u/A_Soporific

The first thing to come up was a fireworks permit. Supershow Fireworks want to set up a temporary booth in a parking lot. That of King's Liquor on 41 between Due West/Summer Street and Pine Mountain/Jiles. They moved it to the consent agenda, so it'll be approved without comment next week unless someone complains. All of that contingent on the Fire Marshall approval that hasn't quite come in yet.

There's a Hazard Mitigation Plan up next. The county (and all the cities therein) need to make a plan to handle disasters that will be submitted to FEMA every five years or so. The last time we did it was 2021, so it's right on time. There was no objection to making plans, so they moved it to consent for quick approval next week.

The police are going to be moving to their new digs pretty soon, as such they're clearing out the warehouses. In the warehouses there were a ton of old Motorola body cams that they no longer use. Rather than bring the body cams that have already been replaced with better models to fester in a new storage location they decided to ask permission to sell them off. They got approval to list them on GovDeals.com, the E-Bay of municipal governments.

The crime stats were up next and they're bad, like real bad. Last April there were 91 crimes. This year there's 132, like a 45% increase. Almost all of it comes from a big spike in drug offenses, fraud, and sex offenses. The only bright spot was a drop of arson to 0 from 1. Even the number of arrests is down, so it's not like they're catching more people overall. Things like this happen, I guess. Crime is still vanishingly rare, but it's a nasty little spike there.

The city's IT department needed to ask for money for the networking equipment in the new Public Safety building. The bids were handled under existing State of Georgia contracts and the money was covered from SPLOST money earmarked for the new building, so it was moved to the consent agenda for approval without further comment.

The old library being turned into a parking lot needs engineering work. Apparently $88,750 in engineering. Because the city believes they need the parking this contract approval was moved to consent.

The Federal Government issues Community Development Block Grants, and rather than the city fighting with the county and other Cobb cities for the money the local municipalities have agreed to apply together, guaranteeing that everyone gets a fair share of the money. The deal need renewal, so the city will be moving that renewal to consent.

For Parks and Recreation it's already Christmas time. The Holly Daze event is being planned, and since the drone show went well last year they're planning on doing it again this year. The show would cost $28,000.

Councilor Viars asked staff could do anything about the weather this year, in a humorous reference.

Councilor Orochena was more skeptical, preferring that the money be dedicated to lasting improvements. She noted that the city was becoming known for good quality shows, but those special events didn't seem to be helping the city after the shows end.

Councilman Bothers said that he thought that the last year's event was short. He would prefer a longer show if we are spending that much on it.

Councilor Viars said that the drone show is roughly analogous to a fireworks display in terms of cost. She thinks that it works well as a capstone to a day-long event and it can be better integrated into a larger event.

The Mayor was completely on board with the drone show and said as much. So it very much looks like it'll be approved next week.

Parks and Recreation want new lawnmowers for $27,000. They had a few mowers that were toned down. They actually need them, so that's moved to the consent agenda.

The Community Development Department is doing a Main Street Program. There's a few national groups that give out money for those that get accredited Main Street programs to maintain and improve things like the Marietta Square. We qualify for full accreditation for this first time this year.

Councilor Orochena noted that the qualifications require a "visioning event" of public outreach every year, to allow citizens input into the work done with that public money. She wanted to know if the event was scheduled for this year as she didn't recall one last year.

Staff said that they had one last year, but they haven't yet scheduled one for this year yet. It'll be some time in the Fall.

Councilman Jones asked more about the annual assessment and how to maintain and improve that accreditation.

Staff explained that they get a checklist and the other organizations will check up on them every year.

Now it's up for Public Comment. No History Kid this time.

The Woodlawn Park guy was here, though. The Mayor warned him to not mention by name any staff member this time other than himself and the assistant city manager. Despite that confrontational start, the park guy said that he had a good sit down with staff and they explained why the two parks in question had been downgraded, including going over crime stats and incident reports and how stepping up enforcement in the 1990s could have legitimately bankrupted the city. The decision made sense then, but those same conditions do not persist to today and he has a number of petitions and several hundred signatures for those parks to be restored.

After the meeting the Mayor said that he did a good job of keeping within the rules of decorum this time.

