Free-For-All Friday 3/24/17
Decatur Metro | March 24, 2017 | 8:07 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.
Marty
unclecharlie
hmmm
Bike Decatur
Macarolina
G Buck
At Home in Decatur
immodest proposal
Joe
Geoff
Scott
Joe
It’s 9:30. Where is everybody?
Endlessly clicking refresh on their news site of choice to follow the “will they or won’t they” saga of the AHCA.
My money is on won’t. They’re like the dog that caught the car.
final vote will be around 4:00 PM
I’m reading that Ryan might be negotiating with Trump to pull the bill. If he doesn’t have the votes, it doesn’t make much sense to force a vote and watch it go down in flames
It’s outta here.
A shout out to Decatur Boxing – they are having a free Saturday 11am class tomorrow. This place is authentic as it comes located on New St. just down from Three Taverns. Refreshments will be served – come check out a great boxing fitness class taught by one of the best pro & celebrity trainers in the country. Xavier “Bad Pads” Biggs…https://www.biggsboxing.com/
Is it just me or does anyone else have the intense desire to continually sweep and mop our pretty new crosswalks? They always look like the floors in my house after a toddler birthday party.
Has anyone heard anything about a small specialist grocery mart possibly opening in the old vet location on E Howard?
Where was there a vet on East Howard? If you mean East College instead, where Dearborn was, that is definitely going to be a grocery store. It is iWag.
http://iwag.org/index.php/decatur/
J_T—village vets used to be on east howard before they moved over to n. mcdonough
Yes. The Decatur Market will open in the old Village Vets space on E Howard. They already got a beer and wine license.
Great, thanks. I hadn’t really thought of beer and wine sales, I was just assuming groceries….
My guess is that they may be planning their build-out to coincide with the completion of the stormwater mayhem and the overhaul of the Candler RR crossing.
That would make sense; I think that’s May/June time! I wonder if that’s also true of Amazza pizza place planned for the old Twisted Soul space, although I suspect that’s no longer happening, hopefully leaving the door open to a Poke option….
Assuming We’ll Fu*k You, er, I mean Wells Fargo, doesn’t screw anything else up, this is my last Friday as a (City of) Decaturite. I have to say, I never would have believed I’d be so happy to say that. City leadership has done a tremendous job in promoting growth locally while completely dropping the ball on retaining diversity and affordable housing. Yes, we are making a huge profit on the house we bought just 5 and a half years ago. But that appreciation can only be utilized by selling it, which we’ve done. We are lucky. We don’t have kids so schools are not a worry and, as much as we loved living inside the city limits, we can be just as happy a mile or three down the road. The older folks pushed out of their family homes can’t say the same thing. Most of my old Decatur friends left a long time ago and very few true characters remain. To them I say, please turn out the lights when the last of you finally join us on the other side of the city line. And to the rest of you, enjoy your gourmet ice cream , $12 cocktails, and $12k property tax bill. Decatur has sadly become a much nicer place to visit than to live.
sad but true. I have to wait until youngest graduates from DHS before I can cash out and move to Avondale…
I’m sure you’ll miss Decatur like I do. My siblings and I still have dreams about the original B-Home at 307 Ponce Place: hidden rooms and World War II treasures and much, much more.
There is life after Decatur but it’s not the same. When you tell people you live in Decatur they say, “Decatur! Oh I wish I could afford it. Great bars and restaurants. And that school system!” Now when I tell folks I live in Tucker they say, “That’s nice but at least you’re close to Decatur.”
Best of luck!
I’d say you’ll be missed, J_T, but I’m pretty sure I’ll still find you here, elsewhere on the web, and pretty much anywhere with a Jager special going on, so I’ll hold the tears until I see how it plays out. My J_T experience may remain intact!
I am curious about one thing as it relates to your comments on diversity and affordability. What would you list as your Top 5 things the city could’ve done over the past 10 or 15 years (that is, things that would’ve been politically viable, fundable, etc.) to impact these dynamics? ‘Cus Decatur’s absolutely not the only in-town location dealing with the negative impacts (to both diversity and cost of living) of the urban renaissance. Places all over are wondering the same thing. What *should* the city have done?
Prioritize and place value on across the board residential tax decreases that would help folks like J_T.
“I think a more appropriate statement would be “We need to increase density downtown and in our commercial districts to generate the revenue necessary to exercise our community values and priorities.”
These priorities could certainly include reduced residential taxes across the board. Or, they could be to further a social mission, as we did with tax relief for seniors. Or, it could be in quality of life initiatives (for example, green space acquisition such as the Methodist Children’s Home). Or personnel. Or service offerings. Or anything else.
The point is, you’ve got the revenue-in side of the sheet, which our existing policy initiatives and tax digest make fairly predictable, but then you’ve got the revenue out side of the sheet and that’s entirely political. Our years of strategic planning provide us a fairly clear picture of what our community values are but which ones get prioritized and funded is at the mercy of the political process. Which ties back, at least somewhat, to the idea of continuity of vision, if not leadership.
Being a community generating revenue in excess of obligations creates options. Which of those options are acted upon is in the hands of our elected officials, who are accountable to the collective desires of the community. But I can certainly say, as someone who works with communities large and small across the continent, that having meaningful options at your disposal is always a better position than not having them. Even if the process of allocating funds can be messy.”
I do appreciate the reminder of what *I* think, but my question was in relation to what J_T thinks. Success makes room for possibilities. It does not specify what those possibilities should be.
I wish we had instituted a tear-down tax. Imagine if we had charged $25-50K for every home tear-down and used that money to fund the educational needs of the children who have moved into the new construction homes. The tax would have also deterred building, making the profit margin slimmer for developers, and it would have made existing 2 bedrooms more likely to be sold to people wanting to live in the home.
Besides that, I think the senior tax breaks were a great idea, but they don’t help younger people, like JT.
I also think the Decatur Housing Administration should change its focus from just assisting people in poverty to providing affordable housing for a mix of low income and middle income persons, especially the middle income earners who work for our city.
Love the idea of a tear-down tax
DQ’s prices have not changed (much) 🙂
Sorry to hear you’re leaving. We’re child-free, too, but we ain’t aimin’ to let the breeders run us out. Not just yet, anyway! Happy trails, and don’t be a stranger.
Touch a Truck is tomorrow at the East Lake MARTA Station! Walk, bike or take the train and make it a day for alternative transportation, not alternative facts 🙂 10am – 1 pm
More info here: http://www.decaturga.com/city-government/city-departments/active-living/touch-a-truck
DeKalb County is having their Household Hazardous Waste Event this Saturday 8am-Noon at the DeKalb County Central Transfer Station, 3720 Leroy Scott Dr., Decatur, GA 30032. Free for all DeKalb Co. residents.
Items accepted: Mercury, Aerosols, Batteries, Adhesives, Flammables, Photo chemicals, Lawn care products, Fluorescent light bulbs, Hobby and artists’ supplies, Paint and paint-related products (10 Gallon Limit), Cleaners & swimming pool chemicals.
Here is a copy of the flyer…https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/sites/default/files/DeKalb%20Household%20Hazardous%20Waste%20Flyer%20-%2003.25.17.PDF