The Cobb County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on 2022 SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) expenditures tomorrow, Tuesday April 12, before the regular business portion of their meeting (see the agenda packet for tomorrow’s hearing and BOC meeting by following this link).

Georgia law requires that the county hold a public hearing whenever an expenditure of $100,000 or more is expected for the hiring of an independent consultant or consulting firm, or to conduct an independent study or survey.

The projects outlined at the bottom of this article require consulting services.

This hearing will be held in the 2nd Floor Commissioners’ Meeting Room,
Cobb County Building, 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta, Georgia, at 9:00 a.m. immediately before the regular Board of Commissioners meeting.

The agenda item states:

The 2022 SPLOST Transportation Improvements Program (TIP), adopted by the Board of Commissioners on July 14, 2020, provides for capital improvements and anticipated corresponding budget funding to address various Transportation Improvements.

The following projects are affected by these expenditures:

B2101 Bells Ferry Road over Noonday Creek (a bridge project expected to cost a total of $2.8 million)
B2102 Collins Road over Little Allatoona Creek (a bridge project expected to cost a total of $2.8 million)
B2103 James Road over Pine Creek (a bridge project expected to cost a total of $2.4 million)
B2301 Old Stilesboro Road at County Line Road (a road improvement project expected to cost a total of $2.84 million)
B2302 Due West Road at Antioch Road (a road improvement project expected to cost a total of $2.96 million)
B2304 Cumberland Parkway from Paces Walk to Paces Ferry Road (a road improvement project expected to cost a total of $370,000).
B2308 East West Connector Corridor Improvements (a road improvement project expected to cost a total of $670,000).

There are two sidewalk projects from a total pool of $11.5 million ($2.875 million per district).

B2601 Ewing Road Sidewalk
B2602 Schaffer Road Sidewalk

The projects above were chosen by the following criteria in the SPLOST booklet:

Locations for operational and safety improvements have been identified using guidelines and
recommendations set forth in the county’s Safety Action Plan, Comprehensive Transportation
Plan, and traffic engineering studies. Improvement types will be determined based on site-
specific conditions, traffic patterns, crash history, economic analysis, and public input.
Improvement types include, but are not limited to, signalization, roundabout construction,
roadway realignment (vertical and/or horizontal), raised median construction, addition of turn
lanes, pedestrian improvements, and striping modifications. In addition, Cobb DOT will seek to
leverage SPLOST dollars whenever possible as matching funds for federal, state, and local
grants.