Richardson to reveal 2023 priorities at town hall meeting

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District 2 Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson will hold a town hall meeting next week to reveal her 2023 priorities.Top East Cobb 2022 stories elections redistricting controversies

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).

You can register for the town hall by clicking here.

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East Cobb businesses named Chamber small business finalists

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The Music Studio Atlanta East Cobb

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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East Cobb residential real estate sales, March 20-24, 2023

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Chastain Ridge, East Cobb home sales
Chastain Ridge

The following deeds for residential East Cobb real estate sales were filed March 20-24, 2023 with the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s Office Real Estate Department.

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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Northeast Cobb Community Egg Drop postponed due to rain

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Northeast Cobb Community Egg Drop postponed

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.

More details from our calendar listing can be found here.

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East Cobb activist declares intent to run for school board

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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 Judge, Cobb school board candidate

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.

That’s currently held by Republican four-term member David Banks, who told East Cobb News this week he’s undecided about seeking re-election.

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.”

Cafe Rivkah opens in East Cobb with Mediterranean flair

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Cafe Rivkah opens in East Cobb
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.

Cafe Rivkah opens in East Cobb

Cafe Rivkah opens in East Cobb

Cafe Rivkah opens in East Cobb

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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SPONSORED: Sheri Hardy, your East Cobb real estate expert

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East Cobb real estate expert Sheri Hardy
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.Sheri Hardy, East Cobb real estate expert

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.

Read what others are saying about working with Sheri on Zillow, on LinkedIn, or on Google Business.

Sheri Hardy | Your Marketing Expert in Real Estate | 404-368-4888

Eastcobbexpert.com

 

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Rotary Club of East Cobb to sponsor ‘Movies in the Park’

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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.Movies in the Park debuts

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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As April arrives, plant sales abound in and around East Cobb

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spring plant sales East Cobb
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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Let East Cobb News know what your organization is doing, or share news about what people are doing in the community—accomplishments, recognitions, milestones, etc.

Pass along your details to: editor@eastcobbnews.com, and please observe the following guidelines to ensure we get everything properly and can post it promptly.

Send the body of your announcement, calendar item or news release IN TEXT FORM ONLY in the text field of your e-mail template. Reformatting text from PDF, JPG and doc files takes us longer to prepare your message for publication.

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Banks undecided on seeking re-election to Cobb school board

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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 undecided seeking re-election Cobb school board

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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East Cobb Church, ‘JOSH’ development begin to take shape

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East Cobb Church construction gets underway

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.

East Cobb Church construction takes shape
For a larger view click here.

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 site plan 3.14.23
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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Post Oak Tritt subdivision proposal delayed at first hearing

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Post Oak Tritt zoning case delayed
The 14 acres owned by Kenneth B. Clary at Post Oak Tritt and McPherson roads (inside the blue lines) is located just east of Tritt Elementary School.

The Cobb Planning Commission is holding a zoning application for a subdivision on Post Oak Tritt Road in East Cobb after its initial hearing Tuesday.

The vote was 3-0, with two members absent, to wait until May to consider a proposal by representatives of Kenneth B. Clary to convert 13.38 acres near McPherson Road from low-density residential (R-30) to medium-density residential (R-15) after opponents took issue with stormwater and other issues.

Joel Larkin, an attorney representing Clary—a longtime landowner in the area whose other properties have been developed into residential communities, including adjacent Clary Lakes—said his client was amenable to a Cobb zoning staff recommendation to delete the proposed zoning category from R-15 to R-20.

That would reduce the number of proposed homes from 20 to 15, but Larkin said a new site plan has not been submitted (agenda file here).

That prompted opposition from the East Cobb Civic Association, whose president, Richard Grome, also cited the issue of a historical 19th century cabin and a family cemetery on the property.

Larkin said the Power-Jackson Cabin, which dates to the 1840s, is not “habitable” and suggested that historic preservation advocates could relocate it.

He said he is not aware of a cemetery on the land, but said his client would abide by staff recommendations to protect it from development.

Opponents also are concerned about flooding and the state of two dams protecting Clary Lakes, two lakes that border the norther part of the tract.

Citizens from the Clary Lakes, Hadley Walk and East Spring Lake subdivisions expressed concerns about those issues, and like Grome, said they weren’t being updated by the applicant about the changing plans.

The application was first filed last August, but has been continued ever since then.

