A New South Cobb City? Maybe So, As Group Outlines Its Plan At Town Hall

Key issues driving the movement? Economic development, zoning and code enforcement, said Keylan Mitchell, a board member of the South Cobb Alliance, which is organizing the effort.

“Let’s take a drive down Veterans Memorial [Highway]. Let’s take a drive down Austell Road. And what you see is really no different from what you would have seen if you had taken a drive down those corridors 30 years ago,” he said at the town hall.

“What this effort would do is give local representation, and give a local economic and community development department that would put more resources toward developing the entire community like what you see in other parts of the county, such as Smyrna.”

Leroy Hutchins, also of the alliance’s board, pointed out that businesses like Six Flags’ tax revenue go to Cobb County, to fund projects all over the county, including the  Atlanta Braves’ new stadium. “We don’t really see that focus, and we’re the ones helping create that [revenue],” he said.

“We’re often forgotten about, and it’s to a point where the community just wants to be able to have more control over the services,” said Monique Sheffield, an alliance board member. “The South Cobb area, in general, is lacking services that are not quite equitable across the county.”

Per Georgia law, the group first needs a feasibility study to determine whether the idea is plausible, tax-wise. Hutchins said they are 10 percent of the way to a $27,000 goal to fund the study with the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

There is a deadline though.

The study needs to be completed with enough time to get a bill through this upcoming General Assembly session so a referendum could be on the 2020 ballot. If the deadline isn’t met, the vote has to wait until 2022.

“I’m not getting any tax money from this. Our biggest thing is we want it to be better from the way it is today. That’s the bottom line,” state Rep. Erica Thomas said. She hosted the town hall and would carry any legislation on the topic.

Members of the alliance leadership argued that Cobb County Commissioner Lisa Cupid, who represents South Cobb, has too much on her plate with 180,000 constituents.

Cupid said there are definitely problems, but cityhood might not be the end-all, be-all answer.

“Having a city does not necessarily mean that you’re going to be flush with resources to pave every street with gold,” she said.

“Being in a city does not change the level of responsiveness or interaction with residents. That has got to come from within the energy of those that live there,” she said. “Being in a city does not necessarily change your political construct if you don’t have the pipeline of leadership that can really move investment policies and program for your area.”

She cautioned that cityhood is not a “panacea.”

“There are pockets of every local government that has areas that are less-served than other local government entities. And I don’t know if necessarily just becoming a city will change the tide for everyone,” she said. “I see it being a tool and not necessarily the complete solution in addressing the challenges and disparities that South Cobb has.”

One thing the group is sensitive to? Talk of possible tax hikes.

Galt Porter, another alliance board member, said the reason the proposed city map includes the area around Six Flags was to make sure the city would have enough commercial/industrial property to solidly fund the municipality.

But none of that will be certain until the study is finished, Sheffield said. “We’re not saying that taxes are going to be raised or not going to be raised. We won’t know that information until we get the feasibility study.”

This is not the only cityhood effort happening in Cobb County. East Cobb has already funded a feasibility study for its own area.