Mountain View Elementary School teacher of the year Kristin Shildneck, principal Renee Garris and classified employee of the year Barbara Glynn at a 2018 luncheon.
Renee Garris, who has been the principal at Mountain View Elementary School at East Cobb since 2010 and has been an educator for more than three decades, will retire at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
The Cobb County School District announced her retirement, effective June 30, at a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night following an executive session.
Garris also was an administrator for six years and a classroom teacher for 14 years in the Cobb County School District.
She helped prepare the school community for the relocation of the campus from its longtime venue on Sandy Plains Road near Shallowford Road in 2017 to a new site on Sandy Plains, at the intersection of Davis Road.
Garris is a graduate of Cobb County schools and has been on the board of directors for the Northeast Cobb Business Association, which has a formal partnership with public schools in the area.
Also on Thursday, new principals were announced to fill vacancies for the 2023-24 year.
Ashley Beasley, who has been the director of the Cobb school district’s Elementary Virtual Program, was appointed principal at Davis Elementary School.
She has 18 years of education experience, including nine years as an assistant principal. She attended Cobb schools, graduating from McEachern High School, and earned bachelor’s, master’s, educational leadership and educational doctorate degrees from Kennesaw State University.
Beasley is succeeding Kristin Erbskorn, who is retiring.
The new principal at Shallowford Falls Elementary School is Lindsey McGovern, who has been the assistant principal there since 2019.
She has 20 years of experience in the Cobb school district and has taught and was an assistant principal at Brumby Elementary School.
McGovern, who succeeds retiring principal Donna Long, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and obtained graduate degrees from Kennesaw State.
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Land disturbance permits are expected to be issued soon, with the first phase of construction commencing by the summer on a 132-unit apartment building for seniors aged 55 and older.
Atlantic Residential’s redevelopment plans also have been evolving over the last year for a project it is calling East Cobb Walk.
When the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved rezoning in 2021, the plans called for more than 30,000 square feet of retail. The Lidl grocery store chain backed out beforehand, due to traffic access problems.
A more recent but incomplete site plan showed that retail has been cut down to 14,500 square feet: a 13,000-square-foot building in front of the Mayes Cemetery, and 1,5000 square feet of space on the ground floor of the senior apartment building.
Atlantic Residential said it intends to finalize a site plan with the nearly 30,000 square feet included in a rezoning stipulation letter.
Tim Carini, one of the leaders of the group that opposed any apartments on the site, even for seniors, thought the name change ironic.
“There is nowhere to walk within this development,” he said.
But when he saw the lesser space for retail, he said that “the County needs to hold this developer to that number” that is included in a stipulation letter that was part of the rezoning approval.
“Without this retail for the community, all we are getting is apartments and townhomes that are squeezed as tight as possible into this property,” said Carini, organizer of a Facebook group called Residents Against Apartments At Sprayberry Crossing.
Shane Spink, who led citizen support of the redevelopment and has been part of a post-rezoning site plan review, told East Cobb News he and other supporters also were taken aback by what appeared to be less than half of the proposed retail space.
He said he was later told by Richard Aaronson, the CEO of Atlantic Residential, that the developer intends to “maximize the commercial buildout for commercial use as provided in the zoning.”
He said the site plan reflecting only 14,500 square feet of retail space was an engineering rendering produced without the developer’s input that was meant to be a “placeholder” for a final plan.
“We apologize for any confusion and will circulate an updated site plan that identifies maximum commercial density provided by the zoning,” Aaronson told Spink. “We do intend to start marketing the commercial parcel once site work is initiated in the coming weeks.”
East Cobb News has contacted Aaronson and Atlantic Residential for more information.
The senior apartment building will be the first phase of construction for East Cobb Walk, tentatively slated to get underway in August with completion by September 2024. Those units are one and two bedrooms and there will be amenities in the builidng.
The 102 townhomes will be the second phase, scheduled to start in January 2024. That developer was to have been Pulte Homes, but that phase will be built instead by Toll Brothers. They will be around 2,000 square feet each (renderings below).
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The Cobb County School District presented on Thursday a pr0posed fiscal year 2024 budget of $1.448 billion that includes a pay raise for employees and a property tax cut for citizens.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said at a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon he is proposing a reduction in the property tax rate from 18.9 mills to 18.7 mills, which amounts to a cut of $7.6 million in recurring revenue each year.
If approved by the school board, the millage rate reduction would be the first change in the general fund property tax rate for the Cobb school district in nearly 15 years.
Ragsdale’s pay raise would be a minimum of 7.5 percent for full-time employees, with a range of up to 12.1 percent.
He also is proposing to hire 11 more officers for the Cobb school district’s police department, which currently has 70 officers.
The board voting Thursday night for tentative adoption of the budget.
That allows the district to advertise the proposal for another hearing on May 18, during which formal adoption is scheduled. The fiscal year 2024 budget goes into effect July 1.
Details of the budget proposal, which weren’t released in advance of the board presentation, have been posted at this link.
The school millage rate produces the largest portion of a Cobb homeowners’ property tax bill, and those age 62 and over (except in the city of Marietta) can apply for a senior exemption from paying school taxes.
Chief financial officer Brad Johnson, in his presentation to the school board at the work session, said there is an estimated 13 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.
