FROM MY DAVEY CROCKETT POST ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheKennesawWatch30152/

2 MONTHS AGO I ASKED THE KENNESAW CITY CLERK:

"What happens if an incumbent council person chooses not to run again and no one files for the election to that post?
Has this ever happened in Kennesaw?"

Never got a reply, not real unusual for questions to the City Clerk.

Let's approach this from a recent filing.

2 'Posts' get 3 candidates, one post gets only 1. Obviously the one Council position with just a single filing gets the job. ( Post 5)

OK, let's change this a bit, say NO ONE filed for the Council position. So you have 2 posts with 3 running for each BUT one post, where the current office holder isn't seeking re-election, and that post has ZERO people filing.

I would like to know what happens with that post. You can't simply have the mayor appoint someone for 4 years (6 months yes, more than that no). So is there a special election called for about 20K?

I have said for years that running for stupid and meaningless POSTS needs to be fixed. Might have to change the Charter and that means going to the legislature, but sooner or later there will be a 'post' where there is no candidate.

My suggestion was/is that the posts are scrapped and the top vote getters take the positions. If 6 are running for 3 openings then the 3 with the most votes are elected.

Just FYI, the last time out for the posts 3, 4, 5, that race had elected candidates with the 1st, 2nd and 4th total votes. No great tradgedy there, but really should someone be elected with fewer votes than another candidate running for another post? Common sense should say: NO.

Time to change the system and dump meaningless posts.

See what I mean when I say there is and hasn't been any LEADERSHIP in recent years from the elected positions at City.

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

POST #3 KENNESAW CITY COUNCIL RACE

I note that Mr. Jones is in favor of term limits and several other things I like, but since I am no longer in K, I can't endorse him or anyone else. Really would like to know his views on the other 5 things I asked about, particularly about what I will call 'The Confederate Issue'.

Posts 3 and 4 look like they will be worth watching this year. Will we end up with 3 Black City Council members out of the 5 council posts? Note that Kennesaw is composed mostly of White voters. (White 58.9%, Black 21.9%, Hispanic 10.8 %, Asian 5.2%)

Also will we get more than 1,800 voting this year? Just might, even if there is no Mayoral election this time around.

Questions for candidates for Kennesaw City Council posts.

1) Should the city enact 'term limits' for all elective offices? If so how would configure them?

2) Should City taxpayer funds continue to support the Museum and The Gardens, keeping in mind that neither has ever, nor will ever, generate any worthwhile funds by themselves? If you favor continued support, at what level?

3) Should those in elected City positions be subject to suspension (with or without pay) for any criminal acts involving 'moral turpitude' which resulted in their arrest during their term of office.

4) Should the outdated method of running for Council 'posts' be eliminated in favor of those candidates receiving the highest vote totals being elected? (i.e.: if 7 people qualify to run for 3 posts, the 3 with the highest number of votes are elected.)

5) Should inquiries be made to determine if the City would benefit financially by merging the KPD with the Cobb Police? If there were a worthwhile savings, would you favor such a merger?

6) Kennesaw has up to now considered itself to be a major player in Georgia's support of Southern independence during the War Between the States. Now there is a backlash against anything 'Confederate'. Will you support efforts to ban anything Confederate from City property. Such things may include, flags, historical markers/plaques, cemetery markers, re-inactors use of City property.

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8/25/17

LOOKING UP CANDIDATES (or Neighbors, etc) FOR RECORDS CHECKS

For Federal Court records such as Civil, Criminal, Appeal and Bankruptcy you will find the PACER site useful.

Go to: https://www.pacer.gov/

This site requires registration with a credit card in order to get a login and pin number. The good news is that you can get 150 free pages each quarter and your card won't be charged. Over that amount you do get charged at ten cents a page with notification of the charge via email.

Here is a general caution on ALL such records checks.

You should have as much info going into it as possible. A full name to include a middle initial/or full middle name, last 4 of the social security number, age (DOB is better).

Here is further caution along these lines, not everyone uses their actual legal name, sometimes people use their middle names or a diminutive of their name (ie: Bob instead of Robert).

As an example the current mayor of Kennesaw: If you look up Derek Easterling you will find only one 'Civil Result' in this PACER system. It is for Easterling, Derek J, a NY civil filing from 4-11-02. This is NOT the Kennesaw mayor, so the info is useless.

