Braves renovating Harrison Park field for Sandy Plains Baseball Association

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Harrison Park, Sandy Plains Baseball Association

One of the youth baseball fields at Harrison Park is getting a makeover, thanks to the Atlanta Braves Foundation, as part of its continuing “Chipper Jones” projects in the Atlanta area.

Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell announced at the Northeast Cobb Business Association luncheon on Wednesday that construction work began last week, and will include upgrades to the field, dugouts and fencing.

The new field, a venue for the Sandy Plains Baseball Association, will have a ribbon-cutting on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 11 a.m. Harrison Park is located at 2653 Shallowford Road, adjacent to Lassiter High School.

The Atlanta Braves Foundation embarked on a “10 for 10” youth baseball field refurbishment program upon Jones’ retirement in 2013, funding the completion of one project a year over 10 years. In January 2015, a field at Fullers Park in East Cobb, home of the East Side Baseball Association, was renamed after Jones, who donated materials for a renovation project there.

Birrell said she’s been told some Braves players will be in attendance for the ribbon-cutting at Harrison Park.

Harrison Park, Sandy Plains Baseball Association

EAST COBB ZONING: Lidl Grocery, Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill cases to be continued

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At their monthly zoning hearing Tuesday morning, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted to approve Lidl Grocery’s request to continue its rezoning application to redevelop the Park 12 Theatre site (previous ECN post here).

The case will be placed on the August zoning calendar. Another major East Cobb application, filed by SSP Blue Ridge, LLC, for a mixed-used development at Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill roads, has been continued to September by the Cobb zoning staff.

The Blue Ridge proposal is for a 21-acre retail, residential and commercial center stretching from the current location of Brumby Elementary School to the northwest intersection of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill.

The anchor of the proposed development would a be Kroger Marketplace, replacing the current Kroger store on Powers Ferry at the southwest intersection of Delk Road.

We’ll update this post later with more East Cobb cases from today’s zoning meeting.

EAST COBB THIS WEEK: Summer library events; tax millage town hall; blood drive; business luncheons; greenways and trails meeting

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It’s not quite back to school—though it is hard to believe that’s exactly two weeks from today, on July 31—and the four branches of the Cobb County Public Library System in East Cobb have plenty of activities scheduled for the next two weeks.

We’ve included a good sampling of them in our East Cobb Events Calendar, and there are plenty more to peruse on the library system website. In addition to regular storytimes, this week’s events include a picnic at the Mountain View Regional branch, monthly adult book discussion groups at East Marietta and East Cobb, the monthly Gritters STEAM team event and so much more!

On Saturday, the East Cobb branch will feature a presentation on how to grow your own mushroom garden, with some expert advice from the Mushroom Club of Georgia.

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is taking some heat for proposing a tax millage increase, and on Wednesday he is holding a town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center to solicit more input.

The Cobb school board is holding a final public hearing Thursday before voting on setting its tax millage rate for 2017.

The East Cobb Business Association and Northeast Cobb Business Association are holding their monthly luncheons on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. On Wednesday, the Ashley Homestore on Roswell Road is holding a Red Cross blood drive, and the East Cobb Lions Club will be offering free vision screenings.

If you missed last week’s public input meeting on the Cobb Greenways and Trails Master Plan at East Cobb Library, there will be another meeting Tuesday from 5-6:30 at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, Canton Road and Piedmont Road.

Another end-of-summer event for kids takes place Thursday at Terrell Mill Park. The Fairy House Workshop, presented by the Cobb Water System’s Watershed Stewardship Program, includes story-reading before kids ages 3-13 create their own fairy houses.

The Marietta Campmeeting continues every day this week through Saturday, with services at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and an ice cream social after Tuesday’s evening service, starting at 9:30 p.m. The final service takes place at 11 a.m. Sunday.

We’ll come back later this week with a preview of weekend events in East Cobb, including live entertainment and other community activities.

Please feel free to send your items—including photos, flyers, maps and PDFs if you wish—to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com, and we’ll post them promptly.

Have a great week, and please stay in touch!

 

Black Swan Tavern taking shape in East Cobb; opening in ‘60 days or so’

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The Black Swan Tavern, East Cobb business
The Black Swan Tavern is the first East Cobb pub for the Dunwoody Restaurant Group. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

A new English pub, The Black Swan Tavern, is going in where the old Churchill’s Pub used to be at 1401 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 128, in the Merchants Festival Shopping Center.