Planning Commission member David Anderson of East Cobb made the motion to delay the request, citing a lack of information, including outdated zoning sign notices fronting the property that are more than two months old.

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Paper Mill Village Starbucks plans reduced to one-story building

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Paper Mill Village Starbucks plans reduced

Several months after a two-story standalone Starbucks at Paper Mill Village was proposed, the attorney for the developer has submitted dramatically different plans.

Garvis Sams submitted a new site plan, renderings and stipulations on March 23, then asked last week for yet another continuance for the case to be heard in May.

The request by S & B Investments to rezone 0.73 acres for neighborhood retail commercial (NRC) initially called for a two-story, 5,000-square foot building to replace the structure at 31 Johnson Ferry Road, where a smaller Starbucks is located.

In the new plans, Sams is proposing just one story with 2,500 square feet and 25 parking spaces, the latter meeting county ordinance requirements.

That wasn’t the case with the original application, first submitted last August, when Cobb zoning staff determined proposed parking was insufficient.

The revised site plan calls for in-and-out access to the Starbucks from behind the building on Village Parkway, and a single-lane drivethru.

Sams submitted a notice for another continuance on Wednesday, the deadline for it to be delayed automatically.

The item was to have been on the agenda for Tuesday’s Cobb Planning Commission meeting.

“My client and I have been in the process of ongoing negotiations, which are proving to be fruitful and productive, but we need a little more time to finalize our agreements,” Sams wrote in his letter for a continuance.

The new stipulations call for the building to be traditional brick on all four sides, with the Starbucks to be open from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. seven days a week.

The Planning Commission will hear a long-delayed request for a subdivision off Post Oak Tritt Road on 13.38 acres.

Undeveloped land owned by Kenneth B. Clary near McPherson Road includes an historic 1840s cabin that would likely be demolished, although the Cobb Landmarks non-profit has been working to preserve it.

The Cobb Zoning Office is recommending that the proposed R-15 category for 20 homes be deleted to R-20 for 15 homes (you can read the agenda file here). The land is currently zoned R-30, which allows a maximum of 10 homes.

The Cobb Planning Commission hearing begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta), you can view the full agenda and individual case files by clicking here.

You also can watch on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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Cobb tax digest for 2023 projected to grow by 13 percent

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Cobb tax digest 2023 projection
Sales for new homes in the Walton Creek subdivision in East Cobb start at $1 million. 

Cobb Tax Assessor Stephen White said the county’s tax digest is expected to grow in 2023 by more than it did in 2022 in a record year as real estate prices continue to skyrocket.

In Cobb TV interview Friday with county communications director Ross Cavitt (you can watch it below), White said the combined residential and commercial tax digest is expected to grow by 13 percent.

The tax digest is the overall value of property—real and personal property, motor vehicles and public utilities—adjusted after exemptions and other items.

In 2022, the Cobb digest grew by 12 percent, to nearly $50 billion, mostly due to rising real estate prices that have nearly doubled in the last five years.

In 2021, the Cobb tax digest was $36.1 billion.

In the interview, White showed a graphic (below) illustrating the rise in the average home sale price in Cobb from $289K in 2018 to $453K in 2022.

In that time, the average home sale price in Cobb has gone up by around 50K a year, according to White’s estimates.

He said toward the end of last year, there were some signs that the growth was slowing, but that home prices will continue to go up.

Cobb 2023 tax digest projections

“As we continue to have this desirability . . . especially in Cobb . . .  people want to live here . . . many things that bring people to Cobb continue to work in our favor and continue to make sure that our real estate prices move north.”

Local jurisdictions are required by law to regularly assess properties to maintain fair market values.

Cobb 2023 tax digest projections
For a larger view, click here.

Each year Cobb assessors carve out a fraction of all properties for fresh assessments (see map).

Of the 245K residential properties in the county, White said, 175K last year experienced a change in value. For commercial properties, 10K of the estimated 13K total also had increased values.

“If there’s a separation between the sales price and our values, then it’s time to bring up our values to the sales price,” White said.

Those rising values prompted some Cobb citizens to object last summer to the fiscal year 2023 county budget. The general fund millage rate stayed the same, while the fire fund budget went up.

The growth in the tax digest resulted in an additional $60 million for the budget, but some complained that inflation was eating away at household budgets that would grow worse with rising assessments.

White said that appeals for tax assessments are low, about 1-2 percent overall. 