He said the budget also would be funded with $87 million in budget reserves, an amount he said is “more than usual . . . but we think is sustainable.” The district has an unassigned fund balance of $198 million, which Johnson said amounts to 40 days of operating expense.
Ragsdale said in response to a question from board member Tre’ Hutchins about the fund balance that because of the estimated expansion of the digest, “we are comfortable” cutting the millage rate and using that much of reserve funding.
He said the additional police officers were requested in response to the deadly shootings of six people at a Christian school in Nashville earlier this month.
“Armed officers onsite help” to prevent deadly shooters, he said, adding that “it’s an absolute preventative measure.”
He has come under some criticism for his plan last year to hire armed but not certified armed guards on school campuses. Some citizens protested the vote last summer when the school board approved the plan.
Ragsdale said Thursday the new officers to be hired will be uniformed officers certified by the Georgia Peace Officers Training Council.
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Despite pleas from the developer and nearby community members Wednesday night, Marietta Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin vetoed a proposed apartment complex at Powers Ferry Road and Delk Road.
The Marietta City Council voted 5-2 to approve the 322-unit on the site of a Kroger store that will be moving later this year.
There was no opposition from the public, and the Marietta Planning Commission had voted 7-0 to recommend approval in March.
But Tumlin, who has been vocal recently about too many apartments being proposed in the city, as well as their density, immediately vetoed the approval.
City council member Joseph Goldstein, whose Ward 7 includes the site, then made a motion to override the veto, which needed five votes.
But his colleague Grif Chalfant, who voted for the rezoning, then joined council members Johnny Walker and Andy Walker, who had voted against the application, in voting against overriding the veto.
Developer WC Acquisitions LLC of Atlanta had proposed the five-story luxury apartment building, a six-story parking deck and 6,000 square feet of retail space on 4.7 acres.
Kroger is vacating a 42-year-old building later this year to occupy a new superstore up the street at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill.
William Casaday, the applicant, told council members Wednesday that the site has no future for commercial and retail use. He sought a change from a commercial zoning category to mixed use, and noted a glut of supermarkets and low demand for retail.
He said the mixed-use development would generate a third of the traffic of the Kroger, and that it would luxury units with numerous amenities, with rents starting at $1,800 a month.
Patti Rice, of the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance, urged approval, saying the development “has the potential to set a very high bar and to positively influence the quality of future development” in the area.
She said she feared that if the development wasn’t approved, the site “could be a blight and detrimental to the surrounding community.”
Don Barth of the nearby Cloverdale Heights neighborhood in the city of Marietta, said he shops often in the Powers Ferry corridor and the apartment building would be an asset.
“A lot of professionals are living in apartments for a reason,” he said. “It’s not something bad. What would be bad would be to let this property go to blight.
“We want to attract professionals to this area. This is the gateway going into East Cobb.”
But the council didn’t discuss the case before the vote.
Later in the meeting, the council approved a six-month moratorium on apartment building, with only Goldstein opposed.
The freeze does not apply to the Powers Ferry application and others that have been filed.
That includes a proposed mixed-use development including apartments at the former site of Harry’s Farmers Market at Roswell Road and Powers Ferry Road.
Apartments also have been proposed near the Marietta Square on land that doesn’t need rezoning and that is opposed by Tumlin, but must be approved by a city historic review board.
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Ever since he was a teenager, John Cristadoro has tried his hand at any number of activities and jobs.
He’s been a veterinarian technician, clerked in a law firm, took acting classes (appearing briefly on the soap opera “General Hospital”), worked as a personal trainer and began his current career in media sales, initially booking advertising sponsorships on Los Angeles Dodgers’ radio games when he lived in California.
He moved to Atlanta more than a decade ago for a radio sales position, then started his own media agency, Alliance Activation, with present clients including Heineken and Baccardi.
Another client, prominent Cobb business leader John Loud, urged Cristadoro to think about doing something entirely different: running for political office.
John Loud
Specifically, he was being asked to consider a campaign for the Cobb Board of Education.
The 45-year-old Cristadoro moved to East Cobb a dozen years ago, where he and his wife are raising their two children, a son at Dodgen Middle School and a daughter at Walton High School.
Between entrepreneurial life (he’s also involved with two other small businesses) and being a coach for Walton youth sports teams, Cristadoro admits he has a rather full plate.
The son of an Army veteran who graduated from Gilmer County High School in north Georgia, Cristadoro earned a political science degree from the University of New Orleans.
He also served in the U.S. Air Force before settling into a business career.
In a recent interview with East Cobb News, the 45-year-old Louisiana native was also bothered by what he was seeing on the Cobb school board in recent years.
Partisan bickering on racial and equity issues and the Cobb County School District’s response to COVID-19 prompted a special accreditation review that was later withdrawn last spring.
Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the board, and three of the GOP members, including Post 5 incumbent David Banks, are up for re-election in 2024.
Banks, who’s been a controversial figure, told East Cobb News last week that he’s undecided about seeking a fifth term. Laura Judge, a Democratic activist, has filed a declaration of intent form for the Post 5 seat, and said she will announce he decision in several weeks.
Cristadoro said that in recent months, “people came to me and said, ‘John, you need to run.’ ”
One of them was Loud, owner of Loud Security Systems, and a former chairman of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
“He said this school board [elections] are very big,” Cristadoro said, referending Loud, whom he said is a big fan of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. “They’ve been on the firing line the last couple years.”
