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The Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation (CVMF) suffered a defeat at Tuesday night’s Cobb County Commission meeting, and it is causing a countywide controversy. After years of garnering public support, fundraising and an early Commission commitment to help secure the funding needed to build a lasting memorial to honor the service and sacrifice of veterans, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell and Commission Chairman Lisa Cupid were the only ones ending up voting to fully fund the CVMF.

Commissioners Erick Allen, Keli Gambrill and Monique Sheffield voted “no” on Birrell’s CVMF funding motion, citing the need to support other projects with the available SPLOST money. Allen, who CVMF leaders say originally told them he would support full funding, surprised them by recently changing his mind and voting “no.”

The county had already dedicated $3 million in SPLOST funds to the project. And the point of Tuesday’s meeting was for the Commission to vote an additional $1 million to fully fund the estimated $4.9 million construction cost. But it wasn’t meant to be. By the way, the CVMF has already raised over $1 million, and its leaders argued that additional money was available from what is called the Revenue Above Project collected by the Commission over the original 2022 SPLOST. And that RAP totaled $175 million.

Cobb County— home to more than 60,000 veterans— is a place where civic groups and everyday citizens have been raising the bar on recognition and remembrance of them. That’s why, a decade ago, the CVMF was created with a singular purpose: Building a prominent memorial park in Marietta honoring all who’ve served in the armed forces, and their families. The park, on county land that’s located on South Fairground Street near the Cobb Civic Center, would feature a soaring star-shaped monument rising over 140 feet. It would be crowned by a glowing American flag, honor walls engraved with names, photos, letters, and personal artifacts of Cobb County veterans, branch-specific panels, Prisoners of War/Missing in Action reflection areas, and Quick Response codes that bring individual veteran stories to life.

In the aftermath of Tuesday vote, disappointed proponents are looking toward January when new SPLOST money would be available for commissioners to allocate to the memorial, with some of the price tag scaled back from the original plan. Proponents hope that one more commissioner can be persuaded to take a second look at funding and provide the third “yes” vote.