(Marietta, Ga. - August 15, 2006) Cobb County transportation officials will hold a second round of public meetings on the county’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan.

The study addresses mobility, safety and air quality challenges over the next 25 years for Cobb and its six partner cities. The study was launched in Jan. 2006 and will conclude in Oct. 2007. In a first round of meetings in April, widespread interest was shown in various approaches to improving mobility and the environment, including more mass transit, better connectivity, land use/transportation integration, more green space and improved bicycle and pedestrian networks.

At the second round of public meetings, transportation officials will update the public on what has been accomplished to date and ask for additional input. Citizens are encouraged to attend, as planners seek ideas from as many citizens as possible.

Second Round Public Meetings

Aug. 16 – 7–9 p.m. East Cobb Government Service Center, 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
Aug. 17 - 7–9 p.m. Kennesaw Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw
Aug. 23 - 5:30–7:30 p.m. Cobb County Central Library, 266 Roswell Road, Marietta
Aug. 24 - 7–9 p.m. Ford Center, 4181 Atlanta Street, Powder Springs

For more information:

Laraine A. Vance, Project Manager
Cobb County Department of Transportation
1890 County Services Parkway, Marietta, Georgia 30008
(770) 528-1679

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Released by:
David Layman
Robert J. Quigley
(770) 528-1105

Marietta City Council denied August 9, 2006 a request by Covenant Christian Ministries to rezone property at 838 Powder Springs Street from single family residential classification to community retail commercial zoning. Covenant Christian Ministries planned to build a church, school and dormitory on the site.

Marietta City Council approved route C as the local preferred alternative for the Powder Springs Road Connector at its meeting August 9, 2006. The Powder Springs Road Connector is a transportation improvement project that would link Powder Springs Road with South Cobb Drive to reroute traffic before it reaches the city center.

Alternative C begins at Powder Springs Road north of the Brownstone Square subdivision. The new four-lane road would have a median and run between Brownstone Square subdivision and Sourwood Circle. The road would turn eastward to Sandtown Road and follow a newly widened four-lane Leader Road with a median to South Cobb Parkway.

Voters approved funding for the project as part of the 2005 Cobb County special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) for transportation improvement projects. Although Marietta City Council previously approved a route for the Connector, the current Council recommended a new preference, which will be submitted to county and state transportation officials for their consideration. Cobb County and the state of Georgia must also agree on the preferred route before funding can be authorized.

The $15 million Powder Springs Connector is currently on the Atlanta Regional Commission’s long-range plan with funding for engineering to begin in 2006, right of way acquisition to begin 2012-2020 and construction to begin 2021-2030. The city of Marietta and Cobb County plan to request that the project be moved forward to the Transportation Improvement Plan for right of way acquisition in 2008 and construction in 2010.

For more information, call 770-794-5650.

City Council has been debating the construction of a connector that would link Powder Springs Street with South Cobb Drive. According to the Marietta Daily Journal, “the project aims to give motorists a more direct route to Interstate 75 by connecting the two roads so drivers won’t have to travel north to the South Marietta loop where traffic often is congested.”

On Monday, the Council looked into two proposed routes in trying to find a solution. The first one has Powder Springs Street connected to South Cobb Drive by way of Sandtown Road. However, one major problem with this is that a shopping center would have to be destroyed in order for the road to be completed.

The other idea has South Cobb Drive and Powder Springs Street joined by Chestnut Hill Road. This is a major entrance into the Whitlock Heights neighborhood. Two Council members live in this neighborhood: Grif Chalfant and Holly Walquist. Once again, Whitlock Heights is under pressure to sacrifice its historically subdued and family-oriented atmosphere in order to relieve traffic tensions.

Ms. Walquist commented that “connecting Chestnut Hill to Sandtown is just what the neighborhood did not want to do,” while Mr. Chalfant said he is “opposed to the Chestnut Hill solution. It’s a neighborhood breaker.”

