With commission aboard, parks bond looks like a go

A editorial published in the Marietta Daily Journal on Sunday, July 6, 2008

It looks like a foregone conclusion that the Nov. 4 election ballot in Cobb County, in addition to offering the choices for president of the United States, will also ask local voters whether they approve of spending $40 million to buy land for future county parks.

All five Cobb Commissioners are on board for the plan, which should make a formality of the July 22 vote at which they will decide whether to add it to the ballot.

The first $40 million parks bond was passed overwhelmingly by local voters in 2006, and nearly all of that money now has been spent, and without a hint of scandal or favoritism. In return, the public is now the proud owner of five sizeable tracts and a big part of another (the Hyde Farm), all of which will be turned into parks.

Now, with the real estate market in a deep slump and little price competition from developers, it makes perfect sense to build on the success of the first bond by following it with a second bond of comparable size. Like the first, the second bond would not cause an increase in local taxes.

The emphasis the first time around was on acquiring some of the few remaining undeveloped tracts large enough to be transformed into parks. This time around, the emphasis will probably be broader, that is, on acquiring a mix of sizes.

"I believe this time we need to look more closely at areas in the county that are not served by parks and make adding parks to those areas a top priority, no matter the size," said east Cobb Commissioner Tim Lee. "I would advocate for pocket parks, assemblage of property that may provide connectivity between existing parks and trails, and redevelopment sites as well that might make sense to convert to green space."

And while the first time around the push was for acquiring land for passive parks, as opposed to recreational parks, the emphasis this time may be more broad based, the thought being to go ahead and buy the land now while it's still comparatively cheap and then worry about its exact use later, based on needs and the desires of those nearby.

So we would encourage the commission to vote July 22 to put the measure on the fall ballot, and would encourage grassroots groups who were so successful in 2006 to pick back up where they left off. After that, it's up to the voters.