Free-For-All Friday 6/5/15
Decatur Metro | June 5, 2015 | 7:29 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.
Looking Back: The 2011 Atlanta Snowpocalypse
Happy Friday Decatur!
Slow day – someone say something controversial.
I’ll start:
Decatur has too many festivals, and not enough ((fill in your favorite ethnic, social, economic, political)) diversity.
And also, while I’m at it, ((something generic about)) the toy park!
That should light up a slow Friday morning.
And too many 5K races.
Way too many bikes.
and too many speed humps
And too many trees! Wait…no.
I heard there was a large wreck at E Ponce and Commerce around mid-day yesterday. Does anybody have any detail?
http://www.decaturish.com/2015/06/decatur-police-respond-after-suv-flips-near-first-united-methodist/
Thanks, Dan.
No problem.
ty for the link – I was wondering about details too. Had to drive around this twice yesterday around 12:30 – 1:00 PM. Decatur police and fire department had the area blocked off on Commerce between E. Ponce and Sycamore. Hoping all those involve are okay.
Are there any local adult soccer teams or leagues or whatever? My 10 year old plays soccer and I’d kinda like to play too, on a team.
there’s a ton. ask around at your favorite watering hole, many have teams that play in leagues in the area.
I’m not sure if this qualifies for a local soccer league but Silverback’s Park has a great 7 a side adult league for all skill levels, ages and co-ed teams. The ADASL is the biggest Atlanta soccer league with multiple divisions and teams from all over the metro area. It’s very competitive and the skill level is high, even in the lower division. I’m not sure of the exact time but there is also a longstanding pick up game on Sundays at Winona park for kid’s and adults. If anyone knows the exact time or other local pick up games, please share.
Nathan, if you’re interested in getting in some play. Winnona Park FC has a standing Sunday pick-up for kids & adults at Winnona Park Elem around 5 o’clock. All are welcome. It is very low key. We also have 5 teams playing at Silverbacks between Thursday (O-30) and Monday (O-40).
What are your favorite places for a quick and relatively inexpensive weekday lunch in Decatur, walkable from the square? I’m embarrassed by how often I go to Victory! Used to go to Mellow Mushroom; miss it.
Cafe Lily
Souper Jenny
Sweet Melissa’s, Brick Store, Cafe Alsace, Souper Jenny, and Sapori di Napoli are personal favorites.
Sapori di Napoli is not open for lunch on weekdays.
No Calle Latina or BBQ Takorea? Outrage!
BBQ Takorea has changed its name to (I think) KBBQ Tacos or some such. And I would never recommend it, because I don’t want it to get crowded. No, I must have all the bibimbop burritos and bulgogi nachos for myself.
+1. If I worked from home on a regular basis I think I would be going there too much …
Sawicki’s. The roasted lamb sandwich gets my vote for president in 2016.
You guys are great – keep ’em coming! I have never been to Cafe Lily or Sawicki’s, and had forgotten about some of the others.
Hate to give away this secret, but Pinewood is fantastic for lunch!
You hush up about that!
In no particular order, KBBQ Tacos, Andryannis, Sawicki’s. Marlay used to get a lot of my lunch money, when it was freakishly empty most lunch times. Lately it’s gotten pretty crowded. Good for them, I say!
Oh yeah ! How could I forget Andryannis ?
+1
May not be as quick and cheap as some, but The Pinewood has a lunch menu, including a chicken & waffles sandwich. Waffles for the bread, fried chicken breast, and that ridiculously good gravy on the side. And you can get a salad on the side for “health” purposes. Mmmmm.
Also, Farmburger.
Looking forward to the hot dog joint opening up in the Las Brasas space, but the New Yorker in me has always kind of pined for a dirty water Sabrett’s cart on the square somewhere.
Not quite lunch, but the Pinewood has a pre-dinner happy hour burger special (4-6 pm?) that is a $5 bargain. And the burger was great.
I like the Bison Burger from Ted’s. I’ll take it over Farmburger.
Can anyone recommend a good handyman? I’m looking for someone on the expensive side, not too conscientious, and I need him to miss a very tight deadline.