Full tax assessments will go out in May; the final tax digest is issued in July, as Cobb commissioners consider the fiscal year 2024 budget and just after the Cobb school board finalizes its fiscal year 2024 budget, which goes into effect on July 1.

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Credit Union of Georgia holding online Easter basket raffle

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Submitted information:Credit Union Georgia Easter basket raffle

Credit Union of Georgia is hosting an online raffle to raise money for local charities in the community of Northwest Georgia. There are four amazing Easter Baskets for four lucky winners to choose from! The last day to purchase raffle ticket is Thursday, April 6, 2023. The Easter Baskets can be viewed on the Credit Union of Georgia Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CUofGA.

Raffle tickets are just $10 each and can be purchased at https://bit.ly/CUGAEasterRaffle. Website to purchase raffle tickets can also be found on the Credit Union of Georgia Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/CUofGA.

“We love supporting our local charities. We are a community-based Credit Union – and if we aren’t doing something to help better our communities, then we’re not doing enough.” said Brian Albrecht, President/CEO of Credit Union of Georgia. “Help us help our community by purchasing a raffle ticket to win one of our four amazing Easter Baskets we have up for grabs!”

 

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East Cobb residential real estate sales, March 13-17, 2023

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Baldwin Farms, East Cobb real estate sales
Baldwin Farms

The following deeds for residential East Cobb real estate sales were filed March 13-17, 2023 with the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s Office Real Estate Department.

The addresses include ZIP Codes; subdivision names and high school attendance zones are in parenthesis:

March 13

356 Declaire Way, 30067 (Lafayette Square, Walton): William Heinze to Arum Nagarajan; $800,000

5190 Baldwin Terrace, 30068 (Baldwin Farms, Walton): 5190BT LLC to Jiangchuan Wang and Juan Sun; $1.1 million

1068 Mill Run Way, 30068 (Forest Brook, Walton): Paulette Blackwood to Alan Truong and Carol Hsu; $624,000

4898 Arborvitae Court, 30066 (Tanglewood Estates, Lassiter): Davidson Homes LLC to Walter Davis and Gabrielle Parker; $1.547 million

4509 North Landing Drive, 30066 (North Landing, Kell): Robert and Nadia McCarley to Karen Smith; $419,000

2632 Shadow Bluff Drive, 30062 (Shadow Woods, Pope): Purchasing Fund 2020-1 LLC to Michele Buchanan; $384,000

March 14

2271 Turtle Landing, 30066 (Turtle Rock, Lassiter): Henry McNamara to MKC Management LLC; $273,000

2334 Carrington Way, 30067 (Tuxedo Estates, Wheeler): Zachary Rodgers to Franklin Martin; $452,500

504 Wynnes Ridge Circle, 30067 (Wynnes Ridge, Wheeler): Carsen Cain to Grant Thompson; $218,000

1181 Azalea Circle, 30062 (Eastwood Forest, Sprayberry): Kimberlie Jo Dennis to Wayne Scott; $143,393

March 15

808 Riverview Drive, 30068 (Overlook at Riverview, Walton): Thomas Lummis to Carly and Warren Padgett; $236,500

708 Olde Towne Lane, 30068 (Hamptons of Olde Towne, Walton): Gloria Martinez to Edith Joseph; $460,000

1730 Pine Road, 30068 (Tall Pines, Walton): Regina Baumann to Daniel Levinson; $425,000

March 16

3534 Ridge View Court, 30068 (Cross Gate, Wheeler): Estates of Guy Swift and Faye Swift to Pamela Caltabiano: $324,900

4936 Chalden Lane, 30066 (Cooks Valley, Lassiter): Sanaz Rafienia and Garth and Andree Miller; $558,000

March 17

816 Dover Street, 30066 (Knotty Pine, Kell): Margaret Ann Collins to Gregory Nyahay; $310,000

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Sewell Mill Library marks 5th anniversary with historical exhibit

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Sewell Mill Library Historical Exhibit
The Sewell Mill Library historical exhibit will include a rendering of the original Wheeler High School campus from 1964.

The Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year (our story from opening day in late 2017) with a special exhibit of historical photos of the community.

Starting Thursday, April 6 and running through May 13, the center’s art gallery will exhibit scans of historic photos of the Marietta and and East Cobb communities, featured in three large wall collages.

The Cobb County Public Library System said that “drawn from local archives and private collections—including the library!—the images invite you to step back in time and get a sense of the deep roots in Sewell Mill’s neighborhoods.”

