June 2018 - Mableton Improvement Coalition

MIC Adopts Old Powder Springs Road

MIC has signed the paperwork to formally adopt Old Powder Springs Road under Cobb County’s Adopt-A-Mile Program. The first clean-up will be Saturday, July 14th at 9am and we will meet at the Mableton Pentacostal Church at 1000 Old Powder Springs Road. This first clean-up will be a big job, so come out and help us make Mableton look its best! Wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring gloves if you like. We provide safety vests, latex gloves, trash bags, bottled water — and a cheerful welcome. Participants must be at least 13 years of age and those under 18 must have a signed parental consent and release of liability. We have the form if needed.

Why pick up litter? Don’t you sometimes feel like it shouldn’t be up to us to pick up after other people? The answer might be surprising to you – MIC and others pick up litter because a clean roadway is less likely to attract more litter. That’s right – litter attracts litter. According to a study by Keep America Beautiful, “Individuals are much more likely to litter into littered environments …, and they are less likely to report having littered into beautified environments… These findings strongly support the need for ongoing clean-up and beautification efforts. Indeed, posting litter prevention messages or signs in already-littered environments is likely to exacerbate the littering problem.”

Please contact Jeff Padgett if you plan to participate or if you have any questions/concerns. If we know you’re coming, we’ll keep you posted concerning rescheduling in case of inclement weather.

Zoning Meeting in Mableton – Everyone Invited!

Commissioner Lisa Cupid invites all area residents to attend her monthly Community Zoning Meeting on Wednesday, June 27th at 6pm at the South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive in Mableton. The meeting will focus on zoning applications that will be considered in July: Here are the zoning applications on the July agenda for Mableton:

14 townhouses on Mableton Parkway between Glore Circle and Wood Valley Way (updated site plan)
Key Auto Collision on Powell Drive,
The Mableton Center (formerly used appliances) on Mableton Parkway between Hilltop Circle and Community Drive,
Shree Mandir on Lions Club Drive,
Gursharam Parnu (granite warehouse) on Veterans Memorial Highway near Hickory Trail, and
Buckner Crossroads, LLC at Veterans Memorial Highway and Buckner Road.

Use the links to learn more about these applications and how you can participate in the zoning process. Come to the meeting! Face to face communication is effective and enlightening!

Questions? MIC’s Zoning Committee will be there and always welcomes your questions and comments. Get in touch!

Cobb County Budget Decision Time

Numbers and budgets are not everyone’s “cup of tea,” but if you live or do business in Cobb County, it’s time to take a minute and study this issue. First, click here to understand the current situation – how we got here and what the facts are. At issue right now is the County Government portion of your tax bill, which is less than half of your total tax bill, excluding the school portion.

Now it’s time to think about the essential services that your taxes pay for, such as police, fire, EMS, emergency road repair, the court system, and required government services like zoning, inspections, and mapping. Then there are the remainder of the services that we have come to expect, like parks and recreation, libraries, senior center centers, arts centers, roadside mowing, road repairs, Cobb LINC bus system, and Keep Cobb Beautiful, among others.

So what’s next?

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is seeking your input on the next Cobb budget through a series of Town Halls around the county. The Mableton Town Hall will be on June 28th at 7pm at the South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive.

The Chairman’s budget calls for a 1.7 mil increase in property taxes, which would generate enough money to keep all of Cobb’s parks, libraries, senior centers and animal services open and allow for an increase in public safety resources. Also in the budget proposal would be hiring additional police officers and purchasing body cameras, restoring eliminated DOT maintenance positions, increasing right-of-way mowing contracts, and a phasing in of restored library hours, including Sunday hours at regional libraries.

It is important for Mableton and South Cobb residents to show up and be counted at this meeting! We have different needs and maybe different opinions than other parts of the County. Help your elected officials – the County Commission – understand how to deal with this budget problem. Their decision will shape our future.

Restaurant Spotlight – Star East

One of the most talked-about subjects in our Facebook group is restaurants. MIC’s Economic Development Committee decided to visit Mableton restaurants periodically, and provide some basic information about them — or in other words, “shine a spotlight” on the restaurants in our community. MIC does not endorse the restaurants; the Spotlight exists simply to introduce Mabletonians to restaurants in Mableton.

Today’s spotlight is Star East:

When we went: Thursday, May 31, 2018, 12:30pm
Type of food: Chinese (Beef & Broccoli, Hot & Sour Soup, Fried Cabbage Egg Roll, Sweet & Sour Pork)
Delivery/Takeout: Dine-in or call-in available for takeout via stareastga.com or www.doordash.com
Service: order & pay at back counter (Visa, Master Card, cash), meals brought to your table
Location: Suite 1674, 5015 Floyd Road, Mableton GA 30126 in the Mableton Walk Shopping Center (Publix)
Phone: 770.948.7722
Food Safety Score: 98 (3.16.17) (no grade level listed)
Ambience: Straight-up! Walls lined with tables/chairs, nice lighting, little décor, VERY clean.
Wifi: Not listed as available (cell phone use was fine)
Parking: plentiful
Website: stareastga.com
Notes about experience: Service was quick, food served piping hot; huge menu with lunch specials (plenty of food, even the soup portion), Sweet & Sour Pork was actual (breaded) chunks of pork, not ground… free plate of fried wontons. Only “sweet tea” available (no unsweet), great sticky rice. We were the only customers upon arrival, but soon Star East tables were filling up, and as well, a steady stream of takeout pickups!