How will Decatur, a city of just 18,000, make itself more appealing to Google’s “Fiber” project, which is looking for communities from 50,000 to 500,000 to shower with insanely fast broadband speeds?

Create a partnership!

At tonight’s city commission meeting, Lena Stevens, the city’s Resource Conservation Coordinator, announced a partnership that the city has created with four other DeKalb cities – Avondale Estates, Chamblee, Doraville and Dunwoody – to make up the “Atlanta Urban Area Partnership”, to boost the population count on the application and hopefully get Google’s attention.  Stevens says that the city is also currently talking with Emory to also get them on-board.

A Facebook page supporting the partnership will launch this evening – I’ll update this post once I have the address.  The city has also hired Decatur eLife’s Andrea Berry to produce a video to promote the effort.

UPDATE: The action item passed unanimously though a resident did stand and ask questions about the cost. Patti Garrett also mentioned several emails she received this afternoon about the cost.

One clarification: Decatur companies WERE solicited for the redesign according to Linda Harris.

The redesign has been in the planning stages for two years. Most of the commission members expressed frustration with the current website.

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On the agenda for tonight’s Decatur city commission meeting: a new city website.

City staff is recommending that the city pay Vision Internet $46,630 to develop a new website for Decatur.  Aside from informing us that decaturga.com gets on average 3,960 page views a day, Linda Harris’ note to the commission (page 57 of agenda materials pdf) details many of the proposed site’s new features…

The redeveloped site will be user-friendly and make it easier to complete tasks such as paying parking tickets online or finding out the sanitation schedule.  It will have a number of programs that will enhance the website including the ability to forward content on a webpage through email; print-friendly webpages; automatic news updates on the homepage using RSS feeds; a survey creator; a high functioning events calendar; an image library; interconnected pages that can be updated simultaneously, preventing fewer chances for out-dated content; and, sign-up options to allow citizens to receive e-newsletters about specific topics (late breaking news, retail and restaurant info, upcoming festivals, etc)  It will be a place where the community can gather online through integrated social media and electronic feedback.  It will also include a platform that will allow the city to add a streaming video component to provide real-time viewing of commission meetings online and technologies to produce webcasts.  And it will also include a mobile application that will allow users to download the site easily on any type of mobile device.

Very exciting news!  Check this out!  Nicole sends along this press release…

SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET LAUNCHING IN DOWNTOWN DECATUR

The City of Decatur, GA will soon have a Farmers Market on Saturday, in addition to the existing Wednesday Market. The Saturday Farmers Market will start on May 15, 2010 with a grand opening event featuring live music, a children’s area and breakfast goodies from 9-12noon in its second location at the corner of Trinity and McDonough, centrally located in downtown Decatur.

It will run every Saturday morning year-round, with plenty of free parking and a short walk from the Marta and Decatur Square.

Every Saturday – Summer 9a.m – - 12 p.m.

Location: 500 block at North McDonough Street and Trinity Street

I’m trying to determine whether by “Trinity and McDonough” they mean the Maloof parking lot or the grounds of the new DeKalb Courthouse. Streetview of the intersection after the jump.

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Join Mayor Bill Floyd and City Commissioner Fred Boykin at Decatur’s East Lake MARTA station on Tuesday morning for the 5th annual “Georgia Rides to the Capitol”.  The 2010 event is in support of “House Bill House Bill 988 — a 3 foot safe passing bill.”

Fred provides a few more details on the morning ride…

This is the 5th annual ride and we’re hoping for over 1,000 cyclists to participate. There are two rides – one leaves from Roswell at 9:45 a.m. and the other leaves from Decatur (E. Lake MARTA station) at 10:45 a.m. Both rides are police escorted to the Capitol; riders are on their own for the trip back.

The Decatur route is an easy one and will be led by Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd. We also expect over 40 other metro area mayors and elected officials to ride the event as well!

We’ve had Glennwood students particpate and lots of Decatur folks join in too.

It’s a great way to show support for cycling in Georgia.

Even more event details HERE.

From CNN…

The new Coffee Party movement deemed its official kickoff Saturday a “huge success,” with dozens of talks held at coast-to-coast coffee shops as members came together to discuss the issues most important to them.

…At Java Monkey in Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, coordinator Stacey Hopkins said turnout far exceeded expectations, with around 60 people participating at the “very productive” meeting where health care reform was the overriding issue.

“We had kids there, we had college students, high school students, and we had retirees,” she said. “It went across a very broad spectrum age wise and racially, and this is that we’d like to see.”

And while many will immediately assume that this is a more highly caffeinated, liberal reaction to the grassroots Tea Party Movement, the movement’s online home states that “Coffee Party USA aims to reinvigorate the public sphere, drawing from diverse backgrounds and diverse perspectives, with the goal of expanding the influence of the People in America’s political arena.”

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