FORT OGLETHORPE – Fort Oglethorpe Mayor Ronnie Cobb said he’s proud to have the road around Catoosa County’s new Costco store named after him, but a county commissioner says the mayor is “taking all of the glory.”
Crews recently erected a Cobb Parkway sign at the entrance to the store’s parking lot off Scruggs Road. Cobb spearheaded the effort to woo the warehouse club, which is set to open at the Interstate 75 interchange with Cloud Springs Road at the end of October.
“I don’t want to highlight it,” Cobb said. “It wasn’t my doing.”
The mayor said he’s proud that developer Larry Armour wanted to name the road after him, but wanted it to be clear that he “stayed arm’s length away from it.”
Armour, who owned the land where Costco is being built, said he had hoped to surprise Cobb with the road sign, but learned from City Manager Ron Goulart that the mayor needed to approve it.
“He worked so hard on this thing,” Armor said. “I had many conversations with him at 5 a.m.”
The main entranceway to the store will be called Costco Drive, he said.
But Cobb acknowledged he had “caught some grief” over the name.
County Commissioner Bobby Winters, who represents the district where Costco is being built, said he and others are “disappointed” at the idea of “one person taking all the glory.”
“He can name it whatever he wants to, but there’s a lot of us like, ‘What?'” Winters said. “We’re all proud of Costco, but it’s not a one-person effort. It’s the council in both cities (Ringgold and Fort Oglethorpe) and all the commissioners.”
Goulart said the property owner usually picks names for new roads, pending approval, and Armour called to make the request.
He said it’s not unusual for the city to name a road after a mayor. Fant Drive and Norris Street both pay homage to former Mayors John Norris, who died recently, and Leonard Fant.
Goulart said the city likely would name a new walking trail after Councilman Johnny Smith once it is completed.