Whatever you think of Cobb County’s deal with the Braves, it’s hard to see the county commission’s behavior as anything but shameful.
The story of the deal began — once negotiations finally came to light — with commissioners trying to dodge public hearings about the stadium. It ended the same way Tuesday night, when commissioners refused to make any accommodation for dissenting voices at the meeting where they approved almost $400 million in public funding for the $622 million ballpark.
As my AJC colleagues Dan Klepal and Brad Schrade reported:
“The meeting was dominated by supporters of the stadium who executed a strategy to shutout the voice of critics. They were lined up for the 12 speaking slots by 1:45 p.m., for the meeting that started at 7. They effectively snatched up all the speaking slots for the public comment portion of the meeting. A handful of critics were escorted from the room when it became clear early on they would not be allowed to speak and they approached the front of the room to ask the commission to create more speaking slots.
“Commissioners denied the request and all 12 speaker slots were filled by stadium supporters.”
Granted, the commissioners' decision was a fait accompli, and has been since the plan was first unveiled in November. But there were any number of things commissioners could have done to neutralize the gamesmanship by the pro-stadium faction: reserve some speaking slots for each side of the issue; disallow people from lining up hours beforehand to sign up for speaking slots; or add a few speaking slots to the original 12 to ensure both sides were heard.
None of these options would have qualified as anything like magnanimity. But any of them would have been more in line with the spirit of public debate about spending the public’s money.
Give the commissioners their due: They’ve been consistent in their condescension toward opponents of the deal.
When I’ve talked to longtime Cobb residents over the years, to a person they’ve expressed pride in the way their county government has operated transparently and above board. That, and its practical application of the belief limited public-sector intervention allows private individuals and businesses to create the best future for the county.
I would say the current commissioners had sold that birthright, if they hadn’t given away hundreds of millions of dollars along with it.
While doing so, they didn’t even secure any guarantees from the Braves about the planned mixed-use development adjacent to the ballpark.
It’s true that, as team officials pointed out during a visit to the AJC’s offices last week, the team is investing its money in the project and the county isn’t. At the same time, part of the commission’s rationale all along for subsidizing the stadium was that additional development.
If that development were scaled back significantly, it still might serve the team’s purposes — but also undercut the county’s business case, such as it is.
Boosters of the stadium project have depicted it as the county’s entry onto the big-league stage. So far, the county’s debut looks like that of a much-hyped rookie who is outwitted by a crafty veteran in his first at-bat.
Maybe the rookie will fare better next time, but that first trip to the plate didn’t show much promise.
