East Cobb resident reappointed to Cobb Development Authority

Karen Hallacy

Karen Hallacy, an East Cobb resident who’s been active in various civic activities, has been reappointed to serve on the Development Authority of Cobb County.

The authority is a seven-member body appointed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners that approves bond requests and other incentive packages for businesses and corporations.

Hallacy, a former lobbyist for the Cobb County School District who lives in the Walton High School area, has been on the Development Authority since 2013.

She was reappointed to another term by the full Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday in a 4-0 vote, with Chairwoman Lisa Cupid absent. Most recently, Hallacy had been serving as the authority’s secretary/treasurer.

Hallacy hasn’t always supported some of the more high-profile and controversial tax abatement requests that have come before the authority.

Among those she opposed was for the Kroger superstore that’s set to open later this summer at the MarketPlace Terrell Mill on Powers Ferry Road, and she cited setting a precedent for retail businesses.

Hallacy also has been a member of the Cobb Elder Abuse Task Force and is a former president of the Georgia PTA.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners voted $4-0 to spend $495,292 for design work for the Johnson Ferry Road-Shallowford Road intersection project (previous ECN post here).

Kimley-Horn of Atlanta will develop the design concept for the $15 million project, most of which is coming from federal sources.

Commissioners also voted Tuesday to spend $8.132 million to purchase two vacant office buildings in an industrial park. The buildings are on 10 acres on West Oak Circle and West Oak Parkway and include 85,000 square feet. They would house official documents that are required for the Cobb County Records Services Division to retain and archive.

The records are currently held at a number of facilities around the county. Renovations are expected to cost another $1.362 million.

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