Chadwick Stogner writes in…

We finished up the tree planting initiative this weekend, which was very successful for a first year effort with only several weeks of planning.

Due to some conflicts that arose with participants and the Decatur Garden Tour, we scaled back the events over this past weekend and focused on getting root balls in the ground. We are starting to prepare for next years event by tweaking the event schedule and starting earlier. We found most people who bought trees had been planning to plant already, and took advantage of the great selection and pricing that was offered.

We were able, however, to squeeze in several fun tree related events to close out this years festival:

• Lori Nichols, who drew the tree for our logo, read her new book Maple (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqHXHjPPcK0) at Little Shop of Stories and Claremont Elementary School to kick off the week.
• Remember the Black Walnut Tree From Decatur Presbyterian ( http://www.decaturmetro.com/2012/06/08/god-furniture-and-guts-the-treecycling-story-of-the-old-black-walnut-at-decatur-presbyterian-church/) ? Well the wood cured out nicely, and my good friend Charles Gamble made a simple cross from some of the wood for Dr. Todd Speed and his congregation that was presented during their Sunday Morning service.
• Another round of tree recycling was attempted on the infamous White Oak from Melrose Place.  Using a 6 foot chainsaw and a portable band saw the wood was quartered and put onto the mill. This old oak was intended to be recycled into rafter boards to restore an historic Decatur house. The wood proved to be almost completely unsuitable for structural or woodworking uses – highlighting the downside of processing urban wood – due to a dry rot and staining from lots and lots of metal imbedded in the trunk over the years.

All and all, we really think a strong foundation has been laid for a quality event that will grow each year, and benefit the Decatur community and our Tree Canopy.

We would like to especially thank our Curators: Deanna Pope-Ozio, Ryan Gainey, Cooper Sanchez, and Cheryl Melton as well as our sponsors: Intown Wholesale Nursery, Heirloom Tree and Garden , Keller Knapp Realty, Elegant Earth, and Fred Boykin – City Commissioner ( District 1 ) – for making this 1st years festival such a success!

See you Next Year.

Dennis at Next Stop…Decatur shared this photo from yesterday’s Decatur Arts Festival poster unveiling. From the Decatur Arts Fest website…

This year’s Arts Festival poster artwork was created by Lulu Kaufman of Cuthbert, Georgia. Her work, she says, celebrates laughter, love, nature, and life, and embraces the spirit of “girl power.”

After traveling and living all around the globe, Lulu has settled in southwest Georgia. She works in her studio on an antebellum horse farm, painting on recycled roof tin, reclaimed barn wood and old windows. Lulu travels to art shows, galleries and shops across the southeast, she says, “spreading love and sunshine.” She’s also the designer for official Jimmy Buffet tour T-shirts.

A recently published Request For Proposals put out by the City Schools of Decatur regarding the Decatur High School Expansion design process notes three separate community meetings later this year.

The first meeting is scheduled to take place in August during the programming phase.  The second meeting in September/October would be to present three design options to the community.  The third near the end of the year would include a design update to the community.

You can review the full schedule below.

DHS Project Delivery Process
RFP for Construction Management At-Risk / Design Build Services
Time Table: No less than 6 Months total Design and Pre-Construction time from Notice to Proceed.
Process:
Programming Phase (August, 2014) – Conduct Community Forums #1 (gain input from Community, SLT/Staff)
Conceptual Design Phase (September – October, 2014) Conduct Community Forums #2 at completion of this phase and show three options to Community, SLT/Staff)

• - Present options and community input to CSD Board for input and selection

Pre-Construction / Schematic Design Phase (November – December, 2014) Conduct Community Forums #3 at completion of this phase and present design update to Community, SLT/Staff)

• - Scope of work is fixed.
• - Construction Manager integrates his sub-contractors with their design team
• - Construction Packaging and Sequencing is developed and presented to CSD

Initial Construction Packaging / Design Development (December, 2014 – January, 2014)

• - At completion of this finalize Construction Packages / GMP and start construction on initial Construction Package (Foundations / Civil / Utilities)
• - Cost is Finalized – all trades finalize their costs

Construction / Construction Document Phase (February, 2015 – March 2016)

• - Complete remaining Construction Documents
• - Start and Complete Vertical Construction Packages

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

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