Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The job advertised on the City of Decatur website would pay $39,998 to $46,301.
The City of Decatur is looking to hire its very first full-time public information officer. This will be a newly created job. The post advertised on the city website would pay $39,998 to $46,301 per year. The application deadline is 5 p.m. May 21. Patch asked City Manager Peggy Merriss some questions about the job. Here are her e-mailed answers. Why did the city decide to create this position? Communication is at the heart of Decatur’s commitment to transparency and in order to continue to meet the increasing demand for information and the growing communication tools for delivery of information, we created a dedicated PIO position. We previously had a Community Relations Officer position in the Police Department and after assessing the …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Members of the Decatur City Commission, School Board, Police Department and other wings of city government gathered Tuesday morning for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Beacon Municipal Building.
Members of the Decatur City Commission, School Board, Police Department and other wings of city government gathered Tuesday morning for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Beacon Municipal Building. The center will house the schools administrative offices, a new police department and municipal court, and a new Ebster Recreation center with a new gym. The project is expected to cost about $38 million with completion projected for spring 2014. Other stories on this subject.
Monday, May 6, 2013
The Decatur City Commission meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday and will also decide whether to extend the city manager's contract.
Decatur may make two changes in the tree ordinance that would affect home construction. The Decatur City Commission will consider amending the ordinance during a 7:30 p.m. meeting in city hall. In a memo, City Planner Amanda Thompson and arborist Ed Macie say some owners of single-family homes are circumventing the ordinance by taking down healthy trees before the property is sold. That allows them to avoid the requirements that come into play once a demolition permit is issued. The suggested change would apply the ordinance to single-family home yards in the R60 and R85 zones that are "pending real estate sale or title transfer or have been sold or title transferred in the past 18 months." The second recommended change would require all …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
The office is located at 113 Clairemont Ave., across from the Courtyard Marriott.
The City of Decatur will hold a grand opening for its Visitors Center on Saturday, April 6. A ribbon cutting will be held at 11 a.m. The center, which shares space with the Decatur Arts Alliance, will be open all day with refreshments and prizes. The center is located at 113 Clairemont Ave., just down from the old courthouse and across the street from the Courtyard Marriott. The center opened for business about two months ago, Manager Sherry Jackman said. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. The phone number is 678-615-0915. The city earlier planned to locate the center in the DeKalb History Center, but that plan was dropped because the building is closed on weekends except for weddings, receptions and other events.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Reader Judd Owen writes: "CSD has made it plain that it wants to be consulted on annexations. So we need to evaluate this policy as a policy, separate from individual petitions, which make the question personal."
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Wednesday, March 27
Judd Owen lives in Decatur with his wife and two children. He has served on the Enrollment Committee and Annexation Committee for the City Schools of Decatur. He teaches political science at Emory. The second of a two-part series. The first part appeared Tuesday. By Judd Owen [Yesterday] appeared my obituary of large-scale annexation for Decatur. It was an idea that was pushed hard by some of the City’s political leadership without having been adequately evaluated. The most massive blind spot was the impact on the school system (CSD) and on school taxes in Decatur. The idea was originally presented as being about tax relief, but with scant attention paid to the impact on the larger school side of residents’ tax bills. Once CSD got …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Reader Judd Owen writes: "Somewhere, on this big issue at least, there arose a disconnect between the vision of Decatur that I think is generally held by its residents and the vision held by its political leadership: Indie vs. Walmart."
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Tuesday, March 26
Judd Owen lives in Decatur with his wife and two children. He has served on the enrollment committee and annexation committee for the City Schools of Decatur. He teaches political science at Emory. The first of a two-part series. By Judd Owen Decatur Metro directed readers last week to a brief story in the print edition of the AJC reporting that Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss had said that “potential annexation of two heavily commercial areas outside the city limits has apparently died quietly in the legislature.” I have been keenly interested in the push for large-scale annexation that has just died, and I’ve followed it closely since I first learned of it in October 2008. So I decided to write an obituary. I have tried always to be…
Monday, March 25, 2013
The annexation plan never got a sponsor in the General Assembly, the city manager says.
Decatur's plan to annex two commercial areas died in the General Assembly. City Manager Peggy Merriss said no legislator could be found to sponsor a bill in support of the annexation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In December, the city commission voted to annex two heavily commercial areas that included Suburban Plaza and the Publix-anchored Emory Commons Shopping Center. No referendum was needed because few residences were affected, Merriss said at the time. However, the plan would need legislative support, which it never got. The city went through long discussions before approving the failed annexation plan, including the potential annexation of six areas, a move that would have added about 2,000 new residents. Here are …
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Decatur Downtown Development Authority is scheduled to vote Friday on the 315 West Ponce project. The meeting starts at 8 a.m. in city hall.
(Editor's note: The writer is a resident of the 335 West Ponce condo building.) A mixed-use project that would create 235 apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a seven-story parking garage will be considered Friday morning by the Decatur Downtown Development Authority. The project would be built behind and in front of the tall office building at 315 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. The project appears to have proper zoning already and fit into the city's strategic plan, which calls for more apartments to create more housing diversity. If the authority votes for a resolution of approval, the developer, Carter, could apply for building permits. People who live around the proposed building site have complained about the size and scope of …
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315 W Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur, GA
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It's time to get that junk out of your garage and attic. City crews will pick up garbage and trash that's not accepted in pay-as-you-throw bags.
The City of Decatur is starting its annual Neighborhood Cleanup Days on Saturday in Oakhurst. Public works crews will will collect yard trimmings, building materials (as long as they're not from private contractors), tires, appliances (as long as they don't use Freon) and trash that would not normally be placed in pay-as-you-throw bags. Some things will not be collected: Liquids, dirt, bricks, blocks, stone, rocks, concrete and motor vehicle batteries or parts. The city website says crews will visit these spots in Oakhurst on Saturday, March 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or until they're finished: Maxwell Street Third Avenue (Eastlake Drive to Northern Avenue) Oakview Road (East Lake Drive to Second Avenue, south side from Second to 1736…
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Kathie Gannon, a resident of the 335 West Ponce condo building, says the parking garage proposed for the 315 West Ponce project will be bad for her building as well as the city.
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Wednesday, March 20
(Editor's note. Decatur Patch editor Ralph Ellis is a resident of the 335 West Ponce building, as is the author of this letter, DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon.) To the editor: For full disclosure I will state that we know each other as neighbors at 335 W Ponce de Leon Ave and I am not writing on behalf of our neighbors or our condo association but as a resident of downtown Decatur. I am writing in response to your articles about the new Carter development that will be next to our homes. Many of the 70 homeowners of the 335 W Ponce Condominium are following the Carter development in downtown Decatur with both anticipation and concern because we adjoin the Carter property. Over half of our homes will have our living rooms and …
John T. Hoyle
2:19 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
This NEW POSITION is likely in response to all the heat they got over the poor job by the City/Police Dept. regarding the lack of communication about all the ARMED ROBBERIES in the city. more ›