Bond votes split Marietta council

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Four people already know they're voting against Tuesday's $25 million parks bond referendum in Marietta, and they're all members of the city council.

Council members Philip Goldstein, Annette Lewis, Anthony Coleman and Van Pearlberg -- a majority of the seven-member board -- say they oppose the referendum largely because of the tough economy with its high unemployment and foreclosures.

“I don’t think it’s the right economic time,” Pearlberg said.

If the 20-year bond is approved, the owner of a $100,000 house would see their property taxes go up about $25 per year. The money would be used to buy new parkland and upgrade existing parks.

Council member Jim King, who will vote yes, said an “unscientific poll” of voters in his ward shows support for the referendum.

King said he spends about $400 yearly on homeowner association fees that go toward maintaining his subdivision swimming pool. Paying for the parks bond would cost him a lot less.

“That’s a pretty good deal,” he said.

Voters often don’t mind spending on parks. Cobb County voters approved $40 million in parks bond referendums in 2006 and 2008. Marietta last put a bond referendum on the ballot in 1995.

But Bob Holmes, a retired historian and former state legislator from Atlanta, said the current economic crisis changes the game.

“In this economy people are not about to tax themselves,” Holmes said. “People are thinking, am I going to lose my job, is my unemployment going to run out?”

The latest unemployment figures from the Georgia Department of Labor show Marietta’s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in September, up from 6.3 percent in September 2008.

For at least a year and a half the council talked about improving to the city's 19 parks, two recreation centers and two sports complexes but couldn't agree on how to split money among the seven city wards.

But Mayor Bill Dunaway pushed for the referendum, and the council voted in August to put in on the ballot by a bare 4-3 majority. Pearlberg was among the majority in that vote, saying that he wants the community to make the decision about such a major issue.

Council member Holly Walquist said she’ll also vote yes.  Grif Chalfant won’t say how he’ll vote.

Bond supporters got a slow start. A group called Progress Marietta formed a few weeks ago and only recently started putting out yard signs and distributing literature. Arthur Vaughn, one of the group leaders, said that may not be a bad thing.

“A lot of people in the city of Marietta don’t focus on these things with a long lead time,” he said. “It gets lost in the other things they’re doing.”

None of the other elections on the Marietta ballot have created much heat. Bill Bolton III, Chris Neil and Steve "Thunder” Tumlin are running for mayor, now that Dunaway is stepping down. Tumlin, a former state House member, has the most name recognition. Bolton lost to Dunaway in 2005.

In Ward 3, former council member Johnny Sinclair is challenging Walquist. In Ward 4, Wes Godwin is trying to unseat Pearlberg. In Ward 5, former council member James Dodd and Chris Johnson are challenging Coleman. The other four council seats are uncontested.

The city school board candidates are Robert Thanepohn and Logan Weber in Ward 1; James Stuart Fleming and Doug Martin in Ward 5; and Tom Cheater and Michelle Cooper Kelly in Ward 6. The other four school board seats are uncontested.