal is at this link.

The overall budget proposal, which includes fire and E911, debt service and other categories outside the general fund, comes to $998.9 million, up from the current $966 million.

After several weeks of pressure from public safety employees and citizens, the budget proposal includes a seven-percent pay increase to boost salaries and benefits as well as retention issues.

It’s part of what commission chairman Mike Boyce has said is the beginning of a longer-term process toward step and grade raises and other incentives for police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies.

proposed Cobb 2020 budget

proposed Cobb 2020 budget

No millage rate increase is proposed, but the anticipated tax digest is growing by an assumed 3.4 percent, to a record $39 billion.

Therefore, the county has to advertise the current millage rate as a tax increase since no rollback to the current year’s tax digest total of $36.7 billion.

Even with additional coffers for FY 2020, the proposal includes using $18.4 million in contingency (or reserve) funds to balance the budget.

That flustered Pamela Reardon, a real estate agent in East Cobb. After last year’s tax increase, she told commissioners, “you told me we would have plenty of money. And now we don’t have any money. What happened?”

She apologized for suggesting in such harsh terms that the contingency “looks like it’s being used like a slush fund.”

Reardon also said she thought a seven-percent raise all at once seems excessive. “I’m not opposed to raises, but who decided that?” she said.

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That raise would amount to $5.2 million of the proposed contingency spending, with the largest chunk, $7.5 million, for a four-percent raise for other county employees.

Another $2 million would be earmarked for police operating and capital contingency, with another $1 million for undesignated use by the commissioners.

What’s missing from the budget is $850,000 in non-profit spending that in the past has gone to social-service agencies like MUST Ministries and the Center for Family Resources.

State. Rep. Mary Frances Williams, a Marietta Democrat who represents part of northeast Cobb, and who is a former advocate for non-profits, calculated that amount to less than 0.0020 percent of the budget.

But removing it completely would have a far greater detriment that tax dollars saved, she said, since county funding provides “seed money for nonprofits to get matching matching grants.”

Additional public hearings on the budget will be as follows:

  • Tuesday, July 16, 6:30 p.m.;
  • Tuesday, July 23, 2019, 7 p.m.

The final date is also scheduled for budget adoption. The meetings take place in the second floor board meeting room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

 

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182nd Marietta Campmeeting starts Friday with picnic and service

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Marietta Campmeeting

One of the oldest continuing events in all of Cobb County begins anew Friday night on the Marietta Campgrounds on Roswell Road—it’s the 182nd Marietta Campmeeting, a religious revival that traces its roots to the earliest settlers of what’s now East Cobb.

Friday’s opening service begins at 7:30 p.m., but it’s preceded by a picnic from 6-7, and you’re invited to bring a dish to share.

During the service, special music will be performed by the Open Door Trio, a metro Atlanta gospel group. The opening sermon will be delivered by Rev. Ike Reighard, senior pastor at the Piedmont Church in East Cobb and president and CEO of MUST Ministries.

There are twice-daily services during the week, daily services on the weekend and a number of special events during Marietta Campmeeting, including a watermelon cutting after the Saturday evening service and an ice cream social on Tuesday.

For the full schedule, click here.

The campmeeting began in 1837, five years after Cobb County was carved out of Cherokee County, on land east of Marietta on Roswell Road.

Visiting ministers came in the summers, before there were many organized churches, and many of the longtime campmeeting families lived in tents during the revival.

They include names familiar to East Cobbers today—Sewell, Garrison, Murdock, Lassiter, Allgood, Hamby and other families who farmed in the area.

Many of their descendants continue attending today, as the Marietta Campground is now part of East Cobb United Methodist Church across the street.

That’s where overflow parking is available for attendees. The main parking lot is between the Arbor and Roswell Road, at the Campground entrance at 2300 Roswell Road.

All events and services at the Marietta Campmeeting are free and open to the public.

 

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Post Oak Tritt-Hembree roundabout project delayed several months

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Post Oak Tritt-Hembree roundabout

Motorists who travel through the Post Oak Tritt-Hembree Road intersection will have to wait a few months longer for the roundabout project underway there to be completed.

Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved a request by the contractor, Glosson Enterprises, to push back the scheduled completion date to March 31, 2020.