Me. I’m notoriously unreliable, and usually start new projects without finishing the old ones. I’ll also drink the beer in your refrigerator and rifle through your dresser drawers.
You sound like someone I see in my mirror each morning. Why don’t you come by, we’ll crack open a few cold ones, and talk more about your qualifications. My calendar is completely empty, but let me check it anyway and I’ll get back to you real soon. I promise.
I would like to invite myself. This sounds like a really perfect group for me. I may have found my people.
I am nominating myself for President of this group.
And I nominate myself for treasurer. I’m very good with other people’s money.
More expensive = higher quality!
We have used Doggone Handy and are happy with them — it takes about 2 weeks to get an appointment though so it can’t be an emergency and you need to be able to estimate how much time you need. I believe it is $75 per hour.
Brian Self
404.287.6904. Reasonable and reliable.
Can someone tell all the builders of suburban style homes in Decatur that every time they build a house that features a garage on the front, even the ones turned sideways, we loose a little bit of our humanity. Build houses for people, not cars.
So sorry to hear about your loose humanity.
Tighten that s**t up!
Y’all are crackin’ me up with all that loose talk!
Curiously, commenters here will vent about half decent Craftsmans using Hardiplank instead of clapboard but are then mum when an Alpharetta Special materializes. Perhaps we’ve got OTP-envy!
+1
Although the builders of two new homes I’m thinking of that meet that description (right next to each other) will probably find out in the marketplace that people don’t want Alpharetta exteriors in Decatur, at least not on a busy street and for almost a million dollars.
Those houses, the ones on Columbia, have been on the market for, what?, five months?, when other homes, even nearly million dollar ones, get snapped up in days/weeks. So, yeah, I’d say the market is speaking. However, we continue to see ugly garages pock-marking our streetscapes. By the time they figure it out we’ll be looking like Johns Creek.
I’d take an ugly garage over no garage any day. My cars are mobile Jackson Pollocks of leaf litter, dust and bird poop.
Speaking of new houses for sale, I have to giggle at “Walden” or whatever it is called, on Clairemont, between Clairemont Oaks and the Y. The sign says “seven exclusive lots” or some such, and they have stuck a sign on top of that that says “Only six left!”. YEAH! That’ll convey a sense of urgency. (You couldn’t pay me to live there. Imagine trying to turn left onto Clairemont out of there pretty much anytime between the hours of 6:30 am and 9:00 pm.)
It’d be the same as turning left after leaving the Y. Not really a reason not to buy a house. Paying almost a million dollars, well, that’s something different.
I think it’d be more difficult than turning out of the Y. It’s closer to the light at Scott and traffic is often backed up past the entrance to Walden, but not as often back up to the Y. Every time I have to stop at that light some poor soul is either trying to get in or out of Clairmont Oaks across two lanes of solid traffic.
They name it Walden, after mowing down all the trees. Henry is spinning in his grave.
+1
Just curious, anyone around here ever use taskrabbit or thumbtack for getting stuff done around the house or otherwise?
Just tried thumbtack for the first time and to my surprise, the two vendors they recommended for appliance repair both had some unflattering recent reviews. I’d have thought they’d screen better (or maybe they don’t have a good enough stable of vendors yet)
I’m sure I missed this thread while on vacation last week, but what is up with the latest home appraisals?
If I don’t win the appeal I intend to file, I will need to shell out another 2 grand per year – a cost for which I have not planned, and one which will severily impact my discretionary budget – which includes patronizing Decatur pubs, shopping at Decatur stores, and School fund raisers.
Is anyone else feeling the pain?
Short answer to your question – yes, a whole lot of us. And don’t forget, you’ll soon get a chance to vote to raise your property taxes some more!
If Decatur voters decide to raise taxes on the school bond I will no longer be able to afford to live here.
I do not have any kids in the schools and I will likely sell to someone who wants to move here to use the schools.
Let’s see how that plays out across the city.
That’s why this childless couple is moving 150 ft.outside of Decatur. We’ll still be same distance to Oakhurst, closer to downtown Decatur, closer to Kirkwood, and a block from MARTA. Will drastically cut our mortgage as well.