Last week the new place’s Facebook page posted photos of the start of a full renovation—literally from the ground up—as plans continue to open in “60 days or so.”

We went by there over the weekend, and saw a full tavern menu posted on the window, plus the ubiquitous English red telephone booth outside, a standard feature at the other seven pubs owned by the Dunwoody Restaurant Group.

The Black Swan Tavern, East Cobb business

The 8th pub will be the first in East Cobb for the company, which operates the Dunwoody Tavern, The Bat and Ball Pub, O’Brian’s Tavern and King George Tavern in Dunwoody; The Royal Oak Pub and The Ship and Anchor in Sandy Springs; and The Iron Horse Tavern in Norcross.

The pub concept isn’t that widespread in East Cobb; Keegan’s Public House on Shallowford at Johnson Ferry and the Rose & Crown on Powers Ferry are the only existing restaurants of that genre. Churchill’s was open for more than 30 years but closed in 2013 after getting an eviction notice for back rent. A location of the Copa Cabana Cafe has come and gone in the same spot.

We’ll have more updates as The Black Swan Tavern opening draws near.

Got any business news tips? Know of openings or closings? Call/text at 404-219-4278 or e-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

The Black Swan Tavern, East Cobb business

 

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PHOTOS: Bradley’s Bar & Grill Car Show and Summer Fest

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Sunday afternoon’s heat didn’t deter vintage car enthusiasts and others who turned out at Bradley’s Bar & Grill on Lower Roswell Road for the restaurant’s Car Show and Summer Fest.  (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)

Bradley's Car Show and Summer Fest

The event, which also involved Green Bean Socials, was a fundraiser for the Georgia Make A Wish Foundation (a total of$2,321 was collected), and there was plenty of shade for spectators, along with food—Bradley’s bar favorites including fried green tomatoes—beverages, live music, a water tank and frosty treats.

Bradley's Car Show & Summer Fest

Bradley's Car Show & Summer Fest

Bradley's Car Show & Summer Fest

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Lidl Grocery asks for rezoning continuance until August

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Lidl, the German grocery company that wants to build a store at the site of the Park 12 Theatre on Gordy Parkway in northeast Cobb, has asked for a continuance in its rezoning request until August.

Its application is on Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners zoning hearing agenda, but the board would have to vote at that meeting whether to grant the delay, since the request came after a deadline for doing so, according to a message issued Friday by District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell.

According to a letter sent Thursday by Parks Huff, Lidl’s Marietta-based attorney, the applicant would have to amend its site plan to accommodate a request by the Cobb Architectural Control Committee to have an arborist review tree preservation issues.

If the Lidl rezoning is delayed, it would next be taken up by the commissioners on Aug. 15. Lidl’s proposal for a 35,962-square-foot store, a bit bigger than the cinema facility but with 170 parking spaces—half the total for the movie house—has been opposed by some nearby residents, some of whom started a petition to save the Park 12.

This from petition organizer Abi Hainey, on the Save Park 12 Facebook page, who said another delay could be “a blessing in disguise:”

“If Lidl’s purpose in postponing the hearing is to “wait us out,” they are mistaken. East Cobb is a strong community of people that care and this campaign has made me even more proud to live here. We will not lose steam, in fact, our movement will only get stronger between now and August 15th. Thank you for your continued support!”

Full Pope roundabout opening set for July 30

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This was just released Friday afternoon by the Pope High School administration:

Pope High School roundabout
Cobb DOT rendering

Due to weather delays and scheduling, the new roundabout will not open for “two-way” traffic until July 30th…..At this time, the roundabout will be operational; however, finishing touches will continue to be made after the school year has started….Please continue to access the Pope High School campus from the north (Dorset/Lassiter Rd./North Hembree Rd. area) until the roundabout opens on July 30th….Thank you for your patience and cooperation….

July 30 is a Sunday, the day before classes begin for the 2017-18 school year. Here’s more on the project.

Lower Roswell resurfacing expansion, Willeo Creek bridge design approved by Cobb commissioners

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Lower Roswell Road Water Main Project
One-lane traffic on Lower Roswell Road as part of the East Cobb Pipeline Project remains around the bridge over Sope Creek. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

Two important road items of interest to East Cobb motorists got the green light Tuesday from the Cobb Board of Commissioners, one immediate and that’s long-term.

