MDJ: Board chose well with parks panel picks

An editorial from the Marietta Daily Journal on Thursday, November 30, 2006

It's hard to recall a public issue in Cobb that has proven more popular than the $40 million referendum for local parkland acquisition. Not only was there no organized opposition to it and not only did it pass by landslide proportions Nov. 7, applicants came out of the proverbial woodwork when it came time for the Cobb Board of Commissioners to appoint members to a panel that will advise the commission on which pieces of land to acquire. Some 25 people filled out formal applications just for the three positions that were filled by Northwestern District Commissioner Helen Goreham, for example.

The commission ultimately chose 15 people for the panel, three by each of the five commissioners. And an impressive panel it is.

Commission Chairman Sam Olens selected Carol Brown, chairwoman of Canton Road Neighbors Inc.; All-State Insurance Co. attorney John Pape Jr., who is treasurer of the Cobb Parks Coalition (the grassroots group that successfully pushed the referendum); and attorney Gary Wolovick, an Emory Law School classmate of Olens and a leader of the Kolb Farm Coalition, which helped save four acres to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park that had been slated for development.

Northeastern District Commissioner Tim Lee selected east Cobb homeowner Debbie D'Aurelio, Cobb NAACP president Deanne Bonner and retired accountant Doug Reed, who was recommended by the Northeast Cobb Homeowners Association.

Commissioner Annette Kesting of southwest Cobb appointed attorney LaRonda Barnes, who also will serve on the Cobb Board of Tax Assessors; Shoupade savior Rhonda Cook of the Johnston's River Line Historic Area; and Connie Taylor a loan-processing manager and real estate broker for the City of Atlanta.

Commissioner Joe Lee Thompson of southeast Cobb appointed Roger Buerki of the Cobb Parks Coalition, who has spent 35 years working to save greenspace along the Chattahoochee River; Joni Cope, who has been instrumental in trying to save the historic Hyde Farm in east Cobb; and Chris Dusack, a Bank of America employee and member of the Cobb Parks Coalition.

And Commissioner Goreham selected Heidelberg USA manager Jim Dugan, banker Jimmy Durham and Wendy Friberg of the Cobb Parks Coalition, who also was active in the Kolb Farm effort a few years back.

As noted above, the panel will make recommendations to the commission about which tracts to focus on for acquisition, as the referendum question did not specify which land might be bought. Although much speculation has centered on the huge Bullard Farm on Dallas Highway in west Cobb, that tract is tied up in a lawsuit regarding the county's refusal to allow it to be rezoned for a massive development that would play havoc with roads and schools in that area.

And while that site certainly has not been ruled out as a potential park, word has it the county may have as its initial focus the acquisition of a small Civil War-related parcel in south Cobb, not only in order to preserve it but in order to quickly be able to show results to the public. Indeed, it makes sense for the panel to cut its teeth on the acquisition of smaller, simpler-to-obtain properties rather than trying to tackle large, complicated purchases right off the bat.

At any rate, the commissioners appear to have chosen well as they selected their panel members. Now, it's time for them to get to work, and we hope their enthusiasm for their task remains unabated.