Free-For-All Friday 5/30/14

Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.

Comments close on Monday.

152 thoughts on “Free-For-All Friday 5/30/14”


  2. Question…I saw the 2014 Dekalb property appraisals are out. If your house is under construction on 1/1/2014, can they appraise it at the full finished value? Ours was and it didn’t finish completion until mid April.

    Lots of increases this year!

    1. that’s it? just that? no tree ordinance squabbles? no tribal skirmishing over unfettered capitalism, government distrust, or anecdotal liberalism? where’s the anti-cyclist rant?

      don’t you at least need a recommendation for a pediatrician?

      😉

      a year-round school calendar?
      campus carry?
      …

      1. Well I did have an obnoxious car alarm wake my kids up at 7 am this morning on their first day of summer.

          1. Apparently the thieves’ bodies are still on school time. By next week you won’t hear any alarms before 11.

        1. I apologize if I missed the mark for levity and struck too close to home. anyway, I believe the expression around here is “get off my lawn”

        2. Your Hank Hill impersonation needs work.

          Repeat after me….

          “Dangit, Bobby!”

      3. I’m a progressive who wants to install non -cost-effective solar panels on my house. But I have too many TREES! The bipolar conflict is immense…….. I……feel…..like……I …….might ……explode!!!!!!

    2. Did you get yours in the mail? Although I was able to see the 2014 value by clicking on “Detailed Property Data”, the actual assessment hasn’t been uploaded yet.

      2. OMG! I moved from Oakhurst, 7 blocks south to East Lake in June, primarily to lower my TAXES. . . And . . . My new assessed value is almost $25000 more then I paid for the money pit. At least I know how to appeal, from my Oakhurst experiences. Maybe I should sell to grab that money 🙂

        1. If you just bought the house in June, then the total appraised value for this year should be exactly the sale price. We had the same thing happen a few years ago. One call to the appraisal office and they had us fill out a simple form to fix it.

          1. Since it is only May, I assume she is referring to June, 2013. Although I would still appeal, assessments have gone up across the board for 2014, so they may still try to assess a higher value than paid 11 months ago.

            1. I understand the timeline. The value for the year AFTER the sale is the sale price. So a house sold in June 2013 will be appraised for the sale price in 2014.

              As for next year, all bets are off…

          2. Thanks, JT, makes sense. Cautionary tell to everyone to check each year. I had luck with each previous appeals, too.

            2. Ours went up 49%! Definitely appealing. Not sure if I’ll get anywhere.

              1. Ours is up 54%. It was adjusted to sales price when we bought it 5 years ago. Have not added on. Already turned in appeal.

                We bought a house that we could afford to pay taxes on. If they adjust it to this new number, our tax bill will go up $400/month which we cannot afford. I looked at all the properties within two blocks of us on our street . Some went way up, some went down. Very inconsistent. Not based on anything. I just hope the appeals process is reasonable.

                1. “Ours is up 54%. It was adjusted to sales price when we bought it 5 years ago.”

                  Do you mean the assessed value is up 54% from the price you paid 5 years ago?

                  2. sorry if this double posts, I tried to edit my “yes” and it went into cyberspace.

                    yes it was adjusted to sales price 5 years ago. We then removed a rotten addition and I had the square footage in the tax records adjusted to the smaller size of our house. The county came and measured our smaller house, then the assessment went down a bit, to maybe 90 percent of the sales price, but still pretty close to what we paid. This year it went up a huge bump with no additions. We did paint. I guess it looks real nice….200,000 nice to the county.

                    1. Just opened the notice of assessment for a rental property we have in DeKalb and the assessed value is up by just over 50%. It took them two years to catch up to the actual market value (roughly) increases.
                      To give an indication of the differences in value compared to Decatur, the annual bill (with no homestead exemption) for that 2 br condo is roughly equivalent to 2 months worth of taxes (with a homestead exemption) for the 2br Decatur condo we live in.