After listening to a number of community and school leaders, including meeting with Republican school board members David Chastain and Randy Scamihorn, Cristadoro announced his candidacy earlier this month in the GOP for the seat in Post 5, which includes the Walton, Wheeler and Pope high school clusters.
“I committed mentally and spoke with people and asked for a lot of support,” Cristadoro said. “I’m not a halfway kind of guy. You’ve got to be passionate to do this.
“What made me move to Cobb County? It wasn’t my company [which is based in the city of Atlanta]. It was the schools. I want to work to protect that.”
He said he’s attempted to talk to Banks, but hasn’t made contact.
“I’m not running against him,” Cristadoro said. “I’m running for the school board.”
Cristadoro said that after giving a campaign “a lot of thought,” what’s prompting him now is a desire to “make sure our classrooms remain excellent.”
Here’s his campaign website. He also has formed a steering committee led by Loud, former Cobb school board member Scott Sweeney, the current chairman of the state education board and various East Cobb civic and community leaders.
The new Post 5 territory (in purple) includes the Walton, Wheeler and Pope clusters.
‘Not fire and brimstone’
That a political novice has garnered such support for a seat with a longtime incumbent still in office is a reflection of the heightened interest in the control of the school board.
Democrats hold majorities on the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb legislative delegation.
Cristadoro describes himself as a solid Republican, but “not a fire and brimstone Republican.”
He was upset by the special review by Cognia, the Cobb school district’s accrediting agency, and said it was “totally unnecessary . . . Accreditation should not be a political football.”
He said complaints that led to the review—especially racial and equity claims—haven’t panned out.
“If you look at the quality of outcomes of the schools,” Cristadoro said, “it’s not true.”
Cristadoro also said he supports Ragsdale, saying the superintendent has “done a great job” handling the COVID-19 response.
He said his priorities would be to ensure the physical and mental safety of students, including more resources for those experiencing mental health issues.
Cristadoro has coached youth football and wrestling in the Walton feeder programs.
He also said he would “promote the laser focus of our schools’ leadership and teachers’ instruction of all our children.”
When asked about the teaching of critical race theory—which the Cobb school board voted to ban and which is not included in the Georgia education department’s curriculum standards—Cristadoro said the general state-approved measures “have been very successful. The results have been phenomenal. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Cristadoro also supports the continuing Cobb Education SPLOST sales tax referendum for school construction and maintenance.
He also pledged uphold the Cobb senior tax exemption for homeowners aged 62 and over. Although that can be changed only by the Georgia legislature, “I will not support passing a resolution that would alter that exemption.”
Another priority would be to stress entrepreneurial education for students, especially since not every student is college-bound.
“In East Cobb there’s a big push to go to college, and that’s great,” he said. But he added that “here are negative connotations about not going to college” that he doesn’t think are fair.
But he said regardless of their career paths, students need to be “be introduced into fundamental business concepts which will allow them to compete in the world’s economy.”
‘A father who cares’
Given the high stakes involved in the Post 5 race, Cristadoro acknowledged the need for an early start—the 2024 primaries are next May—to gather political and financial support.
His campaign manager, Audrey Neu, is the Cobb Republican Party’s school liaison, and he said a formal campaign committee is being finalized.
He cited a ballpark fundraising figure of around $85,000—Catherine Pozniak, Chastain’s Democratic opponent in Post 4 in 2022, raised around $60,000.
“I know a lot of people and I don’t believe it’s going to be hard to raise money,” Cristadoro said. “I feel very confident I’m going to get a good response.”
He said he keeps hearing in the community that “it’s time for a change” and acknowledged that if he faced Banks in the Republican primary, “it would be tough but I think we would prevail.”
When asked if some might perceive him to be a “Chamber” candidate or one of the local political establishment, Cristadoro responded by saying “I’m my own person. Do I listen to smart people? Absolutely. But no one’s going to tell me what to do.
“I’m interested in listening to people who don’t look, talk or sound like me.”
Cristadoro said he’s going to run “as if I’m running for president.”
He said he wants to stress the “why” behind his candidacy, saying simply that “I’m a father who cares.”
He said a youth football player he coached sent him a hand-written note thanking him for “always having my back.
“I have their backs,” Cristadoro said, stretching the reference to all students in the Cobb district. “That’s the reason we have to do this.
“This is extremely important. Our kids’ futures depend on it.”
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The Cobb County School District’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget will be presented on Thursday to the Cobb Board of Education, which also will be asked to approve several facilities contracts.
A public budget forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the board room of the CCSD central office (514 Glover St., Marietta), followed by a formal budget presentation at the board’s voting meeting at 7 p.m.
The board will be asked to tentatively adopt the budget, the first step toward formal adoption in May or June.
Budget information is expected to be made available at this link; the current fiscal year 2023 budget of $1.4 billion includes what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale called “historic” raises (between 8.5 and 13.10 percent for non-temporary employees).
He has not publicly offered any budget priorities for the FY 2024 budget, which takes effect July 1.
Last year the board approved the budget unanimously using additional revenues from the Cobb tax digest, which increased by 10 percent in 2022, and by using nearly $30 million in reserve funding.
Last week the Cobb Tax Assessor predicted the county tax digest would go up by 13 percent. The digest is formalized in July.
