Rail, sales tax debate in Cobb becomes a game of hardball
The vote on a 10-county metro Atlanta sales tax directed at road and rail is still 10 months away, at least. But already a terrific game of hardball is underway – evidenced by this letter to Cobb County’s legislative delegation from Joe Howard, a senior executive with Manhattan Associates, a major local employer.
I’ve marked the incendiary section in bold:
August 24, 2011
Dear Members of the Cobb County Delegation:
It is with great professional interest that I have been following the Cobb County transit planning process, and the funding position recently secured in the regional sales tax project list, for a rail line from Midtown Atlanta to Cumberland in Cobb County.
As the leader of global real estate for one of Cobb County’s larger employers I have already met with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Tim Lee, and the Cumberland Community Improvement District twice this year to express the county’s uncompetitive position with regards to rail access.
The proposed Midtown to Cumberland line is THE critical first step and lynch pin of Cobb’s long term strategic transportation and mobility plan, and I am very concerned about wavering support for this initiative.
Communities and commerce have thrived and starved on the lifeblood of efficient transportation since the beginning of time. The original Atlanta Rail Commission Report from the 1960’s shows the master plan for Atlanta as having rail service across 5 counties. Note this is almost 50 years ago! The longest journey begins with the first step. The Midtown to Cumberland line is that critical first step, and there has never been a more appropriate and opportune time to finally push this forward.
Manhattan Associates is a global technology solutions provider for supply chain leaders. With approximately 1000 employees located in the Wildwood office complex in the Cumberland/Galleria area, and revenues of approximately $300 million, we and our employee base are large taxpayers in the county. Our single largest business challenge is not our product or competition; it is the attraction, retention, and long term satisfaction of our highly mobile and technology savvy workforce.
We compete for and recruit talent for these high-tech, high-paying jobs from all over the country. These positions are filled by a younger 21st century workforce, where quality of life and social opportunities are key decision points for their employer of choice. Our employees are young and mobile and search out communities that can accommodate a variety of transportation options as well as provide urban-village atmospheres where they can live and thrive. The rail line is an effective first step to providing a critical and convenient link to all that Atlanta has to offer our future employees and residents of Cobb County.
On a more immediate note, I am in charge of site selection for Manhattan Associates, and Cobb is currently in active competition with several sites in Fulton County in close proximity to the North MARTA rail line.
Since Cobb currently has no competitive counter for the wide variety of benefits the rail lines offer, I was surprised to see recent press, noting that various local and state leaders are questioning the need for rail in Cobb as well as the need to connect to MARTA. This is deeply concerning to me as the absence of rail is one of Cobb’s greatest unfulfilled needs and puts Cobb and its businesses, at an extreme disadvantage, not only in comparison to our nearest counties, but nationally as well.
The Midtown to Cumberland rail project is only the beginning of a long term transformation. Rail access is not just a community amenity, nor is it simply a means of transportation utilized by those without other means. It is a necessity for today’s corporations and a necessity in today’s competitive business environment.
As a business leader and a lifelong resident of Cobb County, I cannot more strongly urge you to support the rail line into Cobb and to help ensure its position on the regional sales tax project list.
Sincerely,
Joe Howard
Sr. Director|Corporate Administration
Manhattan Associates, Inc.
cc: Chairman Tim Lee, Cobb County Board of Commissioners
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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© 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
84 comments Add your comment
foodfight
September 9th, 2011
1:04 pm
Bought and paid for by Cobb Cahmberand Tim Lee. Thanks for your support.
OM = CSA
September 9th, 2011
1:05 pm
Take that, old-school backwards thinking Marietta Daily Journal!
SpaceyG on Twitter
September 9th, 2011
1:08 pm
It’s good that you bolded-out the STRONGer stuff. (Although don’t you think calling it * incendiary* was a bit overly dramatic? But hey, got me scrolling.) Makes skimming anything to do with the TSPLOST a lot faster. Because if there’s anything people can crank thousands upon thousands of (mostly superfluous) words on it’d be the 2012 referendum/TSPOST. I’ve already got copy-burnout on the matter. But hey, only 10 more months to go!
