Ex-Commissioner Powell Hired by Ott

The former Northeast Cobb representative has become a full-time assistant to East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott.

It may seem like a novelty, and perhaps even a stroke of audacity, but District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott calls his hiring of a former colleague "a natural fit." That's what Ott told The Marietta Daily Journal, which reported Tuesday (subscription) that the East Cobb Republican had hired former District 3 Commissioner Thea Powell as his full-time assistant. Powell, a Republican who served the Northeast Cobb district now represented by JoAnn Birrell from 1997-2001 and on an interim basis in 2010, succeeds Renee Nichols, a 20-year commission assistant who retired.  The newspaper noted Powell will have to step down as a member of the Development Authority of Cobb County, a post to which she was appointed by Ott. Ott and Powell didn't serve …

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Area Closures, Detours and Road Work Updates

Check out the latest updates on road constructions, delays and detours around Cobb County.

Here are the latest updates on road work being done around Cobb County, according to Commissioners Bob Ott, Helen Goreham, JoAnn Birrell and Lisa Cupid. Davidson Road to Willow Point Pkwy Willow Point Pkwy to Timber Ridge Road Karls Gate Drive to Lake Fjord Pass GDOT I-285 Top-End Resurfacing Project Expect delays as Georgia DOT continues working on a $56 million resurfacing project on I-285. Crews will resurface 10 miles of I-285 between Paces Ferry Road in Cobb County and Ashford Dunwoody Road in DeKalb County. Most work will take place nights and weekends. The project is scheduled to complete in August 2013. Click here for more information. Detour Scheduled for Multi-use Trail From Monday, Feb. 18, to Monday, March 11, parts of the …

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Lee to Be Sworn In on Thursday

The Cobb Commission Chairman will take the oath of office to begin a full term.

On Thursday, Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee will be sworn in for a new term. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the 2nd floor BOC room, 100 Cherokee St., Marietta. Lee defeated former chairman Bill Byrne in the Republican primary runoff in August to win a full four-year term. Lee was elected in 2010 fill the unexpired term of former chairman Sam Olens, now the Georgia Attorney General. Lee had been a District 3 commissioner, serving the Northeast Cobb area currently represented by JoAnn Birrell. Lee was re-elected in spite of his support of the roundly defeated TSPLOST referendum last summer and his vote to raise property taxes in 2011 to help the county close a $30 million budget deficit. East Cobb Commissioner Bob …

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Code Changes Could Boost Redevelopment

Commissioner Bob Ott's proposals also aim to avoid additional expenses for the county.

The Cobb County commissioners have before them today a proposal that could help redevelopment efforts in the county. The Cobb County Development Standards code has been written through the years for new development, said Commissioner Bob Ott. He explained at last week's District 2 Town Hall Meeting in Smyrna that these measures were originally intended to protect undeveloped land and that when the code was being written officials hadn’t considered redevelopment. Over time he said it became more expensive for developers to redevelop an old site than it would be to construct a new one. “So what happens is that’s really why you see a lot of green field development and we’re leaving this trail behind us of worn down, worn out shopping centers …

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Ott to Propose Code Changes

District 2 commissioner addressed property values and economic development issues a during Thursday town hall meeting in Smyrna.

At last night’s District 2 Town Hall meeting in Smyrna, Cobb commissioner Bob Ott announced that he’d be proposing about 200 pages-worth of changes to the county code that impede redevelopment at next Tuesday’s Cobb County board of commissioners meeting. Ott, who will have another town hall meeting next Wednesday at the East Cobb Library, emphasized that the changes he would be suggesting to the board apply only to redevelopment and not new development. Ott said that at last year’s staff retreat he asked the community development agency to examine the county development code to identify all the measures that impede redevelopment. He explained that these measures were originally intended to protect undeveloped land and that when the code …

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Opposition Grows Over Cobb EDGE Plan

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell is wary of county funding for the Cobb Chamber's economic development plan.

Should Cobb taxpayer money be used to help spur economic development in the county? That's a bet Cobb commission chairman Tim Lee is hedging as he pledged last week to help fund a major initiative by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.  But commissioner JoAnn Birrell spoke out against the proposal, according to a report in The Marietta Daily Journal on Friday, saying the county should not commit to funding that it cannot control. The Chamber initiative, called Competitive EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy), would come with a still-to-be-determined contribution from Cobb government. The plan was devised by Market Street, an Atlanta consulting firm. Described as a "game-changing" project, EDGE (Facebook page) would be "Cobb County’s…

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Lassiter Wrestling; Ott Acting; RaceTrac of the Future

A video round-up of your Cobb headlines Friday, Jan. 6.

For more on today's featured stories, please click the links below:  Lassiter Wrestling Top Seed Ott Not 'Odd' About Acting Acworth's RaceTrac of the Future 

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Commissioners Have Ideas for TSPLOST Money

If approved, officials get a say in where some dollars will go.

Cobb to Welcome International Flights

Hiring a customs agent will keep McCollum competitive with area airports that already accept passengers from other countries, Commissioner Bob Ott said.

International flights will soon be able to land at Cobb County’s airport. The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an agreement with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that will station a customs agent at Cobb County Airport-McCollum Field. “It’s really just to keep the airport competitive,” Commissioner Bob Ott said, noting that other area airports are already eligible for accepting international flights. The agent will cost $140,874 for the first year and $123,438 for succeeding years. The money will come from the airport’s two "fixed-based operators," or long-term tenants: Atlanta Northside Aviation and Preferred Jet Center. Ott, a member of the county’s Airport Advisory Board, emphasized that county money won’t be spent. He …

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Redrawing Ott's District Draws Fire

Proposed new lines for the District 2 Cobb commission seat would take much of East Cobb away from the incumbent.