John writes in…

The Midway Woods Neighborhood Association has elected officers for 2011-12: President Dana Perkins, Vice President Jessica Allen, Treasurer Daniel Sullivan and Secretary Sarra Everett.

The election was held May 4 at a meeting in Dearborn Park on Midway Road near Candler Road. DeKalb Commissioners Kathie Gannon and Larry Johnson spoke at the event. Over the past year, the association has focused on improvements to the park, including a new pedestrian bridge, tree-plantings and neighborhood work days to clear invasive plants. A development plan is in the works for Dearborn Park.

The neighborhood also started a community garden, began installing toppers on street signs, created a new neighborhood banner and started a website, http://www.midwaywoodsneighborhood.com. The neighborhood includes most of the area of unincorporated DeKalb and Decatur that is bounded by Columbia Drive, Memorial Drive, Candler Road and Kirk Road. It is part of DeKalb County schools & Druid Hills district.

Here’s yet another lovely hypothetical question for all you Greater Decatur folks out there…

Imagine you had to move out of your current home for whatever reason (fire, another 500 year flood, a lost war with a horde of carnivorous rats, etc) and you were forced to leave your current neighborhood  – what OTHER Decatur neighborhood would you most likely move into?

The City of Decatur and the Environmental Sustainability Board’s latest resident competition, the “Kilowatt Crackdown“, started last Friday October 1st.  Residents who sign up, will compete with other other Decatur neighborhoods to see which neighborhood group of participants can curtail their energy consumption vs. last year.  The winning “neighborhood” gets an “eco-friendly block party” thrown by the city.

However, as of right now, it seems that only three of the designated “neighborhoods” have the minimum 10 participants to compete.

From the city’s Facebook page…

Participants Signed Up as Of 10-1-10

• College Heights = 2
• Decatur Heights = 10
• Downtown Decatur = 0
• Great Lakes = 16
• Lennox Place = 5
• MAK = 2
• Oakhurst = 11
• Ponce de Leon Court = 8
• Village Walk = 2
• Westchester = 1
• Winnona Park = 6

TOTAL = 63

According to the city, you can still sign up at www.earthaid.net/Decatur.  The contest runs through the end of November.  So I think I’m going to do it and boost my neighborhood’s total up to 2.   Not everyone has to do this, but I say we at least try and make it interesting!

I sure hope your neighborhood didn’t have a massive, multi-day power outage last October or November!

The city of Decatur is hosting a Kilowatt Crackdown competition in October and November to see which 10 or more people in Decatur’s various neighborhoods can reduce their energy consumption the most vs. the same time last year.  Here are the details from the City of Decatur’s website…

The Kilowatt Crackdown: Neighborhood Challenge launches Oct. 1st, 2010. The Decatur neighborhood that reduces its electricity use during October and November by the highest percentage over this same time period last year will win an eco-friendly block party (thanks to EarthAid) for everyone who participated.

Neighborhoods must sign up at least 10 people to participate. In addition to the block party, each participant receives points redeemable for rewards from local merchants as well as from national brands and chains.

Here’s how to participate:

1. Visit www.earthaid.net/Decatur.
2. Select your neighborhood.  (Not sure which neighborhood to choose, click HERE for a map.)
3. Sign up for the free service using your Georgia Power online username and password. You will automatically be joined with the neighborhood group you selected.*

*If you’re not registered for a Georgia Power online account, visit www.georgiapower.com to register. You will need your account number, access code, and a valid email address.

Once you have joined, you can select “View My Groups” from your dashboard page to see the groups you have joined.

During October and November you will be able to track your neighborhood’s process on the EarthAid website and see a graph of your personal energy use over the past 12 months. You can even earn points when you reduce usage.

At last night’s city commission meeting, the commission accepted a detailed Historic Resources Survey of Decatur (page 15 of pdf), compiled by Keystone Preservation Associates and Morrison Design, LLC.

At a cost of $35,000, the months-long survey, which documented every single parcel within the city limits, was one of the outcomes of the ugly clash between residents, city boards, cats and dogs over a proposed Oakhurst Historic District in 2007.  Among the many aspects of the initiative that confused and angered all parties was a lack of information on historic inventory within the neighborhood.

So the city ponied up the dough and funded an extensive survey that documented the entire city.  According to a letter to the commission by Planning Director Amanda Thompson…

This report will help the city move forward with several long term preservation goals including awareness and appreciation of Decatur’s historic resources by making the survey results available online and determining a timeline and cost proposal for creation of National Register listings.  We will also use the report to explore the world of heritage tourism and if that is a market the city is interested in pursuing.

Missing from the city’s stated goals is any mention of the creation of any additional local historic districts, which is the only way to physically regulate design in a neighborhood. (National Register status mainly provides tax incentives to residents to rehab property and creates red-tape for federal government-funded development)

That said, a portion of the survey was included among last night’s meeting materials and identifies 13 neighborhoods inside the city limits that would be eligible for some form of historic designation.  They are… Read the rest of this entry »