Commissioner Monique Sheffield on parks, development, and Cobb's newest city

Jan. 20—MABLETON — On the southern corner of Mableton Parkway and Discovery Boulevard lies an unremarkable parking lot where tractor trailers sit idle behind a stand of trees.

That property, Commissioner Monique Sheffield told the MDJ on an unseasonably warm morning this week, will hopefully one day be the site of one of the Chattahoochee River's marquee access points.

"This is going to be transformational for the community ... It's a great introduction into south Cobb to have this regional trailhead here, and whenever you have these external amenities, obviously it brings about other types of development," she said from across the street.

The trailhead is but one component of an ambitious vision to transform the Chattahoochee frontage along a 100-mile stretch from Lake Lanier to Newnan. And south Cobb is expected to see the first built-out portion of that project along Discovery Boulevard in the coming years.

The truck depot, Sheffield said, sits on county-owned property and is envisioned as a boat ramp and parking area for the river, which hasn't seen the same popularity as its northern reaches around Roswell and east Cobb. Across the street, meanwhile (on the intersection's east side), is a vacant lot overgrown with weeds and saplings that the county hopes will be a "regional trailhead" with more recreational amenities.

"Let's say you're just dropping off some teenagers, they just want to hang out and just take advantage of the beauty that it has to offer — you'll be able to do that," she added. "It'll be much more than just a parking area."

While the projects around the river are expected to be one of the area's biggest draws, it's just a fraction of the new amenities coming to Sheffield's District 4, which stretches from the southern end of Smyrna to the Paulding County line.

Another of the projects residents are anticipating is a new recreation and community center in the Osborne neighborhood. Last year, the county finalized the purchase of a 21-acre site on Smyrna-Powder Springs Road next to Birney Elementary where the center will be built.

"The rec center has been decades in the making, decades in the making. So we're really excited to finally get some movement there," Sheffield said.

After a town hall last year, she said, the county plans to build out the recreation center while leaving space for a swimming pool to be constructed down the road, which was a priority of residents. It'll also feature a fitness center, meeting areas, and pickle ball courts.

"It's going to be more than just your traditional recreation center, where it's typically all things sports. The idea is to have activities and amenities for people of all ages to participate," she added.

Parks Director Michael Brantley said the county is workshopping a preliminary design right now as it tries to determine how best to use its roughly $10 million construction budget for the first phase.

"I would hope that we possibly can get started sometime in the fall with actual construction. That would be our goal," Brantley said. "...We've looked at a sort of recreation/community center — that would be phase one, which is now. Then we would have a site plan that would show a phase two and/or phase three, with an aquatic center component and the possibility of a second gym.

"We're looking at all of that right now, and then that just comes back to when funding would be available in the future," he added.

'There's an opportunity there'

Meanwhile, out in the far southwest corner of the county, crews have started chipping away at another long-term project — the buildout of the 300-acre Violet F. Stout Park, which will one day house the county's first equestrian facility.

Commissioners put about $3 million toward the project in September to improve public access roads, construct a parking lot and restroom, and a small horse show ring. Brantley said work has been slow-going so far with heavy rains in recent weeks.

Sheffield also highlighted a number of smaller park and trail projects across her district.

Those include "pocket parks" (small roadside green spaces) at the intersection of Blair Bridge Road and Riverside Parkway, and at Hillcrest Drive and South Gordon Road.

"The one on Hillcrest I'm particularly excited about, because there is an aging population there, and I think it's great for the residents there to be able to have a place to get out on a Sunday afternoon, and just walk down the street and have a seat on the bench," she said.

And in the Powder Springs and Austell areas, there's a planned multi-use trail that will connect the two cities and tie into the Silver Comet Trail, and a new community center at Old Clarkdale Park to replace the one that was destroyed in a fire in 2017.

One spot, however, that remains a quagmire for south Cobb is the former Magnolia Crossing property, a few miles from where Sheffield stood by the Chattahoochee. The blighted apartment complex was razed in 2015 with the promise of a new development to take its place, but has sat vacant ever since.

In September, commissioners balked at a proposal from the South Cobb Redevelopment Authority after Sheffield said it was "not what the community was promised" — namely, a true mixed-use development with businesses targeted to the area's residents.

Sheffield said she's yet to hear of any new proposal for the long-suffering parcel, which presents significant topographical challenges for a potential developer. Sheffield said the recent slowdown in the real estate market hasn't helped.

"But you know the thing is, it was still stagnant even when market and market conditions were great. So obviously, it kind of makes you look and say, 'Hey, what do we need to do here?'" she said.

Sheffield said a planned Cobb & Douglas Public Health clinic is still expected to be built on the site, even if developing the rest of the property continues to stall.

"I've met with private developers inside of Cobb, outside of Cobb, and quite candidly, outside of Georgia, to introduce the property and the possibilities that the property offers," she added. "And the feedback that I've received, which has been the feedback over the past several years, is the topography challenges. But there's an opportunity there to build that out as a multi-use development."

New city, new faces

Meanwhile, waiting in the wings of south Cobb is the new city of Mableton that was approved by voters in a November referendum.

Though political fights have already broken out over areas attempting to remove themselves from the city's boundaries before it's even up and running, Sheffield said she's intent on establishing a working relationship with whoever ends up at Mableton's helm.

"Obviously even with the formation of the city, I'm still the district commissioner for the area, and the residents are still my constituents. I will be involved — by nature, I'm always involved, I'm always there to represent my constituents.

"That won't change ... The partnerships we have with Austell, and Powder Springs, and Smyrna — we have a good relationship with our city partners, and Mableton won't be any different. To the level that I can within our agreements, whether it's state law, or the (inter-governmental) agreement with the county, I will do all that I can as a commissioner to ensure that the residents, and the mayor, and the City Council are provided with what they need to get up and running," she said.

And of course, there's the ongoing battle within the Board of Commissioners itself over Cobb's redistricting controversy. That came to a head last week, when Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Cupid dismissed Republican Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill from the dais after they tried to abstain from voting on county business.

Though not at the center of the firestorm, Sheffield has stood by her Democratic colleagues during the controversy, but said she's hopeful the board can move forward with all its members.

Asked how she was navigating the crisis, she pointed to a speech Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger gave to her Leadership Cobb class regarding his infamous phone call with former President Donald Trump.

"The point is, he's been selected to be in that role for what's to come, and I feel the same way about me being on the commission. There's a reason that I am on this commission. It's not just to serve my constituents in District 4 and Cobb County, but I do believe that there's a shift happening right now. And I think that I am just supposed to be in this place as the shift happens," she said.

Sheffield continued, "I try to bring balance to each situation that I am faced with, and I will always come down on the side of what's right. For me, I don't care about 'R' or 'D,' I care what's right and wrong ... If in my mind, I see that something is not right, I'll fight it to the end. You're not going to always win every battle, but you may win the war. I know that me being in this position is — again, it's not just to serve my constituents. There's something bigger happening to which I am playing a part."