BOC Denies Walmart Waiver Request

The supercenter sought a waiver to be able to sell alcohol, even though the store is located fewer than 600 feet from a church.

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday denied a waiver request by Walmart for a location on Barrett Parkway in South Cobb to be allowed to sell packaged beer and wine, with commissioners voting against the waiver stating that the supercenter didn't have sufficient evidence that alcohol sales wouldn't affect a nearby church. The waiver is needed because the the store is fewer than 600 feet from Pine Grove Baptist Church in Powder Springs, the distance required by the county's ordinance. According to the ordinance, a waiver may be granted for a business closer than 600 feet to a school or church if it can show that the sale of alcohol won't affect property values or adversely affect the use of the institution. Evidence presented …

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Speakers Challenge BOC on Finances, Chickens

Two Cobb citizens came before the Board of Commissioners to plead for their causes.

An otherwise routine Tuesday evening meeting of the Board of Commissioners of Cobb County was colored by the appearance of two public speakers coming before the board pleading for the right to own chickens and to rail against money in politics. Joseph Pond, founder of the Backyard Chickens Alliance of Cobb County, once again stressed his recommendation that the board alter the 40 year old zoning code and allow chickens and ducks to be counted as pets and not livestock. With the current code, chickens and ducks can only be kept on properties exceeding two acres in size. Pond said that if the code was amended, neighborhoods with HOAs would be able to restrict chicken keeping. Pond lost his job two weeks ago and his chickens in the fall of …

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East Cobb Senior Center Marks Anniversary

Cobb County Government's TV 23 recently filmed a video about the 17-year-old facility at the Mountain VIew complex.

The East Cobb Senior Center, located at the Mountain View complex on Sandy Plains Road, recently marked its 17th anniversary.  The largest of Cobb County government's facilities for senior citizens celebrated the occasion on Aug. 3. In this video produced by the county's public access television station (TV 23 for Comcast Cable subscribers), East Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell is among those explaining the center's services and assets to the area's growing elderly population.  Among the regularly scheduled activities are history and book enrichment sessions, health and medical screenings, and more. For more information about specific upcoming events, click here. 

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Cobb Property Tax Bills Mailed This Week

The bills are due Oct. 15, with a 5 percent late penalty afterward; and an additional 1 percent in interest is charged each month until the taxes are paid.

Cobb County property owners will be getting their tax bills this week. To be precise, 255,625 property-tax bills will be mailed Wednesday, worth $600 million for the county, Tax Commissioner Gail Downing told the Marietta Daily Journal. The bills are due Oct. 15, with a five percent late penalty afterward; and an additional 1 percent in interest is charged each month until the taxes are paid. All six of Cobb’s cities handle their own tax billing and collection, so residents in incorporated Cobb will also get a separate city tax bill, Downing said. Tax payments can be made: Nearly 99 percent of 2011 taxes have been collected.

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East Cobb POV: Tim Langley

City of East Cobb: A Bad Idea

We've got community jewels like East Cobb Park as a result of being part of Cobb County; incorporation is just not needed.

Bill Byrne's proposal to create a City of East Cobb is about as bad an idea as I’ve heard from a Cobb County politician in years, maybe decades. Why in the world would the residents of East Cobb want to incorporate their own city? Sure, I’ve seen the trend over the last few years of voters in unincorporated Fulton and DeKalb counties choose to incorporate their communities as cities separate from the behemoth Governments of their respective counties.   And for areas like North Fulton, especially, I have seen the absolute disconnect and lack of concern for anything but the tax revenues contributed by those areas to county, much of which went to areas of the county that were absolute drains on resources. Being a native of Cobb County, I can’…

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Mountain View Aquatic Center Update

Renovations to the Northeast Cobb facility are planned to continue until October.

The Mountain View Aquatic Center in Northeast Cobb has been closed all summer because of a complete renovation that is expected to be complete by October. The renovation is one part of the $82 million in projects designed to renovate, maintain and update Cobb County's parks and recreation facilities. The projects are paid for by SPLOST funds. According to information provided by the office of Cobb District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, several milestones in the renovation were hit in recent weeks. The painting of the natatorium ceiling and steel structures was completed by July 23. The original mechanical equipment in the ceiling has already been demolished, and new piping is currently being installed. New dehumidifier units were delivered…

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Cobb, WellStar Sign Partnership Agreement

The agreement is for a senior community clinic at the Senior Wellness Center, which is currently under construction.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners and WellStar Health System officials celebrated the establishment of a senior community clinic will sign a partnership agreement today at the site of the Cobb Senior Services campus in Powder Springs Station.  The clinic will be an important part of the Senior Wellness Center, currently under construction at 1150 Powder Springs St. and slated to open in late August. The clinic will provide free, preventive and chronic healthcare services for eligible, low-income seniors who are uninsured Cobb residents aged 55 to 64. The clinic will also concentrate on services that are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare, such as vision and hearing screenings. WellStar will supply all equipment, staff and operational …

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Cobb Support Services Agency to be Reshuffled

Several positions will be eliminated and others will be promoted in a move to improve efficiency.

Cobb County's Support Services Agency is getting an overhaul to increase operational flexibility and to keep the agency up to date with current technological standards. A presentation was delivered by Support Services Agency Director Virgil Moon during the Cobb County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday morning outlining the proposed changes. According to the presentation, the Support Services Agency worked hand in hand with the Finance Department and the County Manager to ensure that the reshuffling was budget neutral; in fact, the plan will bring some savings to the county. Under the proposed changes, agency information services will take on the additional responsibilities of records management and mail services. Moon said that because …

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Part Time Position at The Art Place

The job entails meeting and greeting the public, helping the office staff and with events and activities.

Cobb County Government has posted a part-time position for a recreation leader at The Art Place-Mountain View.  The position is general in nature and involves work up to 29 hours a week. The pay is between $7.98 to $13.57 an hour.  Candidates must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent and be able to work with the public and the staff.  For more information, click here. 

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