Sam Olens - Attorney General

Marietta Daily Journal:  Olens upbeat at final address
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COBB COUNTY - Sam Olens gave his last State of the County address as chairman of Cobb County on Monday morning before 350 local business, government and education leaders. Olens will be stepping down from the position he has held for almost eight years in March to focus on his run for the state’s attorney general.

The Cobb County Chamber of Commerce played host to Olens for his speech at its monthly first breakfast meeting, which began at 7:30 a.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest.

Olens covered everything from education to the county’s budget during his speech, highlighting the county’s achievements throughout 2009 and updating the audience on current projects and initiatives.

He began with a focus on Cobb’s police and fire departments, saying, “Public safety is the prime reason our government exists.”

The Cobb County Adult Detention Center’s expansion project has run on time and on budget, Olens said.

“This is what we needed to best protect our citizens,” he said.

Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren said the project is 98 percent completed.

Construction on the new 229,000-square-foot, seven-story, $63 million Superior Courthouse on Haynes Street is running smoothly, Olens said, thanks to the collaboration between the general contractor, county leaders and the law officials who will be using the building. Olens also referenced a photo of the former courthouse, which he said “should never have been torn down.”

The new courthouse is scheduled for completion in a little less than a year.

Olens referenced various highlights of Cobb’s school systems and three higher education institutions, such as Cobb’s 85.5 percent graduation rate, which is higher than the state’s 70 percent average graduation rate, Southern Polytechnic University’s 13 new degree programs and 36 percent increase in enrollment since 2005, and Kennesaw State University’s growing athletic department.

More than 7,000 volunteers reached out during September’s floods to help those in need, Olens said, and more than 950 Community Emergency Response Team members were activated to assist in any way they were needed.

Olens said the Powder Springs Station, which will be the new home for the county’s community development department when the employees occupy the building in March, will “do for south Marietta what the West Park Government Center did for its stretch of Whitlock.”

Powder Springs Station, like West Park, has been renovated from a fledging retail center to an active government facility.

Olens also discussed the steps the county took to privatize its solid waste department, which took five years to happen and has saved the county $5 million.

“If you don’t think solid waste is sexy, $5 million is,” Olens said.

In terms of the county’s budget, Olens said Cobb continues to reduce the number of people employed by the county by not filling vacant jobs and is the only large government in Georgia with no furloughs.

Olens called Cobb “the most conservative county in the state,” and said that through its conservative efforts, the county has saved $174,000 in recycled toner and ink alone.

Cobb has received the only “A” rating in the state of Georgia from the Sunshine Review with an A+ rating, Olens said. The Sunshine Review grades organizations on their transparency and availability of information to its residents.

Olens received a standing ovation at the end of his speech and presentation, and thanked the county’s employees for all of their service and hard work.