Few surprises in Cobb park buy recommendations

From the Marietta Daily Journal on Saturday, June 30, 2007 by Kelly Brooks, staff writer

MARIETTA - Cobb officials Friday announced the top 18 recommendations of the citizen advisory committee for the Cobb $40 million parks bond.

Few surprises topped the list. Four well-known properties - the 112-acre Bullard Farm on Dallas Highway in west Cobb, a 16-acre tract of hardwood trees with Civil War earthworks on Veterans Memorial Highway in southeast Cobb; the 95-acre Hyde Farm on Lower Roswell Road in northeast Cobb; and the 54-acre Tritt property on Roswell Road in northeast Cobb - all placed in the first of four tiers.

The other two properties in the first tier consist of a 140-acre southwest Cobb property adjacent to Stout Park and 26.5 acres of the 70-acre northeast Cobb Mabry Centennial Farm on Wesley Chapel Road.

Though the first tier represents properties the committee, after analyzing and visiting, decided were the most important to preserve, properties within each tier are not ranked.

Cobb Chairman Sam Olens said commissioners will visit the properties during upcoming weekends, starting today, because it's one thing to read about the tracts on paper and view the maps, but it's another to see and walk the land, he said.

According to Committee Chairman John Pape, the first tier was a consensus among the 15-member committee. The Hyde, Bullard and Tritt properties were in everyone's top tier, he said.

Property owner Wylene Tritt this spring collaborated with the county to establish a permanent easement in the form of a bridge across her property, allowing for the connection of East Cobb Park to Fullers Park.

Now, she said she is ready to sell her land to Cobb so that the public can enjoy the property.

"I feel like it's one of the best properties for the county since it's connected to two parks already and there are no other greenspaces around here for them to get," Mrs. Tritt said.

Based on average prices per acre in east Cobb, Mrs. Tritt's land is estimated to be worth between $5.2 million and $8.2 million, though she said contractors consistently have sought and "upped the price" on her property.

George Hart, one of the founders of the Friends of Hyde Farm, said that the Hyde recommendation "demonstrates the importance of the property and the community support behind the property."

"From our perspective, we're waiting, and hopefully that land will be put up for sale," he said on the property for which his organization has raised about $250,000.

According to the county recommendation list, the Hyde property currently is listed under the ownership of the estate of the late J.C. Hyde, a longtime Cobb farmer who signed an agreement in 1992 giving the California-based Trust for Public Land (members of which also will help Cobb to strike deals for the parks bond properties) first right to buy 95 acres of his original 134-acre farm.

Forty adjacent acres previously were deeded to the trust and ultimately turned over to the National Park Service, which reserved the land as part of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area.

Members of the Hyde family began receiving offers from developers in 2005 ranging from $13 million to $18 million, but Hart said that to his knowledge, the family still has not listed the property with a broker.

But the real surprise in the top tier, Pape said, was the property next to Stout Park, an interesting mix of field and woods.

Pape said one committee member qualified the land by saying, "It's like when you're coming around a corner, you're walking from room to room."

Stephen Stana, property owner and Cobb's biggest hay producer, said there is "no question" he's willing to work with the county for a good deal.

"It would enhance Stout substantially," Stana said, noting he has been offered contracts on the property but favors greenspace over development.

"This area is about ready to blow out," he said. "They're surveying for sewer."

According to a recent report issued by the Atlanta Regional Commission, Cobb has 10 years until its land is exhausted. The figure is based on data that show developable land was cleared at a rate of 3,540 acres per year from 2003 to 2005.

The recommended east Cobb properties, too, exist in an area rife with development.

Pape said the committee received a petition with more than 300 signatures to support acquisition of the 26.5 acres of Mabry Farm on Wesley Chapel Road.

The property consists of woods, open fields, a pond and stream and of course, cows.

"It's been a farm for over 100 years," Pape said, noting that greenspace in that area of Cobb also is a rarity.

At a June 18 parks committee meeting, Mabry Farm resident and Mabry Middle School eighth-grade social studies teacher Julie Mabry Stephens presented a supporting iMovie composed by her students.

Before showing the movie, Mrs. Stephens noted that she still remembers her great-grandfather "on his knees picking shucks out of the corn."

In 2004, Gov. Sonny Perdue awarded the Mabry family a Centennial Farm Award from the State of Georgia.

