Special Thanks to the AJC for this story!

A regional water supplier’s efforts to still draw its current amount of water from Lake Allatoona comes down to two arguments: math and ownership of the water.

In a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority disputes a claim by the corps that it is taking too much water from the lake.

The corps, which operates Allatoona and Lake Lanier, notified the regional water supplier earlier this month and gave it 10 days to respond. The authority is the primary wholesaler for Cobb and Paulding counties and sells water to other agencies in much of the northern suburbs.

It filed its letter late Monday night, after failing to win an extension on the deadline. Its chief point is that the corps only regulates how much water stored in Allatoona belongs to the authority; the state controls how much it withdraws.

The letter makes five other points:

• The corps claim that the authority is taking out more than the permitted 34.5 million gallons per day fails to take into account that about one-third of the water is returned to the water basin for use downstream.

• The corps has known since 1981 that the Cobb authority’s gross withdrawals exceeded the 34.5 million gallons per day, the level set by the corps.

• The authority’s water use is not adversely affecting other downstream users.

• The authority has no other options to meet water supply demands of its retail customers.

• The authority’s conservation programs are superior to other water users who draw from the same water source.

Officials at the corps said Monday night they would not respond immediately to the Cobb letter. They did not return calls for comment on Tuesday.

“We still didn’t totally agree with their math,” said Glenn Page, director of the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, on Tuesday.

Under a contract signed by the authority and the corps in 1963 and updated twice — in 1971 and 1981 — the authority pays to withdraw up to 34.5 million gallons of water a day from Allatoona, averaged over a year. The maximum it can take in one day is 58 million gallons.

Marietta High School parents were the latest in Cobb County to receive a letter from school officials notifying them their children may have been exposed to a potentially dangerous staph infection that resists treatment by most widely used antibiotics.

Principal Leigh Colburn told parents that a staff member is being treated for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. The unidentified staff member will not return to work until a doctor certifies that there is no danger of infection to students or staff, she said.

The school is disinfecting furnishings and equipment.

Parents were advised to call their child’s doctor or take them to a hospital if they noticed symptoms.

“An infection can look like sores that look and feel like spider bites or pimples. It can be characterized as large, red, painful bumps under the skin (boils). Symptoms may include . . . redness, warmth, swelling, pus, skin tenderness or blisters.”

Cobb County Schools reported two cases of MRSA late last month at Kennesaw Mountain High. Earlier, there were confirmed cases at North Cobb and Osborne high schools.

Yes, that’s right, Marietta’s e-mail newsletter has been named best in the nation.

The city of Marietta’s e-mail newsletter was honored as the best local government electronic newsletter in America today in a national competition of government communications.

E-News, produced by Marietta’s City Manager’s Office, is a weekly summary of city news, calendar of events, notice of public meetings and city employment opportunities. It is e-mailed to subscribers in the community and city employees and covers community events, city services and redevelopment throughout Marietta.

Judges for the City-County Communications Marketing Association, a national organization of local government communications professionals, awarded the city of Marietta first place for its e-mail newsletter for the public. A dozen cities and counties of all sizes competed for the award, including the cities of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Gainesville, Florida.

The 19th annual Savvy awards program recognizes the most exceptional and innovative public communications and marketing projects in the country. Judges present the coveted Savvy awards to participants who best demonstrate extraordinary achievements that enhance citizen-government relationships.

Based in Washington, DC, the City-County Communications Marketing Association has 900 members from city and county governments in states across America.

For more information or to subscribe to the city’s E-News, visit Marietta’s Web site at mariettaga.gov.

(Marietta, Ga. – October 23, 2007) The 2007 Alcohol and Drug Awareness Day, sponsored by the Cobb State Court Judges Council, will be Friday, Nov. 2 at Eastvalley Elementary School in Marietta.

The program runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Eastvalley Elementary School is located at 2570 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta.

The program includes messages about the realities and dangers of drug and alcohol use. Educational activities are scheduled throughout the day, including law enforcement presentations and public safety exhibits, drug dog demonstrations by the Cobb County Police K-9 Unit and a presentation on bicycle safety. The event will also include a puppet show, the Ken Scott Magic Act and other fun and educational activities.

