West Cobb resident Tom Cheek said federal authorities have told him that the complaint he filed last week, alleging Cobb County twice filed incorrect and misleading information with federal transit officials, will be handled as two separate investigations.
Critics say the incorrect information gives an impression of wide-spread support for the $500 million bus rapid transit (BRT) project, which would build bus-only lanes on U.S. 41 from Kennesaw to the Cumberland area.
Cheek said he has been “pleasantly surprised” at the interest shown by the Inspector General’s Office.
“The Feds have been more responsive than the county,” Cheek said. “The people I have spoken to seem genuinely interested in my input. At the county level, there seems to be very little interest. I have not yet received related information requested in an Open Records request made over two weeks ago, and no one seems to be interested in correcting” the misstatements.
The controversy became public last week when The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a BRT Environmental Assessment — a key study necessary for the county to qualify for up to $250 million in federal grants — incorrectly says the project was “accepted” as the county’s preferred option during a Feb. 28, 2012 commission meeting.
The same thing is stated in Cobb’s $10 million TIGER grant application, submitted to the Federal Transit Administration last month to build a similar project on a smaller scale along U.S. 41.
In fact, no analysis had been completed when that meeting was held, no vote by the commission was taken and commissioners made no comments whatsoever after the presentation. The county still has not adopted BRT as its “locally preferred alternative,” which is an important designation for federal funding.
Cheek said he has tried unsuccessfully to have the county correct the statements and commit to reviewing the process that led to them being printed in two important documents. He hopes his complaint to the Inspector General will accomplish that.
“My goal is to show the U.S. DOT where the errors are in the applications since the county government has decided not to do the right thing on their own,” Cheek said. “Perhaps it will give the county a new position where they (will) more closely review future applications before submitting them.”
The commission Tuesday night approved a resolution that says it intends to have a public referendum before BRT is built. The resolution only applies to the current board of commissioners, and would have no impact after three commissioners are up for re-election next year.
Commission Chairman Tim Lee sponsored that resolution after a state senator last week threatened to sponsor local legislation that would require a referendum on all transit projects. And Commissioner Bob Ott said three weeks ago that he planned to introduce an identical resolution next month.
Ott was absent Tuesday, and Lee’s decision to move forward with the resolution without him sparked a sharp text exchange.
“What is your problem?” Ott wrote in a text to Lee last week. “Are you so insecure that you had to wait until I’m out of the country to move behind our backs? You’re over the edge. It’s pathetic.”
“Have a great day,” Lee responded.
“Oh, please,” Ott replied. “People are a lot smarter than you think they are.”
Lee said Tuesday night that it was important “to get this clarification in place … and move forward with the business of the county. This was my first opportunity to clarify my intent to this board.”
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