However the Kennesaw mayor uses his middle name these days. If you look up Easterling, Charles Derek you come up with the actual bankruptcy, a Chapter 7 filed 1-31-08 in the Northern District of Georgia.

Here are 2 Cobb County sites you can use to obtain information locally:

Cobb County Superior Court, both criminal and civil cases:
https://ctsearch.cobbsuperiorcourtclerk.com/

Cobb County Magistrate Court, criminal, civil and judgments for both businesses and individuals:
https://courtconnect.cobbcounty.org:4443/ccmag/ck_public_qry_main.cp_main_idx

If you can find prior residences for the person of interest, you can look at the various courts for those areas.

Also generally available are sites that have inmate information.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons look up site is: https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/

and the Georgia Department of Corrections site is:
http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/

On the above Georgia site you can find out where our former mayor, Leonard Church, is currently residing for his 20 year sentences. (CHURCH, LEONARD LEROY, GDC ID: 1001688600)

Or just look at: http://leonardchurch.blogspot.com/

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Every now and then something gets posted on The Kennesaw Watch facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TheKennesawWatch30152/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

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FROM THE MDJ - ELECTION INFO KENNESAW

The final day of election qualifying in three Cobb cities saw one city’s incumbents remain unchallenged, while another city will see two of its council members face one another and a challenger for one council seat.

Kennesaw’s qualifying had perhaps the most volatility in its final day of qualifying, with current Post 5 Councilman Jim Sebastian qualifying not for re-election to his seat, but rather for the Post 4 position held by Jimmy Dickens * , who qualified Monday. Also seeking the Post 4 seat is Chris Henderson, a senior research engineer for Georgia Tech Research Institute, according to his campaign website.

Sebastian in July told the MDJ that he would not seek re-election, saying he did not “want to be associated with those only interested in self-promoting their personal/financial interests and unethical or illegal actions,” though declined to provide specifics.

The sole qualifier for Sebastian’s seat is David Blinkhorn, a buyer for Kennesaw State University.

Kennesaw will see another three-way race on the Nov. 7 ballot, as Antonio “Tony” Jones was joined on the final day of qualifying by Pat Ferris and Jeffrey Oparnica. The seat is currently occupied by Councilman Nimesh Patel who is not seeking re-election.

Jones previously described himself as a “serial entrepreneur” who owns a landscaping business and a logistics business and consults with other small business owners on website design. Qualifying information listed Ferris’ occupation as a manager, with Oparnica listed as a brewer.

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Jimmy Dickens Kennesaw Election History:

Jimmy Dickens first try for City Council was for the November 2011 City Council race where he lost to Tim Killingsworth for the Post 2 spot.

He ran for his current Post 4 seat in a Special Election on Nov 3, 2015 where he took the unexpired council seat of Debbie Williams.

This seat was vacant when Debbie Williams quit the Council to make an unsuccessful run for mayor, where she was defeated by Charles Derek Easterling.

In his 2015 race Dickens was opposed by Bruce Jenkins and Jon Whitmer. The results were:

JIMMY DICKENS 40.44% 725

BRUCE JENKINS 35.47% 636

JON WHITMER 23.48% 421

(Write-in Votes 0.61% 11)

Total Votes Cast: 1,793

* http://jimmydickenskennesaw.blogspot.com/

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2017 KENNESAW CITY COUNCIL RACES:

The candidates who registered are:

Patrick Marlon Ferris (Post 3)

Antonio Jones (Post 3)

Jeffrey Peter Oparnica (Post 3)

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Christopher Henderson (Post 4)

James Sebastian (Post 4)

Jimmy Dickens (Post 4)

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David Blinkhorn (Post 5)

MISC COMMENT:

I have said for years that running for meaningless 'posts' should stop. Take this years election and consider that for post 5 there is only 1 candidate, that means Mr Blinkhorn wins even if he is the only one casting a vote for post 5.

You will notice that the other 2 races have 3 candidates each. This sort of line up is complete nonsense. The top 3 of the 7 candidates should be elected. Last time around a 'losing candidate' had more votes than a candidate in running in another post.

There is a total lack of common sense in how Kennesaw selects its council. Will any of the new candidates show some leadership? Probably not.

You will note that 2 candidates are running for 're-election'.

