As Judd pointed out in the previous annexation recommendation post, the actual annexation areas put forward by City Manager Peggy Merriss were shadows of their former selves.  Areas of Interest A.3 and B.3 in the city’s presentation (PDF) are basically drawn around nearly all the property owners who said they didn’t want to be included in the city of Decatur.

These area don’t achieve the goal of cleaning up the city’s boundary, but they do provide the city with some commercially heavy areas – Area A.3 is 97% and Area B.3 is 62% commercial – a frequent, publicly stated goal of the commission, who is openly worried about the great reliance on residential property taxes in the city. (Residential taxes account for more than 4/5ths of the city’s revenues currently.)

The city’s cost/income calculations for the two areas are as follows…

Area A.3

• Expenditures – $344,500
• Revenues – $429,520
• Net Diff – $85,020

Area B.3

• Expenditures – $355,000
• Revenues – $395,840
• Net Diff – $40,080

Patch reports that collectively these two areas would add 511 residents to the city, with 42 of them under the age of 16 and eligible to join CSD schools.  The Decatur City Commission is scheduled to vote on Ms. Merriss’ recommendation at its final 2012 meeting, December 17th.  If approved, the city would then try to get the annexation brought up and voted upon in the Georgia legislature’s January 2013 session.  Next steps would be dependent on whether a referendum was needed or not.  Such heavily commercial areas don’t necessarily need referendums to pass.

In related news, DeKalb County officials continue to discuss the creation of a “City of DeKalb”, which could halt all future city incorporations and restrict future annexations.

Scott Boulevard, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Heather)

The book has been read. Book groups have met. Chipper Jones’ shoes have been auctioned. A Habitat for Humanity home has been landscaped. Treasure has been hunted. The movie has been screened. There was even a party. At last, the 2012 On The Same Page season wraps up on Friday with a visit from Louis Sachar, author of the Newbery Medal winner, Holes. Mr. Sachar will be presenting and signing at 7 p.m. at beautiful Presser Hall on the Agnes Scott College campus. Doors open at 6 p.m.; first come, first seated. The event is free, and free parking is located in the deck on South McDonough Street opposite Presser Hall.

And people are very, very excited! How cool is that? So come on out. The place should be rockin’.

About Louis Sachar: While in college at Berkeley, Louis Sachar volunteered as an elementary school teachers’ aid to receive college credit. This became his favorite college class and a life-changing experience. Upon graduation, he decided to write a children’s book, which became Sideways Stories From Wayside School. Besides Holes, Mr. Sachar as has written Small Steps, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom, and the Marvin Redpost series, among others. Mr. Sachar writes every morning, usually for no more than two hours a day.  He never talks about a book until it is finished.  It took a year and a half to write Holes, and he never told anyone anything about it during all that time — not even his wife and daughter! He currently lives in Austin, Texas.

Please thank the following businesses and organizations for helping to make this possible: AJC Decatur Book Festival, City of Decatur, Decatur Education Foundation, Rotary Club of Decatur, Fleet Feet, Intown Ace Hardware, Habitat for Humanity, Little Shop of Stories, Our House, and Pure Station Decatur.

This Week

Laurel Snyder, author of Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher and Goodnight Laila Tov, Little Shop of Stories‘ annual Hanukkah Storytime, Sunday, December 9th, 3pm, free.

I thought of this question while waiting at the intersection of Church Street and North Decatur and was surprised to see that if you peer over the Nally car dealership, there’s a pretty nice view to the east.  Decatur doesn’t have a raging river to gaze tenderly, mournfully, or peacefully at, but we’ve got some decent high points – be them natural or built on great pillars of steel – where you can look at the west and see the hiccuping, vertical skyline of Atlanta (DOWNTOWN, Midtown, buckhead) and to the east you can sometimes get a peak at Stone Mountain.

So I thought I’d ask: where are your favorite views in Decatur and around Atlanta?  If anyone wants to snap a pic or two from their fav spot, I’m certainly willing to post a collection of them!  That could be very cool.

Photo – an old EOTS submission by Clark from the Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) building on East Ponce