The first concerns the repaving along Lower Roswell Road following the completion of the East Cobb Pipeline Project.

The commission approved a change order request to expand an existing repaving project to include the 2.08-mile stretch from Old Canton Road to Indian Hills Parkway, and it won’t cost taxpayers any additional funding.

Instead, the estimated cost of $593,095 will come out of already-approved money (via the 2016 SPLOST) as part of the Cobb DOT’s contract with Baldwin Paving Co., which has been repaving 25-30 roads around the county.

The money is available due to underruns in the overall Baldwin contract, according to Cobb DOT.

“The road when it’s finished will be a great improvement,” East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said before the 5-0 vote.

In another 5-0 vote, the commission approved an engineering design contract with Gresham Smith and Partners for $483,359 for replacement of the Willeo Road bridge over Willeo Creek. It’s a joint project with the City of Roswell, with each jurisdiction kicking in around $213,900 each. Roswell is spending an additional $55,474 for design work for a multi-use trail boardwalk that will connect to the new bridge.

Multi-use trails along Lower Roswell also reach the Cobb side of the bridge and continue westbound, close to Johnson Ferry Road, where bicycle and pedestrian trails are proposed as part of the Johnson Ferry Urban Design Plan approved in 2011.

 

ECBA president named to 2017-18 Leadership Cobb class

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Littie Brown, the current president of the East Cobb Business Association, has been selected for the 2017-18 Leadership Cobb class of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Brown is the president of SpeedPro Imaging of Marietta. Another ECBA member, Jonathan Page of InPrime Legal on Powers Ferry Road, also was selected for Leadership Cobb, which is a leadership development program conducted with the Kennesaw State University Coles School of Business.

Here’s more about the program from the Chamber announcement:

Leading by example allows Leadership Cobb participants to directly impact the Cobb community. Fifty diverse and qualified individuals are selected annually to participate in this leadership development program. Leadership Cobb enhances personal and professional growth while participants gain awareness of current issues, community resources and the social, political and economic needs of the community.

Leadership Cobb develops leadership skills and knowledge through its programs and retreats. Participants are introduced to a variety of viewpoints that illustrate the array of economic, political, educational and social factors at work in Cobb County. Sessions combine lectures and dialogue among speakers as well as audience interaction with leaders in all facets of the community.

Topics covered include:

Armed Forces Mentoring
Arts & Recreation Politics
Economic Development Public Safety
Education Regionalism
Health Social Services
Leadership Training

Loyal Q and Brew liquor waiver to go before Cobb commissioners

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loyal q and brew restaurant
Loyal Q and Brew is opening soon at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center with an ownership group formerly with the Taco Mac chain. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

UPDATED 9:33 a.m. Tuesday: This item has been taken off the agenda. Cobb commission chairman Mike Boyce said at the start of today’s meeting that the applicant’s attorney has had a death in the family and is unable to attend. Boyce did not indicate when the matter will be placed back on the agenda.

The owners of a proposed new smokehouse and brewery in East Cobb will have their pouring license application heard Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor meeting room at the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

Loyal Q and Brew, which is slated to open at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center (next to the Sellars Goodyear store and across from Ted’s Montana Grill), needs a distance waiver from the commission since its location is 440 feet from the the East Cobb Library and 170 feet from nearby residences.

Those distances fall within the range of a county ordinance requiring waivers for alcoholic serving licenses.

The Cobb License Review Board voted 4-0 without community opposition on June 22 to recommend approval of the waiver. In addition to Ted’s, seven other restaurants and the Parkaire Kroger also sell beer and wine, as well as The Wine Shop, a full-service liquor retailer in the same shopping center.

The co-owner of Loyal Q is Susie Addo, formerly part of the Taco Mac partnership. According to the application, Loyal Q would prepare smoked meat products on the premises and serve craft beer, wine and liquor.

The restaurant would employ around 40 people and would be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. The application also states the establishment estimates that 70 percent of its revenue will come from food sales, and 30 percent from alcohol sales.

Here’s a link to Tuesday’s full meeting agenda, which includes a public hearing for the 2017 Cobb millage rate.

Petition drive launched opposing July 31 Cobb school start date

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With the start of the 2017-18 Cobb County School District academic year exactly two weeks from today, a group of parents has begun a petition drive demanding schedule changes in the future.