Pay particular attention to post 4 where Sebastian has filed there instead of running for his old post in 5. And also read up on the other incumbent in that race for post 4, it is Jimmy Dickens and you might be surprised to find out about his legal issues. If these had come out last time he ran he would NEVER have been elected.

See: http://jimmydickenskennesaw.blogspot.com/

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Kennesaw passes resolution asking lawmakers to allow cities to make decision about Confederate flags

MDJ 8/21/17

Monday’s decision comes a week after 19-year-old Kennesaw resident Reid Jones began a Change.org petition to remove a Confederate flag from a flagpole in the city’s Commemorative Park, which is next to the Southern Museum at the corner of North Main and Cherokee streets. As of Monday evening, the petition had more than 4,600 supporters.

The resolution was passed 4-1, with Councilman Jim Sebastian the sole vote against it.

“This resolution, at this point, is nothing but a temporary action, placating the proverbial squeaky wheel,” said Sebastian, who was not in attendance but took part in the meeting and cast his vote by phone. “Until the legislature takes action, it’s still going to come back to all the municipalities to deal with and will most likely not be what was requested or intended by any individual or municipality, and then it’s going to become the responsibility of each of those municipalities to have to confront this individually and all the other issues.”

Sebastian, who made public comments on the issue over the phone during the meeting, said he believed the city, as well as other municipalities, needed to listen to the voters on the flag issue, but did not express his personal opinion on whether the flag should remain in the park or be removed.

“In this particular case, we should be pursuing the ability and the right to have referendums,” Sebastian said. “We can’t do that today, so we should be pushing something like this so our voters can speak to us, and we in the city can act according to their views, not the views of individuals or small groups and their personal agendas.”

The resolution does not take down or otherwise have any effect on the flag that is displayed in the city’s Commemorative Park, which is located next to the Southern Museum at the corner of North Main and Cherokee streets, as state law prevents officials from state or local governments or any agency to remove monument, plaques, markers or memorials regarding military service of any personnel from the state, the United States or the Confederate States of America.

The law was passed when then-Gov. Roy Barnes was in office. In 2001, Barnes pushed for the Georgia General Assembly to change the state’s official flag, which featured the Confederate battle emblem on two-thirds of its space with the state seal on a field of blue on the remaining third. It had been Georgia’s official flag since 1956.

Barnes could not be reached for comment Monday.

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Kennesaw Confed Flag 02.JPG — Buy Now

Cut rope on the ground next to one of the flagpoles in Kennesaw's Commemorative Park where the Confederate flag would normally be flown. The flag was not on the flagpole Wednesday morning, with city officials saying it had been removed in an act of vandalism.
**Jon Gargis**

One Kennesaw City Council member is not shying away from making her feelings about the Confederate flag known — even if most of her colleagues are.

Yvette Daniel, an Army veteran and former law enforcement officer, said Friday the flag that flies in a downtown Kennesaw park is divisive and should be taken down.

At her request, the City Council will discuss a resolution Monday asking the state Legislature to revisit a law prohibiting cities from removing military memorials, which would give council members the authority to decide whether the Confederate banner should remain on display at the city’s Commemorative Park.

A petition calling for its removal received more than 4,400 signatures as of Saturday afternoon and a demonstration against the flag has been planned outside City Hall ahead of Monday’s council meeting.

Online petition aims to remove Confederate flag in Kennesaw

When reached by phone, Councilman Doc Eaton refused to discuss the matter altogether—as did Mayor Derek Easterling, who said the subject would be taken up Monday.

Councilman Jimmy Dickens weighed in on the issue Wednesday, telling the MDJ he would rather see the flag in a museum than flying publicly. He said he was inundated with calls, texts and emails since last weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“I’ve had some reach out to me that want to keep the flag, and I’ve had a lot more who reached out to me who want to have the flag removed,” he said.

Even if the majority of council members want the flag removed, the city’s hands are tied by a state law prohibiting the removal of any memorial dedicated to honoring the military service of past or present military personnel of Georgia or the nation, including the Confederate States of America. Daniel hopes Monday’s resolution will be the first step in changing that.

The discussion over whether it’s appropriate for the city to fly a Confederate flag was re-ignited last weekend when an Ohio man drove his car through a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, killing one woman.

Someone apparently took the matter into their own hands following the weekend violence, cutting the flag from its pole at the corner of Main and Cherokee streets, Kennesaw police confirmed.