He wasn't alone in speaking on it. Ms Lion was there as well. She was raised in Woodland Acres, and she remembered the parks when they were still in good shape. She recently moved back after inheriting her childhood home, and was shocked by their current state. She knows there's a real desire for having those parks back, after all the neighbor kids are already playing in her yard adjacent to the Woodland park, and neighbors gather there as well. She firmly believes that having the benches, play set, and picnic area back would be a boon to the neighborhood.

And that's that. Sorry for the delay. There's some kind of ick going through my family at the moment and I just didn't get the post up last night.

Acworth is hosting their Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival this Friday (5/8) and Saturday (5/9) at their Logan Farm Park. Friday will be "The Lord of the Wings" competition, and you can buy tickets to taste. Saturday will be "Taster's Choice" a more generalized competition. They'll be open from 5 to 10 PM on Friday and 11 AM to 4 PM on Saturday. All profits will go to local charities.

This Saturday (5/9) the City of Kennesaw is shredding its documents, and you can too! It's free and open to all, up to a 10 box limit of documents. Please no glass and no electronics. The mobile shredder will be at Swift-Cantrell Park from 9 AM to Noon.

It's the Mountain 2 River Trail Festival on Saturday (5/9). The festival is centered on the Atherton Square, the plaza just to the west of the Marietta Square by the railroad tracks. They have art installations along the trail all the way to Lewis Park by Kennestone Hospital and all the way down to the pedestrian bridge near Brown Park right next to the Confederate Cemetery. So, there's a lot of art and a lot of ground to cover. In Marietta's core free art drops, scavenger hunts, aerialists, live music and dances. The event starts at 11 AM and runs to 6 PM.

Okay, the Yaarab Shrine Circus will actually be in town starting on Friday and running through the 17th. Tickets are $10 a head, and parking is $5. The Midway opens at 5 PM on weekdays, 10 AM on Saturdays, and Noon on Sundays. They will set up at the Jim R. Miller Park in Marietta. For real this time. I promise.

Finally, on Thursdays this month (so I missed it for today) Marietta is having a Brown Bag Concert from Noon to 1 PM. Sit on the square and enjoy a live music performance.

The starting hearing was for the 1600 Old 41 Highway development. They originally brought it to the city in March, but they are going to have to go all the way back to the drawing board. Too much of the lot is flood plain and the city pushed back on the workarounds they suggested.

The council approved their withdraw 5 - 0.

The capital improvement report for the Atlanta Regional Commission for the years 2026 to 2030. This is necessary to charge developers extra fees and get grants. There's no reason not to submit the report.

It's approved 5 - 0.

The consent agenda was up next. I don't usually mention it, it's full of stuff that no one objects to but needs council action, like authorizing staff to do stuff or approving the purchase of lots in the city's cemetery. This time Councilor Orochena had a comment on one of the things, so it derailed the usually streamlined process. She wanted to make sure that they kept the trees on the lot of the old Kennesaw Public Library when its bulldozed for a parking lot.

Ultimately, the consent agenda was approved 5 - 0, but it was much more of a process.

The accountant who audited 2025's books came up to speak. They issued a "clean opinion", meaning that there was nothing wrong with the books and everything was accurate. The city staff answered all the questions they had and no one needed to twist any arms. The headliners, the city had total assets of $242 million, liabilities of $32 million, and free cash of $31 million. Revenue is up big over the past five years, including up $1.3 million last year.

Councilman Jones wanted to ask some questions, mostly about the senior tax exemption. Apparently, it's stupid expensive for the city, but staff and the accountant weren't ready to answer the question off the dome. The estimate was about $2 million, up big from 2024 when it was ~$1.5 million.

The council had to vote on the record to indicate that they got and understood the report.

History Kid spoke during public comment. He wanted to talk about the naming of Kennesaw State University. Turns out when the school was first founded they didn't have a name attached. The working title was "Cobb County Junior College". There was a campaign to name "Richard Russel Junior College" after a long serving senator. Ultimately, it came down to Mr. Strugis, the first president of the University. His first swing at it was "Marietta Junior College", which made many people very angry. Since it was pretty far away from Marietta. But the people from Marietta were mad when it was suggested that the name shouldn't stick. There was a compromise, Kennesaw Mountain. Kennesaw Mountain was close enough to both places and "claimed" by North Cobb and Marietta. The problem? "Kennesaw Mountain Junior College" was considered too "hick" or "country". So they chopped the mountain off and rolled with it. Hence the name "Kennesaw Junior College" which eventually grew into "Kennesaw State University".

