An open letter to Chairman Tim Lee on parks bond
December 29, 2015
MR. LEE:
I would like to personally thank you for mentioning at the Dec. 17 Board of Commissioners meeting the “revisiting” of the 2008 Cobb Parks Bond issuance. You noted that Commissioner Sam Olens promised that the Park Bond referendum voted on by Cobb voters would be passed and the bond issued, as long as there was no tax increase. Shortly after the vote, the national economy underwent its worst recession since the Great Depression and it wasn’t possible to issue the bond and purchase the properties sited for purchase. As you pointed out, since then the nation and Cobb County have undergone a significant recovery, and you have directed the county manager to have his staff revisit the Park Bond, checking to see which properties are still available and whether the bond is feasible without raising taxes.
Of note now is that many of the properties on the 2008 Park Bond list have already been developed, so each District may need to re-evaluate current land possibilities in relation to the existing streams, rivers, and new connected trail possibilities.
Thank you for proposing a reconsideration of the important issue of parks and green space purchase, as voted on by 65 percent of Cobb citizens in 2006. As land becomes more and more scarce and expensive in our county, voters want to see as much of it preserved for public use as possible.
Lynn Walston
Marietta
Published in the Marietta Daily Journal on December 29, 2015. View the original link here.
December 29, 2015
MR. LEE:
I would like to personally thank you for mentioning at the Dec. 17 Board of Commissioners meeting the “revisiting” of the 2008 Cobb Parks Bond issuance. You noted that Commissioner Sam Olens promised that the Park Bond referendum voted on by Cobb voters would be passed and the bond issued, as long as there was no tax increase. Shortly after the vote, the national economy underwent its worst recession since the Great Depression and it wasn’t possible to issue the bond and purchase the properties sited for purchase. As you pointed out, since then the nation and Cobb County have undergone a significant recovery, and you have directed the county manager to have his staff revisit the Park Bond, checking to see which properties are still available and whether the bond is feasible without raising taxes.
Of note now is that many of the properties on the 2008 Park Bond list have already been developed, so each District may need to re-evaluate current land possibilities in relation to the existing streams, rivers, and new connected trail possibilities.
Thank you for proposing a reconsideration of the important issue of parks and green space purchase, as voted on by 65 percent of Cobb citizens in 2006. As land becomes more and more scarce and expensive in our county, voters want to see as much of it preserved for public use as possible.
Lynn Walston
Marietta
Published in the Marietta Daily Journal on December 29, 2015. View the original link here.
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