CobbGOPer
September 9th, 2011
1:10 pm
In other words, pass this tax or we’ll move elsewhere (which we’re more than likely going to do regardless, but the Chamber will get mad with us if we don’t push this initiative).
CobbYuppie
September 9th, 2011
1:10 pm
Nice to see some support for TSPLOST at last. East Cobbers need to realize the long-term benefits of a rail line to Cobb. This first stretch is only the beginning; it will open Cobb up to an efficient transportation plan with longevity, making it competitive with neighboring areas.
Another Doug
September 9th, 2011
1:26 pm
Perhaps when all the employers of significance have left Cobb, the county will wake up to the need to at least move into the 20th Century, much less the one we are in now.
Garth
September 9th, 2011
1:30 pm
I’ve been living in Cobb County for 30 years and I don’t need some rich fat cat blow hard using threats to get what he wants–which is not what’s in the best interest of the county. The real traffic nightmares are traveling the secondary roads] in other words, the problem is east – west; west- east, not so much north= south. Why, because our commission NEVER turned down builders’ zoning requests, where they put subdivision after subdivision along every secondary road and donkey path in the county. Since Joe is looking after Joe and doesn’t appreciate the real traffic problems and solutions, he can take his company and shove off. We’ll get more.
Dear Old Morehouse
September 9th, 2011
1:30 pm
Business knows best. Right repubs?
SpaceyG on Twitter
September 9th, 2011
1:39 pm
Hey hold on! Back up! There are rich fat cats running Cobb County?! Alert the media!
B. Thenet
September 9th, 2011
1:43 pm
I have heard some Cobb legislators mention instead of connecting the Cumberland area to Midtown light rail, you could connect the Cumberland area to the MARTA Medical Center station, and in the process also address the awful East Cobb congestion on Johnson’s Ferrry at the river with a couple of stops inbetween.
That makes much more sense than just plopping a station at Cumberland, the main problem for most North and West Cobb drivers is just getting to the 75/285 junction to begin with.
I believe in bringing more train/rail transit to Cobb, I live in East Cobb and work in Kennesaw, but the current plan provided will not do much to solve the traffic problems of Cobb County. The only people it helps are the businesses within the Cumberland Mall area, we should demand a better transit solution instead of accepting a shoddy one.
whatworld
September 9th, 2011
1:49 pm
What world do these people live in?
20 years living in Cobb and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve absolutely had to use mass transit. For my neighbors and I, a serious investment in roads would go much further than new transit construction.
Ga Values
September 9th, 2011
1:50 pm
I’ll be voring no..no for waste & corruption..
Capital Idea
September 9th, 2011
2:14 pm
How did the Bellsouth/AT&T parking decks at Doraville and Lindbergh MARTA stations work out as dedicated transit enhancers?
Mr. Howard should just quit whining and move to Fulton since that is his ideal urban vision. His employees could telecommute instead and then everyone else won’t have to pay for their roads or their train.
Maxa
September 9th, 2011
2:20 pm
There is a reason Manhattan and Associates are in Cobb county and NOT ATLANTA or California or New York or DC or Seattle.
If trains are what they need, there are more than a few locales out there that have them (and are sorry they do). Manhattan and Associates should move, if they must, to get at ‘dem trains.
Don’t think we are buying Mr. Howard’s letter as anything more than a shill piece for the Cobb Chamber, Cumberland CID and Tim Lee..
Maxa
September 9th, 2011
2:27 pm
CobbYuppie, other than what other uninformed people have told you, what do you know about lite-rail and it’s “benefits” and “efficiencies”?
Mere regurgitation of the unquestioned words of others, has the ugly tendency of revealing the mindless fools.