    3. I’m not certain, but I believe the assessments are based on values on January 1. I don’t know how new construction is handled.

    4. Speakin’ of fruitcakes, how ’bout the government?
      Your tax dollars at work!

      And no, I ain’t gonna tell none of them fruitcake taxmen that our house is appraised at about 50% of what we could sell it for tomorrow. But if any of you DM cybersleuthing jerks figures out where I live and goes a tattling, I swear I’ll blow up on you like that ol’ volcano!

    5. It’s based on what your house was worth on 1/1/14 – call the assessor listed on your notice and let them know what condition it was in on 1/1/14. It may be that it is just worth the land value on that date (but they’ll get you the next year).

    6. Still appears to be a lot of inequity. Seem like if you buy and then teardown and build a McMansion that DeKalb County is blissfully unaware of increased value.

      Example – [edited] is valued by the county at $348k!

      5000+ sq feet.

      Good for the owners, but maybe if owners of $1M+ houses paid fair share, relief could be provided to elderly homeowners living in un-renovated 1940s bungalows.

      1. I had to appeal a few years ago and did some research of valuations in the neighborhood. They were all over the map, to the point of being completely arbitrary.

        1. I think it is very sad that the CoD abdicates responsibility for this. Quite a disservice to longtime elderly residents. Decatur has works hard to present an image of Mayberry/Berkeley, equity, liberalism, neighbor in need etc. But the economic reality (especially as it relates to real property) is far from that. Very regressive/republican.

          You have people in newer $1M / 5,000 sq ft houses paying less property tax than people in old beat up 3br 1 bath houses. The house I referenced above is at least 2 years old, when will the County catch on, or when will the CoD act responsibly?

          1. What role does the City have? I thought that the County does all the assessments, appeals, etc.?

            In the 20+ years I have lived in Decatur, residential property assessments by the County Tax Commissioner’s office have never had any relationship to actual property value or to the assessments of other residential properties. When I originally bought our property, realtors and other property owners explained that the tax assessment was a completely different metric from the assessment that you and your bank do. I was told to automatically appeal my tax assessments so I did. For a few years, that always worked–the assessed value would be lowered. After a while, appeals didn’t seem to work anymore so I stopped doing them. At all times, my property assessment has been way under the resale value. The only time I worried was that recent screwy year when some assessments went sky high and others plummeted. When the County fixed the process, my inexplicably high assessment was amended to back where it was. I’m surprised that anyone expects anything logical out of the assessment process. I have always had the impression that it is as fake as the daily horoscope in the paper.

            1. Don’t think the city has any role. Point is that they should, especially if the county is not doing its job.

              Am I the only one peeved that people in $1M houses pay the same $3-4k or whatever in city taxes that a person in a $350k house pays? Our house is valued in between and we pay thousands more than the $1M house I cited in my original post. Not sure why the rest of us should be subsidizing the 1%. Very Romneyesque of the city.

              1. You make it sound like some right-wing conspiracy. Isn’t it really just standard slow-moving bureacratic incompetence, regardless of party?

                1. Maybe, probably. But if Decatur really is progressive, intellectual, caring why can’t they step in and do something to help the elderly/lower income homeowners. No doubt the city is well aware of the situation, especially given the teardown boom the last couple years. So if they are aware and not addressing the situation, I have to think they don’t care. Seems like it would be an easy thing to fix, based on teardown permits, building permits. To simply state that – “the county handles appraisals” is a shameful excuse.

                  1. If you think the valuations in your neighborhood are not accurate and you are paying more than your fair share, I recommend you appeal your home valuation based on the value of your neighbors’ property.

                    1. I could, but I believe our house is accurately valued. We bought last year and valuation is slightly above what we paid. If I appeal based on someone else being undervalued I don’t think they go back and raise the value on the other person, so nothing really changes, right?

              2. It does seem that assessments could be more accurate and timely if Decatur handled them, Given some of the things they spend money on, spending the money to have more accurate assessments seems reasonable.