There’s no additional cost increase for the $1.3 million project, which was to have been done this month.

Cobb DOT director Erica Parrish said the delay (summary here) was caused by utility and weather issues.

“I am ready to see this finished, and so is the public,” said District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell. “I appreciate the public’s patience.”

In other transportation-related action Tuesday, commissioners approved a contract for $308,901 with Tri Scapes Inc. for an eight-foot wide sidewalk with curb and gutter on the west side of Bells Ferry Road, from the Noonday Creek trailhead driveway to Big Shanty Road.

The total length of the project is approximately 0.32 miles. The funding comes from the Cobb 2016 SPLOST.

The county also will be saving $145,460 from the final cost of intersection improvements at Bells Ferry Road and Barrett Parkway. Glosson also was the contractor for the $1.86 million project, which has been completed.

 

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East Cobb food scores: El Jinete, Scooter’s Cafe, Mr. Wonton and more

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El Jinete, East Cobb food scores

The following East Cobb restaurant scores from June 24-July 5 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing to view details of the inspection:

Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins
2885 Canton Road
June 24, 2019 Score: 86, Grade: B

El Jinete Mexican Restaurant
4651 Woodstock Road, Suite 440, Roswell
June 24, 2019 Score: 70, Grade: C

Firehouse Subs
4648 Woodstock Road, Suite 250, Roswell
July 1, 2019 Score: 91, Grade: A

Mr. Wonton
3595 Canton Road, Suite 358
July 1, 2019 Score: 81, Grade: B

Scooter’s Cafe
2943 Canton Road
June 24, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

Smoothie King
4648 Woodstock Road, Suite 230, Roswell
July 1, 2019 Score: 96, Grade: A

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It’s our birthday! East Cobb News marks 2nd anniversary

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Mabry Park Opening

Today’s a special day around here: On July 8, 2017, I published the first post on East Cobb News, as I pushed the button on a venture I couldn’t have imagined not long ago.

I’ll admit I was a bit anxious as I pushed that inaugural publishing button, about the Skip Wells Memorial Ride at Sprayberry High School.

I’ve been a reporter for a long time, but not like this. I’ve covered my community before, but not with this ultimate objective:

To report the news for the East Cobb community, and not just about it.

There are plenty of news outlets that do that, when there’s a crime or a fire or a wreck or a storm or a controversy or a novelty.

And then they’re gone.

That credo sounds simple, but as I’ve learned over these last two years, it’s a lot more difficult to carry it through.

My focus all along has been to make East Cobb News distinctive, and not just because this community is my home, where I grew up.

Over the past year, as I built on my first year of publication, I got plenty of encouragement from readers, citizens and many others.

One of the things I heard on occasion was: You don’t have an agenda.

What they meant was that they thought the stories they read here were straightforward and objective.

While that’s certainly something I aim for with everything I post, there are times when it’s important to state a clear perspective about something important going on here.

The East Cobb Cityhood issue certainly fits that bill, and the next few months will be very important ones in the future of this community for that reason.

East Cobb cityhood group

This time a year ago, we didn’t know there would be an effort to carve out a part of the community for a new city.

That effort, which we’ve reported on extensively, has galvanized the public like nothing in quite a few years around here. It figures to garner even more scrutiny as the legislature is set to act on a bill that could drop a referendum in East Cobb voters’ laps next year.

The truth is I do have an agenda, as noted this time a year ago, and it bears repeating: To “meet the news and information needs of this dynamic community we all call home, and to promote local businesses who help make it better.”

In this third year, as East Cobb News reaches around 30,000 unique visitors a month—a healthy number for a young, locally focused publication—my chief objective will be to help local businesses grow with us.

If you run a local business or organization, and want to reach community-minded customers, please check out our advertising philosophy, which includes flexible rates and options for any kind of enterprise.

We have a business directory that’s ideal for new businesses, solopreneurs and mom-and-pop shops that includes a 25 percent discount for display advertising on East Cobb News.

I realize that readers and advertisers have other options. This a competitive market for news and advertising, but only East Cobb News is totally devoted to covering news and events every day, as they happen.About East Cobb News, Wendy Parker

If that’s important to you, I ask that you have a look around the site, if you’re not familiar already, and see for yourself.