"It's a very integral part of east Cobb," Mrs. Stephens said. "My family has farmed this land and still farms this land."

Following the movie, in a standout part of which a young student said "No cost is too high to save our past," committee members issued formal thanks to the students.

"Tell them their message was heard," Pape said at the meeting.

Now that the recommendations are public, the committee members will be on the receiving end of thanks, at least from west Cobb resident and founder of the Cobb Parks Coalition, Paul Paulson.

Paulson has advocated for the Cobb acquisition of Bullard farm since before the bond vote passed overwhelmingly in November.

The Bullard property, located in west Cobb on Dallas Highway between Old Hamilton and Bob Fleming roads, became contentious when Florida-based Goodman Co. filed a lawsuit against the county following Cobb Commissioners' February 2006 denial of a plan for an extensive mixed-use development on the site.

Though litigation is pending on the Bullard property, its estimated value is $18 million to $23 million, based on average prices per acre in west Cobb.

Paulson said he was thrilled the committee placed the property in its first tier.

"I thank the committee for all their hard work and for their choice there, for sure," he said. "I really respect the committee for working hard for six months and doing the job that I didn't feel I was qualified to do."

Paulson noted that the committee recommendation, although "a big hurdle to get over" also was just one step in the process and said he hopes Cobb commissioners, who have the ultimate say on which properties to buy, will respect the public's choices.

For now, Pape said he thinks the recent public disclosure will precipitate more public involvement.

"I think the county made the right decision," he said.

kbrooks@mdjonline.com

Commission will reveal park plans

From the Marietta Daily Journal on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 by Kelly Brooks, staff writer.

MARIETTA - Cobb Commissioners on Monday chose to keep a process initiated by the public open to the public.

Cobb residents on Friday can expect to see a list of final purchase recommendations from a citizen's advisory committee that has been evaluating land for the county to buy with a $40 million parks bond.

Cobb voters overwhelmingly passed the bond in November with more than 70 percent of voters approving.

On Friday, commissioners plan to make public a list of 18 properties the advisory committee nominated for purchase.

Commissioners on Monday heard a closed-door presentation of properties nominated by the 15-member committee, which has worked gratis since January to narrow a list of 94 nominated tracts through study, analysis and in about 37 cases, property visits.

"I think we were all pleased with the committee's recommendations and the open and enthusiastic reception (commissioners) gave them," said Joni House Cope, committee vice chairwoman. "The commissioners, by choosing to set up and listen to the advisory committee, created a real trailblazing process that we hope will be replicated for future green space initiatives in Cobb and elsewhere."

According to Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens, letters are being sent to property owners whose land the county is "not considering at this time but may consider in the future" and "to the properties we want to consider further."

"We do want to make the properties public," Olens said, noting the Friday delay provides a chance for owners of nominated land to know the results of the committee's work before they read about it in the newspaper.

Owners of the 18 recommended properties most likely will receive a phone call and a letter, and the California-based Trust for Public Land will be involved in some initial contacts with landowners.

"We're also giving them an opportunity to tell us if they're still interested in having their property considered knowing that it's not in the top tier," Cobb Director of Public Services Bob Ash said.

Ash said that the properties were spread over four tiers, with six in the first tier, six in the second tier, five in the third and one in the last tier.

"All areas of the county were represented," he said. "The largest tract was 140 acres and the smallest was probably 2.8 acres."

There were no commitments made on the part of commissioners, Ash added.

"They want to go out and visit some of the sites that were recommended," he said, noting that visits would take place in the near future.

At the next executive meeting following the visits, commissioners will discuss what steps Cobb will take next to buy land for future park use.

Ash said there are pros and cons to releasing the list to the public - while the release might increase some prices, on the flipside, property owners will be aware of potential competition.

"The main reason commissioners chose to release the list is public involvement, which was a main part of the bond to begin with," Ash said. "The more the public knows about what's going on, the more they'll be able to keep up with how the program is being managed."

Ms. Cope maintained her previous viewpoint regarding release of the list, but expressed support for commissioners.

"My own opinion - not necessarily that of the committee - is, that while it has risks in terms of its potential impact on pricing, the decision to release the list is another example of commissioners' commitment to transparency and openness in their stewardship of public funds," she said.

kbrooks@mdjonline.com