The city manager said that they had great turnout among millennials for the Boy Band Review this last Saturday. The concerts seem to be going quite well. He also wanted to congratulate the finance folks for the positive audit. Going back over every entry on every spreadsheet with outside accountants looking over your shoulder takes months and is very challenging, and despite that they did a very good job.

Sorry about the lack of "stuff going on this weekend" posts. My, apparently, had a fever for a week and didn't think it was worth telling anyone. The ER quickly diagnosed him with pneumonia. He was hospitalized for three days, but he's doing a lot better now. The doctors and Kennestone said that they've been slammed by such cases, and since it responds well to antibiotics early check up on your elderly loved ones, a quick urgent care visit now is much better than overnight stays in the hospital next week.

First things first, the Cobb Galleria people were there. The city kicked in a fair chunk of its hotel/motel tax to a massive $190 million upgrade so they were there to give an update on how things were going. The project has been underway for a while, and a big chunk of the main building reopened January 11th. The red deck was demolished and they're going to add a new deck elsewhere to make up the numbers. They're adding 13,000 square foot conference rooms and convention space indoors with an 11,000 square foot outdoor event space for weddings and what not. They're also adding RGB gamer lighting everywhere so they could turn the lighting orange for Home Depot and what not. Councilman Jones asked if we could get one of the conference rooms named after us, and the replied that we'd be getting mural instead.

They expect to be done for an already booked convention in April of next year.

The folks doing 1600 Old Highway 41 want to turn it from woods to a multi-family housing area, but the developers withdrew the plan again. Turns out staff has been pushing back and they need to go back to the drawing board again.

Staff needs to do the Capital Improvement Plan for the Atlanta Regional Commission. Getting this done on time enables Kennesaw to get all sorts of grants, so it's important to get it done. Councilor Orochena asked about the affordable housing report, and staff explained it was part of the Comprehensive Plan they're working on.

The financial audit will be gone over in detail next week. You can read the executive summary here and the full report here.

The Hiram Butler House in the Smith-Gilbert Gardens is to get some renovation done. It's going to be more than half a million dollars, but first half million is covered by the State of Georgia. Thank you state reps for bringing home some bacon.

The owner of 0 Maple Drive (across from the East Park on Cherokee Street) wants to subdivide their one lot in to three lots so as to build three houses where one house was. It conforms to existing zoning, which allows 1 house on a lot no smaller than 15,000 square feet and the lot will be divided into three that are larger than that. It was moved to consent agenda, so it will be approved with no additional discussion if no one complains.

The Lacy Phase 2 rezoning is up. The Kennesaw Wrecker lot and the trailer park and going to be smooshed together into one lot to allow them to build the big development. Staff recommended approval and it also was moved to the consent agenda.

We now know what's up for the old library building. It's going to be a parking lot. Womp womp. Councilor Orochena asked about the trees. The contractor says that they will try to avoid cutting them down, but if they have to they'll replant them somewhere else on site.

Now it's public comment:

The Miller said that her parents were scientists and when they retired they spent time educating kids about nature and gardening. They used to give talks on stuff exactly like this, and it's very important to keep bug populations up which also keeps bird populations healthy. Also, pollinators are essential to farmers and gardeners to do their thing.

The Georgia Native Plants Society turned up. They already organize volunteers to help restore native plants to the Smith-Gilbert Gardens and would very much like to organize volunteers for the soon-to-be proposed pollinator gardens.

The Conservation Landscaper guy was there again. Instead of talking in favor of the playground this time he was talking in favor of the pollinator gardens. He says that native plants are great for pollinator gardens and they have bunches of advantages over the annuals the city currently plants. Most native plants self-prune, don't require fertilizer, and are perfectly happy with the natural level of rain we get here outside of droughts. A pollinator garden could pay for itself if it replaces expensive landscaping.

The Mayor tried to call it, but there were more people to speak.