I also encourage you to sign up for the East Cobb News Digest weekly e-mail newsletter, which comes out every Sunday. It contains all of the past week’s top headlines, plus calendar listings, a community guide and so much more.

It’s free and easy to sign up, all in one click below.

 

We also invite members of the community, including individual citizens, groups and non-profit organizations, to share their news with us.

Please send along news tips by e-mailing: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

You can also send calendar listings to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com.

For advertising inquiries, contact us at: advertising@eastcobbnews.com.

Thanks to all of you for visiting East Cobb News, subscribing to the newsletter and following us on social media. We’re excited for what Year Three has in store!

As always, feel free to get in touch with feedback and questions: wendy@eastcobbnews.com.

Or you can call me anytime at 404-219-4278.

Mountain View Library to hold Census job information sessions in July

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Mountain View Regional Library

Submitted information:

The U.S. Census Bureau is presenting 2020 Census Job Information Sessions this summer at Cobb County Public Libraries.

A Census official will discuss 2020 Census job opportunities and answer questions about applying during the free sessions. Area Census Bureau positions include assistants, clerks, office operations supervisors and census takers. Pay ranges vary based on location and position.

The upcoming 2020 Census Job Information Sessions at Cobb libraries include:

  • Each Tuesday afternoon through July 23 from 2 pm to 6 pm at Powder Springs Library, 4181 Atlanta Street, Powder Springs 30127. 770-439-3600
  • Wednesday, July 10 from 4 pm to 7 pm and Monday, July 22 from 11 am to 4 pm at Mountain View Regional Library, 3320 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta 30066. 770-509-2725
  • Friday, July 12 and Friday, July 19 from 10 am to 3 pm at South Cobb Regional Library is located at 805 Clay Road, Mableton 30126. 678-398-5828

For information on applying for 2020 Census jobs, including application requirements, visitwww.2020census.gov/jobs and click Apply Now. Potential applicants seeking information and assistance may call 1-855-JOB-2020 (562-2020) or use the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

 

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East Cobb traffic alert: Roswell Road eastbound at Old Canton reopens after crash

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Roswell Road Old Canton Road crash

That’s the scene from a Georgia 511 camera at Roswell Road and Old Canton Road about 2:55 Friday, as Cobb Police and Cobb Fire are investigating a crash in a busy intersection that’s blocking eastbound traffic on Roswell.

UPDATED 3:40 PM: Cobb Police say all lanes of traffic are now open.

Police are urging motorists heading east on Roswell (the traffic in the right of the photo) to find an alternate route; there’s no word as yet on injuries.

We’ll update this story when more details are available.

 

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Longtime Sprayberry football coach Jim Frazier has died

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Word is coming from Sprayberry High School that Jim Frazier, for many years a member of Yellow Jackets football coaching staff and a legendary figure in the school community’s history, died on Thursday.Sprayberry coach Jim Frazier

“Our school and community will forever be grateful for the contributions made by this wonderful man,” was the message posted on the school’s Facebook page Friday afternoon.

We’ll have more later, but here’s a summary of Frazier’s tenure at Sprayberry, which went far beyond what his teams did in sports:

Frazier came to Sprayberry in 1959, a few years after it opened as East Cobb’s first high school.

While he was an assistant football coach, the Yellow Jackets won two county and two region titles in and three times finished the season in the state’s top 10.

He also coached baseball at Sprayberry before retiring from teaching in 1986, and served on the school’s football and baseball committees for nearly 50 years.

The Sprayberry football stadium is named after Frazier, a native of Tennessee who played football at Carson-Newman College and earned a master’s degree from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.

Frazier was in attendance and recognized last summer at the 65th anniversary celebration of Sprayberry’s opening.

Last August, his wife, Wilma Quarles Frazier, died at the age of 85. She taught at Sedalia Park Elementary School for 27 years.

The Fraziers were married for 61 years.

In 2015, State Rep. Don Parsons of East Cobb sponsored a resolution that was passed by the Georgia General Assembly to honor Frazier for his service to Sprayberry and the community.

