We're here live with the . It's a pretty light agenda, but you never know with these folks. The commissioners are expected to award the $1.8 million "Alternatives Analysis" light-rail study to Croy Engineering as the project manager. The study will examine what kinds of mass transportation will work on the Interstate 75 and U.S. 41 corridors, how much it will cost and where it should be built.
Also, commissioners are expected to transfer $80,320 in contingency funds to the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration to cover the cost of a Sept. 20 special election for the state House seat left vacant when Republican Bobby Franklin died. Five Republicans qualified for the election last week.
7 p.m. The invocation is given, and the pledge is led by the Boy Scouts of Troop 211, .
7:05 Chairman Tim Lee is talking about the budget workshop that was held this afternoon. A public hearing will be held Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. on the 2012 proposed budget.
7:08 Three Eagle Scouts are being recognized by Commissioner Bob Ott.
7:09 The board recognizes alumna Michaela Grace Lackey for becoming Miss Georgia 2011. She will represent Georgia in the Miss America Pageant in 2012.
7:12 The Bus Operator of the Quarter Award goes to Bryan Brookins.
7:15 Public comment time.
Kevin Doyle, a 19-year resident of Cobb County, wants to talk about transportation. He praises the proposed TSPLOST project to run rail from Midtown Atlanta to Cobb.
7:19 Madeline Pond, a Girl Scout in Troop 263. Her family got a violation notification regarding her chickens. She explains what wonderful pets they are. She says she's speaking for all people who love chickens.
7:23 Joseph Pond speaks about the county's backyard chicken ordinance. He explains that the animals aren't livestock, but pets. They do not smell. Chicken waste makes good fertilizer, he says. Chickens do not lower the property value of surrounding properties.
7:27 Karen Jones. She is here to talk about the due to budget cuts. Her brother used to ride the buses that are for those who can't drive. Jones is against the cuts and wants the routes reinstated.
7:34 A new speaker is against spending so much money on the Alternatives Analysis light-rail study. She shows pictures of another study the group did and says it failed to meet standards.
7:40 The consent agenda passes.
7:41 The board approves a construction agreement with GDOT for S.R. 120/Dallas Highway Streetscapes, Phase 2.
7:43 The commissioners award the $1.8 million Alternatives Analysis light-rail study to Croy Engineering as the project manager.
The study will examine what kinds of mass transportation will work on the Interstate 75 and U.S. 41 corridors, how much it will cost, and where it should be built.
Director Faye DiMassimo said she expects the study will be done in 18 months. But that will be after voters in Cobb and nine other metro Atlanta counties vote on whether to pay a 1 percent sales tax for 10 years to finance transportation improvements.
The TSPLOST project list includes plans for a light-rail line from the Cumberland Mall area to MARTA's Arts Center Station.
7:55 The commissioners vote to authorize "requests for proposals" for a CCT advertising program.
8:10 More public comment.
The speaker is opposed to the CCT cuts and says the 600 people affected are being ignored. "Where is the leadership, Tim Lee?"
8:15 And that'll do it for tonight. We are adjourned.
by Jon Gillooly jgillooly@mdjonline.com The Marietta Daily Journal September 14, 2011 SMYRNA — State Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna) works in business development for Croy Engineering of Marietta, a company that has directly benefited from a proposal for mass transit in Cobb County, which critics say creates a conflict of interest. Tom Maloy of the Marietta-based Georgia Tea Party believes that “doesn’t pass the smell test.” “I haven’t talked with anyone else at the Georgia Tea Party, but personally it sounds like a conflict of interest to me, and I’d like to hear how Stoner justifies it and how he says it’s not a conflict of interest,” Maloy said. Stoner hosted a Sept. 8 TSPLOST town hall where he argued against the belief that crime increases with the arrival of transit in a community, noting that the proposed rail line would reduce the number of cars on the road. He told the Journal he disagrees that there’s a conflict of interest with his involvement in TSPLOST on one hand and working for Croy on the other. Stoner went to work for Croy in May after serving as a senior business development manager since 2009 with PBS&J, which was bought by Atkins. Maloy said the perception of a conflict is still there. Copyright 2011 The Marietta Daily Journal. All rights reserved.