Federal earmark requests for Cobb total nearly $73M, with $31.7M for Dobbins
Jul. 19—The federal lawmakers who represent Cobb County have submitted nearly $73 million in funding asks for the county as part of Congress' "community project," or earmark, requests.
If approved as part of the annual appropriations bill, the requests would pour millions into local transportation projects — by far the largest category — as well as securing some $31.7 million for projects in and around Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.
Earmarks — derided by critics as "pork barrel" spending — were brought back by Democrats last year after a decade-long ban on the practice instituted by Republicans in 2011 following ethics scandals and calls to lower spending.
Under the new process implemented by House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., members are required to publicly post the projects they request and certify that neither members nor their families would benefit financially.
The present requests for the upcoming fiscal year are just that — requests — with a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff telling the MDJ it could be months before the final lists are set. Last year, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock secured tens of millions for 39 projects across the state.
Among Cobb's three representatives — Reps. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, and David Scott, D-Atlanta — and senators — Warnock and Ossoff — roadway improvements totaled about $20 million of their total requests.
Many of the projects listed are existing county and state projects like a bridge over Cobb Parkway in the Town Center area. Loudermilk and Warnock each submitted requests for $2 million in funding for the project, one of several bipartisan proposals.
Loudermilk's other requests for Kennesaw and Acworth, an area he represents, included millions for road resurfacing spending, pedestrian bridge replacements, intersection improvements, and new traffic lights. He's also seeking $15 million for Cobb County International Airport/McCollum Field for new safety measures and land to expand the airport's taxiways.
McBath, meanwhile, asked for $5 million for work at the intersection of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads in east Cobb. County Transportation Director Drew Raessler told the MDJ improvements could include additional lanes and pedestrian safety improvements.
She and Scott have also submitted dual requests for $1 million for a pedestrian bridge over Cobb Parkway just north of I-285 connecting Smyrna to the Battery, a priority project of the Cumberland Community Improvement District.
Should all the requests be approved, one of the largest local beneficiaries would be Dobbins. Warnock and Ossoff have submitted identical requests for four new facilities at the base totaling over $24 million, including a $15 million, 24,000-square-foot "security forces training facility" and a $1.8 million fitness center.
Loudermilk's also asked for $7.5 million to construct a traffic separation barrier on Delk Road adjacent to the base, citing damage to the base's security fencing from repeated crashes along that corridor.
And in south Cobb, Scott has requested $2 million for a planned Austell transit transfer center near Wellstar Cobb Hospital, and $900,000 to study a potential pedestrian bridge across the Chattahoochee River. The bridge would span the river near its confluence with Proctor Creek (roughly where I-285 crosses the river in Smyrna), connecting Cobb with the Proctor Creek Greenway. The greenway currently runs about 2.5 miles through west Atlanta but is envisioned as one day extending to the river.
Other line items submitted by Cobb's representatives and senators include:
— $500,000 for police radios for the Powder Springs Police Department (Warnock)
— $2.5 million for a multi-use trail in Austell (Warnock)
— $550,000 for the Cobb County Family Justice Center, a planned victims' resource facility (Ossoff).
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Aidan Quigley of CQ-Roll Call contributed reporting to this article.
