Marietta City Council unanimously approved December 12 agreements that will allow the Marietta Conference Center and Resort on Powder Springs Street to become a Hilton hotel. The city will still own the Conference Center and golf course, which will remain public.

Marietta will sign a 20-year lease with Dallas-based Remington Hospitality, which manages the Conference Center. The city and its downtown development authority will issue bonds of $7 million to refurbish and renovate the facility, which will remain open during the improvements. Remington will be responsible for all payments on the bond and for paying off the existing debt of the facility, which will build equity for the city. At the end of the lease period, the city would have a property worth over $30 million.

With the makeover planned, the Hilton Hotels Corporation has agreed to a conversion of the Conference Center into a Hilton property. Guests will be able to book rooms at the hotel using Hilton’s worldwide reservations system, one of many marketing tools that city officials and Remington anticipate will increase business at the Conference Center.

The facility will benefit from Hilton’s national sales and marketing efforts, meeting referrals, national and regional advertising and public relations.

“With a quality operator like Remington and with the high quality franchise of Hilton, I think Marietta and its citizens have an asset we can be proud of,” Marietta Mayor Bill Dunaway said. “I think we have an asset that will help Marietta’s image.”

Hilton and Marietta City Council will approve any name change to the Conference Center, but none has been submitted.

Remington, which runs the day to day operations at the Conference Center, will not take any profit from the facility until an operating account of $1 million and a reserve account of $1.6 million are funded. Distribution of revenues after that point will be divided between an escrow account for future renovations and Remington, which is responsible for all future renovations during the term of the lease.

Once gross revenues reach $14 million, the city will receive three percent of all additional revenue.

Hilton is a name that is synonymous with first-class hospitality. For almost 90 years, the Hilton Family has been offering the business and leisure traveler worldwide the very finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value.

The Marietta Police Department is getting stun guns, which officials say will be safer for patrol officers and suspects.

Their use has been controversial in other jurisdictions after the deaths of suspects.

But Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn said the electronic weapons are far safer than things like batons or guns because they immobilize suspects before they —or officers— are injured.

“Historically, they reduce injuries to officers and the people [police] arrest,” Flynn said.

The Marietta City Council approved the purcha in 2008se of the first 60 electronic weapons on Wednesday in 6-1 vote. Councilman Anthony Coleman, opposed the purchase.

The first shipment will cost about $65,000, with the money coming from the department’s asset forfeiture fund. They should be delivered and officers trained within the first few months of 2008.

The department is still working out the guidelines for their use. The department has not determined from what company they will buy the equipment.

( Marietta, Ga. — Dec. 6, 2007) Residents and businesses have helped Cobb County reduce its water use by 10 percent compared to the same time last year, officials said Thursday.

Cobb reduced its water usage to an average of 74.45 million gallons per day ending November, meeting requirements set by Gov. Sonny Purdue in reaction to the ongoing drought, according to the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority.

Officials cite changes in customers habits through outreach and education with helping make the crucial impact on the county’s use.

“Once the community realized what needed to be done they did it,” Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority General Manager Glenn Page said. “This was a really tall order for the citizens in Cobb but they responded well.”

Educational efforts by the Cobb County Water System have encouraged residents and businesses to adopt basic methods for reduced use, including checking for leaks and not automatically serving water at restaurants.

“Cobb County citizens are being more conscious about their water use and that is the first key to water conservation,” Cobb County Water System Water Conservation Coordinator Kathy Nguyen said. “Just simple things like turning off the tap while brushing their teeth, and taking shorter showers add up. Cobb citizens have adopted a lot of efficient behaviors and we have to keep it up.”

The Cobb Board of Commissioners continues to push for lower water use with the recent adoption of a rebate program that assists homeowners that replace their old toilets with new low-flow models.

The rebate program has spent more than $42,000 to help replace 662 toilets since it started in October, officials said. Another 30 claims are being processed.

The county per capita water use went from 127 gallons in November 2006 to just 96 gallons in November this year, according to figures released by the Cobb County Water System.

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani talked taxes while making a campaign stop in Marietta, Georgia Sunday afternoon.
Giuliani spoke with reporters from the Brumby Chair Company, the manufacturer of brumby rocking chairs.
The candidate told the group of about 50 supporters that every single republican candidate is talking lower taxes, unlike their opponents.

“Every single republican candidate that I can think of agrees that we should lower taxes. Democrats want to raise taxes.”
During his stroll through the quaint downtown district of Marietta, Giuliani was also heckled by supporters of Ron Paul, a former libertarian.