Parks committee member resigns from post

From the Marietta Daily Journal on Thursday, February 8, 2007, by MDJ staff writer Amanda Casciaro

MARIETTA - Cobb commissioners are drafting a new ordinance that would bring planning commissioners, members of the Board of Zoning Appeals and the newly appointed parks bond advisory committee under the County Ethics Code, officials said Wednesday.

The commission now is the only body subject to the code, which prohibits officials from receiving gifts worth more than $101, revealing confidential information or any other unethical behavior.
Across the metro area in Gwinnett County, "any member of any county board or authority" is subject to the code of ethics.

Marietta's Code of Ethics applies only to elected officials, not boards or appointed committees.

"I was alerted a couple months ago that the planning commission wasn't subject to the ethics code, and I felt strongly that wasn't appropriate," Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens said. "Due to the emphasis put on the parks board and the (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) advisory committee, they should be subject to that same regiment as well as maybe one or two of our other boards."

Commissioners are scheduled to approve the new ordinance, which includes only the planning commission, as part of their annual code amendments Feb. 27.

Other boards such as the SPLOST and transit authorities could be added after that with a simple agenda item, Olens said. Once that occurs, elected officials still would be the only Cobb board members required to file financial disclosures.

When commissioners first appointed the parks advisory committee Nov. 28, commissioners said it would be subject to the County Ethics Code and conduct business in accordance with Georgia's Sunshine Laws.

That stipulation has resulted in the resignation of one parks committee member, who is serving as a homeowner representative on the Cobb Board of Ethics.

Carol Brown, an appointee of Olens, has elected to give up her seat on the parks committee to complete a four-year term on the ethics board.

"I don't really think it was an issue of me choosing because I was elected back in 2005 by homeowner leadership to serve a four-year term. I wasn't appointed; I was elected, and I felt I should honor that commitment, Ms. Brown said.

"It had been suggested that if an allegation or complaint was filed with the parks committee, I could have recused myself and stayed on, but I don't think that would have sent the right message. We felt this was the best thing to do."

Olens is scheduled to replace Ms. Brown with Larry Ceminsky, a member of the Cobb Parks Coalition and employee of Marietta-based Bomber Battery. He will make the appointment at Tuesday's 9 a.m. commission meeting.

"The first (parks committee) meeting I went to Larry was there just as an interested observer," Olens said. "By appointing Larry, I'm not only appointing someone who's interested in the process, but I'm appointing someone who didn't have any down time."

acasciaro@mdjonline.com