      2. I have been waiting since this topic was brought up last week for someone to utter “fair share”.

        Although it is public information, I don’t think it is appropriate to call out individual homeowners if you think their property is incorrectly assessed. Someone may know the owners of that house. You clearly disagree and I am not going to argue the point. Just stating my opinion (in hopes that DM agrees and edits – you are indirectly identifying someone).

        1. Obviously that is up to DM to edit as they see fit.

          As far as fair share, is that a bad thing to suggest? The city needs a certain amount of revenue to operate. Some people are paying $5k or even $10k less in property taxes, than the true value of their home would suggest. All I am asking is why should the other taxpayer be subsidizing them. A subsidy for the rich is not what people think of when they think of the CoD, but that where we are.

          1. Where is Lyrics Only Guy when you need him?

            What about me, it isn’t fair
            I’ve had enough now I want my share
            Can’t you see? I wanna live!
            But you just take more than you give

  4. Any recommendations for grandfather clock repair/maintenance? I’d like to find someone to come to my home to balance and get it working.

    1. I met Laura Shepherd, a clockmaker in Avondale Estates, a few years ago. Never got around to having my clock repaired so can’t give a personal recommendation, but she seemed very knowledgeable. Check out her web site.

    2. Gene at http://www.antiqueclocksandysprings.com My father is a collector and can fix most clocks but he goes to this guy when he needs further help.

      1. Unless, notjustahatrack, the clock that Gene has tried to fix is eternally broken.

  6. Schools’s Out! Get ready for the crimewave!! Serioulsy, let’s hope the DPD gets a handle on this faster than last year if, in fact, happens. Keep your eyes out and call them if you see any white vans backing up your neighbor’s driveway.

  8. Between the holiday at the beginning of the week and school getting out on a Thursday, I was all confused about what day it was yesterday. I came looking for Free for All Friday yesterday, and thought somebody was asleep at the switch….;-)

  10. Can someone please give me a credible explanation for why, during the last three days of school, my kids did absolutely nothing but watch movies and help teachers clean up their rooms? I understand the kids are crazy and the teachers are exhausted, but why, oh why, do they even bother going to school if that’s all they’re going to do? I just don’t get it. I remember when I was a kid that the last day of school was a throwaway, where we all went outside and signed yearbooks all day, but not the last WEEK of school. I am truly disappointed, especially in RMS, which is my favorite school in CSD.

    1. I had the very same thought this week. You’d think they could come up with something interesting to do. The tests aren’t hanging over their heads so they could actually do something meaningful. Yes, even with only three days left.

      1. Agreed. They could do mini-lessons on super interesting things–ANYTHING! They didn’t even watch educational movies (except in band). They watched Disney movies.

        1. You guys can’t be serious with this, and if the kids are mad at it then something’s wrong with the world today. Those were always some of the best days – kids could be kids and teachers could just enjoy the day and be a little more relaxed than they are the other 177 days a year.

          Let them have fun!

          1. +1

            I recall a long thread during the various snow days about the kids not being in school. Now that the kids are in school making up the time, the conversation has changed to what they were doing while in school.

            1. A hyperbolic simulation of Day 178 in the minds of a few Decaturites meant to get a chuckle out of a few Decaturites. Not mean to make anyone mad, it’s Friday after all:
              RMS student: Quit harshin’ my mellow, teach.
              RMS teacher: Yes, sir. Anything you’d like. Just sit back and let the TV sedate you, young ‘uns. Because your parents are going to be helicoptering you all over the place in June and July. We don’t want you to get too stressed prior to your overly-stimulating break from school.
              A few Decaturites: This school year has been great, but we still have a ways to go to reach Top 10 status in the nation. I blame the bloated central office staff. I bet they are just sitting around doing nothing.