“I do not feel that it should be there,” Daniel said. “It is divisive and if Kennesaw is going to move forward, I don’t think that’s any place for it to be.”

The veteran said she’s all for people’s right to fly the flag on private property, but doesn’t think Main Street is an appropriate place for it.

“I fought for a flag that says justice, not for a flag that says ‘just us,’” Daniel said. “That’s basically the way I feel about that.”

She said the city should be concerned with the safety and well-being of its residents and oppose any symbol that could spur violence or make people feel they aren’t welcome.

She also called the Confederate flag “crippling” from an economic development standpoint.

“No business wants to come into the city and sit next to something like that,” she said. “Take a look at all the businesses that have passed on coming to our downtown because of it.”

Council members Nimesh Patel and Jim Sebastian did not return requests for comment by press time.

Reid Jones, the 19-year-old resident who started the petition to have the flag removed, is also organizing Monday’s demonstration.

He said the response to his petition has been overwhelming and that he would like to “keep the ball rolling” until the flag is taken down for good.

“This is the right thing to do,” he said. “To suggest (the flag) isn’t racially motivated is just being ignorant of its history.”

Daniel said she believes Kennesaw’s residents should have a say in whether the city continues flying the Confederate flag, and would not oppose putting the matter up for a vote.

She also said she stands behind the demonstrators planning to rally, so long as the event remains nonviolent and does not impede the flow of traffic or the city’s operations.

The demonstration is planned for 6 p.m. Monday at the flag pole in downtown Kennesaw. The council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 2529 J.O. Stephenson Ave.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For information on Council member Daniel see:
http://councilmemberyvettedaniel.blogspot.com
http://catcherfreeman.blogspot.com/

http://yvettedaniel.blogspot.com/

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Shared from the 2017-08-19 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution eEdition

GUEST COLUMN

Leave Confederacy’s old monuments alone

By Lyn Vaughn

I’ve had it with the people who choose to be offended by the symbols and memorabilia from the nation’s past.

First it was Confederate flags. Now monuments and statues have to go. What’s next? The carving at Stone Mountain? Oh yeah, now someone wants that wiped out!

What the hell is wrong with us? Have we lost all sense of reason, all common sense? There’s no erasing history. Our children have only cursory knowledge of it today. “The past cannot be cured,” said Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century. Philosopher George Santayana penned the most famous quote warning against tossing out history, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

The absurdity of the attempt to erase the past was never more apparent than in Henry County this year. It was reported a Henry County Commissioner — on behalf of a constituent, she says — complained about the flying of the Confederate flag outside a Confederate museum in a house on a Civil War battleground — land owned by the county. So the museum owners took it down. Then the commissioner complained that the flags in the window were visible from the distant roadway and asked that they be removed. That was it for the owners. They shut down the museum. Couldn’t the complainers have just found another route?

Do you imagine as the museum curator Bill Dodd noted, that there are no Nazi flags at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington? How about the National Museum of African American History and Culture? I’ll just bet you’ll find in more than one exhibit Kente cloth, featuring the red, black and green colors that adorn flags of many African nations. What if white people decide Kente cloth — popularly worn by African-Americans at graduation ceremonies — should be banned? What if extremists decide the statues of Civil Rights heroes are offensive to them and should come down?

We are living in dangerous, kooky times, but it has nothing to do with Confederate statues or flags or museums. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. must have passed quite a few on his way to Washington, D.C., in 1968. But his eyes, mind and heart were on the bigger picture. To be “offended” by what someone has flying in his or her yard, or in a museum or memorabilia store, or when a white person utters the “N” word, as we now ridiculously say (as if a word can do you harm), is infantile and petty.

What happened to these other people’s free-speech rights? I can’t think of a better way to alienate and drive blacks and whites further apart than perpetually asking others to change themselves to make yourself feel better. What if they’re offended by dreadlocks, or corn-row braids or rap music? Are you going to stop wearing them, or listening to that?

Here, by the way, in no particular order, is what offends me:

■ Violent home invasions, robberies and carjackings in which metro Atlantans are murdered senselessly every single day, and the nightly TV news parade of mug shots of those responsible;

■ The lack of acknowledgment and anger by some at dictator Vladimir Putin’s efforts to sabotage our presidential 2016 election;

■ Men and boys, pants sagging and walking like penguins;

■ Songs and other forms of pop-culture entertainment that denigrate women;

■ Blaming someone else for your failure to thrive.

