The Champion Newspaper posted this video of the Trackside/5th Earl fire on YouTube…

How they got someone out there with a video camera at 5am is beyond me.  Someone must live close.

Looks about as nasty a fire as you’d expect from what now remains.

Also, to read the Champion’s full story and see the only pics I’ve seen thus far of the burned interior click over to their article on the fire.

h/t: InDecatur

Wordsmiths’ Publicity/Marketing Director, Russ Marshalek, who has been with the bookstore since the store opened, is being let go at the beginning of March.

In a letter to associates, colleagues and friends he writes of his future plans.  You can read the full letter after the jump.

Best of luck to you Russ!  Thanks for all the great events you’ve brought to our fair city over the past couple years!

Read the rest of this entry »

Robert Elrod sends in info for the Trackside Employee Fund that he’s set up over at Decatur First Bank…

Send checks made out to
THE TRACKSIDE EMPLOYEE FUND
to
Decatur First Bank; Attn: Ann Berg
1120 Commerce Dr.
Decatur, Ga. 30030

or bring money or checks by the Corner Pub at 627 D East College Ave.
Anyone wishing information can contact me at my email address. (rhelrod[at]comcast.net)

No surprises to report from Tuesday’s commission meeting.  The city commission voted unanimously to defer any plans of large scale annexation for two years.  (However, commercial on College Ave might still be on the table)

And this quote from the city manager reaffirms my suspicion that few were satisfied with the student enrollment data once the inconsistencies were brought to light,

“It appears we have time for some breathing room to get better data and do more research,”

But while this key data roadblock was what ultimately stalled the effort this go-round, I’m intrigued by the mayor’s reiteration that he believes the tax descrepancy between DeKalb and Decatur will shrink in the coming years.  He cites the incorporation of the City of Dunwoody as the main reason why DeKalb property taxes will soon come closer to parity with Decatur, so I thought I’d dig a little and see how the county is preparing for this loss of revenue.

Within CEO Ellis’ 2009 budget recommendations (pdf), he conservatively projects that the loss in property value from the creation of Dunwoody will raise the millage rate by 79/100 of a mill in unincorporated DeKalb, but also states “Final digest values, which will be available in May 2009, could have an additional impact on Tax Funds millage rates.” So bottom line: right now 79/100ths…but it could go up.

However, for now, the CEO plans to “nullify” this increase by dedicating more HOST money to property tax relief.  This sounds like a good temporary solution to not raising the millage rate, until we see just how temporary it could be.

As stated in the budget recommendations, HOST’s source of funding – sales tax revenues – are declining thanks to a down economy, plus the # of people who qualify for the HOST homestead exemption (owner-occupied residences) has increased more than 18,000 since 2000.

Add that to the outstanding lawsuit that Decatur and other DeKalb cities’ have against the county for short-changing them on HOST funding (Decatur estimates its owed over $8 million at last count) and it very well looks like the mayor’s prediction could be right.

And speaking of budgets, Decatur’s budget process for next fiscal year begins at the end of this month.  The schedule can be found HERE.

Sharing similar pasts, Corner Pub is now giving a helping hand to Trackside employees.

David over at InDecatur notes that Corner Pub will host Trackside’s “Soup-Off” this Sunday in conjunction with Trackside employees.  Submissions should be brought in between 3-4p.  Judging will take place at 4p.

In an updated AJC article this morning, 5th Earl owner Brian Falcon tells the paper that they will do something similar for their employees in the coming days, so stay tuned for that.  Also Falcon sounds unsure as to whether he will be able to reopen in the same space.  This may have something to do with the fact that the fire department has yet to determine whether the building will be condemned or not (Trackside and 5th Earl shared a roof).

And though there have been a lot of rumors swirling around regarding the cause of the fire, the fire department has yet to make any official statement.