Eric writes in…

This beautiful blue cat has been hanging around our Mimosa Place house for the past week or so.  He (she?) seems healthy and clean, so I’m betting someone is missing their pet cat.

He’s a bit skittish, so this is the best picture I could get as he was in the middle of a staring contest with my cats.  I can’t get close enough to capture him to take him in for a chip check, and he has no collar.

If anyone knows him, please call Eric at .

It’s City Commission meeting day!  Here’s another item on the table that provides a bit of insight into the coming Annexation Master Plan timeline.  The city is set to vote on approving $25,000 to fund the creation of the Master Plan by the Sizemore Group.

The Draft Proposal gives a hint on the breadth of the project and gives some specific areas the city is interested in investigating.  Bolding is mine…

The overall purpose of this effort is to provide technical analytical services to the City of Decatur to assess the impact on the annexation of the study area into the City of Decatur. Specifically, Future Residential development, and the demographic impact it would have on the City of Decatur Schools. This effort will also identify the likely future Residential, Commercial and Institutional Development of the entire area defined in the study at one-year, five-year and ten-year milestones so that the economic impact of the Taxation cash flow on the schools and civic support services can be done by the CSD and the City of Decatur respectively. Special emphasis will be needed to estimate the school age population and make recommendations for incorporating students into the City Schools of Decatur, to include an assessment for educational facilities needs and any related land that would be needed for school uses. Specific outcomes of this study include:

Technical support materials for the annexation growth plan for the City of Decatur that capitalizes on the study area assets, including DeKalb Medical Center and Patel Plaza, and incorporates known and potential redevelopment opportunities, such as the Selig Walmart plan and the Fuqua mixed-use development plan and future development which is as yet unplanned but to be reasonably expected in the next ten years in and around Decatur; estimating their impact on the city schools and on the potential growth of the tax base.

The draft proposal also indicates that there will be public feedback sessions and three work sessions between the Commission and CSD School Board during the Master Plan process, which is scheduled to be completed by November.

On the agenda for tonight’s Decatur City Commission meeting, Decatur’s Downtown Development Authority is set to purchase the property at 915 Clairemont Avenue for $695,000 and enter into an agreement with Woodlands Garden, who will make monthly interest-only payments on the property for 18 months.

After 18 months, Woodlands will need to purchase the property or the DDA can sell the property to anyone.

Photo courtesy of Google Maps