The group, which calls itself Cobb Parents Against July School Start Date, has gathered more than 2,000 signatures thus far on the change.org platform, and here’s its main complaint:

“. . . we feel that the start date of July 31 crosses a symbolic line that both threatens the nature of the traditional summer vacation and the developmental promise a more traditional calendar affords our children and families.”

Among the suggested changes in the calendar include cancelling either the September or February week-long breaks and ending the school year later in May (recent graduation ceremonies ended before Memorial Day).

The group, which did not reveal member identification or provide other contact information, also mentioned that the lone school board member to oppose the July 31 start date is Scott Sweeney, who represents the Walton and Wheeler high school districts of East Cobb.

Many of the comments indicated a desire to enjoy a traditional summer vacation from school, especially with the hottest days and months of the season likely still to come.

A commenter named Sarajane Fletcher, who said the last of her three children is finishing at Walton this year, wrote on the petition site that the current balanced calendar adds more stress for students and parents, with added homework and reading assignments given during longer breaks:

“The kids are in a pressure cooker during the year with no escape, so what does Cobb do, just slowly take away their summer vacation! “

The petition organizers did not indicate if, how or when the petition results might be delivered to school board members. The board next meets on July 20.

EAST COBB THIS WEEK: Tax millage rate hearings; women’s networking; Marietta Campmeeting; Bradley’s car show

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The Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education this week are holding required public hearings as they prepare to set their 2017 millage rates.

The commissioners will hold hearings tonight at 6:30, and at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and at 7 p.m. on July 25, the date they’re slated to vote on the millage rate. Those hearings will be in the board’s 2nd floor meeting room at the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St. in downtown Marietta.

The school board is holding hearings Tuesday at 10 a.m., during its monthly work session, and again at 6 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District main office, 514 Glover St. in Marietta. East Cobb events calendar

The school board will have final hearings on July 20 at 1:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m., when it’s scheduled to vote on its 2017 millage rate.

State law mandates the hearings if local property tax digests rise and millage rates aren’t rolled back, prompting a tax increase (here’s a year-by-year chart of Cobb tax digest totals dating back to 2012, when the county began rebounding from the recession. Here’s the BOE’s millage rate notice and 5-year history of its property tax levy).

Elsewhere in this week’s East Cobb Events Calendar, there’s a new women’s business networking group meeting Thursday at Red Sky Tapas Bar that pledges a “no compete” atmosphere. Friday marks the 180th renewal of the Marietta Campmeeting, with an opening picnic and service scheduled from 6-9 p.m. The venerable tradition continues through July 23, and if you haven’t been, or even if you’re not religious, it’s a tremendous experience. I covered this years ago during my newspaper days, and I highly recommend it.

On Sunday’s Bradley’s Bar & Grill on Lower Roswell Road is holding a summer fest and car show from 3-7 p.m., and if you want your car to take part, you have until Wednesday to register. It’s all for a very good cause.

We’re just getting our engines revved up here at East Cobb News and want to make our calendar listings are simply the best in the community. Please feel free to send your items—including photos, flyers and PDFs if you wish—to editor/publisher Wendy Parker at: eastcobbnewsnow@gmail.com.

Have a great week, and please stay in touch!

PHOTOS: 3rd annual Skip Wells Memorial Ride

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More than 200 riders took off from Sprayberry High School Saturday morning in honor of the late Marine Lance Cpl. Skip Wells and to raise money for the Jr. ROTC and band at his alma mater.

Wells, a 2012 Sprayberry graduate, was one of five military personnel killed in a terrorist attack in 2015 at the Chattanooga Naval Marine Reserve Center. The Lcpl Skip Wells Foundation was formed in the wake of his death, and the funds raised from the ride and other events benefit the Sprayberry JROTC and band, both of which Wells belonged to.

Saturday’s ride was organized by the Cherokee Wingmen Club and traveled along a route to Cartersville, escorted by the Cobb and Bartow sheriff’s departments. After the ride, the participants, who came mostly from Georgia and surrounding states, gathered at the Cherokee Wingmen Clubhouse in Canton.

On Monday, the U.S. Post Office at 2886 Sandy Plains Road, just up the road from Sprayberry, will be dedicated in honor of Skip Wells. That event begins at 11 a.m.

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