Gambrill turns to park improvements, transit tax and zoning as redistricting fight drags on

Jan. 27—The Keli Gambrill file Age: 53 Home state: Michigan Education: Bachelor's in accounting from Siena Heights University; L Graduate with Distinction from the U.S. Dressage Federation District: 1 (northwest Cobb) Party: Republican First elected: 2018 Term: Second Family: Husband Bob, son Robert Hobby: Equestrian, anything outdoors

Cobb Commissioner Keli Gambrill doesn't know how the county's "fiasco" over redistricting will turn out, but she is firm in her opinion: What the Democratic-led commission has done is unconstitutional.

Gambrill, one of the five-member commission's two Republicans, asserts that the county does not have the power to change its own maps by the state.

She said Democratic Commissioner Jerica Richardson, who was drawn out of her district by the General Assembly's map, should be able to finish her term in office, though if Richardson wants to run for reelection, that's a different story entirely.

Meantime, Gambrill is miffed that the commission is fighting the law, saying the only recourse is through concerned Cobb residents.

"It's unfortunate that it's up to a citizen in the county to have to bear the burden of a legal challenge to have the state clarify this matter," Gambrill said.

Supporters of Richardson and the county's invoking home rule to use its own Democratic-designed commission map have accused the Georgia General Assembly of gerrymandering Richardson out of her district covering parts of south and east Cobb.

Gambrill said that the move by the county proves gerrymandering cuts both ways, with the map it is has implemented, drafted by former state Rep. Erick Allen, D-Smyrna, on par with the General Assembly's move that cut Richardson out of her district.

"If you look at the maps that Representative Allen had drafted, it essentially created three solid Democratic districts and then my district went to a toss-up," Gambrill said.

Gambrill said all she can do, as she and everyone else awaits a conclusion to the redistricting controversy, is continue to make a statement at the start of each commission meeting. That statement, in short: The county is wrong. Home rule is unconstitutional.

"Otherwise, it's business as usual," Gambrill said. "If a citizen calls with a concern, it's helping connect them to the right staff member or getting the answer for them."

Working with what she's got

As the redistricting controversy drags on, Gambrill is turning her sights toward improving the 94-acre Kemp Park, acquired by the county in 2018, as part of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. She said $1 million from the 2022 SPLOST is allocated for a parking lot, playground, and bathrooms at the park.

The park at 4331 Burnt Hickory Rd. is easy to mistake for a sprawling farm, as the house on the property appears to be just another family home along a picturesque stretch of west Cobb.

In reality, the house sitting at the entrance of the park is occupied by a caretaker with the county. Gambrill said the park is just one SPLOST project she will be prioritizing in the coming years.

"I want to make sure that we put funds to our existing facilities that we have, that way we can enhance and update them for our citizens," she said.

John Purcell, the county's trails coordinator, said work on a trail network in the park, probably two to three miles worth, would follow the initial improvements funded by the $1 million from SPLOST. He said the park was the site of skirmishes during the Civil War, and also is home to an old private cemetery.

Gambrill said there are other parks in the area, like Price Park on the north and south sides of Stilesboro Road, Allatoona Creek Park, which is just north of Price, and Green Meadows Preserve, south of Kemp Park and adjacent the Avenue West Cobb, that will combine to form an extensive trail network.

"But that'll be a long project forthcoming," Gambrill said.

Other projects in the pipeline include improvements at Lost Mountain Park, such as updates to the Ward Recreation Center and West Cobb Senior Center, as well as astroturf installation at two of the park's fields. Those improvements, Gambrill said, will be coming sometime in the next six years.

Oregon Park will also see improvements, she said, with $1 million allocated for expanding parking there as it continues to grow as a youth baseball destination.

Gambrill added that the initial phase of Kemp Park upgrades is still in the engineering and design phase, and there is no definitive timetable for the project. She turned to Purcell for a more specific schedule.

"It's in this SPLOST cycle, so it just depends on priorities," Purcell said.

Development, UDC and M-SPLOST

Gambrill said her district has the highest number of permits pulled for residential development, adding that her constituents are not opposed to development, so long as rezoning is not necessary.

"That's kind of one of the things that citizens out here have stood for over the decades, is, they weren't anti-development, but just, 'Build as it was zoned,'" she said. "So we are seeing the developments still come as zoned, which remains and gives us these wide open spaces we're enjoying here today."

Gambrill said staying committed to the county's land-use plan for her district will remain a priority in her second term.

However, she noted, a unified development code (UDC), which would consolidate Cobb's zoning and development regulations, could complicate that commitment.

"We don't know what the unified development code is going to bring, and it is my opinion our current code was sufficient to get us to where we are today, it's sufficient to carry us forward. Where it's gotten difficult is the fact that the commissioners pick and choose parts of the code to modify," she said.

Gambrill did not reference any commissioners by name, but she has in the past criticized Chairwoman Lisa Cupid in votes related to the UDC.

In July, Gambrill and Birrell voted against $500,000 for Clarion Associates to create the UDC in a party-line vote.

Gambrill said at the time she was concerned "one individual will direct the direction of the study," that individual, it was later clear, being Cupid.

Another issue set to gain greater attention this year is the possibility for a sales tax to fund transit in Cobb. Commissioners will consider this year whether to put the vote for the sales tax, which has come to be known as the Mobility SPLOST or M-SPLOST, on the 2024 ballot.

Gambrill said she would oppose the M-SPLOST if it were to go toward intersection improvements instead of significant changes that would alleviate traffic congestion in the county.

As Cobb becomes a bigger destination in the Atlanta area, Gambrill said, commuter traffic becomes a big problem to address with something like the M-SPLOST.

"It's working to see how we can help people move through Cobb County," she said.

Gambrill understands that the desired transit options may differ depending on the area of the county. Along Dallas Highway in west Cobb, for example, residents don't want public transit.

"However, we know up along Cobb Parkway, where our three cities are — Kennesaw, Acworth, Marietta — there could be an option for some type of a transit system up there," she said.

The commissioner's plate will be full for the coming year, from the continued redistricting fight and SPLOST priorities to ballot items like the M-SPLOST and wrangling over the UDC.

In her free time, Gambrill said, she'll be "out, horsing around."

Literally.

She has a 12-year-old mare named Libbe who stays on a farm not far from Gambrill's west Cobb residence.

"Her favorite thing is peppermints," Gambrill said. "She is a peppermint-holic."

An avid equestrian, Gambrill judges dressage shows and cares for horses in her free time.

"Usually, that's kind of my go-to relaxation, and usually where some of my best ideas come from," she said.

The Keli Gambrill file Age: 53 Home state: Michigan Education: Bachelor's in accounting from Siena Heights University; L Graduate with Distinction from the U.S. Dressage Federation District: 1 (northwest Cobb) Party: Republican First elected: 2018 Term: Second Family: Husband Bob, son Robert Hobby: Equestrian, anything outdoors