We’re never going to convert the 10 to 15 percent of folks in America who hate black people. They aren’t the majority anymore, far from it. So, let the bigots hold their marches. When there’s no one there, they’ll do what they always have — retreat until the next generation of racists appears. They’re right about the statues and monuments, though. After you tear them down, then what? Trump will still be president and all you’ve done is create turmoil where none was necessary.

Former WXIA-TV and CNN Headline News anchor Lyn Vaughn is a freelance writer whose opinion pieces appear online at CBS46.com. An Atlanta resident since 1983, she currently lives in Marietta.

‘The past cannot be cured,’ said Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century.

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8/17/17

Now that all things relating to the Confederacy are to be banned due to minority Taliban like intolerance, what will Kennesaw be doing regarding the Civil War Museum?

Will the City stop any funding of this museum?

Will the City publicly destroy the General locomotive?

Will the City remove any depictions of the General from any signs, stationary or City logos?

Will the City remove any Confederate flags?

Will the City no longer have re-enactors on City property and ban the use of cannons downtown?

Will any references on gravestones to the Confederacy be removed?

Since Kennesaw is widely associated with the Confederacy and the War Between the States will Kennesaw have to change the City's name to South Acworth or North Marietta?

Nearly 2,700 people as of Wednesday night had signed an online petition to remove a Confederate flag from a downtown Kennesaw park. About the time it crossed the 2,500 signature mark, Kennesaw city council members agreed to consider a resolution aimed at allowing the city to make its own decision on whether the banner should remain on display.

But no such flag flew on any of the three flagpoles in the city’s Commemorative Park for most of the day Wednesday, as Kennesaw Police Officer Scott Luther confirmed that the flag had been removed sometime during the past few days. The park, which features monuments and plaques honoring veterans from several armed conflicts and a Sept. 11, 2001, memorial, is located next to the Southern Museum at the corner of North Main and Cherokee streets.

The petition on change.org was started Monday afternoon by 19-year-old Reid Jones, a 2016 Kennesaw Mountain High graduate who says he was prompted to start the endeavor by the past weekend’s protests and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“I personally see it as a symbol of division in the U.S. It’s definitely not a symbol of unity,” Jones said. “I think leaders on both sides right now are calling for unity, and the last thing we need is to raise a symbol of the biggest divide our country’s ever seen. And it also represents white supremacy, segregation, any kind of racial division.”

Jones said he began the petition to catch momentum of the growing movement to remove memorials and symbols “glorifying the Confederacy.” The push has sparked similar efforts across the country as well as other parts of Georgia, such as a call for removal of the giant granite depiction of three Confederate leaders on the side of Stone Mountain.

Supporters of Jones’ call-out were not limited to those residing in Kennesaw — with signers hailing from other cities in Cobb as well as other states across the country.

Jones said many local residents who had signed the petition were not aware of the flag’s presence in one of the city’s parks. “I’ve gotten so many messages from people that were simply appalled at the fact that it was even in downtown Kennesaw,” he said. He added he was not involved in the flag’s removal from the park.

Council members discussed the petition during their work session Wednesday night. Kennesaw Councilman Jimmy Dickens told the MDJ earlier that day that he began getting numerous calls, texts and emails Tuesday about Jones’ petition.

“I’ve had some reach out to me that want to keep the flag, and I’ve had a lot more who reached out to me who want to have the flag removed. It’s been a very diverse (response) — it’s not just one race of people,” Dickens said. “Even (Jones, who) started this petition, he’s not African-American, so it goes beyond a race of people. I think it’s a majority of people that wants it (brought down), in my opinion.”

Among those who want the flag to remain on display is 86-year-old resident Dent Myers, who operates the Civil War surplus store Wildman’s in downtown Kennesaw across from Commemorative Park.

“(It’s) a symbol of some of my ancestors’ blood,” Myers says of the flag. “It’s not a hate flag — if you want a hate flag, go with the American flag. Slavery, we had 200 years of that (in our history). All (supporters of the flag) are trying to do is maintain the heritage of our people who went to war because they did what they thought was right.”

Myers said he believed the flag had been taken twice in the days since the violence in Charlottesville, and could not recall any other times it had been taken from the park in past years.

