Politics & Government

Watch: Decatur Candidates Stake Out Positions At Forum

During a weekend forum for the Decatur City Commission candidates, Greg Coleson said the city needs a green building ordinance and Scott Drake emphasized balancing development with neighborhood needs.

Greg Coleson and Scott Drake talked about their backgrounds and priorities Saturday at a forum for Decatur City Commission candidates.

They're both running for the District 1 seat previously held by to take a consulting job. The election will be held March 19 and only District 1 residents can vote.

The forum was held at the Church at Decatur Heights. Thanks to Deanne Thomas for organizing the forum and Sarah Flynn for videotaping it. Geoff Koski and Jeff Lell asked the questions.

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Here are some highlights of the forum. Watch the video for a full picture.

TOP PRIORITIES IF ELECTED

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Drake

"Downtown development, I think that's a huge priority because that's the core of our town and a very important economic driver in our city, but we also have to balance that with our neighborhoods."

"Those are the two pillars in our community: neighborhoods and schools. Downtown is an amenity, a great amenity."

"Downtown is going to be developed. ... We've got to watch it and make sure it's the best growth and the best outcome for us."

Coleson

"Probably in the next few years we're going to see the entire downtown of Decatur built out. ....I've kind of focused on a green building ordinance and I think one of the reasons for that is because we want really high-quality development."

"If we had a strong rebuilding ordinance what it does is raise the bar. You get a higher quality of developer. You get a higher quality of development."Β 

"I think we should focus our development and make sure we have a great transportation system and a people-friendly transportation system and we do development in a very thoughtful kind of way."

ROLE OF CITY GOVERNMENT IN DEVELOPMENT

Coleson

"The city should be a leader in making sure these development are what the community is happy and comfortable with .... I feel like Decatur has arrived. We are at a point in our development when we can dictate more than in the past what we'd like to see."

"I hate to just keep coming back to this green building ordinance thing, but I feel like as far as the commercial development in in the city, if we can have a good ordinance related to that a lot of things would follow. I was in the 315 West Ponce meeting and 50 percent of the issues people kept bringing up were things that could be directly addressed beforehand by that."

Drake

"We want to have developers come in, we need that economic development, but we want to be able to control it, and we want to be able to balance it. We don't want to make our rules so stringent that no one comes in here and we're too hard to work with and there's no development that's going to go on. That's not going to help us in the long run. What we want to do strikes a balance where the community gets what they want and the city gets what they want and developers can make the project happen."

"The best thing I can tellΒ  anyone who coming to Decatur, whether they're doing something with their house or doing something downtown, is talk to your neighbors before you start planning. ... One thing we could do a better job of is taking with people earlier than later."

CITY COMMISSION ACTIONS YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE

Drake

On the annexation discussion: "I did like seeing how the school board and commisson worked on that issue."

Coleson

On the banning of skateboards on the court square: "You know, that's just not very Decatur. Decatur's not about that. Decatur's about community."

MAJOR ISSUES FOR DISTRICT 1

Coleson

"We probably don't have as many parks as we should. I feel like Decatur Cemetery isΒ  amazing, its a giant green space, but I'd like to see some more kind of diverse, smaller parks. ... I would like to see the connectivity between the different parts of the city become much much greater. Transportation is a big part of that and community spaces are a big part of that too."

Drake

"Crime in downtown Decatur and crime in this neighborhood is on an uptick. ... I don't want to see all the positive things we've done get hit by that. It's bringing a light bulb to our heads and we need to address it."

Previous Patch stories about the election.

  • Floyd to step down from Decatur Commission Jan. 7.
  • Decatur sets special election for March 19.
  • Greg Coleson Q&A, Part 1 and Part 2.
  • Scott Drake Q&A, Part 1 and Part 2.


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