The Chestnut Hill proposal is a “straighter shot” than the Sandtown Road plan, according to the submitted designs. Bill Dunaway, the Mayor, said he would support the Chestnut Hill plan only if Georgia DOT guarantees that the area is safeguarded from traffic.

Thanks to Michael French and the MDJ for content of this article.

It looks like the MRC can now buy property without the council’s approval. I wonder if this is a step in the right direction or not? Any thoughts? Thanks to the AJC for the story…

By CHRISTIAN BOONE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/15/06

The Marietta City Council on Wednesday approved an amendment that gives the Marietta Redevelopment Corporation new authority to buy property without first getting the council’s consent.

The council also passed a new budget for fiscal 2007 and agreed to a franchise agreement with Comcast to be the city’s new cable television provider.

Only one council member, Rev. Anthony Coleman of Ward 5, voted against giving the redevelopment organization increased power. As presently constituted, the MRC has 11 voting members — its chairman, real estate broker Floyd Northcutt, formerly served on the city council, and the city’s mayor, Bill Dunaway, is a nonvoting member.

As part of the agreement approved on Wednesday, a city council member will join the MRC as a voting member, but Coleman said he’d like to see another added.

“When public tax dollars are concerned, you want as much oversight as possible,” Coleman said.

The council is considering appropriating $2.1 million in seed money to get the project under way.

The MRC, which currently acts as an advisory board to the city on issues concerning redevelopment, will now have the power to, for example, take out loans without the council’s consent.

A new working agreement that will effectively govern the MRC has yet to be completed.

The corporation is modeled after the RiverCity Company, a private, non-profit chartered to spur economic redevelopment in Chattanooga.

So far, growth and development watchdogs like Involved Mariettans Planning Actively for the City of Tomorrow have not taken a position on the MRC’s broadened authority, although IMPACT president Laura van Mever is optimistic about the group’s potential.

“It involves taxpayer’s dollars, so it needs to be watched,” she said.

“But from what I’ve seen in Chattanooga, I think there’s great opportunity here. The city doesn’t have the time to focus on the key issues of redevelopment, and I think it’s good to have a group where that is their primary mission.”

On Monday, the City Council voted to give $2.1 million to the Marietta Redevelopment Corp., as a part of a special land-buying fund. The MRC was asking the Council for this “seed money” so they can use it to obtain more money for acquiring land for redevelopment projects around the city. The Council did give approval for the funds, but only on the condition that one member of the Council be on the board of the MRC. This issue of an additional member on the MRC’s board of directors was a topic of debate amongst members of both City Council and the MRC.

With City Council split on the matter, Ward 3 Councilwoman Holly Walquist, was the swing vote. She agreed on giving the $2.1 million, but only if the additional member be added to the MRC’s board. The issue of taxpayer money being used for the seed fund elicited some reaction from Ward 7 Councilman Philip Goldstein, who said, “I strongly believe that if we are going to use city taxpayers’ money then there should be a council member on that board.”

With the MRC’s board expanding from 11 seats to 12 now, the newest seat will go to the Council’s Economic Development Committee Chariman, Grif Chalfant. The MRC will be required to submit quarterly and annual reports that detail their spending for each period of time.

Thanks to the Marietta Daily Journal’s Aaron Baca for information on this story.

The City Council’s annual budget hearing, which is open to the public, turned out to be nothing more than a formal exercise. According to the story in the MDJ, “Wednesday’s hearing still counts for the record and despite a lack of public comment, the path is now clear for the City Council to adopt its proposed $47.9 million budget later this month.” The council will vote on the budget June 14.

The annual hearing, which is required by law, is always held to seek out the public’s comments and opinions. According to Diane Sellitto, who works for the city, the meetings usually only bring a few people in, if any at all. The MDJ reports that the 2007 budget calls for more than 7 percent higher in spending than the initial 2006 budget; this year’s proposed budget is nearly $50 million.