          2. I’m not a Tiger Mom who believes that her children should be doing Calculus drills or improving their concert skills or something else brainy at all times of the day. However, watching Disney movies, especially if it’s more than once in one week, seems really lame during the school day. It’s almost anti-learning and obesity-building unless the kids are doing a unit on Pochahontas or the Ice Age or the Disney movie is somehow else tied into the curriculum and supplemented by other types of instruction. I’d rather the kids were on the playground, playing sports, reading on their own, or taking a walking trip to tour the new Beacon complex.

            In fact, I’d rather that the schools ask my permission for my children to watch Disney movies than ask permission for a field trip or “health” or “the fifth grade talk”. There’s some notable exceptions, but many Disney movies are mind-rotting.

            Again the disclaimer that I don’t know what my children were really doing in school this week. It’s the usual state secret. I’m just reacting to the report of Disney movies.

            1. “In fact, I’d rather that the schools ask my permission for my children to watch Disney movies than ask permission for a field trip or “health” or “the fifth grade talk”. There’s some notable exceptions, but many Disney movies are mind-rotting.”

              AHID, you hit the nail on the head. I am really just looking for a GOOD EXPLANATION of why my kid watched several Disney movies this week, and why she spent an entire period helping her teacher clean up the classroom. I just think it’s completely inappropriate for school time. I don’t care that they’re hours from the end of school. It’s still school.

            2. Real talk? If my son’s school showed the Disney “Pocahontas” as part of a lesson on Native Americans, I’d be in the principal’s office demanding a correction.

              http://www.powhatan.org/pocc.html

              Matoaka barely knew John Smith (she was 10 or 11 at the time, and the whole “she saved him from her rampaging tribe” is apparently something Smith made up after her death), she was taken hostage at 17 by the settlers and essentially coerced into marrying a white man, who then took her back to Britain where she died at 21.

              Some romance.

    2. Especially since this week was about making up what was missed during the snow/frigid/maybe-it-will-snow-or-be-frigid days. I wish the teachers would focus on something that they do not have the luxury of teaching during the rest of the year when they’re preparing the students for the CRCT exams. Or maybe they could do their special projects in school vs. at home when us clueless parents don’t know how to help or what to buy. Or even neat field trips.

      Full disclosure: Some great learning may have gone on during some classes this week but I wouldn’t know since my children believe that they will tell NSA before they tell me anything.

    3. At least one of those days was a field day, right? And in 6th grade they had a “Coding Day” or something. So I’ll give you movie day, but the others weren’t a total waste, IMO.

      I hope you took the time to contact administration at the school. Providing specifics to a principal might help avoiding the same fate next year.

    4. let the kids play. soon they’ll have jobs, mortgages, bosses and worry. they worked hard all year.

      1. Isn’t that what summer is for? They go to school for 180 days a year for reason. They don’t all have to be nose to the grindstone, but if they are just going to lounge around and watch Disney movies for weeks at a time then they are missing an opportunity to do something worthwhile. Even a nature walk on campus. Or go walk downtown and talk to entrepreneurs. No need to write a report, just do something stimulating.

        1. ‘weeks at a time.’
          I thought we were talking about the last 3 days. Not the last three weeks. So many armchair teachers and administrators in these parts.

        2. So you’re assuming they’re not going to go on nature walks or otherwise be engaged at all during the summer? Pretty low opinion of parental involvement you’ve got there…

        3. Lump, I wasn’t thinking at all about parents when I wrote that. Parents may or may not be involved in the summer activities of their kids. I hope they’re on a nature walk every day, that would be fantastic, if not unrealistic in many/most cases. Chad, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m partial to hyperbole, but if you’d like, I would gladly strike “weeks and a time” and replace it with “three days in a row” and stand by it. And, what fun would this site be if we eliminated arm chair quarterbacking of . . . everything? All we would have is recommendations of clock repair people, etc. Useful, but not too fun. I hope you give Keith the business about his pizza post. Dude is totally armchair quarterbacking how to run a pizza joint. Disgraceful.