The event will be broadcast live on Cobb County TV23 and the Internet. Schools participating in the conference via television are also encouraged to explore the possibility of convening their own local events as part of the daylong activity or as a follow-up to the conference.

“There is no age that is too early to talk to your children about the dangers of alcohol and drugs,” Chief Judge Russell Carlisle said. “The sooner they learn the facts the greater their ability to say no. We want to give them the facts in an age appropriate format so that they can make the right decision.”

For more information, visit www.cobbcountyga.gov/adad, or contact Frank Baker at (770) 528-1799.
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Released by:
Gary A. Witte
Robert Quigley
(770) 528-2480

Thanks to the AJC for this story…

The Cobb County tax commissioner is preparing to revoke one of two homestead exemptions a Marietta city councilman and his wife obtained on adjoining homes — and then bill the wife for four years of back taxes.

State law allows only one homestead exemption per married couple.

Tax Commissioner Gail Downing said Wednesday that Marietta Councilman Philip M. Goldstein’s wife, Elise, will be billed for roughly $2,000 of real estate taxes that should have been paid on her townhouse at 21 Powers Ferry Manor in Marietta.

Elise Goldstein applied for the exemption on her home in 2003, public records show. The councilman applied for a homestead exemption four years earlier for his house next door at 31 Powers Ferry Manor.

Elise Goldstein did not return telephone calls to her home Wednesday. Goldstein said he wasn’t aware state law allows only one homestead exemption per couple.

“I have talked with the tax commissioner and I am waiting for her to tell me what is due,” said Goldstein, an attorney and real estate manager who has served on Marietta’s City Council for 27 years and owns many properties in the area.

The Marietta Daily Journal reported the couple’s dual exemptions Tuesday.

State law requires people to occupy the homes for which they get homestead exemptions. Goldstein said he lives in the townhouse at 31 Powers Ferry Manor. It is connected by a passageway to his wife’s home at 21 Powers Ferry Manor, Goldstein said. He declined to say where she lives.

In her application for her tax break, Goldstein’s wife said she bought her house for $125,000 and moved into it in November 2002. Goldstein bought his home for $90,000 and moved into it in July 1998, according to his application for the tax break. The two have been married since 1990, Goldstein said.

Downing said she would submit her plan to eliminate the exemption for Goldstein’s wife to the Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors for approval early next month.

“He has called several times,” Downing said of Goldstein. “He is very anxious to pay his taxes, he says. He says it was completely innocent. … He asked me to educate him, so I gave him a copy of the law.”

Special Thanks to Kelly Brooks for the article from the MDJOnline!

MARIETTA - Cobb Commissioners on Tuesday approved a rezoning application for a $100 million shopping center called Oakdale Towne Center that will complement south Cobb’s new mixed-use West Village.

Cobb planning commissioners on Oct. 2 unanimously voted to recommend approval of the application by Atlanta-based Aspen Hills Redevelopment, which zoning attorney John Moore said is a joint venture between Atlanta-based Eastland Capital and West Village collaborator Branch Properties, also of Atlanta.

The project entails redevelopment of 24 acres north of West Village, west of Interstate 285 and east of South Cobb Drive in southeast Cobb.

Moore said the favored anchor tenant is Super Target, which would occupy a 179,000-square-foot building. The shopping center would have about six buildings, 20 stores and a maximum 415,118 square feet.

Developers spent about two months listening to concerns from neighbors and planning commissioners and eventually scrapped plans for a 38-unit condominium, replaced it with additional shops and opted to pay Cobb $150,000 to alleviate traffic problems in the area.

Southeast Cobb Planning Commissioner Bob Ott has praised the developer’s hard work, which included talking with residents and producing detailed renderings of architecture and landscaping of the center.

“There is no aspect of uncertainty as to what this project will look like,” Ott said, further highlighting its pedestrian-friendliness.

Developers plan to raze an existing gas station and apartment complex to make way for Oakdale Towne Center.