Bruce Thompson, the branch manager for the Sewell Mill Library who had a similar position with the former East Marietta Library, provided the photos and had this to say about the exhibit:

“These images will introduce the historic neighborhoods around Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center to newcomers—and to each other. I’ve solicited and scanned photos and newspaper clippings from Kennesaw State University Archives, Marietta History Center, various local places of worship, and Cobb Library’s own wealth of historic images. The exhibit will include familiar scenes and maybe some that are less so, even for long-time residents.”

The exhibit will be open during regular library hours: Monday-Wednesday 10-8, Thursday-Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5.

All Cobb library branches will be closed on Good Friday, April 7, and Easter Sunday, April 9. They will be open Saturday, April 8.

Sewell Mill Library Historical Exhibit

Sewell Mill Library Historical Exhibit

Sewell Mill Library historical exhibit

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Cobb school board Post 5 candidate reveals steering committee

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An update to our story from Monday about Republican John Cristadoro, who’s seeking the Post 5 Cobb Board of Education seat currently held by David Banks and whose term expires in 2024:Cobb school board candidate reveals steering committee

Cristadoro on Friday revealed his steering committee with several prominent individuals, including a former school board member from East Cobb, and officially unveiled his campaign website.

Among those on the steering committee are Scott Sweeney, who represented the East Cobb area for two terms on the school board from Post 6 (Walton and Wheeler attendance zones) and Cindy Cooperman, a leader of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood group.

The committee chairman is John Loud, owner of Loud Security Systems and a former president of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Other committee members include Mitch Rhoden of East Cobb, head of the Futren Corp., which manages the Indian Hills Country Club; Rob Stearns, a longtime media executive and former director of the East Marietta Basketball League; Jonathan Page, a former candidate for the Cobb Board of Commissioners; David Walens, an exhibit and event industry CEO and a trustee of Kennesaw State University; and former Lassiter High School quarterback Eddie Printz.

Cristadoro confirmed to East Cobb News Thursday he will be making a formal announcement of his campaign Saturday at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast.

On his website, Cristadoro said in a video that his campaign theme would be “passion, precision and purpose,” delivered with sports theme.

Involved in the Walton youth football and wrestling programs, he’s seen holding a football and acknowledging his love of sports.

“As your Cobb County school board member, I will be bringing these three elements to the table each and every day,” he said.

“The quality of classroom instruction must always be our number one goal.”

He references that subject as among his top priorities, along with school safety, maintain the Cobb schools senior tax exemption and continuing the Cobb Education SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) and fostering entrepreneurship in educational programs.

Cristadoro is an Army veteran who is president of Alliance Tax Solutions, which helps businesses resolve tax issues. He and his wife Gosia have two children in the Walton attendance zone.

Post 5 was redrawn last year to include the Walton and Wheeler zones, along with the Pope zone. Banks, a Republican who is in his fourth term and is the current school board vice chairman, hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek re-election.

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Ga. Methodist churches sue to restore disaffiliation process

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Ga. Methodist churches sue to restore disaffiliation process
Mountain View UMC of East Cobb said it was denied a disaffiliation vote by the North Georgia Conference in January.

A total of 186 Georgia congregations of the United Methodist Church—including one in East Cobb–have filed a lawsuit seeking the restoration of a disaffiliation process that was halted at the end of 2022.

Mountain View United Methodist Church, located on Jamerson Road, is listed as a plaintiff in the suit, which was filed Thursday in Cobb Superior Court.

Several other Cobb County UMC churches also are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, whose attorneys also have filed a motion for an emergency hearing before Judge Kellie Hill.

The suit alleges that the UMC’s North Georgia Conference, which oversees nearly 900 churches, improperly closed down the disaffiliation process on Dec. 28, 2022, “leaving tens of thousands of Christians begging for the process to get back on track,” according to a release issued with the lawsuit (you can read it here).

Former North Georgia Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson—a central figure in the conference’s dispute with Mt. Bethel Church in East Cobb in 2021 and 2022—is named as a defendant, along with her successor, Robin Dease, the conference board of trustees and several conference district superintendents.

The conference said in December that the disaffiliation process needed to be paused because “many local churches have been misled about the disaffiliation process and have been presented with information about the process, and about The United Methodist Church and its leadership, that is factually incorrect and defamatory.”