          1. I really don’t detect any hyperbole in your post. But seriously, it doesn’t seem like kids are allowed to be kids anymore. Lifeguarding or being a camp counselor isn’t good enough anymore. These days kids have to have internships working for law firms at the age of 18 (or younger).

            1. If the kids were learning first aid or CPR skills this week at school, I don’t think you’d be getting the complaints. No one is complaining about Field Day. It’s watching Disney movies that seems so lame.

              1. AHID – go back and read tiptoe’s comment. one of the days was field day. so, in fact, people are complaining about it.

                1. Hmm. I see complaint about Disney movies and classroom cleaning for 3 days, not Field Day. But could be operator error. I’m on a ,@&%+# presbyopia-making device. It’s Disney movies that would make me crazy. ….if I even heard about given my crafty children.

            2. Read carefully – “weeks at a time” was admitted hyperoble.

              I’m not advocating for middle school internships. Let me spell it out for you:

              Clearly the last day of school is for saying goodbye. No problem. Prior to that you have a day for field day, which is super great fun, and hopefully always will be.

              Is it really too tough on our precious little ones to ask them to do something engaging on the other post-state test days? We have great teachers, I’m sure they can come up with something engaging AND fun. And to be fair, I’m sure many of them do. Maybe they ALL do and we’re having this conversation for absolutely no reason. Maybe.

              1. It doesn’t really make sense to be an active participant (“I was having the same thought…”) then turn around and say we may be having this conversation for no reason.

                You don’t need to spell anything out for me. I watched the Spelling Bee and have had enough spelling for at least a week.

                It’s Friday! Relax!

                1. There you go . . . spelling bee. Better on Day 178 than Disney movies. Should have thought of that earlier.

                  1. I could watch that kid who got super excited about knowing the word – that he missed – all day long.

          2. My pizza opinions are unassailable and I have the badge to prove it. That is, if gut and badge mean the same thing.

    5. OK Kids, are we clear on the lesson for the day? When the teacher lets you do something fun rather than boring you with busy work during the last week of school, you DO NOT tell your freaking helicoptering, tiger momming, wanting your above average butt to get into Harvard parents about it.

      The first rule of watching Disney movies in school is: You do not talk about watching Disney movies in school!

      2. Iwent to catholic grade school and the WHOLE LAST WEEK of school every year (k-8) was movies and boardgames. We’d bring them from home and our parents knew. I remember them with a great deal of fondness. Monopoly games went on forever.

        1. Board games I would support. In fact, CSD uses them a lot–e.g. Scrabble and Equate.

          1. I had a flashback a few weeks ago to watching Last of the Mohicans during the last week of 8 grade – I haven’t seen it since, but Daniel Day Lewis yelling “I will find you!” totally popped into my head.

            Usually during the last few days of school, teachers are grading, writing up evals, and cleaning up their classrooms. If we don’t want them doing this during the last week when kids are present, we need to pay them to continue to work for a few days once school ends.

    6. Felt the same way for the last few years at the 4/5 and Renfroe. However, our DHSer had 2 finals or projects/presentations each of the last 3 days. In fact Memorial Day itself was several hours of studying. Tuesday and Wednesday we both very late nights.

      1. I think that AP exams drove a lot of the CSD schedule. It is true that the later the AP exam occurs, the better prepared most high school students will be.

        1. Shout out to Mr Curtis, APUSH teacher at DHS, who did not “waste” school time after the AP exams but had students listen to local speakers tell stories about events in US history that they were a part of. My kid loved it!

    7. I taught middle school for many, many years. To be honest, the last few days the kids revolt against doing anything even remotely academic, fun activities included – they want to hang out with their friends, sign yearbooks, play games and watch movies. I never let my classes be total free for alls, but I would definitely loosen up and let them have some fun the last few days. A lot of times our teams would plan those days so that there were classes in the AM and fun time after lunch. They are kids after all.

