The Cobb County Parks Department has begun accepting applications from people interested in selling their land for green space preservation.
The county has created an on-line form for people to nominate properties. Residents can also print out the form and mail in the application. The deadline is April 15.
Cobb commissioners agreed to revisit the topic of green space preservation this year, after ignoring a 2008 referendum in which 60 percent of voters approved spending $40 million to save green space in perpetuity. Bonds from the referendum were never issued because of the Great Recession.
Now, with Cobb Chairman Tim Lee under heavy pressure from parks advocates, and with his bid for re-election just three months away, the commission has agreed to take another look at the parks bonds issue by forming a committee that will evaluate available properties and make recommendations back to commissioners.
It’s unclear how much the county will spend on green space, but it won’t be $40 million.
That’s because terms of the referendum will only allow a maximum of $29 million in bonds to be issued between now and 2023, when the bonds must be paid off. Even that amount would in all likelihood require a property tax increase, which Lee has said he will not support.
Cobb Parks Director Eddie Canon said committee members will visit every eligible property and evaluate them on a variety of factors, such as size, public access, if there is water or wetlands, how the properties fit in with the county’s existing park system, and more.
“Until we know how many properties (are nominated), we won’t know how long it will take for us to make our recommendations,” Canon said. “We have an October deadline. We will try to get done before October.”
Parks supporters have been angry because revenue from a property tax rate increase associated with a 2006 parks bond has been used by Lee to help pay the county's debt for SunTrust Park. Lee was able to salvage some of that revenue — $19 million between now and 2023 — after the county borrowed less money than expected for SunTrust Park construction.
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