Do you consider our local government open to your concerns? For anyone who’s been to an annual hearing, what was it like? Was it effective, in your opinion? Are we too busy to care about how our taxes are spent or do we simply trust our City Council?

Let your voice be heard, Marietta!

My family and I are on vacation this week in Florida. A couple days ago, we stopped by the local post office to mail some items. The facility was very well-kept and was probably built in the last 10 years, at most. It made me think of our Marietta post office, downtown. Everyone I know always mentions the parking issue. The building has been around since I can remember as a child. I don’t know if anything has been proposed in recent years, but what about a new facility for Marietta?

The recently-opened government building on Whitlock Avenue (at Manning Road) is a great model for any new post office ideas to follow. Across the street, the unused space where Ace Hardware used to be could be converted into a nice, new post office facility. Imagine all the parking space and all the square footage inside. Does the back of the building offer sufficient space for deliveries and dropoffs? I’m not sure. There are probably other spaces available around the downtown area which could be used for a new post office — be sure to share your opinions, Marietta!

In recent years, the working class home buyers in Marietta have been challenged with finding an affordable place to live in the city. Areas such as the lower income housing Johnny Walker homes have been demolished, amongst others, in hopes of a new grand plan for the city. According to the MDJ,

The Marietta Housing Authority is considering becoming a developer in its own right and might forego working with familiar big-name companies as it makes plans for the redevelopment of the Lyman Homes public housing project near Cherokee and Montgomery streets, MHA Executive Director Ray Buday said last week.

This is going to be an interesting move for the city. Only time will tell. What do you think? Should the city be getting their hands into a new redevelopment effort instead of letting a company take charge and develop the site?

As we have been reporting to you earlier this year, the Strand renovation is moving along nicely. According to the AJC, there are quite some mixed opionion on the progress that is being made with the renovation/restoration.

Published on: 05/18/06

The Strand Theater on the Marietta Square plans to host a grand reopening next summer. The 1930s-era theater is being restored to seat 500 for shows and will include a coffee shop and an open-air reception area. Last week, the Cobb County Commission approved a $250,000 grant to push restoration along. Friends of the Strand, the nonprofit group restoring the theater, has a 50-year lease on the building, which is owned by the Goldstein family. The lease is rent-free for the first eight years. After that, rent will start at $10,000 a month.

While the county government agreed to a contribution, the matter has been a little sticky. A commissioner and various Cobb residents have said they are wary of putting tax money into the venture.

Here is a snapshot of some opinions of residents of Cobb County according to an AJC article

Cobb Opinions asked people in the Marietta Square:

Yes. It’s a good idea. If the theater is restored, it would benefit the whole area.

JAMIE HUMPHREY, Marietta

Maybe. Generally, I don’t think government should give money to private groups. And, I wonder what I might have to give up if the county is spending tax money that way. But, I’d rather the government give money to something like that than social welfare programs.

DAVID DAWSON, Acworth

No. I don’t necessarily think the county should spend money on the theater; the city perhaps, since it is in Marietta. I live in east Cobb, and I don’t get up to the square that often, so I’m not sure it would directly benefit me. I do hope that the private group trying to restore it makes a go of it. I’ve seen various groups through the years try to restore it.

TIFFANY McKINNON, East Cobb

No. If it will be privately operated and privately benefit from profits, then the theater should not receive money from the government. Once it opens, it will pay for itself. It will be successful.

KEITH HINES, Marietta

Yes. I think the county should give the money. My family is here all the time, and we would use it. Sure, the theater won’t benefit everyone, but nothing ever does. Besides, for the county, $200,000 is a drop in the bucket compared with what it spends money on.

LAURIE STRICKLAND, Marietta

Yes. Sure. Contribute the money. It is a great idea to keep a nice historic site going. The money will go there, or someplace else. We might as well know where it goes.

CHRISTINA TEMBO, Marietta

What do you all think? Is the progress that’s being made a good thing? Is it to connected to certain Marietta families that have a vested interest in the project? What are you thoughts/opinions? Discuss it below!