Existing Rail
September 9th, 2011
2:29 pm
I’m working on a proposal to use EXISTING RAIL lines (mostly owned by CSX) as a means for transit. Look at Google Maps (or drive around Cobb) and study the rail line that runs RIGHT BY CUMBERLAND MALL…The line runs near 41, 120, all the major spots…The thing is convincing CSX to share that track (and the profits) for commuter use…They could start with a train in the morning and one in the evening, for now…
Centrist
September 9th, 2011
2:36 pm
@ Garth – I think you got this right.
I have to laugh at this letter referring to his “highly mobile and technology savvy workforce”. How many such folks have you seen on a Cobb bus or MARTA line?
Rail is Good
September 9th, 2011
2:44 pm
Build the Rail, good for the economy now and for the long term viability of the area.
Aside from the *fear* that “urban people” would come to precious Cobb County and raze it to the ground, no one has mentioned why it would be bad.
Rail is Good
September 9th, 2011
2:47 pm
@Centrist-
That’s the point, make a rail line and you will see a “highly mobile and technology savvy workforce,” become more apt to make this area home. Young people want GOOD mass transit – Rail. Buses, nah, couldnt care less, but we havent realized that an actual rail system in cobb and fulton would benefit everyone.
honested
September 9th, 2011
3:10 pm
Rail is Good,
That old shibboleth of ‘those people’ coming out here on the train to ’steal our stuff and take the train home’.
The current legal fiasco for Cobb EMC should demonstrate clearly that criminals certainly don’t have to take the train to get there!
Intown Doug
September 9th, 2011
3:29 pm
The East Cobbers are scared a rail line will bring black people to their neighborhoods.
Skram30082
September 9th, 2011
3:31 pm
For all you Cobb people who want more roads, especially east-west routes, how’s that East-West Connector working out for you during rush hour? It runs right in front of my house, and I swear, it’s been clogged with traffic during those times since the very day it opened.
Ga Values
September 9th, 2011
3:43 pm
Rail is Good
September 9th, 2011
2:47 pm
We are not talking about “GOOD mass transit” we are talking about MARTA.. How much do you think will be wasted on corruption & mismanagement. The Jackson Family have to get their 10% just like at the airport.
Sam
September 9th, 2011
3:55 pm
Well golly gee…. do you really think we should vote for a rail line that would help your company in 10 years. First, how do we even know your company will exist in 10 years. More importantly, what do you say to that younger 21st worker, uuhhhh come to Atlanta because we are going to get a little bit of rail line in 10 years.
Dang ,you just can’t make this stuff up.
Hypocrite Hunter
September 9th, 2011
4:01 pm
Hmmm…is Manhattan Associates going to guarantee they’ll stay there, and match 1000 jobs for the ten years the construction is going to take? Keep the same SF of commercial space, pay the increasing taxes? Don’t think so…
Sit down Joe Howard, but your points are duly noted.
Skram30082
September 9th, 2011
4:11 pm
I work with a guy that lives in Sharpsburg. Our office is at Abernathy/GA 400. He is adamantly opposed to the T-SPLOST.
Now, 3 days each week, I drive from my home to the Sandy Springs MARTA station. He drives from his home in Sharpsburgh to te hCollege Park station, hops on MARTA, gets off at Sandy Springs, and I give him a ride to the office. In the afternoon, I drop him off at the station. We’re able to work from home 2 days each week.
Now, to me, it seems a bit hypocritical of him to oppose the T-SPLOST when he is benefitting from the foresight of people who voted for MARTA 40 YEARS AGO.
This is about the future, whether you believe you will benefit from it or not.
November 6, 2012
September 9th, 2011
4:13 pm
It just ain’t gonna happen, folks……MARTA is a bottomless pit……the more you give ‘em, the more they want….vote NONONONONONONONONO.
Dear Old Morehouse
September 9th, 2011
4:21 pm
The state gives MARTA nothing. Fulton and Dekalb residents pay so you beloved Cobbers can get to the Dome or Turner Field faster. Instead of harping about how MARTA is a bottomless pit, you should be thanking us for keeping it afloat this long for your weekend pleasures.
