Ethics Hearing for Cobb Commission Chairman Tonight

The Chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners could face an ethics hearing regarding his handling of the Atlanta Braves’ relocation to the county as soon as tonight.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, if the complaint is not dismissed or the hearing is not delayed, Tim Lee will defend himself against allegations that he used an outside attorney to negotiate the relocation deal and used a Cobb County Chamber of Commerce e-mail account to avoid an open records request.

Cobb County resident Tim Cheek brought forth the complaint, who claimed that he would withdraw the complaint if Lee formally apologized for the way he handled the deal. Lee issued a written apology last week, but Cheek told the AJC that he did not drop the complaint because of Lee’s alleged skirting of open records laws.

The ethics hearing is the latest in a litany of legal challenges brought forth by various parties in the wake of the announcement that the Atlanta Braves will move to Smyrna by Opening Day 2017.

Earlier this month, a Smyrna property owner who had filed a lawsuit against the Braves for allegedly low-balling them on an offer to buy their parcel near the site of SunTrust Park and then threatened to wall off the property if they did not sell settled with the team.

In February of 2015, the Georgia Supreme Court will decide whether or not a Cobb County judge’s ruling to validate the issuance of nearly $400 million in bonds was constitutional.

The Thursday meeting will be held in the Cobb County Board of Commissioners’ chambers at 100 Cherokee St. in Marietta Square at 6 p.m.