YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP (Continued): What is the biggest problem facing downtown Marietta? Many people - perhaps even most people - would answer that it is insufficient parking.

Now comes the news that the city and county are at an impasse in negotiations over a new parking deck on the site of the old Fulton Federal Building across Lawrence Street from the city's new courthouse under construction. The deck would feature 500 spaces if the city takes part and 400 if not. Those extra 100 spaces would go far toward alleviating at least some of the parking shortage around the Square. Construction is slated to go forward in February, with or without the city.

Yet the talks are at a standstill, and primarily because of the heel-digging tactics of powerful Councilman Philip Goldstein, who Mayor Bill Dunaway has let serve as the lead man on the city's team of negotiators.

Unfortunately, the fact that the talks are nearing a dead end apparently has come as news to much of the council, which, as often has been the case, has been left out of the loop by Dunaway and secretive City Manager Bill Bruton.

Many Mariettans see Goldstein as a walking conflict of interest, especially considering that he and his family are one of the two biggest private landholders downtown. They don't want him representing them or the city in such negotiations, considering those conflicts and his past record as the councilman who negotiated the one-sided deal with Sentry Hospitality, the original operator of the Marietta Conference Center, which the city spent millions of dollars on to buy out. And as a mega-landlord he has control of innumerable parking spaces for his tenants and their customers around the Square, and also owns other parking lots downtown.

In addition, Goldstein is in de facto control of the Downtown Marietta Development Authority, which wants to build its own deck just across the railroad tracks from the Marietta Welcome Center. Some wonder if Goldstein may be taking an obstructionist tack on the county deck in hopes of benefiting a future DMDA deck. But such a deck is far from certain and years away, if ever.

In short, it's hard to tell which hat Goldstein is wearing as negotiator: whether he's representing his own interests, the DMDA, the city or some combination of the above.

It's even odder that the mayor - who along with Councilman Van Pearlberg, has repeatedly accused Goldstein of having ongoing conflicts of interest - is letting Goldstein play a lead role in the talks.

We understand the frustration of Commission Chairman Sam Olens and other county officials, who are only trying to do what is best for the entire county. And let's not forget, like the mayor and Goldstein seem to have done, that Olens represents all of Marietta as well as unincorporated Cobb, and that the other commissioners, like northwest Cobb's Helen Goreham and northeast Cobb's Tim Lee, represent parts of the city as well. This should not be an "us vs. them" fight or a city vs. county battle, although that's the approach apparently taken by Goldstein and Dunaway - whose own feuding with Olens has been well documented.

Rather than letting Goldstein and Dunaway secretly snafu the talks, Olens should send his best offer to the full council, and maybe Dunaway would put it on the council's agenda to vote on up or down - in public. And if Goldstein wants to offer an amendment to the agreement to reflect his views, that would be his right. In the meantime, we hope that the new mayoral administration that takes over next year puts a higher priority on public transparency.

We can't help but think there is strong sentiment on the council for improving the parking situation downtown. The county deck perhaps would not be the "perfect" solution for the city, but would certainly be a big step in the right direction.