This trend is making the community poorer in more ways than financially. Everybody loves to talk about “diversity” in Decatur whether they’re preening or fretting. But there’s more to it than assembling a bouquet of races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. We’re all better off when we live and work and play among people of different ages, life stages, choices and circumstances–kids/no kids, single/partnered, young/middle-aged/elderly, etc. That also helps cultivate economic diversity, which I personally believe makes communities stronger and healthier. I don’t see this trend getting reversed (or even substantially slowed), and I think that’s really too bad. Decatur’s a dandy place but it’ll never be what it could have been if this could somehow have been anticipated and countered.
+1
People tried to slow things down. But developers whipped up a frenzy of opposition to the demolition moratorium.
Now those “Alpharetta Specials” are driving everyone’s taxes up.
We didn’t try soon enough and we weren’t smart about it. By “we” I mean the active citizenry at large AND the city leadership. Too much time, talent and energy were squandered fighting about the wrong things. Infill development regulation got done by committee with various factions negotiating specific points in piecemeal fashion. Everybody got at least one thing they wanted and had to swallow at least one thing they hated. The end product was a pastiche that obviously was insufficient to rein in the real problem: developers throwing up massive structures out of proportion with their sites and their surroundings, with “Johns Creek” touches like front-facing garages and giant privacy fences. We should have doubled down on massing and lot coverage and setbacks, and let the market figure out how to deal with it. IMHO.
I think it could be argued that the trend we are seeing is towards diversity, not away from it. 15 years ago the housing stock was almost exclusively small 2-3 bedroom homes (especially in Oakhurst). And according to school stats the percentage of households with school aged children is only now at around 25%, hardly overwhelming. It was certainly a much lower number back then.
So we’ve added more children, and more upper middle class folks to a town that didn’t have a lot of them prior. That’s improved age and income diversity.
Anecdotally, we’ve got a lot of new neighbors who hail from from all over the world and have diverse educational backgrounds – no longer just a binary black/white southern town.
In general this town is safer and more economically vibrant than ever. Decatur folks have developed thriving local institutions like the Wylde Center, the DEF, and the DBA that do so many great things for the community. Streetscape improvements and commercial development have hugely improved our walkability, which indirectly leads to better health and interactivity.
This is a great place to live. It costs more to buy here, and it costs more to live here. To me it’s worth it. I get that people have budgets and need to make hard choices, but there are a lot of positives that don’t seem to come up when taxes are discussed.
I love this take — thanks!
I’m late to the game but I’ll add my 2 cents. There is no way that slowing development will do anything but make the property that is available more valuable and hence more expensive. There is a very strong tendency for homeowners to oppose increased density and it just so happens that by doing this, said homeowners increase the value of their property.
If one really is concerned about diversity of incomes, then we should be advocating for greater density and a more diverse housing stock (and not just single bedroom units).
Wrt taxes – I hate that increasing property taxes forces households to move. This is one thing that I liked about the California system of freezing property taxes (although believe me, this created all kinds of other nightmares). It is worth noting that while our taxes may be higher than some other areas of Georgia, Decatur is a bargain compared to New Jersey or New York.
Oh, and we’re moving to Avondale to a less expensive home but our tax bill will be higher, so yeah… (lagging valuation on the Decatur house is part of the issue…)
We are going to be in the same boat. We do have kids in the schools, but the youngest is about to be in eighth grade. We will have to do a lot of belt tightening, but we’ll stick it out until he graduates, then we will probably have to relocate outside the city. Which is a bummer. We love our house, our neighborhood, and our proximity to downtown.
I have friends in Decatur who were among those who dug in and got deeply involved in the school system starting 12-15 years ago. Education-wise, their families have certainly reaped the benefits. But coming up with college tuition while trying to ensure their own retirement security will make staying in Decatur a non-starter. I’ve heard one say they’ll be putting the For Sale sign in the front yard as they leave the house to attend their last DHS graduation ceremony. And that’s a real shame because those deeply rooted families would have much to offer the community if they stayed.
