Outta the mouths of Decatur residents.

It’s funny how many times in recent months I’ve heard the statement above called out; each with unique dreams of regional dominance.  “Book Capital!”  “Food Capital!”  “Festival Capital!”

Well, the city is leading up an effort to capture all these individual passions into a single plan. A “Cultural Arts Master Plan”. And next Monday is your last chance to participate and give your feedback.  Here’s all the info you need, all in one colorful poster.

Click to enlarge.

If the open-ended questions on Open City Hall aren’t your thing, the city has just posted a mostly multiple-choice survey on the Cultural Arts Master Plan.

Click here to give your input!

In so many ways, Decatur’s got it buttoned up.

Our budget is top-notch; just ask our creditors.  The city lives and dies by the 10-year strategic development plan.  It’s in love with many of the ideas in it’s newish Community Transportation Plan.  It has an Athletic Facility Master Plan, AND Greenway Plan. And it often pays solemn homage to the grand-daddy plan of them all, The Town Center Plan.  (It’s kind of like our own Federalist Papers of the 1980s)

But in a town of self-proclaimed creative types and smarty-pantses, our arts scene doesn’t have a cohesive purpose down on paper…what you might call an um, plan!  That’s why the city is currently in the process of developing a Cultural Arts Master Plan.

But of course you already know that because you attended Decatur’s Cultural Arts Master Plan meeting a couple weeks back, right?

No?

Well, you might just want to watch this Decatur eLife video on the meeting and listen to what Linda Harris has to tell you…

…and then head on over to the city’s Open City Hall program and give your “official” feedback to the city on the following questions…

What cultural offerings in Decatur are you most proud of? Which offerings have you participated in? What would you like to see in the future? Did you attend a public input session?

And we’re not talking about anonymous blog input either.

Patti Garrett reminds us of two upcoming Imput Sessions at City Hall in the next 8 days…

Railroad Crossing Improvements at Candler and McDonough Streets – Thursday November 12

A community workshop to discuss the railroad crossing improvements will be held on Thursday, November 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the City Commission meeting room of Decatur City Hall, 509 North McDonough Street, in downtown Decatur. We hope you will be able to join us to learn more about this project.

As part of its capital improvements program, the City of Decatur is considering options for improvements to the railroad crossings at Candler and McDonough Streets in downtown Decatur. The purpose of the work is to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists and others using these facilities. Measures required to implement a quiet zone in the railroad corridor will also be considered.

The project is based on Decatur’s 2008 Community Transportation Plan. A major goal of the Community Transportation Plan is to encourage healthy lifestyles and active living in Decatur.

The City has retained URS Corporation of Atlanta, a planning and engineering design firm, to help plan the project. The project will be partially funded through a grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Cultural Arts Master Plan Public Input Meeting – Wednesday November 18

The community is invited to a public input meeting for the Cultural Arts Master Plan on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room, Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030.

This is the first public meeting to introduce the Cultural Arts Master Plan process and begin to get public input regarding the arts in our community. The Master Plan also includes an inventory of existing cultural arts facilities, programs and public art located throughout the city, identification of program and facility needs and recommendations for partnerships to meet these needs.

Please plan to join in the conversation! For more information email Linda Harris or call 404-371-8386.