  12. Walking by the former HOLA! location yesterday, I noticed the “For Lease ” sign was taken out. Workers were moving buffet stations around. I heard an unsubstantiated rumor that Fresh2Order, the same eatery at Emory Point, might be opening up in that location. It is not on their website. Can anyone confirm the rumor?

    1. That would be interesting…at this point, I’m happy to have anything there except that empy, sad space. It looks so lonely, with nobody in it!

    2. The “For Lease” sign has been gone for a few weeks now, though I had not seen any activity inside. Glad to hear things are in motion.

    3. Talking about what’s going where, does anyone know where Arepa Mia plans to open? Facebook page had talked of opening in Decatur in early June?

  14. Does anyone have any inside scoop on what the future of the Mellow Mushroom location will be? Will they re-open under another name? Hard to get by without a casual family pizza place in town.

          1. The family friendliness is what puts them in the running in this conversation. As far as the pizza, I agree, nothing overly impressive about it but the same goes for Fellini’s in my opinion. I much prefer Avellino’s, but the family friendliness of it is limited by its size.

          3. The best 2 things about Mojo’s are:
            1. Very kid friendly
            2. A pizza with eggplant.

      2. Yeah, I’d take Fellini’s over MM any day of the week. And Mojo’s is decent. Sapori di Napoli also has great Neopolitan-style pizza, and is extremely family friendly (plus they have free parking on busy weekend nights for those driving).

    2. It doesn’t get any more casual and family friendly than CiCi’s 🙂

      And the eighth deadly sin is…PIZZA!

      1. I usually forget about Urban Pie, probably because it’s so far away from the comfort and safety of actual, by God Decatur, out in the unincorporated DeKalb hinterlands. That, or I just stop thinking as soon as Mrs. J_T says “how about Sapori?”. But yes, Urban Pie is good…

        1. Urban Pie is in City of Atlanta. And Lisa makes a great thin crust pizza. The large with two toppings special is a great deal, too. She’s now also doing some stuff like burgers at lunch. The evening bonus is watching the parade of mutts leaving day care.

          1. I haven’t been there in a long time. Did they ever get cleared to serve beer? I recall there was some issue with a nearby church or something like that.

      2. Speaking of Kirkwood, the new Mexican place there is fabulous… and the Texas-born Mexican food snobs I live with agree.

        1. It’s just Elmyr with kids. And I wish they didn’t allow smoking on the patio.

      1. Really like Avondale Pizza and Savage Pizza. Not walkable but worth the drive.

      2. Savage Pizza rocks! Great pizza, great salads and lasagne, and fun superhero atmosphere!

  16. Good news. We’ll have Adventures in Paradise, Devil Town, and Charm Academy in the car for a few more weeks. GPB has postponed the takeover of WRAS Album 88 until June 29th. It would be really great if this signals that GPB is backing out, but it probably doesn’t.

    1. Fabulous news. I still don’t like to think what Saturday afternoon around the house will be like post-takeover.

      1. I was so irate at the news WRAS was going to a GPB format. I’ve listened to them since I was a kid and college radio was the only alternative to bad commercials. GSU has been such a disappointment lately. A football program that was unneeded while staff has their salaries frozen and now destroying what is one of the best and most respected college radio stations in the country. I’m very disappointed with Becker’s leadership at this point.

        1. I wish I had been giving money to Georgia State so I could stop giving money to Georgia State in protest. This is one of the worst cases of Athens Envy I’ve ever seen. “We need a football team and a NPR affiliate! That’s what REAL colleges have!”

          (If this GPB thing happens, the day of the changeover I’m giving $88.50 to WABE.)

        2. Not to defend Becker, but I believe the football program was in the works well before he came on board, though I don’t doubt he was all for it. The sad fact is only sports, particularly football, attracts big donor money from a certain segment of alumni. If only they were attracting more. If they were, perhaps the student athletic fees wouldn’t be sky high.