When we moved here nearly 30 years ago Decatur had a reputation as a high property tax town (the highest in the state or nearly so, I believe), so high taxes are nothing new. I have always felt like the services we received were better than surrounding areas and thus justified the higher taxes. However, most of us have a limit in terms of what we are willing to pay. I voted in favor of the last bond referendum and I believe the projects funded were necessary to meet our needs at that time. However, the recently completed Beacon project is excessively “fancy” if you ask me. If the School Board wants this referendum to pass, they are going to need to show this voter, in detail, how that $75M is going to be spent. If they don’t/can’t, or if it looks like another overly “fancy” proposal, I intend to vote no.
Why doesn’t everyone simply move just outside of CoD? Those fringe areas to the east and west are just as walkable. Then go “all in” with one ATL’s or DeKalb’s up-and-coming schools, and get the best of all worlds? Cheaper homes, cheaper taxes, and true diversity!
We all get to decide if we are paying enough in November. If you want more taxes, vote “yes” on the school bond. Would it be prudent for the school board to see what the revenue to the system will be in light of the new property assessments before trying to get even more revenue?
But even for us with kids in the schools, such a huge increase is not easily absorbed. My assessment came in 27% above the last assessment.
Is there anyone in town who can help me navigate the appeal process?
Reposting from the Kirkwood facebook group as it may be of interest to some here.
“Hi Neighbor,
Like you, I just got a nice fat increase in my property tax bill. I know that many are reeling from the increases because I have seen the emails flying all over the list serves.
So, I have asked my friend and property tax expert, Ernie Cole, owner of EQUITAX Services, to come and explain the appeal process. His company has handled hundreds and hundreds of these appeals. You can learn more about his company here. http://www.equitaxusa.com/
Ernie will explain, in plain English, how the process works, what the county will/won’t accept for comps, how to pull yours together, how to best stage your appeal, answer your questions, etc.
We will gather at 7 p.m., next Wednesday, 6/10/15 , at the Pullman in Kirkwoood.
To pile on extra goodness, this event is free, and Dan at the Pullman has kindly offered to give Neighbor in Need 10% of the proceeds from any food or bevvies you purchase…win, win, win. (THANKS BIG DAN!)
Here is the info on the Pullman:
1992 Hosea L Williams Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30317
(404) 371-1115
http://www.thepullmanatl.com
I hope you will come and that the info will be helpful for you.
K
Kyle Caldwell
President
Neighbor In Need, Inc.
2735 Tupelo St SE
Atlanta, GA 30317
770-367-2471
http://www.neighborinneed.org
follow me @bigkga”
I’m told we need a new air conditioning unit for our condo unit. The ballpark estimate from Company One is $3500. I need some recommendations for Companies Two and Three, please. -nqff
Good luck. I just spent $4400 for a 2.5 ton with Shumate. My cool Ray estimate was $6000. I had to go with larger companies to get the 0% financing, since I had just replaced the furnance And roof and don’t want to drain my savings completely. People seem to like ensphere, a smaller company.
Well, Company One says they will install a 2 ton unit for $3,000. I’ve scheduled estimates next week from Company Two and Company Three. -nqff
I highly recommend Keith Bowman. Google search Bowman’s HVAC in McDonough. I found Keith several year ago based on a similar neighborhood referral. He does a lot of work in the area. Great guy and great service.
Kieth is great!
Wes Cardell from Ensphere has worked on our two places and we have been very pleased. Give him a call too!
Thanks for the suggestion! However, according to his answering machine, Wes Cardell is unavailable until after June 15th. -nqff
We’ve had good experiences with Empire, over on DeKalb Industrial.
Thanks, Brian! I’ll give Empire a call. -nqff
+1 on Empire
Thanks for the tip on Keith Bowman. I’ve left a message to get a call back and schedule an estimate. -nqff
I would like to make an observation about traffic on Trinity in front of Fire Station 1. PLEASE do NOT stop in the striped section of the street in front of the Fire Station, when traffic is backing up because of the red lights. I was at the station when the fire dept. had an emergency to go to. Traffic was backed up and blocking the trucks from pulling out. The firefighters were honking for cars to move but they couldn’t because they were stopped almost bumper to bumper. The stripes are the not-so-subtle way of saying ‘don’t be in this space’. Please be considerate, every second wasted could mean life or death for someone.
