6 can give their 2 cents for 5 minutes
If you’re planning to tell Cobb County’s top elected officials what you think about their plans to help build a new stadium for the Braves, you’d better arrive early to Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners’ meeting.
Officials are going to allow six residents to speak for up to five minutes each before the commission votes on whether to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the county and the Braves.
After the vote, commissioners will then allow another six residents to speak, each with the same time limits.
Commission Chairman Tim Lee told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday that the time restrictions were not established to limit public input but rather to avoid unnecessary delays during the meeting.
If the meeting is moving at a quick pace, Lee said, commissioners may open the floor to additional public comment.
— Todd C. Duncan
Reed: 45 percent public funding? No way
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, speaking to reporters after an Invest Atlanta meeting Thursday morning, said city taxpayers would have never let him “get away” with funding a professional sports stadium at 45 percent — the percentage of public money Cobb County is putting up for the Braves’ new suburban home.
Atlanta has pledged $200 million in bonds backed by hotel-motel taxes to the $1.2 billion Atlanta Falcons stadium. That same pot of money cannot, per state law, be applied to Turner Field.
“My taxpayers aren’t backstopping a $1.2 billion stadium, we’re not funding 45 percent of a public project,” Reed said. “I’ve tried to be as gracious as possible, and I believe in regionalism, but lay my deal side-by-side. You all would never have let me get away with 45 percent of funding.”
Reed again defended his position that Atlanta cannot afford to fund $150 million to $200 million in improvements to Turner Field and congratulated the Braves on what he said was a great deal.
But he added that the city won’t lose out on all tourism revenue related to the Braves.
“A lot of those guests are going to stay in city of Atlanta hotels because Cobb County doesn’t have enough,” he said.
“I view Cobb County as a partner,” he continued. “I view them as taking on part of the region’s infrastructure burden. If they want to build a $670 million state-of-the-art facility and help the region, I think that’s fine.”
— Katie Leslie
Braves VP speaks at Quality Growth meeting
Mike Plant, the Braves vice president of operations, gave a 10-minute update on the team’s historic move to Cobb County to about 300 people Thursday morning at the Council For Quality Growth’s fourth annual meeting.
Plant shared with the group renderings of the $400 million mixed-use development planned for the 45 acres outside the new ballpark, near I-75 and I-285. Those renderings were officially released to the public Wednesday.
Plant told the group that the move will greatly improve the experience for fans, that it is a true public-private partnership, and that the move will definitely happen.
Cobb County has agreed to invest $300 million in the new ballpark, or about 45 percent of the total. The Braves will be responsible for all development outside the ballpark, which will be ready for the start of the 2017 season.
— Dan Klepal
About the Author