 

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Hyde Farm tour includes class for the basics of garden cooking

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Hyde Farm

Next Saturday, July 13, is the second tour in a series of four at East Cobb’s Hyde Farm that includes a cooking class.

The 1840s-era homestead is at 721 Hyde Farm, located off Lower Roswell Road, and on the second Saturday of every month is open for 45-minute tours that are free and open to the public.

The 135-acre Hyde Farm, located near the Chattahoochee River, is also close to forests, agricultural fields, pastures, an orchard, meadows, a home and farm outbuilding sites.

Those tours begin at 10 am. and noon, and registration is required by visiting the Cobb PARKS website or by calling 770-528-8840.

In between the tours, Cobb PARKS, the UGA Cobb Extension service and the American Community Gardening Association will be conducting a class, “From Seed to Table: Cooking With Superfoods.”

It covers the basics of growing and cooking food from a garden. That class also is free and spots may be reserved by calling 770-528-4070.

More Hyde Farm tours and cooking classes are scheduled for Sept. 21 and Nov. 9.

Hyde Farm’s pond (above), built on Mulberry Creek, is the habitat for geese, ducks, herons, turtles, beaver and fish.

On Aug. 17, Cobb PARKS will hold another fishing rodeo at Hyde Farm that’s aimed for kids 3-16. Trophies will be awarded for the biggest fish (see calendar listing here).

 

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Cobb Police soliciting bookbag donations for students in need

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Cobb Police Bookbag Palooza

Submitted information:

Even though we are enjoying summer, the Cobb Police Department Community Affairs Unit is already hard at work to support our students when they head back to school. Book Bag-Palooza is an effort to gather as many book bags and school supplies as possible. Donations will be distributed to county students in need at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, which is only one month away.
 
Donations can include new book bags, paper, folders, pencils, crayons, glue sticks and markers. Any items that a student, from elementary to high school, would need to start the school year out prepared and ready to learn. Donations can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday (excluding holidays) at any of the Cobb precincts:

  • Precinct 1: 2380 Cobb Parkway NW, Kennesaw
  • Precinct 2: 4700 Austell Road, Austell
  • Precinct 3: 1901 Cumberland Parkway, Atlanta
  • Precinct 4: 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
  • Precinct 5: 4640 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs
  • Headquarters: 140 North Marietta Parkway, Marietta

If a business or club collects a large amount of school items, one of the Community Affairs’ officers will be happy to arrange pick up. For more information, call Sgt. Jeff Tatroe at 770-499-3981.

 

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East Cobb traffic alert: Piedmont Road reopens after car crash knocks out power

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Piedmont Road closed

UPDATED 4:36 p.m.: Piedmont Road has reopened after an East Cobb car crash earlier this afternoon.

Shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday Cobb Police said Piedmont Road is closed at Sprayberry Drive due to a single-car crash that took down power poles and knocked out electricity in the area (that’s just west of the Piedmont-Sandy Plains intersection and Sprayberry High School).

The car overturned and the crash prompted several small fires, according to police, who said the driver suffered minor injuries.

Will update this story with more information when we get it.

Piedmont Road closed

 

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Apollo 11 50th anniversary events slated for East Cobb library branches

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With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission coming up on July 16, a special PBS miniseries will be airing to commemorate the event. On Friday, the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road) will be screening a portion of that series, entitled “Chasing the Moon.” Chasing the Moon Apollo 11

The screening is free and will be held from 6-7 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre and unlike other film screenings there, no food or drink will be allowed.

Here’s more about the PBS “American Experience” miniseries, which airs on July 8-10, and what’s in store during Friday’s screening:

Chasing the Moon, a film by Robert Stone, re-imagines the race to the moon for a new generation, upending much of the conventional mythology surrounding the effort. The series recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses, and personal drama.

Our selection is taken from “Part Three: Magnificent Desolation.” It takes a look back at the tension and excitement surrounding the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, all the way up until the lunar module finally lands on the moon.

