Backers of Cobb parks land optimistic

From the northeastcobbmonitor.com, issue 41, on Thursday, October 23, 2008 by David Poteet, editor

The primary organizer of a group hoping to see another $40 million Cobb County parks bond pass to buy more property in Cobb is confident the measure will be accepted by voters in the November 4 election.

His comments come on the heels of reports that mayors in three of Cobb’s cities had potential opposition to the bonds because it would raise taxes in the cities by .1 mill. That equates to $8 a year on a $200,000 home, according to county officials.

Paul Paulson, head of the Cobb Parks Coalition, said his optimism is based on how well the land buying process has gone with the $40 million parks bond voters approved in 2006.

“People trusted the process for the last bond because the Cobb Board of Commissioners had a public committee to do the work,” said Paulson, who also lead the charge for the bond two years ago. “That group had 94 properties committed for purchase consideration and it whittled the number down to 18. It was a grass roots effort that was properly executed. This bond should do well because of the success of the first”

The 2006 parks bond passed with 72% of the voters backing it. There are about $3 million left in that bond, and with the economic slowdown, county officials and members of the Cobb Parks Coalition are hoping passage of the 2008 parks bond will lead to the purchase of choice land that could have other wise been developed.

The county wants to finance the 2008 bond by moving .1 mill of county property taxes from the county fire fund to the debt fund. Taxpayers in unincorporated Cobb will see no change in their tax bills because the funding is implemented through a transfer of taxes from one fund to another.

However, taxpayers in Marietta, Smyrna and Austell will see the .1 mill rise in taxes because the three cities have their own fire departments. That means there is nowhere to offset the .1 mill tax.

Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens said while mayors of those cities did have concerns about the potential raise in taxes for their residents, talks with Austell Mayor Joe Jerkins and Mayor Max Bacon of Smyrna have led to their support of the measure.

“Marietta, Smyrna and Austell had concerns about the situation, but since the reports about those concerns came out, Smyrna and Austell have gotten on board with the park plans,” said Olens.

Olens said the rise in taxes was unintentional and occurred because the Cobb Board of Commissioners rushed to place it on the election ballot before the Nov. 4 election. He also emphasized land appreciates twice as much as the interest rates paid on the bonds to purchase them.

Cobb County consists of 220,000 acres, of which 90% is already developed. Major purchases from the 2006 bond include the 135-acre Hyde Farm in East Cobb and Bullard Farm, which includes 112 acres off Dallas Highway in West Cobb.

Paulson said properties considered as a potential purchase for a park do not have to be nominated by the property owner or 15-member citizens’ advisory committee for the parks.

“Anyone can nominate properties for consideration in this process,” said Paulson. “It doesn’t matter how small or large the property is. The passage of this parks bond would help us continue to warehouse properties until the economy turns around.”

A total of about 300 acres has been designated as perpetual green space in Cobb County.