On a similar tip, when the left lane on Commerce backs up north of Trinity and I’m patiently waiting my turn, don’t come flying down the right turn only lane and expect me to let you in front of me to go on through the intersection.
Ace and A on college, did a great job for me. And my assessment is up 30%, old and no kids. Moving to the mountains and renting it out.
Wow. What a race! My wife and I, along with son Wilson, watched it together. For two of us, lots of tears. Mary and I remember watching the last Triple Crown race as single adults, she crying while watching at home and me at a no-name bar trying to be cool. What a horse! What a race! Something we will remember for a long time.
I will also remember for a long time jockey Espinoza’s disgraceful behavior with his can of Monster Energy Drink at the trophy award ceremony. I think the racing establishment is probably a bit peeved at the Zayat family.
My son and I went to Trackside Tavern Friday night. We had a great time with food and drinks but especially the people. Trackside is unlike any other place in Decatur. Not only is it an adults only establishment (no screaming kids), but it also has what I call true diversity. Old geezers, bikers, twenty-something’s, babes, gays, black folks, cute Scotties and Tech boys and other groups that are beyond my personal knowledge (as I am a clueless old geezer). During the evening, Stacie the manager told me a great story. It seems that Brad (World Famous Tracksider second only to Spencer J.) came by earlier in the week and told everyone that he watched the city commission meeting on channel 25 and heard a shoutout to Stacie and the Trackside crew. Stacie and I laughed that Brad might be the only person in Decatur, hell maybe the entire metro area, that watches C-25. After buying Trackside specials for former students (in their mid twenties I have to add) and two other patrons, my son and I left feeling pretty good knowing that Trackside Tavern is still the best place to relax and enjoy real Decatur camaraderie.
Now there is a purpose for my description of Decatur’s “All Around Best Bar” and that is, more citizens need to attend commission meetings. You might be surprised, as I was, that there is an organized group that appears at every commission meeting whose purpose is to slander, misrepresent and ultimately undermine the authority of the Decatur police force. I attended the last commission meeting and heard a citizen FROM AVONDALE ESTATES read a letter to the commissioners that basically called for the micro-management of the Decatur police. Next was a local preacher who told the commissioners that he would warn black visitors to his church that they would be profiled by city police officers. I was so angry listening to this nonsense that when it was my turn to speak about the Memorial Day/Weekend activities, I was shouting. Later that evening, I kept thinking that the commissioners are only hearing one voice concerning our police force. These are the anti-police activists who continue to make false accusations of racism and calls for extreme oversight.
The media promotes this bias and I experienced it last week when contacted by a local T.V. station concerning an upcoming Decatur police focus group meeting at the Rec. The background details are found at Decaturish http://www.decaturish.com/2015/06/decatur-police-further-explain-invite-only-focus-group-meeting/. The reporter seemed eager to meet with me until he found out that I wasn’t challenging the invite only focus group meeting and that the real problem was the secrecy of the Leadership Circle. Soon after that, he sent me this text, “Working to get answers from the commission. I’m still interested though, just want to do the story right.” And that was it. I suspect that as long as I was someone challenging the Decatur police, the reporter wanted to interview me but once he found out differently, he wasn’t interested. Maybe I’m wrong and if so, I will apologize on this blog but I don’t think so. In my opinion, much of the media continues to promote the anti-police hysteria that is heard regularly at the commission meetings.
What to do? Please take the time to thank our police officers for their fine work. They not only patrol our neighborhoods and help keep us safe but we rely on them for something most of us would never do, arrive on the scene at horrible traffic accidents or worse, investigate a tragic murder in downtown Decatur. They deserve our respect and support, especially now that they are under attack here in Decatur and across the United States.
I hope that there are those reading this that will show up at a future government meeting here in Decatur or a surrounding community and praise our local police officers. Since attending a commission meeting is tough for most of us, may I suggest you send an email supporting the police to your commissioner (and if you don’t know who your commissioner is, send an email to Ms. Kecia Cunningham [email protected] I’m sure she will appreciate your comments). If you cannot do this, the next time you see a police officer, give him or her a thumbs up, a friendly wave or tell them, “Thank you for your service. God bless you and keep you safe.”