Cobb County Chairman Apologizes for Handling of Braves Deal

Cobb County Chairman Tim Lee has publicly apologized for the way he handled the process of bringing the Atlanta Braves to Cobb County, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.

Lee’s apology follows an ethics complaint filed by Tom Cheek, a Cobb County resident who said that the chairman ignored open records requests, used private e-mail addresses to avoid transparency laws, and overstepped his authority by hiring an outside lawyer to deal with the ballclub.

“While everything we did was legal, I am troubled by the criticism regarding a lack of transparency and that we could have done a better job of communication to eliminate genuine concern or confusion over how the project came about,” Lee wrote in his apology.

“In hindsight, I realize it would have been helpful to provide more information at the time of the public announcement about the private phase of the discussions before the deal was made public. For example, I could have provided a written summary to Commissioners and the public regarding the timeline and process of my discussions with the Braves. To the extent I could have done things differently and better communicated our actions, I sincerely apologize,” the apology continues.

Lee added that due to the handling of the Braves deal, he plans to propose amendments to the county’s economic development policies and is seeking best practices from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. County officials will also entertain citizen input on ways to avoid such a situation in the future.

Cheek has said that he would drop the complaint if Lee apologized for his actions. It is not clear if the complaint has yet been dropped.

Earlier this week, a 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 threatening to wall off the property if they did not sell has settled with the team.

Although the suit with the property owner is now settled, the Braves and the county face another legal challenge in February, when the Georgia Supreme Court will decide whether or not a judge’s ruling to validate the issuance of nearly $400 million in bonds was constitutional.