Without giving specifics, the conference said that “this information presented to members of local churches about disaffiliation has been outside the bounds of normal and acceptable civil discourse. It has not only been false and misleading but has been antithetical to the concept of a gracious exit or a commitment to honoring the mission and ministry of all Christians.”

In the lawsuit, the suing churches said that the conference is violating the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents by stopping the process, and that the current disaffiliation process will be sunsetting at the end of 2023.

The UMC enacted a disaffiliation process in 2019 for conservative churches to leave the denomination under Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline.

That provision allowed departing churches to keep much of their property and assets.

The UMC has been split for years on a number of theological issues, especially over human sexuality. The nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination does not currently allow for lesbian and gay clergy or same-sex marriages in the current Book of Discipline, but that is expected to change.

A formal protocol was to have been voted on at the UMC General Conference in 2020, but that was cancelled due to COVID-19. The conference has been further delayed to 2024.

“The United Methodist Church website specifically states that when General Conference 2024 meets Paragraph 2553 will not exist and therefore, it is not possible to ‘extend’ a provision that does not exist,” the lawsuit states.

“Further, there is no legislation presently before the General Conference to create a new or similar Paragraph 2553.”

In the release, Pastor John Kenney of The Quest Church, in Grovetown, Ga., one of the plaintiff congregations, said that “churches in North Georgia that want to disaffiliate using the previously approved process are stuck.”

The release also claims that only the North Georgia Conference is preventing formal disaffiliation procedures.

In response to a message from East Cobb News, the North Georgia Conference repeated some of its December explanation for pausing the disaffiliation process, saying that conference leaders “have significant concerns about this misinformation and are well aware that it has the potential to do irreparable harm.”

Dease said that “conference leaders remain committed to handling this matter in a fair, transparent, uniform, and good-faith manner that affirms the one universal church in service to Christ and honors the mission and ministry of all Christians” and that they “are prayerfully exploring the best methods for moving forward and next steps available as set forth in the Book of Discipline.”

Among the churches in limbo is Mountain View UMC of East Cobb, which began a discernment process last fall it calls “The Path Forward.”

Meetings were held to offer members viewpoints for and against disaffiliation. A straw poll in January revealed that nearly 80 percent of voting Mountain View members wanted to leave the UMC.

But the church’s official request for a disaffiliation vote was denied, according to its timeline of events.

At the same time, that timelines states that conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association—of which Mt. Bethel is a leading member—was denied a meeting with Dease, who in January succeeded Haupert-Johnson, now a bishop in Virginia.

The WCA and its new Global Methodist Church denomination began working with the National Center for Life and Liberty, a conservative, Florida-based religious liberty organization, to “to assist North Georgia legal strategies,” according to the Mountain View timeline.

In February, Mountain View agreed to become part of the lawsuit, which includes some 70 churches that were allowed to formally disaffiliate in 2022.

The conference and Mt. Bethel settled their legal disputes last June, with the East Cobb congregation paying $13.1 million to leave the UMC.

Mt. Bethel attorneys said they wanted to have a disaffiliation vote, but the conference rejected that option.

Mt. Bethel is prevented from selling properties on its main campus on Lower Roswell Road for seven and a half years without giving the UMC and the North Georgia Conference the right of first refusal to purchase them.

Mt. Bethel also cannot house a denominational office on its grounds on the main campus for that period of time.

Mt. Bethel formally left the UMC in July 2022 without a vote, and some former disaffected members began a new church, Grace Resurrection Methodist Church.

Neither are affiliated with a denomination.

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Music in the Park concert at East Cobb Park postponed

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East Cobb Park Music in the Park

We got a lot of interest from our story last week about the start of the spring Music in the Park concert series at East Cobb Park.

Sunday was to have been the kickoff event for the four-concert series with the local duo The Woodys, but the Friends for the East Cobb Park said Thursday that’s been called off due to an illness in the group.

“Their performance will be rescheduled to a later date this spring,” the Friends group said in a social media message. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or dashed hopes—we were looking forward to it too!”

The other scheduled concerts are April 16, April 30 and May 21.

The Friends group also will begin a new feature next month called Movies in the Park, in which a family-friendly film is shown on a large screen near the pavilion.

Group president Kurt von Borries tells us they’re still working on finalizing a date for that event, but the film is “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” starring Tom Hanks.

That film series is sponsored by the Rotary Club of East Cobb.

For more details and information about events at East Cobb Park, click the Friends group calendar listings.

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