Luther said Wednesday the flag had only been reported stolen once in recent days. While some may label the Confederate flag as a racial symbol, Myers said he does not see it as such. “It’s the Christian flag, and we put stars on it. It’s the St. Andrew’s cross,” he said.

Dickens said he sees both sides of the issue, but would rather see the flag in a museum rather than in a public setting.

“I understand that to many of the Southerners and people who love the South, they see the heritage, and I honestly believe the intent of the flag when it was originally created may not have been for the intent that it is being used for now,” he said. “But at the same time, they have to realize that there’s people that also fought against that same heritage for rights, and they see the flag as a sign of everything they hate about the South. They see the flag as a symbol of their struggles they had to go through for many years to try to get rights.”

Proposed city resolution would not remove flag

Though the Kennesaw council on Monday could consider a measure regarding the flag, its approval would not and could not remove the flag from the city park due to existing state law, said Randall Bentley, the city’s attorney, who said he had spoken with Jones prior to Wednesday’s meeting regarding the city’s lack of power to remove the flag.

Georgia law prevents officials from state or local governments or any agency to remove monument, plaques, markers or memorials regarding military service of any personnel from the state, the United States or the Confederate States of America, according to a statement put out by the city Wednesday.

“(A resolution) would not have legal significance. It’s just making your stance known,” Bentley said.

Councilman Nimesh Patel said he would be working with Bentley to draft the resolution. “I would support a resolution that basically lets us make the decision,” Patel said. “I think the resolution should take the tone that we acknowledge this issue, and we acknowledge this law, but let us make the decision, not you (the state), on what we can and cannot have. I think that should be the tone of the resolution and let us make the decision if and when that law is repealed.”

The council could vote on the resolution at its 6:30 p.m. meeting Monday after Jones and others who support removal of the flag gather outside city hall beginning at 5 p.m. Jones said he is encouraging attendees to keep the demonstration peaceful.

Confederate flag in downtown Kennesaw reportedly stolen

by: Justin Wilfon Updated: Aug 16, 2017 - 10:59 PM
The city of Kennesaw told Channel 2's Justin Wilfon they have no choice but to the put the flag back up.

The Confederate flag usually flies high in the middle of downtown Kennesaw in a small city park. But Wednesday someone brought it down.

“I think this is kind of a cowardly act. You know, this is history,” said Lisa Hinson.

A city spokesperson confirmed told Wilfon that someone stole the flag in the midst of escalating racial tensions across the country.

I feel if we erase our history, we’ll erase the fact that there was slavery,” Hinson said.

More than 2,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to have the flag taken down permanently.

“I don’t believe that the flag should be flown on city property,” said Reid Jones who started the petition. “I believe that the flag should be removed because it’s used as a symbol for white supremacy, racism and sectionalism.”

A few of his supporters joined him at the Kennesaw City Council meeting Wednesday night to begin their fight to remove the flag.

But a city spokesperson told Wilfon in a statement that the city has no choice to put the flag back up, because of Georgia state law which prevents cities from taking down monuments dedicated to those who served.

The flagpole that flag was on is part of such a monument. “I don’t think it represents any kind of unity and I think unity is what we need most in our nation right now,” Jones said.

The group that's working on the petition plan on being back at the City Council meeting on Monday night.

They hope the City Council will pass a resolution pressuring the state to change the current law.

Kennesaw sued over gas station request

Shaddi Abusaid
MDJ 7/23/17

The request was met with opposition from area residents who argued they didn’t want a bustling convenience store built on the corner of their dead-end street, which contains a daycare center and more than 800 units comprised of two townhome communities and two apartment complexes. On May 15, the council voted to deny the developer’s request to move forward with plans for the gas station.

Court documents show the lawsuit was brought against the city by both Speedway and Ellison Lake Partners, the developer of the 130-acre community, which owns two remaining undeveloped parcels along Highway 41 it hopes to develop.

“The council turned Speedway’s rezoning request down and as a result they’re suing in Superior Court,” said Randall Bentley, Kennesaw’s city attorney. “I think in large part, most of the residents were against it.”

Richard Calhoun, the attorney representing the developer in the case, said the lawsuit seeks to have the council’s ruling overturned so his clients can move forward with their plans to build the gas station and develop the front of the neighborhood.

“I’ve done zoning a long time and this is one of the most unusual cases I’ve ever seen,” he said, adding the community’s master plan was approved back in 2001 with the intention of including commercial development along the property’s frontage.

