Back for a second year, the Decatur Old House Fair will take place Saturday March 6th at the Holiday Inn Conference Center beginning to 10am.  Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

According to the city’s press release, topics of discussion include…

• Wood Window Repair and Maintenance (offered twice!)
• Maintenance Plans for Old Houses
• Design Strategies for Additions and New Construction in Historic Neighborhoods
• Energy Efficiency in Old Houses
• “Greening” Your Old House
• Major Repairs –Wood Stripping, Plaster, and Lead Abatement
• Historic Landscapes
• Creating Historic Interiors in a Modern World
• Researching Your Old House and What Style is Your House? (Bring a picture of your house!)
• Storm Windows in Old Houses
• Hiring a Contractor
• Zoning, Permitting, and Preservation Commissions

Photo from the DBA website

From The Decatur Minute…

The annual Breakfast With Santa will be held on Saturday, December 19th at the Decatur Holiday Inn. Santa will arrive on a City of Decatur Fire Truck at 8 am and the buffet breakfast will be served until 10 am. Entertainment will be provided by Decatur School of Ballet. Tickets are sold online or at Decatur CD and are $12 for adults, $7 for children. The ticket price includes a photo with Santa. The event is sponsored by the Decatur Business Association.

To purchase tickets online, click HERE!

Well, now I know where I’ll be dragged next Saturday.

From the Decatur Minute…FYI – the website cited in the ad below seems to be out-dated.

What could have been a very alarming story instead thankfully ended with minimal damage this afternoon.

Around 3:05p, Carl tweeted “fire happening in the rear of the Holiday Inn/Decatur Conference Center” and posted a pic of a closed Marshall Street.  About 20 minutes later, Carl reported the smoke had dissipated and the street had reopened.

So, what the heck happened?

DM has learned from Fire Chief Dixon and Lyn Menne that an HVAC unit on the roof of the conference center had caught on fire, but was thankfully “contained to the unit”, resulting in no damage to the building.

Nice work Decatur Fire Department!  We certainly don’t need to lose a building the city JUST finished paying off!

…oh wait, that’s “Pedicab.”

What a great creative exercise!  Every two weeks I could come up with a trippy, new pseudo-band name using City Commission meeting topics!  And YOU thought I got this job because I was devilishly handsome.  Ha!

So what exactly is on the agenda for this whacked-out Commission meeting?

Vinyl:  The City Commission will vote on authorizing $38,000 for HVAC improvements and $24,000 for replacing (or just covering over?) the lovely vinyl wall-coverings at the Decatur Conference Center.   This is in preparation of a full-fledged Holiday Inn makeover.

Siren:  The city has received a $108,000 grant from FEMA to install for city-run tornado sirens around the city.  If accepted, that will make 5 total within the city limits, including the existing Agnes Scott siren.  It requires only a 15% match by the city.

Skatepark:  Active Living Director Dan Magee is looking to get the go-ahead to purchase 6 new Spohn Ranch skate park pieces for McCoy’s Skate Park.  Magee has even gotten a thumbs up (or whatever the skateboarder equivalent is) from park users.  The $25,000 cost was already approved in the last fiscal year.

Pedicab:  Probably the most interesting agenda item.  A Wisconsin couple who recently moved here is looking for permission to run a “pedicab”  service in the city similar to the one they operated in Green Bay.  (Here’s what one MIGHT look like.)  Rides would start at $5 and would be free during festivals if they could obtain sponsorships.  There’s also talk about a $10 pedicab tour of Decatur.  The city recommends a six-month trial run and urges haste so the pedicabs are up in running prior to the start of festival season.

And if that weren’t enough!

Other sensational agenda items: David Junger wants 416 Oakland to clean up its act, East Decatur Station wants on-street parking on Sams Street, Amanda Thompson wants to apply for $500,000 energy efficiency grant, and Peggy Merriss wants approval to submit an application for a $360,000 grant that would be used to combat childhood obesity.

Rus wonders (as he wanders) about this timely change in the Holiday Inn sign…