In reading your editorial review of Micky Blackwell’s “tantalizing vision” of a new Marietta, I noticed that vision includes the Reynolds Street Connector.

For those who don’t know, Reynolds Street is a narrow little road that runs through the older homes and hardwood trees of Marietta’s oldest neighborhood on the south side of Whitlock Avenue. Where Reynolds Street exits that neighborhood also happens to be aligned with the five-lane South Marietta Parkway at Powder Springs Street.

The so-called “Reynolds Street Connector” is the concept of bulldozing into the neighborhood south of Whitlock and close to Whitlock Heights to connect with Whitlock Avenue about a mile later. As you can imagine, this plan would require the demolition of dozens of homes, leave dozens of others suddenly on the edge of a busy corridor with the noise of thousands of cars. The road widening project currently in front of the new Marietta High School provides a “tantalizing vision” of how this now shady quiet neighborhood would be impacted by a Reynolds Street Connector.

In this “south of Whitlock” neighborhood, you’ll find homes, large and small, that are being fixed up and maintained by Mariettans of low, moderate, and high incomes. Some of the streets in this corridor are on the Whitlock Avenue Historic District, included on the National Register of Historic Places. Some houses pre-date the Civil War and others are brand new. The houses are largely owner-occupied, have enjoyed climbing resale values, and provide an important tax base for the city. I saw houses in this neighborhood listed in the newspaper at prices from $200,000 to $435,000.

I find it bizarre that Mr. Blackwell would see a Reynolds Street Connector in his “tantalizing vision” of the new Marietta. We are told that Blackwell and his Redevelopment Task Force have issued a report that decries the blight and decay of Marietta, saying that as a highest priority, we need to “rehabilitate our existing housing stock” and attract “more moderate-income families who can fix up the houses.”

If that is the case, why would the Task Force promote the Reynolds Street Connector that would only serve to take one of Marietta’s most stable and lovely “stock” of homes and turn it into another area of blight and decay? Why would they promote a plan that would only chase homeowners out of Marietta?

Tim Cundiff

Marietta

Commission meetings should accommodate constituent’s schedule

Due process is a principle that our economic, legal, and governmental system is built on. The right to be notified of an accusation and the right to be heard seems above question. That is, unless you are trying to create hurdles and costs to keep the powers that be in charge and moving forward. I submit that Cobb County’s practice, and most other counties I presume, of having Planning Commission and Board of Commission meetings during the day is such an example of hurdle creation and inconsistency with the foundations of our society.

A democratic society is supposed to be undergirded by an educated, vocal electorate, as are the capital markets by educated, well-informed investors. These parties are essential for intelligent debate and reasoned compromise. As such, having commission meetings, which help to determine the direction and character of our communities, at a time when the majority of tax paying citizens are working to provide the very revenues in which the commission members are paid, is dubious.

The only parties that seem to be consistently present at these commission meetings are those who are retired and lawyers that are accumulating billable hours. Without the full complement of voices and viewpoints, the conversation is truncated, and the dialogue, biased and blunted. Every Cobb County citizen should demand that there is some sort of weeknight or weekend period in which to formally, and face-to-face, state their reasoning with regard to a zoning or planning decision in their backyard, down the street, or around their children’s school. One of the most important activities of a government and a business is to listen to its stakeholders, and in order to do this listening, they need to be readily available and understand the schedules and lives of their constituents and customers.

Michael L. Perla

Powder Springs

Marietta’s failing school system is a

liability to our city

I applaud the MDJ supporting Mayor Bill Dunaway with his plans to redevelop the City of Marietta, but please don’t drop the concerns and possible solutions regarding our Marietta School System.

Example after example show the taxpayers that the system has been failing for years, with no immediate hope for relief. The most logical, fiscally responsible solution is to ask Cobb County to absorb our small student population. Cobb is run very efficiently and is well respected.

The money saved on duplicate administration would be astronomical. The Marietta School system is a liability to our city and is forcing good families to move. Is this the type of exodus this city can afford? I think the answer is “no” and a major change is required in order to avoid it.

Elizabeth Dunlap

Marietta