  18. Savage Pizza in Avondale is really good and family friendly
    I definitely miss the Shroom though…we ate there almost every Friday night

  20. Decaturish is reporting that 29 parcels on Derrydown Way are scheduled to be annexed into the City next week. This follows 4 properties on Conway that were annexed last month and the Parkwood lots before that. Is this how annexation is going to happen, under the radar, 10-30 parcels at a time? Pretty soon we will have thousands of extra properties in the City. Hope the schools are ready to handle the extra load.

    1. No worries, they have plenty of Disney movies to keep the kids occupied.

      Hey kids, who wants to see John Carter? It lost over $100 million!

    2. Why all this “annexation”? The city has said that the residential/commercial mix is out of whack for a healthy tax base. So why all this residential annexation and no apparent movement on annexing the new WalMart, the Publix shopping center or the DeKalb Farmers’ Market? One of the proposed “new” cities (or Avondale in DFM’s case) will end up with these revenue generators, which would theoretically lower Decatur residential tax rates. What am I missing? Why the push for more & more residential?

      1. The city’s official line, although it has no logical or reasonal basis, is that in these cases the homeowners are petitioning to be annexed as opposed to commercial properties where the city has to annex against the wishes of the property owners. If the city’s motive was truly to better balance the residential/commerial mix, they wouldn’t be entertaining these residential petitions. The commerical annexation aspirations of CoD’s leasers are about nothing more increasing their sphere of influene.

        1. If I owned a house right next to the Decatur City limit, heck, I would petition to get into the city too. Much better schools, immediate increase in property value; all good for the home owner. What does the City or the CSD get besides another student or two or six or seven or…..
          Why does the City think there is an obligation to annex a residential property just because the property owner wants in the city? That is nuts. I know, I am going to petition Augusta National Golf Club and expect them to let me in, because I want to be a member.
          If the city is dead set on letting everybody that wants in, in; at least there should be a one-time “impact” fee of several thousand dollars.

          1. Re “impact fee”: it would be like getting into Venetian Pools!

          2. The current residents certainly don’t benefit from annexation. Maybe not a popular viewpoint, but what is in it for me?

            1. Well, there would be something in it for you if the annexation of residential properties made the City of Decatur more stable financially, politically, or in some other way that ultimately benefits residents. I’ve just never heard such a reason articulated.

              Since some of my favorite families are folks who have been annexed into Decatur in the last ?5? years, I don’t feel real negative about annexation. But I would like to understand the City’s rationale better because it doesn’t add up for me. Maybe “increasing their sphere of influence” is the driver, as mentioned above.

          3. I believe there is a legal process in place to petition annexation and I am not sure the Commission can actually say ‘no.’ Didn’t Mayor Baskett say they voted yes on Parkwood simply because they asked? I think these parcels were discussed the same night as Parkwood was voted in. Maybe someone more knowledgable in this area can confirm if a ‘no’ vote is even an option.

            1. It’s my understanding that the commission has the option of either yes or no, regardless of what percentage of parcels requests annexation. It could be 100% and they could still say no.

              My interpretation is that, in the absence of a straight-up, black and white policy, they choose to be hospitable rather than exclusionary. That could change, of course, if enough residents demanded it. But up until now, outside some of the discussions here and a few other places, I haven’t seen any sort of sizable coalition materialize.

              1. Seems to me that the easiest way to win the next election for an open commission seat will be to run on the platform of “No children, No trees!”

            2. The commission absolutely can say no. Otherwise the petitioners wouldn’t submit a petition – they would sign an enrollment form.

          4. “Why does the City think there is an obligation to annex a residential property just because the property owner wants in the city”
            There’s no obligation. They can turn the property owner(s) down flat.

    3. Standard response: …but those properties/condos/apartments (choose appropriate units) will only have a low percentage of children. Don’t know why but the standard response omits the next math step of multiplying that low .0X times the total number of units added. Not to mention the further step of adding up all the products.