According to Moore, in addition to SuperTarget, prospects for the primary anchor include Kohl’s, Kroger and Lowe’s, while prospects for a junior anchor include TJ Maxx, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Office Depot and PetSmart.

The project sits just south of West Village, a $450 million mixed-use project spearheaded by Atlanta-based Pacific Group that also involves Branch Properties and the Highlands Companies.

Moore said the proposal meets the larger retail needs of new residents moving to the area.

Previous zoning was for multi-family residential, tourist services and general commercial, while the new zoning is general commercial.

The Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority approved the project in a development of regional impact study.

Just north of the project, across Church Road, sit new White Oaks Townhomes and a subdivision in Smyrna city limits.

Watch the video

Scarecrows have invaded the Marietta Square and will be on display through October as part of Halloween Happenings October 20.

Halloween fun for adults, children and pets will begin at 1 p.m. and will include a children’s costume contest and a pet costume contest.

The 31st annual Harvest Square Arts & Crafts Festival gets underway at 9 a.m.

For more information, call Marietta Parks and Recreation at 770-794-5601.

Marietta City Council enacted a city ordinance designed to reduce false alarms requiring a police response July 11. The ordinance, effective October 1, requires alarm users to register with the city. Users will be allowed up to two false alarms without penalty a year, and then fines will be assessed.

“The new ordinance will be a great asset to us in terms of freeing up literally thousands of police man-hours,” police chief Dan Flynn said. “This will enable us to devote more time to proactive crime fighting and crime prevention activities.”

Why it is needed

In 2006, the Marietta Police Department responded to 9,317 alarm calls. In answering alarm calls, it is standard police protocol for two officers to respond. Of the alarms dispatched in 2006, 98.6 percent were false alarms. This resulted in 3,882 man-hours dealing with false alarms. In monetary terms, those man-hours equate to $135,872. 

How alarms will be tracked

Under the ordinance, every residential and business alarm user in the city of Marietta must obtain a free permit from the city. The permit registers an alarm system with the city for tracking purposes, and permits are not transferable. Each new occupant of a dwelling or business must apply for a new permit, and failure to register an alarm is subject to a $100 fine.

Complete the registration form online

Enforcement

When effective, the ordinance will allow alarm users up to two false alarms each 12-month period with no penalty. Beginning with the third false alarm, fines will be assessed as follows:

• First and second false alarm: no charge
• Third through fifth false alarm: $50
• Sixth false alarm: $100
• Seventh false alarm: $100
• Eighth false alarm: $250
• Ninth false alarm: $250
• Tenth and over false alarm: $500
• Failure to register: $100

Violations of the ordinance are civil in nature and will not constitute a misdemeanor or criminal charge. There will also be an appeals process for alarm users who receive fines for false alarms.

Education

To prepare businesses and residential alarm users for the new ordinance, the Marietta Police Department will offer an awareness class to educate users on the problems created by false alarms and how to help reduce false alarms. The class may be attended in lieu of paying one false alarm fine.

For more information, contact the Marietta Police Department at 770-794-2364.

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More information

Upcoming Citywide Master Plan Community Input Meetings
DATE LOCATION TIME
Oct. 9 Central Library 10 am – noon
Oct. 11 Dunleith Elementary 7 pm – 9 pm
Oct. 16 Marietta High School 7 pm – 9 pm
Oct. 17 Sawyer Road Elementary 7 pm – 9 pm
Please join us at one of these meetings to help chart the course of Marietta’s parks system over the next several years. For more information call 770.794.5601 or visit www.mariettaga.gov

Trader Joe’s is considering putting a location in next to One of a Kind (Shopping center at corner of Whitlock and Manning) . If you haven’t heard of Trader Joe’s, it is a great chain of small food markets that sell excellent, inexpensive, good for you food. It would be so fun to have this store on our side of town! From what we hear, the people of the neighborhoods that tell them the most that they want one, get the stores where they want…so please email them at:

http://www.traderjoes.com/location_requests_form.aspx

…and tell them we wish to see a location on Whitlock Avenue in Marietta!!!