Politics & Government

Hickory Lake on Smyrna City Council Agenda

Catching up with some Tuesday news you can use after the Independence Day holiday.

Now that the extended holiday weekend is done, it’s time to get back to business. And it starts with tonight’s Smyrna City Council meeting at City Hall.

About two months after the council approved Atlanta-based NAI Brannen Goddard, a commercial real estate brokerage service, to nationally market the Hickory Lake Apartments property, the city-owned property is back on the agenda Tuesday.

In May, the council approved Enviropro CEP for asbestos abatement services at Hickory Lake, but it is expected to rescind the bid award Tuesday and approve a rebid for the project based upon revised specifications. The the 92-building complex located on Old Concord Road near Windy Hill Road, and eventually sell off parts of the property to a developer.

Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

See the full agenda here. Smyrna-Vinings Patch will provide additional coverage and the public is invited to attend tonight’s 7:30 p.m. meeting.

But you don’t have to miss a thing even if you decide not to. Charter Communications Public Access Channel 19 carries each meeting live and usually the replay will air the following Monday at 7 p.m. See the TV23 section at www.cobbcounty.org for a complete rebroadcast schedule.

Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In other Smyrna government news, Mayor Max Bacon is expected to deliver the State of the City address next week at the Smyrna Business Association and Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon at the Smyrna Community Center.

The July 14 meeting is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and registration here is required.

Elsewhere on the business front, in a CNBC’s exclusive study, Georgia has been ranked as one of the country’s top states for business.

Forty-three measurements were examined for the annual report and grouped into 10 large categories for the survey. The 10 large categories included Cost of Doing Business, Workforce, Quality of Life, Economy, Infrastructure and Transportation, Technology and Innovation, Education, Business Friendliness, Access to Capital and Cost of Living.

Georgia's highest ranking was in infrastructure and transportation, while its lowest category ranking was in quality of life.

Last year, the CNBC rankings listed Georgia 10th for doing business.

The Cumberland Community Improvement District has been in the news as The Marietta Daily Journal reports that the bridge that crosses I-75 near the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is set to receive a facelift.

The project, which will be handled by Smyrna’s Mills Specialty Metals, will see three 20-foot tall metal arches installed on the the south side of the bridge. The $985,000 project includes an $800,000 federal grant and is expected to be completed by summer 2013

The MDJ also reported that an $800 million proposal to link the MARTA Arts Center Station in Midtown to Cumberland has survived a recent round of transportation project wish list cuts.

It is part of a list the Cumberland CID would like proposed on next summer’s vote on a proposed 10-year, 1 percent TSPLOST to fund. While the $800 million proposal is still on the list, the mode of transit has yet to be determined.

The tax, if approved, will go into effect January 2013 and expire December 2023.


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