The largest portion of a Cobb homeowners’ property tax bill (outside the city of Marietta) is for the Cobb school district, which has held at a millage rate of 18.90 mills for more than 15 years.
The school board will meet at 2 p.m. in a work session at which contracts for architectural and engineering design for a number of new construction projects will be presented.
An executive session follows the work session. Agendas for the public meetings can be found by clicking here.
The new construction projects include a $50 million special events facility approved last month. That will be the new location for graduation ceremonies, as well as a number of academic and extracurricular activities.
The board also will ask to approve design contracts for renovations at Blackwell Elementary School ($5.4 million) and Shallowford Falls Elementary School ($4.1 million) and for the district to hire a construction manager for the replacement classroom building project at Sprayberry High School.
A construction contract for a pedestrian bridge linking the Walton High School campus to the school’s new athletic complex also is on the agenda.
The cost for the bridge is $1 million. The tennis courts have been completed at the new facility, while a baseball field will be under construction soon. The complex, with a cost of $6.7 million, is expected to be completed in December.
At the Thursday evening board meeting, the recognitions include state champion wrestlers from Lassiter, Pope and Sprayberry high schools and state champion basketball team from Kell and Wheeler.
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The following food scores for the week of April 17 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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A motorcyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries Monday when the motorcycle he was riding on Roswell Road in East Cobb crashed with a car, according to Cobb Police.
Police said Felix Witt, 23, was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital after the crash, which occurred at 6:10 p.m. Monday at Roswell Road and Willeo Rill Road.
Police said that Witt was traveling westbound on Roswell Road on a a black 2022 KTR 390 when it crashed into the rear of a white 2017 Mazda CX5, which was heading eastbound on Roswell.
According to police, the Mazda, driven by Sandra Craine, 76, was attempting a U-turn at the intersection when the crash took place.
Craine was not injured, according to police, who are continuing to investigate the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cobb County Police STEP unit at 770-499-3987.
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This week, Cobb Library staff and volunteers are getting ready for out huge Spring Book Sale this coming up weekend on April 14 to 16 at Cobb Civic Center located at 548 South Marietta Pkwy SE, Marietta, GA 30060.
Hours for the sale are Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Don’t forget to bring comfy shoes, something to carry materials out because you know you are not just buying one book, & some cash (just in case)!
We accept cash, checks, and credit accepted. All profits from this book sale go directly to buying more items for Cobb County Public Library’s 15 branches and bookmobile. Find a price list here.
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District 2 Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson will hold a town hall meeting next week to reveal her 2023 priorities.
The town hall takes place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 20 at the Boy Scouts of America (1800 Circle 75 Pkwy, Atlanta), followed by a networking event at 7:30 p.m.
The networking features members of Richardson’s community cabinet, citizens who are chosen to advise on various topics, including infrastructure, housing and zoning, transportation, courts, education, public safety, seniors and more.
Richardson held a “priorities tour” earlier this year to gather public feedback on topics to emphasize in the current year.
It’s her first town hall since the county became embroiled in legal action over its home rule challenge to commission redistricting that has directly affected her.
The Georgia legislature approved maps last year that would draw her out of her home in District 2 in the middle of her term and moving most of East Cobb into District 3.
She and the two other Democrats on the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted in October to submit maps to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office that would make few changes to the previous District 2 lines, which included some of East Cobb and the Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings area.
The board’s two Republicans have publicly objected at every meeting this year. One of them, District 1 commissioner Keli Gambrill, has filed two lawsuits against the county, saying that the home rule challenge is unconstitutional and that only the legislature can conduct reapportionment.
East Cobb resident Debbie Fisher filed an ethics complaint against Richardson in February, alleging she was engaging in a conflict of interest after setting up a non-profit to advocate against the legislature’s redistricting maps. But the Cobb Board of Ethics dismissed the complaint.
Since she took office in 2021, Richardson has sought public input on priorities in the first quarter (2021, 2022).
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The Music Studio Atlanta, which opened an East Cobb location last fall, has been named a finalist for 2023 small business of the year by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
The Music Studio Atlanta, based in Vinings, offers a wide range of musical instruction to children and adults.
The East Cobb studio is located at the Pavilions of East Lake shopping center on Roswell Road.
Another finalist for small business of the year is Manay CPA, with offices located on Shallowford Road near Lassiter High School, with a clientele of small businesses, startups and businesses and growth companies.
The Chamber names 25 businesses around the county each year as its top small businesses, and will announce the overall winner in May.
