Issue #28 ... Better late than never...

It's been way too long since our last issue, so let's catch up a bit, shall we?

Nov 18, 2024

First off, let me start off with an apology. It’s been way too long since I wrote the last issue of the A Better Cobb Newsletter, and many of our ABC members came directly from our previous issues. We will be getting back into writing these regularly to keep everyone informed of what’s going on in Cobb County.

As 2024 comes to an end and we look toward 2025, the recent election puts even a greater focus on the local impact we can have. We recently hosted a live webinar discussing the election results and what comes next for A Better Cobb, and this issue will be a reflection and continuation of that Webinar.

Highlights of what happened in the 2024 elections
Preview what is to come for ABC in 2025
Highlight what happened at the Board of Commissioners meeting last Tuesday
Preview this week’s Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday @7

2024 Election Recap

The election results came in pretty quickly this year, and here are the main takeaways:

Although Donald Trump was re-elected by winning Georgia and the other swing states, Cobb County continued it’s lean towards being a blue county.
- Harris won 57%-43% (I eliminate 3rd party votes)
- Every countywide Democrat won, with every candidate trailing the top of the ticket between 2-5%
- Republican candidates won the 3 contested School Board seats
- MSPLOST lost 38%-62%. It’s very likely that many voters went into the booth not knowing about the referendum and with the ballot language, were not aware of the benefits and impacts of the new tax.

So what now?

As much as the elections might have been frustrating or upsetting, we encourage people to get more involved in their local governance. ABC Member Sam F. said it best recently, “No matter the outcome of the election…we still have work to do. We have people who don’t have access to adequate transportation…adequate housing…and we don’t have safe streets for people to bike or walk and we need to address those issues no matter what happens.”

So we encourage everyone to channel their frustration and focus on what can happen locally.

Attend a Commissioners/Council meeting
Attend a townhall or public house
Be *supportive* of something instead of against something because it’s new
Build community

With that in mind, A Better Cobb has big plans for 2025, and we want you to be a part of them!

What’s next for A Better Cobb

A Better Cobb has a few short-term and long-term goals for 2025 to help us fulfill our mission. To achieve this, we need YOUR help.

We are looking to establish a Leadership Board. If you’re interested, please let us know!
We are doing a 2025 Member Census. Please take 10-15 minutes to complete it so we get a better picture of who is in our community and what you want.
Long-term, our goals in 2025 include building a community to increase attendance at Civic meetings.

What else we do, where we go, and how we accomplish our goals will be dependent on how much we can grow our community and how active each member is. Here’s a few upcoming events:

Tuesday, November 19th 6PM-730PM: Allatoona Creek Greenway Community Open House @ West Cobb Regional Library
Wednesday, November 20th 6PM: A Better Cobb Social Meetup in Kennesaw. Trivia to follow! @ Horned Owl Brewery
Thursday, November 21st 6PM: Cobb County Commissioners Meeting w/ Public Hearing on Code Changes @ 100 Cherokee
Wednesday, December 4th: 530PM-730PM I-285 Express Lane Public House @ Smyrna Community Center

Stay up to date with our events by checking out our events calendar here: https://abettercobb.com/events-calendar/

November 12th Board of Commissioners Meeting Recap

The Board of Commissioners had a meeting on Tuesday, November 12th at 9AM that we attended. The main topic was Accessory Dwelling Units, and the opposition was out in full force. There were 29 total speakers in the public hearing that lasted over an hour and a half (each speaker gets up to 3 minutes to speak). Of those speakers, only 2 were in support of the ADUs. The entire meeting lasted over 8 hours and can be found here:

To read about our position on ADUs, go to our article here.

Sadly, of a county with over 750,000 residents, it only takes a few angry people to show up to kill an item that would benefit a significant portion of our community. In my public comments, I was clear that this fearmongering has 2 primary causes: a fear of change and a fear of other people.

Now, everything about the ADUs has now been removed from the proposed code changes. It was mentioned that there will be future discussions, but there have been no farther details shared.

Other things that happened at this meeting:

District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson was back after the birth of her first child (YAY!!!)
Library and Senior Services departments both received grants for additional services they provide
Sidewalks at Barnes Mill Road and King Springs Road both progressed
Quite honestly, I left during the first part of public comment because I had already been there for almost 4 hours and needed to get to the office to work on some stuff..

Preview of Upcoming Board of Commissioners Meeting

For the agenda for the upcoming meeting on Thursday November 21st at 6PM, go here: https://cobbcoga.portal.civicclerk.com/event/946/files/agenda/5412

Some highlights:

Presentations: 4 of them including:
- A check in recognition of 2 recipients of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Grant: Crystal’s Salon Service, LLC and Eryn AI, Corp
- A donation to SafePath as part of Gambrill’s Great Pumpkin Contest
- A proclamation to the Music Studio Atlanta for being named 2024 School of the Year
Public Hearing on Code Changes (unlimited speakers up to 3 minutes each)
Public Comment (1st half): 10 speakers, first-come, first-speak, up to 3 minutes each (sign up sheet when you get there)
Consent Agenda (11 items)
- Water System (3 items)
- Transportation (1 item)
- Senior Services, Support Services, Public Safety Agency, Human Resources, County Clerk (1 item each, all seem to be administrative)
- Finance (2 items, basic approval stuff)
Regular Agenda
- BOC Chair: Recommend Appointment of Library Director
- County Manager: Approve 2025 Legislative Agenda
- Transportation (4 items):
  - Item 19: East Callaway Road Sidewalk (between Austell Road and Hicks Road)
  - Item 20: GDOT agreement for Cobb Parkway Pedestrian Bridge (this is for a renovation project of the existing pedestrian bridge at the Galleria and will include the replacement of the existing translucent panels with a wire mesh or perforated metal panel and repainting of the structure and roof. This is coming from state funding.
  - Item 21: Construction of Terrell Mill Deceleration Lane
  - Item 22: Supplemental Agreement of Consultant Services Agreement for Bells Ferry Road over Noonday Creek
- Parks (3 items):
  - Item 23: Purchase agreement to install a new picnic shelter/pavilion at Wild Horse Creek Park (2022 SPLOST)
  - Item 24: Approve a materials and labor contract to construct a new access road and parking improvements at Green Meadows Preserve
  - Item 25: Approve a 2-part design/build contract for the design and construction of improvements at Fair Oaks Park and Booth Road Property
Public Comment (2nd half): 10 speakers, first-come, first-speak, up to 3 minutes each (sign up sheet when you get there)
Appointments: 2 to the Board of Tax Assessors
Commissioners Public Address/Presentations

So that covers a lot of what’s going on. Final reminder of events/things to do:

Tuesday, November 19th 6PM-730PM: Allatoona Creek Greenway Community Open House @ West Cobb Regional Library
Wednesday, November 20th 6PM: A Better Cobb Social Meetup in Kennesaw. Trivia to follow! @ Horned Owl Brewery
Thursday, November 21st 6PM: Cobb County Commissioners Meeting w/ Public Hearing on Code Changes @ 100 Cherokee
Wednesday, December 4th: 530PM-730PM I-285 Express Lane Public House @ Smyrna Community Center
Complete the 2025 ABC Census Survey

Until next time!

-Matt