Ragsdale blasts 'stormwater nonsense' as McEachern stadium costs rise
MARIETTA - What was already shaping up to be an expensive replacement project for a Cobb County high school stadium could grow by several more million dollars, thanks to what Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale described as "a new standard that has been implemented by the Board of Commissioners.
"Did I have a negative tone to that?" Ragsdale quipped during the Cobb Board of Education's afternoon work session Thursday. "I apologize."
In March, the school board unanimously approved nearly $4.6 million for the demolition of the home-side grandstands at McEachern High School's Cantrell Stadium after engineers determined the structure needed to be removed and replaced entirely.
The district had originally budgeted only modest upgrades for the stadium as part of its current Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (Ed-SPLOST) program, including "some bathroom upgrades and probably some ADA-type improvements," Ragsdale previously said, similar to the district's roughly $500,000 investment on the visitor side.
The $4.56 million covers demolition and preparatory work only - not construction of replacement stands. Demolition is expected to be completed by July.
During Thursday's meeting, Chief Technology and Operations Officer Marc Smith presented another major cost increase: a proposed $3.28 million contract with Parrish Construction Group, previously tapped as the project's construction manager, for stormwater improvements required by the county.
"Following the plan approval of the stadium demolition project at McEachern High School, it was determined by the Cobb County stormwater department that the existing stormwater system did not comply with current stormwater regulations," Smith told the board. "Therefore, two new underground detention structures, including water quality structures and associated piping systems, will need to be added to the current project."
The additional $3.28 million would bring the district's total investment in the McEachern project to roughly $7.8 million so far, though Ragsdale reminded the board, "this is just one piece of the project." The total construction cost for the replacement stands is anticipated to come before the board at a later date.
Board Chair Randy Scamihorn questioned why the county requirements applied to a project that is "just replacing seating."
Ragsdale pointed to new standards adopted by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, which he later categorized as "stormwater nonsense."
Cobb's stormwater fee
Last November, the county commission's Democratic majority, consisting of Chair Lisa Cupid and Commissioners Erick Allen and Monique Sheffield, approved a dedicated stormwater utility fee by a 3-2 vote, with the commission's two Republicans opposed. The commission also adopted sweeping changes to the stormwater code.
"At the raising of three hands, this has increased by millions, multiple millions of dollars, the cost of construction moving forward," Ragsdale said.
Beginning June 1, Cobb County Water System customers will pay a monthly stormwater utility fee intended to fund expanded stormwater infrastructure and management efforts.
The fee is based on the amount of impervious surface - like buildings, parking lots and driveways - on a property, which prevents water from soaking into the ground and increases runoff, leading to higher costs for stormwater management and infrastructure maintenance.
Homeowners will pay a flat $4.75 monthly fee, while nonresidential properties, including schools, will be charged $4.75 for every 3,700 square feet of impervious surface on their property.
Board concerns
As board member Leroy Tre' Hutchins noted Thursday, what was supposed to be "a quick replacement" of grandstands has evolved into a far larger and more expensive undertaking.
"This has now gone into $3 million additional just for some underground stuff we will never see," he said.
Ragsdale emphasized the replacement of McEachern's home stands was never a SPLOST project "in and of itself," and said the district is relying heavily on "undesignated classroom" funds to cover the escalating costs.
"Every penny that we are spending is above and beyond," he said. "...Without that, we would be taking away from projects, or we wouldn't be doing this project, and that would mean no home stands at McEachern for the foreseeable future."
Vice Chair David Chastain noted the added $3 million would effectively consume nearly all the interest earned on the district's annual short-term borrowing program tied to SPLOST funding.
"We can fund the $3 million," Chastain said, "but then the next thing that comes along, we've already used up the interest."
Board member Becky Sayler asked whether "poor stormwater runoff" was connected in any way to the structural failure of the existing stadium infrastructure.
"No, it's the new requirements, nothing more," Ragsdale responded, adding that, while the district has met long existing detention and retention requirements from the state, this was "even above and beyond."
He further described the changes as an "unfunded mandate," though this time not from the state.
"Generally speaking, that's where we receive unfunded mandates - … from the state when legislation passes and while it may seem good and have good intentions, there is no funding to go along with it," Ragsdale said. "This, I don't know what the reasoning is here. I don't know if the intentions are good, bad or indifferent, but there's absolutely no funding, no breaks, no rebates, no nothing."
Ragsdale warned the stormwater requirements could have sweeping impacts on future district construction projects.
"The end result is going to be, we might have fewer projects in the SPLOST notebook," he said. "… It might just be, instead of 100 projects, we have 80, because we have to cover the cost of this nonsense."
Ragsdale said the district is still trying to determine how broadly the regulations could affect future projects, and whether other buildings will need to be brought up to code.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.