Laner
September 9th, 2011
4:23 pm
I listened in on Commissioner Lee’s town hall about the rail and not once did I hear a business leader asking questions about rail, what I heard was poor people demanding rail to move around. I was more in favor of the proposal BEFORE I heard from the people that wanted it most on this phone call, a bunch of unemployed and poor wanting the gubament to help them get around. I’ve used mass transit in other places where it worked, but it wasn’t built for the poor like MARTA was.
honested
September 9th, 2011
4:29 pm
Skram,
40 Years!
We ITP’s have been making the area beckon tourists, support State Funded Arenas, provide parking and access to the airport, all so those in ‘the villes’ can belittle us. Perish the thought that the willingly TAX themselves to be able to access a broad swath of the State’s Economic Engine!
Less likely would be if we stepped beyond the ‘designed to fail regional splost plan’ and supply State Funding to the Only Fully Functional Multi-Modal Rapid Transit System in the Deep South!!
That would make us too much like those elitists from Civlized parts of the Country.
Ga Values
September 9th, 2011
4:37 pm
MARTA the home of the $100,000.00/ year Multi-Modal Rapid Transit System operator (bus driver to the unwashed)
honested
September 9th, 2011
4:54 pm
Laner,
Perish the thought that the poor could get to work!
They should by a bimmer like every body who deserves to live!
Antonyishia
September 9th, 2011
4:54 pm
“…the absence of rail is one of Cobb’s greatest unfulfilled needs…”
Course, depending on one’s point of view, it’s also one of the county’s greatest strengths. Same might be said for the other metro counties that aren’t blessed with MARTA.
John from Cobb
September 9th, 2011
4:57 pm
Dear Joe,
Go back to Manhattan and we won’t have a transit problem in Cobb County. No more Taxes for services not used. Marta is nice but no one uses it even in the counties where its located–if they did it would be solvent.
Frederick Douglass
September 9th, 2011
4:57 pm
When I started working in Cobb county as a 22 year old back in the mid-seventies, an older co-worker told me then, that they didn’t need, or want mass transit, because it’d bring in thieves from Atlanta. I thought to myself, when have I ever seen someone on a bus with a TV under his arm?
Diehard
September 9th, 2011
5:00 pm
Maybe if State Reps like Sharon Cooper had to walk her rather large hind end to a train station, she would be in better shape to pass judgement on rail. Instead, she sits on her rather large hind end and pontificates . . . and just gets larger as Cobb falls further behind.
honested
September 9th, 2011
5:18 pm
john from cobb,
‘no one uses it, even in the counties where it is located’.
What an entirely inaccurate and clearly uninformed statement.
Frame your mis-understanding a little differently ‘more people would use it if it went more places’.
You clearly explain why I try not to do any business in cobb county.
oldtimer
September 9th, 2011
5:20 pm
I have lived in Dekalb, Clayton, and now Cobb. I have also used mass transit in cities here and in Europe. I think MARTA is the most mismanaged rapid transit I have ever seen. It does not go to Turner Field or the Dome. It does not in into Lenox or Perimeter. Buses do not do a great job of connecting things. They are dirty and can be dangerous.
I really do not see Cobb getting much out of this 10 year plan. I would love it if I beleived it would be well done. MARTA just has not proven to be good at what they do.
Honest Abe
September 9th, 2011
5:22 pm
Is he going to ride the train?
Fat chance. He’ll be in his Porsche, riding along I-285 to his house on Riverside Drive.
Hypocrites. Let everyone else ride transit and pay for it while I take the freeway.
Burman Fisher
September 9th, 2011
5:29 pm
Existing Rail
CSX does not own the tracks. They lease the tracks from the State. The State owns the tracks from Atlanta to Chattanooga. CSX’s lease expires in several years. So, if the State owns all of that right-of-way, maybe it should change the nature of its lease with CSX to allow use other than cargo. Or better than that, use the splost to widen the ROW all the way to Acworth, build a 2nd set of tracks and use the existing station stops in Vinings, Smyrna, Marietta, Kennesaw, etc. Build it and they will come!