For more information, visit:

On Monday, July 16, a celebration of the Apollo 11 event will take place from 7-8 p.m. at the Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road), featuring  NASA Ambassador Chris Thompson. Here’s on tap for that free event for those age 18 and above:

Mountain View patrons will join the history books by being able to touch space rocks just like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Lunar and space meteorites and other NASA memorabilia will be on display for patrons to look at and touch. Mr. Thompson will also discuss the history of the Apollo missions and the future of NASA and space exploration.

Chris Thompson is a human resource professional who also shares his love of Astronomy and Space in his role as a NASA Ambassador. Mr. Thompson conducts workshops and lectures to adults and children. He is also the president of the Meteorite Association of Georgia and a member of theInternational Meteorite Collectors Association, (NASA, 2019).

For more information, call the Mountain View Regional Library at 770-509-2725, or visit the Adult Reference Desk.

 

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East Cobb graduate student completes Arabic Flagship program

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Richard Solomon, East Cobb graduate student

Submitted information and photo:

Richard Solomon, an East Cobb resident who graduated as a Wells Scholar from Indiana University in 2018 with a B.S. and B.A. in international studies, political science and philosophy, completed the Arabic Flagship program in Meknes, Morocco this past May as a 2019 Boren Fellow.

Richard has studied Arabic at Bethlehem University and Hebrew University, and with the National Security Language Initiative for Youth in Morocco.

A recent CASA (Center for Arabic Studies Abroad) Fellowship recipient, Richard moved last month to Cairo, Egypt where he will continue to receive advanced-level training in Arabic language and culture for a year at the American University in Cairo.

Richard’s research interests include bargaining theory, institutional analysis, and literature.

After a year in Cairo, Richard plans to pursue a PhD in political science or Middle Eastern studies.

 

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Parking, road closures, etc., if you’re attending July 4 events in Marietta

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Marietta July 4 events

Since Thursday’s July 4 events in Marietta go on from mid-morning and well into the night, here’s what the police department has put together in terms of schedule, where to park, streets to avoid and more (illustrated above in city-provided map):

10:00 AM Parade
The “Let Freedom Ring” parade begins on Roswell Street at Victory Drive. The parade will continue West on Roswell Street into the square, then turn North onto E Park Square and continue North on Cherokee Street all the way to the Cobb County 911 building at North Marietta Parkway. (86) different entries have registered to participate in this year’s parade! Road closures for the parade will begin at 9:20 AM.

  • 10:00 AM until 9:00 PM: Festival in the park activities (art/craft vendors, food trucks, concession stands, carnival games and kids play areas with large inflatables etc.)
    • 12:00-2:00pm: Concert featuring Scott Thompson
    • 2:00pm: Bell Ringing Ceremony
    • 2:30pm: Concert featuring Atlanta Concert Band
    • 7:00pm: Concert Featuring Chris Stalcup
    • 8:00pm: Concert featuring A1A – Jimmy Buffet Tribute Band

Dark (somewhere around 9:30 PM) FIREWORKS! 
Fireworks will be launched from the parking lot of First United Methodist Church (Whitlock at the loop). Due to state fire law, all of that parking lot will be unavailable for public parking the entire day.

IMPORTANT NOTES from MPD:

1. ROADS ON THE PARADE ROUTE WILL BE CLOSED 40 MINUTES BEFORE, AND DURING THE PARADE.
2. THE ROADS SURROUNDING THE SQUARE WILL BE CLOSED ALL DAY.
3. Please consider using a ride sharing service to drop you off and pick you up with ease.
4. If you park in one of the parking decks, we have some helpful reminders for you:

  • Please back into the parking space so your exit will be
    easier and quicker;
  • Fireworks are NOT allowed to be used on any of the parking decks near the Marietta Square;
  • Open alcohol containers / consumption are not permitted on the parking decks.

5. Local businesses and restaurants will be open on their own normal holiday schedules.
6. Parking will be challenging, especially with the First United Methodist Church parking lot closed. PLEASE CONSIDER USING A RIDE SHARE SERVICE.
7. UBER/LYFT drivers will take you anywhere, but the city has DESIGNATED an easy intersection to give YOU quick access with limited walking as well as give the drivers easy access so they can keep moving and minimize your ride costs. PLEASE use the intersection of Lawrence Street and Waddell Street as your drop off and pick up locations.
8. It is supposed to be ABOVE normal temperatures, please stay hydrated and plan accordingly.
9. Pets can NOT cool off as quickly as you can. PLEASE keep them hydrated and guard against having them standing for too long on hot pavement.