In 2011, however, the city changed its zoning ordinance, removing convenience stores from the list of commercial uses in districts zoned “planned village commercial,” Calhoun said.

But in 2014, filings show, Kennesaw rezoned the 52-acre Market Place development along Barrett Parkway to the PVC classification and approved a 5,000 square-foot QuikTrip.

Calhoun said he hopes a judge will overturn the council’s decision on the basis of equal protection of the law, but a decision in the case could still be months away.

Representatives announced their plans to build the convenience store on the vacant lot last year, but were told their request would require an amendment to the community’s original 2001 master plan, filings show. That request was ultimately denied.

Developers maintain the inclusion of commercial and retail space “was, and is, an integral part of the overall Ellison Lake development” and Calhoun said they made about $450,000 worth of infrastructure upgrades to the 34,000 square-foot parcel, including two curb cuts, a traffic signal at the intersection and an extension of utilities to the property.

“The defendants’ denial of Speedway’s and Ellison Lakes’ application was based upon erroneous and prejudicial advice from city staff that the mayor and council had the legal authority ‘to allow any use deemed appropriate or not,’” the lawsuit asserts, maintaining the developer has every right to build the gas station on the property.

Joyce Yung, president of the Ellison Lakes homeowners association, said most residents living in her neighborhood are opposed to the gas station, which was slated to be built next door to a day care center.

She said she hopes the court upholds the council’s unanimous denial of the rezoning application.

“The city staff said no, the planning commission said no and the mayor and council, 5-0, said no,” Yung said. “Ellison Lakes is a dead-end road and with a school bus stop and a day care center right there. We don’t want it.”

An April petition started by residents in opposition to the Speedway generated 265 signatures. Most cited safety and traffic concerns as their reason for opposing the convenience store.

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017

SPEEDWAY LLC AND ELLISON LAKE PARTNERS LLC V. CITY OF KENNESAW

ON JUNE 13, 2017, CIVIL CASE NUMBER: 17104508 WAS FILED IN COBB COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT.

THE NAMED DEFENDANTS ARE THE CITY OF KENNESAW, MAYOR AND ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS.

THE INITIAL FILING RUNS 90 PAGES WITH EXHIBITS AND CHALLENGES THE CITY'S MAY 15, 2017 DENIAL OF THE PLAINTIFF'S AUG. 2016 REQUEST TO BUILD A 24 HOUR "MEGA GAS STATION/CONVENIENCE STORE" ON 3.79 ACRES AT THE NW CORNER OF ELLISON LAKES DRIVE AND COBB PKY (AKA: HWY 41), THIS IS JUST ACROSS FROM THE OLD ACE HARDWARE STORE AND JUST NORTH OF THE COBB POLICE/FIRE STATION. THE PROPERTY ADDRESS IS 2155 COBB PKY.

THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ANCHORS THE EAST END OF THE 130 ACRE ELLISON LAKE 'PLANNED VILLAGE COMMUNITY' WHICH HAS 300 TOWNHOMES.

UNLESS AN AGREEMENT CAN BE REACHED THE MATTER MAY BE IN THE COURTS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT THE CITY WILL PREVAIL BUT SUCH MATTERS USUALLY SETTLE AND WOULD PROBABLY BE SENT TO ARBITRATION BEFORE ANY COURT RULING.

THE VARIOUS FILINGS ARE AVAILABLE VIA: HTTPS://CTSEARCH.COBBSUPERIORCOURTCLERK.COM/

6/11/17

KENNESAW SENIOR 55+ HOUSING

Work continues on this project located at the West end of the Kennesaw Marketplace Mall.

One thing this development will have is a LOT of corridors, they stretch on forever.

The Build out of the Whole Foods is on track and work continues. Here is the interior as of Sunday June 11th.

6/11/17

KENNESAW MARKETPLACE MALL - Restaurant Overkill

Mystery partly solved as to what this stand alone building will be. I've said all along it would be a restaurant, that turns out to be correct as the Kennesaw building permit issued to Fuqua Development lists it as a restaurant, just has no info on what the chain is, but it will be a restaurant of some sort.  This will be the 20th restaurant within 3 blocks of the intersection of Cobb and Barrett Parkways.  The only real question is which will be the first one to go out of business.  There are just to many restaurants in that area to realistically believe that they will all be here 6 months from now.