MiltonMan
September 9th, 2011
5:29 pm
“We compete for and recruit talent for these high-tech, high-paying jobs from all over the country. These positions are filled by a younger 21st century workforce, where quality of life and social opportunities are key decision points for their employer of choice.”
I know a few of his employees & they all telecommute. Funny that he fails to mention this.
GA 1835
September 9th, 2011
5:31 pm
There is a movie I saw once titled “Idiocracy”. The world was so dumbed down that an average Joe showed up and was the smartest guy around. But the world was in a mess.
When I read the same stuff about transit that has been said for 50 years in Cobb, the “lynch”pin to the north side, I wonder how metro Atlanta will compare to Charlotte or Phoenix in the coming decades. These forward thinking cities are moving to rail. But not Cobb. And we all know the real reason.
Sees With a Vision
September 9th, 2011
5:32 pm
I live in Cobb. The “bringing crime to Cobb” mindset is long gone. This rail idea needs to be paid for by fares, not tax money. Just like many so called “good for the economy, the county, the people, etc.” ideas, the whole population is forced to pay for what is used by a few. Cobb citizens already pay for buses to drive around empty and an amphitheater that has 2 shows a year. Other than necessities, if something doesn’t pay for itself, stadiums, rails, amphitheaters, buses, then the taxpayers should not have to. Government should get out of all business-like activities and leave that to free enterprise. Those dummies in Dekalb still “provide” garbage service; and they pay for everyone’s MARTA!! No thanks….we have learned from your mistake!
Madison
September 9th, 2011
5:34 pm
Milton. Now there’s a sustainable model – a city with more miles of roads than people.
MiltonMan
September 9th, 2011
5:34 pm
honested, come on up to North Fulton. Plenty of the MARTA buses are empty regardless of the time. The MARTA bus stops have been turned into nothing more than an open dumpster full of trash.
I have ridden the train from North Springs to the Airport plenty of times and would be the only person in the car.
Cobb County citizens: You do not want MARTA invading your county!
Madison
September 9th, 2011
5:37 pm
To what extent is automobile use a “free” good? According to Hart and Spivak, government subsidies for highways and parking alone amount to between 8 and 10 percent of our gross national product, the equivalent of a fuel tax of approximately $3.50 per gallon. If this tax were to account for “soft” costs such as pollution cleanup and emergency medical treatment, it would he as high as $9.00 per galion. The cost of these subsidies-approximately $5,000 per car per year-is passed directly on to the American citizen in the form of increased prices for products or, more often, as income, property, and sales taxes. This means that the hidden costs of driving are paid by everyone: not just drivers, but also those too old or too poor to drive a car. And these people suffer doubly, as the very transit systems they count on for mobility have gone out of business, unable to compete with the heavily subsidized highways. “Elephant in the Bedroom, Spivak”
MiltonMan
September 9th, 2011
5:42 pm
You clowns who support this tax need to brush up on the GA 400 toll bonds that have been paid in full. Sonny Boy decided to extend this another 10 years until 2021. The same will happen to this proposed tax. You hear that politicians state that is only good for 10 years but believe me these scumbags will find some legal loophole to extend the tax.
Madison
September 9th, 2011
5:48 pm
The issue is the need for transit alternatives in the greater metropolitan area. There are plenty of things to complain about from the former governor, but to do so in this context avoids the issue. Land values continue to decline in north Atlanta. Without a plan that includes transit and (maybe Dobbins as a commercial airport) the slide will last for the next 50 years.
Ga Values
September 9th, 2011
5:52 pm
Madison
September 9th, 2011
5:48 pm
If you want to see home prices down bring in MARTA..
Madison
September 9th, 2011
5:53 pm
Alex Marshal wrote a good book a few years back called “How Cities Work.” In it, he concluded that the real forces that shape cities are transportation systems, industry and business, and political decision making.