South Cobb Redevelopment Authority Makes Progress

The South Cobb Redevelopment Authority is still establishing itself, but has made quite a bit of progress since its first meeting in October.  The board has appointed officers, approved bylaws and planned allocating some of the remaining $236,000 from the original South Cobb Development Authority.

At its Monday meeting, Cobb Planning Division Manager Dana Johnson presented an overview of the South Cobb Implementation Strategy, which was presented at South Cobb Commissioner Woody Thompson’s September town hall meeting and subsequently to the full board of county commissioners.

The plan, which serves as a guide for further redevelopment of the Historic Mableton, Six Flags and River Line areas, was approved by the county BOC in January.

The River Line area, though full of higher-priced homes and new development, may still need help from SCRA, SCRA Secretary Robin Meyer said.

“You can’t just say there’s a developer in there, so it’s taken care of,” Meyer said.

Green Street Properties is building Riverview Landing, a $300 million 82-acre development on Riverview Road along the Chattahoochee River.           
The Riverview Road area alone, is receiving $4 million for new sidewalks and turning lanes from the recently passed SPLOST and is slated to receive an additional $16.5 million in improvements from the TSPLOST if passed by voters in July.

Also included in the SCIS are economic development tools, which can help further develop the three nodes.

One or more of the areas could be designated as Tax Allocation Districts. A TAD is usually a blighted area that is redeveloped with public dollars for the purpose of spurring investment in the area. Johnson said a TAD could even be used for a new ride, which would expand Six Flags Over Georgia.

To move forward with its Floyd Road improvement plan, which is being paid for with dedicated funds from the 2005 SPLOST, the county must acquire the 566.34 square feet of property owned by the SCRA. The property is located between Barnes Drive and the Mable House property. Additionally, SCRA has a 99-year lease on the adjacent Mable House property from the Ruff family, and the county is negotiating with the family to acquire the needed property,

To handle the legal matters for this issue, the board selected attorney Fred Bentley of Marietta-based Bentley, Bentley and Bentley law firm as its representative.

Bentley, who was one of the four attorneys presented to the Authority by County Attorney Deborah Dance, agreed to represent the board on this issue only at a rate of $145.

Bentley is also the lobbying attorney for Six Flags Over Georgia, said Melinda Ashcraft.

SCRA Treasurer Damon Duncan expressed concern about the selection process of the representing attorney and that the board had not yet approved a conflict of interest policy.

“In anything that we do, we want to be open and fair,” Duncan said.

Other Actions:

• Ashcraft is the lead on identifying a company for Director’s and Officer’s insurance for the Authority. She is expecting bids from three companies this week, she said.
• Board members Ashcraft, Meyer and Ed Richardson composed a Request for Qualifications selection committee to identify the best individual or firm to assist the Authority in finding Neighborhood Stabilization Plan funding sources to spur economic redevelopment in the Six Flags area. The RFQ yielded two responses, which were discussed and ranked by the committee. The firm selected would receive a salary from the $236,000 of interest on and remains from the $1 million Mableton grant fund originally awarded to the South Cobb Development Board in 2000.