      I get it that an adequate tax base and dense walkable community are important goals. I’m not against them. But growth will end up in a net increase in students needing a school seat, no matter how low the percentage of children in the units. More seats for students means more school growth. Plan for it.

      1. I’m one of those standard responders 🙂 And your are right, an increase is an increase. But we talk about it because we can actually count that large number you worry about. It’s in the press releases.

        If one were to count the number of home sales per year and number of rennovations per year that are likely to convert a home from zero kids in CSD to 2.3 per new household, I bet the number would alarm some people. But that is a hunch. And I have no way of counting it. The way home sales are going in Decatur, I expect the current rate of 10%+ enrollment increases to continue for a few more years.

        ALL growth needs to be measured and considered, and I think we would both agree that CSD estimates have been pretty simplistic (they connect historical data points with lines, as far as I can tell) in its analysis of growth from all of their graphs I’ve seen so far.

        We currently have no good publicly accessible data to measure this growth, whether it is a rennovation, a new 5000 sf house, or an apartment complex. I wonder if CSD even has access to such data (I’d bet my money on no).

    4. On the bright side: CoD annexed the old DeVry property, which I think was promised to have housing and retail, but instead was recently approved as a VA facility (no kids). Does anyone know if CoD will get any property tax revenue from that parcel with that use?

      1. A private developer bought the property to make it into a VA clinic, so VA doesn’t own it and it should be on the tax rolls.

  22. Looking for something to do this weekend? Head over to Emory to cheer for all of the athletes competing in the 2014 Special Olympics Georgia Summer Games. I’ll be one of those slinging slushies and popcorn for the athletes in Olympic Town. Come, watch, cheer, and talk to the athletes…they appreciate it so much.

  24. I see we are going to annex 29 properties on Derrydown and somehow only add 2 kids to the school system.

    1. Until those 29 properties are sold, knocked-down and re-built with a house at the max of the zoning allocation.

      1. Exactly. And don’t forget about the condo/apartment projects all over town. Is it 3, 4 or 5? I’ve lost count.

    2. I am not sure why they want to be annexed if there are only 2 students…. Unless the rest of the homes have 0-4 year olds or people who just enjoy paying higher taxes or are looking to sell their houses in the near future… If the childless families saw my new tax assessment they may have thought twice about asking to be annexed.

      1. We are childless (or child-free as we like to call it) and appreciate the rest of the city services, including rapid police and fire responses. Hard as it is for some to believe, it’s not all about the schools.

        1. I understand: I moved to Decatur before I had kids and do appreciate the other services–actually, we moved here because we are really fond of living in old houses and in older neighborhoods. I knew nothing about the school system at the time.
          Forgive me, I am just cranky today because I have to pay $2000 more in taxes this year than last year for a smallish old house without a basement or garage or a coat closet and a lot too small for a mini mansion. In reality, childless people can probably afford the taxes more than parents with kids living at home because they don’t have all the kid expenses.

  26. Is anyone missing a dog???? I found him running along South McDonough in front of College Heights on Wednesday evening. He is large, black, older (8-10), lab mix, and had a red collar. He is VERY sweet. Great with kids and other dogs. If you have any information on where he belongs or if you would be interested in fostering him until he finds his home PLEASE call me.

    404-323-1374

  28. Does anyone know why the fountain on the square is not on yet? Is it broken or is there a opening date when they start it? Just curious…thanks.

  30. I just want to share and compliment the good meal I was able to find for my vegetarian grandson at Siam Thai last week. They had an item on their menu that closely matched his choices, and it was a beautiful big bowl of simple noodles with a variety of steamed vegetables. I had something else (fish dish) that was delicious, too. Here’s my thanks to Siam Thai for “being there” with what was desired! p.s. We had ice cream and fried bananas for dessert. My grandson tried the dessert timidly, then scarfed it down. “Who knew?” he commented. Now we are waiting for the star fruit to appear on the shelves at YDFM before our next Decatur visit – someone please alert me if you see them available, ok?

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