On Tuesday, after years of delays, the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved Mabry Park funding. More specifically, they authorized a construction contract that would convert a slice what was once a large farm spread in Northeast Cobb into a major passive park.
The construction contract for $2.85 million was approved unanimously, in a 5-0 vote, a month after the commissioners delayed the vote.
There was little discussion Tuesday about the contract, which was awarded to Integrated Construction and Nobility, Inc.. The park, which will be built on 26.5 acres on Wesley Chapel Road at Sandy Plains Road, is expected to be completed in 2019.
Mabry Park will include walking trails, picnic areas, a community garden, playground areas and more on land that includes a large pond.
The construction will also include the development of a paved road into the park from Wesley Chapel Road. In 2008, the county spent $4.3 million in funding from the 2006 Cobb parks SPLOST to purchase the former farm land owned by Ed and Sue Mabry.
The the land sat dormant during the recession, although a master plan was released in 2011.
While the construction funding came out of the 2016 Cobb government SPLOST, the yearly cost for operating Mabry Park comes out of the county general fund. That was the reason for delaying the vote in October, right before the commissioners held their budget retreat.
Resolving how to pay for recurring expenses from a SPLOST project was one of the subjects at the retreat. A one-time cost of $22,230 for equipment and maintenance tools will be funded after construction is complete.
Mabry Park’s annual operating cost will be $104,992; of that $72,122 will go for staff salaries and benefits, and $31,800 is estimated for yearly supplies and utilities.