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The addresses include ZIP Codes; subdivision names and high school attendance zones are in parenthesis:
March 20
1732 Jody Drive, 30066 (Shallowford Oaks, Kell): Gina Mallica to Alan and Karen Peck; $420,000
3471 Winfair Place, 30062 (Woodbine, Lassiter): The Lisa Diane DeBeouf Living Revocable Trust to Gloria Ammerman; $360,000
918 Blackwell Court, 30066 (Blackwell Road, Sprayberry): Michael Flowers to Helen Adeyinka Adeosun; $393,900
3609 Sawmill Terrace, 30062 (Hickory Bluff, Pope): Opendoor Property Trust to Levy Walker; $360,000
152 Kendrick Farm Lane, 30066 (The Village at Kendrick Farm, Sprayberry): Estate of Fredia Faye Rollins to Amy Bennett; $417,500
2385 Chelsea Landing Way, 30062 (Chelsea Landing, Pope): John Ward to Andrew and Blair Bekker; $1.25 million
1253 Noble Lane, 30062 (Navkar Estates, Walton): Navkar Builders LLC to Shahid and Ambreen Valiani; $1.4 million
780 Fox Hollow Parkway, 30068 (Fox Hollow, Walton): Richard Lewenthal to Blake and Pamela Herness; $720,000
March 21
865 Cauthen Court, 30066 (Windcrest, Kell): VM Master Issuer LLC to Valdir Rocha; $350,000
3409 Woodrun Trail, 30062 (Country Woods, Lassiter): Mark Edward Scott to Jenna and Alisia Lyles; $435,000
2660 Nicholas Court, 30062 (Crystal Downs, Sprayberry): Samuel May to Samuel May and Shannon Markley; $420,000
2845 Clearbrook Drive, 30068 (Country Place East, Wheeler): Albright Enterprises Associates to Madison Lachance; $330,000
4980 Post Oak Drive, 30062 (Christophers Corner, Sprayberry): Restoration Homes Fund LLC to Smart House Development LLC; $270,000
March 22
3343 River Birch Way, 30075 (Chimney Lakes, Lassiter): Jonathan Rice to Jonathan Neff and Haley Kendrick; $650,000
3326 Chastain Ridge Drive, 30066 (Chastain Ridge, Sprayberry): Debika Ray to Ashim Ray; $400,000
563 Kurtz Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): LK Realty & Development LLC to Narvel Anselmo and Magaly Delgado; $385,000
March 23
4824 Wigley Road, 30066 (Edgewood East, Lassiter): Toll Southeast LP Company to Radhakrishna Daita and Srividya Sistla; $981,620
4529 Reva Court, 30066 (Stockton Place, Lassiter): Sherri Vo and Matthew Alban to Opendoor Property Trust; $402,300
2471 Brewer Way, 30066 (Coventry, Lassiter): Sarah and David Haskin to Vivek and Ranu Sai; $870,000
4040 Indian Town Road, 30066 (Lassiter): Mary Shields to Sarah and David Haskin; $1.2 million
2293 Carousel Court, 30066 (Vandiver, Sprayberry): Opendoor Property Trust to Benjamin Krause and Victoria Rice; $374,000
1491 Wood Thrush Way, 30062 (Chestnut Springs, Walton): Joshua Zickefoose to Kristin and Christopher Sauchak; $688,000
March 24
2858 Treeside Terrace, 30066 (Edgewood East, LassiteR): Toll Southeast LP Company to Sherri Vo and Matthew Alban; $1.124 million
4842 Willow Creek Drive, 30066 (Willow Creek, Kell): Maplewood Property Group LLC to Michael Haines; $485,000
2643 Forest Way, 30066 (Forest Chase, Lassiter): Eric McCracken to Opendoor Property Trust; $313,2000
4575 South Landing Drive, 30066 (North Landing, Kell): Opendoor Property Trust to Terrence and Mary Jo Bastuba; $346,500
1738 Christie Drive, 30066 (Shallowford Oaks, Kell): Luis Garcia-Pimentel to Lizyane Lopes and Dimas De Barros; $470,000
2231 Goodrum Lane, 30066 (Sprayberry): Kevin Villanueva to Jorge Alvarado; $410,000
716 Alberta Drive, 30066 (West Oak, Sprayberry): Irrevocable Trust for Angela Lynn Phillips Pannell and Craig Arnold Phillips to Jerioth and Hannah Robi; $375,000
2525 Monterey Drive, 30068 (Bannock Estates, Wheeler): Tracy Yates to Amber Godfrey and Andrew Hayes; $550,000
1638 Wildwood Road, 30068 (Briarwood Hills, Wheeler): The Estate of Eileen Udelman to Udelman Revocable Family Living Trust; $70,000
2893 Gant Quarters Circle, 30068 (Gant Quarters, Wheeler): Janice Taylor to Thomas and Rachel Carroll; $496,000
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Saturday was to have been the 14th annual Northeast Cobb Community Egg Drop, but rain has forced a postponement.
The event has been. moved back a week, to next Saturday, April 15, at the same venue—Sprayberry High School football field (2525 Sandy Plains Road—and the same time, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The preliminary forecast for that day is much better—sunny and highs around 80.
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A political activist who lives in the Walton High School area has filed declaration of intent paperwork to run for a seat on the Cobb Board of Education in 2024.
Laura Tucker Judge filed the declaration with the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on March 28 as a Democrat seeking the Post 5 seat.
East Cobb businessman and youth sports coach John Cristadoro announced his candidacy last week at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast, and he’s lined up a number of prominent civic and business leaders to support him.
Judge is a leader of Watching the Funds-Cobb, a citizen-based group that has been critical of Cobb County School District financial and spending priorities, and is the education chair for Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s District 2 citizens cabinet.
Judge also is the co-elections lead in Georgia for Moms Demand Action, which lobbies to prevent and reduce gun violence, and has spoken frequently at Cobb school board public comment periods, in particular about school safety.
She and her husband run a digital content marketing company and have two children.
In response to a message for comment from East Cobb News, Judge said she will be formally announcing her decision “in the next few weeks.”