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Rose and Crown Tavern closing for 2 years in Restaurant Row redevelopment

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Rose and Crown, East Cobb Restaurant Row rezoning, Rose and Crown Tavern closing

This has been anticipated for a few months now, and it’s official: The Rose and Crown Tavern on Powers Ferry Road has announced its temporary closure.

The last remaining survivor of “Restaurant Row” will close next Saturday, July 13, for a two-year period as the cluster of restaurant buildings makes way for a new mixed-use development.

Rose and Crown will be part of that project, with expanded space in a retail component in a 578,000-square foot complex that will include a 280-unit apartment building and 171 senior-living units.

The rezoning for the 8.8-acre project was approved last August. The project is being developed by Greystar Development Group of Atlanta.

Ground is expected to be broken this month for the project. The apartment building is being called Elan at Powers Ferry, and the senior homes will be called Overture Powers Ferry.

Miguel Ayoub opened Rose and Crown in 2010 with his wife at a former La Madeleine restaurant at 1931 Powers Ferry Road. In the new development, the Rose and Crown space will take up 6,000 square feet of a planned 10,0000-square foot retail center.

The property is near the Wildwood Office Park, but other restaurant concepts nearby have come and gone: A Sal Grosso Brazilian steakhouse, TGI Friday’s and Famous Dave’s.

While Rose and Crown is shuttered, the Ayoubs will be running Mojave, a casual Latin restaurant at the former Ray’s Rio Bravo at 6450 Powers Ferry Road, just across the river in Sandy Springs.

A late July opening date for Mojave is planned.

 

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Hearings slated for proposed FY 2020 Cobb millage rate

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Cobb budget town hall, Mike Boyce, Cobb public safety bonus, Cobb millage rate

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce isn’t proposing a millage rate increase for fiscal  year 2020 like he did a year ago. But growth in the county’s tax digest means public hearings will be necessary specifically for the millage rate.

That’s because under state law, local governments and school boards that don’t assess a “rollback” millage rate to counter that tax revenue increase are in effect imposing a property tax increase, and are required to hold public hearings.

Last week Cobb Tax Assessor Steven White declared that the 2019 Cobb tax digest will be a record $39 billion, surpassing last year’s total of $36.2 billion.

The county announced Tuesday that those public hearings will take place on the same dates and at the same Cobb Board of Commissioners meetings in which FY 2020 budget hearings have been scheduled:

  • Tuesday, July 9, 9 a.m.;
  • Tuesday, July 16, 6:30 p.m.;
  • Tuesday, July 23, 2019, 7 p.m.

That last meeting is also slated for final budget adoption. Last week Boyce outlined his $474.8 million budget proposal that he will formally introduce Monday at 1:30 p.m.

The property tax “increase” amounts to 4.52 percent from last year’s general fund revenues.

The Cobb Board of Education also holds millage rate hearings in similar situations. It hasn’t upped the school millage rate of 18.9 mills in years, but tax revenue growth has meant it also has had to hold the same hearings.

This year that tax revenue increase for Cobb schools is 4.88 percent. A recent history of the schools millage rate levy can be found here.

Next Wednesday, the school board will hold its first public hearing on the tax digest at 11 a.m. at the Cobb County School District headquarters, 514 Glover St., Marietta. Additional hearings are in the same location on July 18 at 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., with millage rate adoption scheduled for the same day at 7 p.m.

The Cobb schools fiscal year 2020 began on Monday.

The proposed FY 2020 Cobb government millage rates are as follows:

  • General Fund, 8.46 mills;
  • Fire Fund, 2.86 mills;
  • Debt Service (Bond Fund), 0.13 mills;
  • Cumberland Special Services District II, 2.45 mills;
  • Six Flags Special Service District, 3.50 mills.

Citizens can speak on the budget and millage rate proposals at the meetings listed above. They will be held in the second floor board meeting room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

Here’s more from the Cobb Tax Commissioners Office on the county’s millage rate history, and the millage rates compared to the six cities in the county.

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