The Council for Quality Growth was thrilled to welcome Cobb County Chairman Tim Lee to speak at the Cobb County Advisory meeting on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. Chairman Lee delivered powerful remarks on Cobb County’s future with one overarching theme: economic expansion.
With the recent groundbreaking of the new Atlanta Braves stadium—Sun Trust Field—Cobb County’s future is looking brighter than ever. In addition to the Braves stadium, Cobb County is experiencing overall impressive expansion: the phenomenal growth resulting from the Kennesaw/Kennesaw State University partnership; the Town Center, Cumberland, and Marietta Gateway CID’s and the list goes on. The overarching question moving forward: What should Cobb County’s focus be?
Chairman Tim Lee provided meaningful insight into this question. Chairman Lee told the Council for Quality Growth, “We need to stop thinking about Cobb County’s future only in terms of economic development, we must transition into thinking about economic expansion. Economic expansion creates jobs—high paying jobs. Over the next 10 years, Cobb County’s focus needs to be on today’s 12-year olds. What do I mean by that? We need to concentrate on creating an environment that today’s 12-year olds want to call home. We want them to stay in Cobb County when they graduate and start their professional careers. By shifting the focus from exclusively economic development, we can tackle and discuss critical issues facing local governments and developers from a unique vantage point.”