“I have been clear previously as an engaged parent and community member that our school board should answer to us as the stakeholders,” Judge said. “Parents, students, and teachers deserve to be engaged with our school board and their voices should be heard.
“While our East Cobb schools are some of the best in not only the county, but the state and nation, community members still have questions regarding financial decisions, literacy concerns, school safety, and discipline issues. Our current board member has not answered those concerns of the community to my knowledge.”
A declaration of intent to run does not obligate a candidate to launch a formal campaign but is an initial step to set up campaign committees for fundraising and other exploratory purposes.
Cristadoro told East Cobb News earlier this week his campaign organization is finalizing paperwork for the same purpose, but as of Friday that had not been filed.
The 2024 primaries will be held next May.
Banks said he expects several other candidates to get in the race but didn’t elaborate on who they might be.
Post 5 was redrawn by the Georgia legislature last year to include the Walton, Wheeler and most of the Pope attendance zones, after previously comprising the Pope and Lassiter areas.
The Walton and Wheeler zones had been in Post 6, which was shifted to include the Smryrna-Vinings-Cumberland area, and which has been in Democratic hands since 2019.
Banks is part of 4-3 Republican majority on the school board. Three of those GOP seats will be on the ballot in 2024.
Banks has been a controversial figure, primarily about immigration, racial issues and COVID-19. Most recently, he sparked outrage about comments he made about Roman Catholicism.
In 2020, he had primary opposition and won without a runoff but won the general election by only 2,639 votes, his closest margin of victory.
Watching the Funds-Cobb posted the East Cobb News story about Banks on its Facebook page on Thursday, noting derogatory comments he made about Democratic board members:
“Whatever our children need and our educators deserve, it’s not a board member who continues to show us he’s got no intention of working with the Democratic board members… or representing all taxpayers and students.
“We hope the next candidates, on either side, agree with us…this attitude is out of date and out of touch with who we are and what Cobb stands for.”
Judge left a comment saying “I can’t wait to see what candidates announce over the next few months.”
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Cafe Rivkah owner Vicky Savrin, left, and her Lebanese-born chef, Nina Tarabay.
As she built up a loyal clientele selling homemade artisanal baked goods at the Marietta Farmers Market, Vicky Savrin said some of her customers wanted to know where they could come and dine on her food.
“The response was really amazing,” she said, “but I said I have no other location.”
A former software developer who began baking as a hobby and turned it into a catering business, Savrin found her space in an East Cobb retail center that finally opened in March.
It’s called Cafe Rivkah, in the Pavilions at East Lake (2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2014). It occupies the former El Rincon space, and serves breakfast and lunch six days a week (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
The name comes from the Hebrew verb rabak, which means to mix or stir.
Savrin, a native of the Philippines who converted to Judaism for her husband, Philip Savrin, features a menu emphasizing Mediterranean and European dishes, as well as coffees and teas.
While there’s sit-down service at tables and booths, customers can also order online or by phone (678-402-5809) for takeaway.
The aim of her first restaurant business is to evoke a truly local feel in an East Cobb area that’s flush with breakfast and lunch spots, most of them regional and national chains.
“We don’t want to be big, big, big,” Savrin said. “We want to be a neighborhood place, a part of the community.”
She and her family live in Vinings, but attend Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb.
On the menu are breakfast and lunch bagel options, a chicken schnitzel sandwich, and an Israeli breakfast favorite, shakshuka, a dish of poached eggs on top of tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion.
Cafe Rivkah also offers salads, small plates, oats and avocado and egg toast (check the menus on the cafe’s Facebook page).
Savrin, who moved to the United States 26 years ago, learned the fundamentals of cooking from her grandmother, and her expanding tastes were influenced while serving as a missionary in India, Brazil and other countries.
Baking her own bread—including challah for French toast, croissants, doughnuts and puff pastries—is at the heart of everything she does.
“I’m mostly a baker,” she says.
But the idea of opening a cafe came from the observation that “I have a better chance of selling if I have more things to offer.”
The doughnut line is novel, and expansive. Flavors include pistachio, caramel popcorn, strawberry cheesecake and more.
Chef Nina Tarabay, who hails from Lebanon, runs the kitchen, and Savrin’s husband helps her on the business end.
“It’s a hard business,” she said. “But I have a very supportive husband.”
The catering business is growing as Savrin builds up the cafe.
Cafe Rivkah caters two meals a day for 120 children at a child development center in Druid Hills, empasizing the homemade freshness of the bread, and healthy meals that include fruits.
She’s also catering a Sunday Easter reception at nearby St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church.
Cafe Rivkah also has signed up to be a vendor at the Taste of East Cobb food festival in May.
“What I really want is for us to find the right flavor, the right combination for this community,” she said.
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Home listed recently in Chadds Lake with 55 showings the first weekend.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a sponsored post from Sheri Hardy of Harry Norman Realtors, who explains the local real estate market, including current trends and conditions for those interested in selling their homes. The content below reflects her views and not necessarily those of East Cobb News.
By Sheri Hardy
East Cobb has always been one of the most sought out areas to buy a home in metro Atlanta because of the area’s top schools and low taxes. Traditionally, spring is the time of year when a large number of homes are listed for sale, giving buyers more options as they search for their next home.