The Woodland Park guy came up. The mayor had warned him about his tone and civility (the last time he was accusatory of certain city officials). This time he started out positive, there had been some work done between last time and this time, including getting signs back up. He also spoke to a previous public works manager who said that the two neighborhood parks he was talking about had gotten less support due to historical drug and vandalism problems, so previous mayors and councils had deprioritized them for several decades. He was confident that the parks could be rehabbed now that the city was listening to needs of people on the other side of 41 and hoped that a lot more work could be done.

The last fellow was back on the topic of Pollinator Gardens. He said that they could very well be a good quiet meeting place in public parks. Its hard for neighbors to hang out and get to know one another and as great as the big parks are they aren't conducive to neighbors getting to know each other. In fact, his HOA president was willing to volunteer to work on a pollinator garden. Pollinator Gardens aren't community gardens, but he was hopeful that they could fulfill the same goal.

The City Manager noted that there are two concerts coming up this weekend. The First Friday Concert featuring the Kränberries (Alt Rock/Pop/Classic Rock) and the Amphitheater Concert Series featuring the Boyband Review. The city manager said he isn't into boy bands himself and doesn't know much about it. The County will be doing its comprehensive plan, where the county sets up its goals for the next five years, they had a kick off meeting on Wednesday and they should be interviewing the council soon to establish the goals for this part of the county.

Finally, there's the discussion Councilor Orochena put on the agenda to discuss allowing volunteers to establish pollinator gardens in neighborhood parks. She just wants permission for a pilot program.

Councilman Bothers said that he's not against it in principle, but is worried about cost.

Councilor Orochena said the pilot location would be the planter box on JO Stephenson that is currently being used for annuals. It's right next to the old Eaton Chiropractic and if it uses donated plants and volunteers it shouldn't cost almost anything.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon said that he's in favor, and he thinks that a larger program could compliment the Smith-Gilbert Gardens. He'd go so far as to volunteer himself to do some planting.

Councilman Jones said that he was involved in 4-H in school and wondered if they could get involved. It did seem right up there alley, and he'd be more than happy to donate some of his time as well.

Councilman Bothers asked where the initial cost in terms of plants would be coming form.

Councilor Orochena said that she thought that there could be partnerships and corporate donors for that.

Councilor Viars asked if they had any source for plants.

Councilor Orochena said that there are existing native plant and pollinator garden groups that have access to spares. She postulated that small gardens in neighborhood parks could get plants form and advertise for efforts at the Smith-Gilbert Gardens.

Councilman Jones wanted liability wavers to limit the risk if someone managed to hurt themselves. The City Attorney said that was a given.

The Mayor chimed in with some concerns. The city was doing a lot more now than it was when he first started and he was worried that a big project could stress city resources. He would rather it be on private property at first, and to keep the city from being on the hook for additional costs should enthusiasm from volunteers fall off.

Councilor Viars noted that since the proposal was just for the one planter just off Main Street right now they could just plant annuals again like they have been should volunteers stop turning out.

The City Manager asked if the plan would involve city employees, and was reassured that the current proposal was volunteer-only given the number of people who had already volunteered. He said that since the draw on city resources would be minimal that he had no objections.

The end conclusion was that if Councilor Orochena organized the materials and volunteers herself then she should bring it back to the council and they would vote on it then.

So it's the political Semi-Finals, with the winners of this election going on to the championship. Just as a reminder, the State of Georgia doesn't register people by party so it doesn't know or care which party you are, you get to pick one of the two separate party elections that just so happen to be going on at the same time and place. Once you pick one then you are stuck with it through any runoffs that may be happening in June. If you want to vote to determine who the Republican governor candidate will be you won't get to weigh in on county Democrats, so make your decision carefully. You CAN vote "non partisan" but then you will only see the nonpartisan races like the various judges and not see races for US Senate, Georgia Governor, or the Cobb County Commission, so it's only recommended for those who are trying to make a point of some sort.

Here is the official page for Advanced Voting. Regional voting locations include the Ben Robertson Community Center, North Cobb Senior Center, West Cobb Regional Library, and the central office across 41 from the Big Chicken. During the weeks between Monday (4/27) and Friday (5/15) they'll be open 7 AM to 7 PM. They'll be open on Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM. Some locations like the central office and the North Cobb Senior Center will be open Sundays from Noon to 5 PM.

If you already have made up your mind, go get them. Getting it out of the way early is a great idea. If not, then please vote to replace the incumbent Superior Court Clerk.