That is not the case this year in East Cobb as home inventory is extremely low across all price points which creates a surplus of buyers, including a large population of people relocating to Atlanta through their employers. The imbalance of supply and demand puts additional pressure on the already limited inventory and results in multiple offers with aggressive terms such as temporary occupancy for sellers after closing, agreements not to ask for repairs and waiver of appraisal contingencies.
This translates to a fantastic time for sellers but also a stressful one as they wrestle with decisions related to their next move.
That’s where Sheri Hardy, local East Cobb resident and experienced Realtor®️ with Harry Norman, REALTORS®️ can help. As a specialist in the East Cobb real estate market, she knows exactly what it takes to get your home sold quickly and for the best possible price.
Leveraging her corporate marketing background, she will work with you to develop a customized marketing plan for you that highlights your home’s unique features and attracts qualified buyers, often before the home hits the market.
Whether you are considering selling your home, want to the know your home’s value, or would like input on home updates that will translate to a higher sales price in the future, give Sheri a call.
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We mentioned in a previous post that the Friends for the East Cobb Park volunteer group that presents special events at the park was working on a new entertainment feature, showing family-friendly movies a few times a year.
What’s being called “Movies in the Park” debuts next Friday, April 14, with the showing of Tom Hanks’ rendering of Fred Rogers in “It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”
The film starts at 8 p.m. and like the Music in the Park concerts is free to the public. You can bring food, chairs and blankets.
The presenting sponsor is the Rotary Club of East Cobb, which is adding to an expansive list of community activities.
The Rotary Club holds a Dog Day Run in August that raises more than $100,000 for local charities, and is involved in the Wheeler High School AVID program.
More recently, the Rotary Club agreed to become a charter sponsor of a Boy Scout troop at Mt. Bethel Church, which dropped that status due to insurance issues.
The Rotary Club also sponsors a first responders lunch and organized a forum in 2022 for the East Cobb Cityhood referendum.
Another Movies in the Park event is tentatively slated for the fall.
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Drew’s Plant Sale will take place April 15 at The Gardens at Kennesaw Mountain and April 22 and Jenkins Park in the Fox Hills subdivision of East Cobb.
A month full of plant sales in the East Cobb area is starting off with a schedule change for this weekend.
Last fall we profiled East Cobb teen Drew Collins, who holds a plant sale twice a year with nearly 200 varieties of plants he grows in his own nursery, and as a budding small business.
What he calls “Drew’s Plant Sale” (also an East Cobb News sponsor) was to have had its first spring sales event of the season this Friday and Saturday at The Gardens at Kennesaw M0untain outdoor event facility.
But a wet forecast is in store for this Easter Weekend, and his father David Collins sent out a notice Wednesday that the sale has been postponed by a week.
The sale will take place at The Gardens at Kennesaw Mountain (1127 White Circle NW, Marietta) next Saturday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The following Saturday, April 22, the sale will take place in his Fox Hills neighborhood, at Jenkins Park (3778 Fox Hills Drive), also from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
David Collins said there will still be around 250 varietals for sale at both locations (full list here).
The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County are preparing for their 23rd annual spring plant sale and expo April 21-22 at Jim Miller Park (2245 Callaway Road SW, Marietta).
This one will be held rain or shine, and will take place under the equestrian arena roof at the park. More than 80 vendors will be featured (full list here), and there will be garden art and supplies, crafts, jewelry and food items.
The Master Gardeners also will be focusing their spring home garden tour on May 20 with five venues in East Cobb (info here), and which we will be featuring in more detail soon.
At the end of April, the North Fulton Master Gardeners Inc. will have their own spring plant sale. It’s the 22nd annual Garden Faire on April 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Grove at Wills Park in Alpharetta (175 Roswell St.).
In addition to hundreds of plants for sale, the event will include a vendor’s market, children’s corner, and a “vintage fleatique” of home treasures.
The North Fulton Master Gardeners also are conducting a spring gardening lecture series.
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Days after a first-time candidate announced for the Cobb Board of Education seat he has held for nearly 15 years, Post 5 incumbent David Banks said Wednesday he’s undecided about seeking a fifth term next year.
Banks, a Republican first elected to the East Cobb-based seat in 2008, told East Cobb News in an interview that “I haven’t made up my mind.”
He said age and health are among the factors, but that “it will probably be a while before I decide.”
A retired technology executive, Banks, 82, said that “if I had my preference I would go for the 20 years. But I’m at an age where I’ve got to consider what’s best for me and the county.”
John Cristadoro, a 45-year-old media entrepreneur and father and youth sports coach in the Walton High School attendance zone, announced his candidacy last week for the GOP primary, which will be held in May 2024.
Post 5 was redrawn by the Georgia legislature last year to include the Walton, Wheeler and most of the Pope attendance zones, after previously comprising the Pope and Lassiter areas.
Cristadoro said in an interview with East Cobb News that he has tried to contact Banks, but to no avail. The latter was in attendance at a Cobb Republican Party breakfast Saturday where Cristadoro made his official announcement, but they did not speak.
“I’m not running against him,” Cristadoro said. “I’m running for the school board.”
Banks has been a controversial figure, primarily about immigration, racial issues and COVID-19. Most recently, he sparked outrage about comments he made about Roman Catholicism.
The current board vice chairman, Banks fended off two primary opponents in 2020 without a runoff whom he said “were a flash in the pan.”
But Banks won the general election over a first-time Democratic candidate with his slimmest margin, by only 2,639 votes.
He said he doesn’t know much about Cristadoro, who has lined up a list of prominent names to serve on his steering committee, including former school board member Scott Sweeney of East Cobb, now the chairman of the state board of education.
Banks said from what he’s heard about Cristadoro, “he doesn’t seem to be focused on students” but has more of a management focus.
And he said that as for some those supporters behind Cristadoro, “the general public doesn’t know who they are. My name recognition—I don’t think that’s a problem.”
In an interview with East Cobb News Wednesday, Cristadoro said his primary issues are student safety and security and ensuring classroom success for students (a separate post from that interview will be published soon).
Banks said he thinks the Cobb County School District “has a great focus on student success. But if [Cristadoro] can get rid of the three Democrats [on the school board] there won’t be a problem.”
Republicans hold a 4-3 edge on the school board, and three GOP-held seats will be up next year. Partisan squabbles have occurred frequently over the last four years on hot-button racial issues, as well as the Cobb school district’s COVID-19 response and support for Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.
Banks clashed with Jaha Howard and Charisse Davis, Democrats who did not seek re-election last year after serving a single term, and said “they had an agenda. It was racism.”
They were succeeded by Democrats Becky Sayler and Nichelle Davis in Smyrna and South Cobb-area posts in January, and Banks said “it’s more civil now” on the school board.
Banks said the Cobb school district is in stronger shape after making “an extra special effort” to raise teacher salaries.
He also cited ongoing facility improvements in hist post, including a new sports complex at Walton and a replacement campus for Eastvalley Elementary School, as well as recent approval of a new special events facility for the district that will be used for graduation in particular.
Banks said he’ll likely decide whether to run again in a few months, and expects several other candidates to join the race.
“I don’t feel as young as I used to be,” he said. “But as long as my mind doesn’t go away, I think I’ll be okay.”
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Some construction equipment has been brought to the future site of East Cobb Church along Johnson Ferry Road, near its intersection with Shallowford Road.
More than year and a half after getting rezoning from the Cobb Board of Commissioners, the latest North Point Ministries congregation received a land disturbance permit from the county.
Rev. Jamey Dickens, the senior pastor of East Cobb Church, said in a recent interview with East Cobb News that the plans for the church haven’t changed.
What’s to get underway in the coming months is a 125,000-square-foot building and parking lot for the church—which has been meeting at Eastside Baptist Church.
He was hopeful a year ago that the work could have begun by the end of 2022, but there were delays in getting the building permit and other issues, and he’s continuing to preach patience.
“It’s going to be a long process,” Dickens said, estimating that the initial phase could take up to six months before ground is broken on the church facility.
What’s happening now is a dam reconstruction—part of the land North Point sold to a residential developer has been deemed to be in a flood plain that was formerly a lake—and relocation of a portion of Waterfront Drive, which will be the main access point for the homes.
The rezoning approval allowed for 44 townhomes and 51 detached homes on 20 acres, to be built by Ashwood Atlanta.
But the flood plain declaration by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Administration reduced the number of residential units by 22 to meet agreed-upon density levels.
That was the point of contention during the rezoning process from nearby residents.
Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson appointed a citizens’ committee to work with the county during site plan review after approval.
One of those members, Rachel Bruce, who was opposed to the density of the homes, said communications are continuing over such things as landscaping along the church’s greenspace area and reducing the percentage of impervious surfaces for the residential area.
She provided East Cobb News with a copy of proposed concept for a cul-de-sac to address the latter (above).
Ashwood Atlanta has revised the plans dramatically, knocking out all the townhouses and drawing up a new site plan (below) for 77 single-family detached homes.
The developer is seeking a variance to increase the percentage of impervious surfaces above the 40 percent threshold requested by the citizens’ committee.
A request to allow for 45 percent impervious surfaces will be considered by Cobb commissioners at their zoning hearing on April 18.
“While it may not be possible to get to the 40% . . . we would like to see an effort to get closer,” committee member Ruth Michels wrote in late March to Kevin Moore, a zoning attorney who will be presenting a change to the impervious surface stipulation at that meeting.
“The creek does feed into a dam on this property which feeds into a floodway under Johnson Ferry Road, so we hope to continue working with them to find a solution that keeps the impervious surfaces to a minimum while maintaining the detached single family home structure of the proposed community,” Bruce said in response to a message from East Cobb News.
Ashwood Atlanta submitted a new site plan for 77 single-family detached homes in March. For a larger view click here.
Although North Point is not involved in the residential construction, Dickens admitted that “there were a lot of parties involved and there was a lot of super complex stuff” to consider, both before and after the rezoning.
He said once church construction begins later this year, he’s hopeful it will be completed in 18 months, and no more than two years for East Cobb Church to begin occupancy.
Dickens said the congregation, which has around 600 “active families,” feels blessed to have “such a great relationship” with Eastside Baptist.
Afternoon services will continue to take place there, and East Cobb Church will continue to follow its motto of “loving where we live” with involvement in various community activities.
“For a lot of people, it’s not ideal,” he said of the current worshipping situation, but taking more serious steps to begin construction is “wind in our sails.
“The thing we love to do the best, we can do that from anywhere,” Dickens said. “It’s not stopping us from doing our core ministries.”
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