Lots on the table for tonight’s City Commission meeting (agenda found here). 

Among the most interesting issues:

1.  City Commission will vote to show support for the annexation of 10 commercial parcels along E. College between the city limits and Sams Crossing, with the understanding that Avondale will annex everything to its west up to Sams Crossing.  (page 42 of the supplemental materials)

This vote represents the first step in the process of bringing these parcels inside the city limits.  Rep. Benfield has agreed to sponsor the legislation before the GA general assembly in two separate bills (one for each city).

Though 10 parcels won’t do much to ease the city’s tax burden, the two cities are in agreement that they both would benefit from giving this strip a little TLC.

2.  Surprisingly, the “Sanitation Fee Schedule” agenda item is some of the most interesting reading the meeting “materials”.  (page 39) Essentially, sanitation fees will probably have to be increased citywide because the market for recyclables has completely evaporated.  Why?  Because the companies that collect them can no to make more off collection – though I wonder what becomes of all of these recyclables if they aren’t used.  Are they just stored somewhere?

So, keep this is mind when you throw something in the recycling.  Plastics, chipboard, cardboard isn’t currently being reused…and could just as easily wind up in a dump.  The best course of action is to minimize all garbage.  That seems to be the impetus behind the city providing a coupon for a free reusable tote with our garbage bags in the near future.

3.  The city is smartly removing the Homestead Exemption from 2009 tax bills in anticipation that the state will not meet its 3% goal (revenue above amount to fund program) to distribute them in 2009.  (page 38)

4.  The Ponce Heights traffic study – incorrectly called Ponce Terrace in the report – doesn’t recommend any action in traffic calming (except restriping crosswalks) until a neighborhood committee is estabilished and its determined there is a need for additional measures. (page 64)

5.  The Glenlake Park overhaul begins soon (late March – early April).  Church St. will be narrowed to one lane during construction to provide parking for tennis court and pool users. (page 57)

Phew!  Lots going on!

Fellow Ponce de Leon Heights residents take note.

Rebecca writes in…

Since we don’t have a formal neighbhorhood association in Ponce de Leon Heights, I just wanted to make everyone aware that there have been a series of break-ins on Coventry Road. Apparently they look for no cars in the driveway. The robbers smash in the backdoors and grab anything they can find — pull TVs off the wall, etc. and are gone in a matter of minutes. Please be extra vigilant and alert the police/neighbors if you’re going to be out of town.

What’s the number to notify police you will be out of town?  I’d like to post it here.  Is it just the non-emergency #?

UPDATE: Steve confirms my hunch.  Call 404-373-6551 to notify police to keep an eye on your house if you’re going out of town this holiday season.

My apologies for those that could give a flip about an expanded ‘No Parking’ in an area that you never give a second thought to…but hey, you got to give our gripey commenters credit!  Sometimes they’re psychic!

A little over a month ago, DJ wrote in with complaints about the parking situation on Nelson Ferry down by First Christain and its insanely popular little park that’s a hit residents less than 3 feet tall.  He wrote and I quote “Why do they allow parking on both sides of the street by the park?”

Whelp, it seems like either the pastor at First Christian was thinking the same thing or this post got the ball rolling because one of the items on tonight’s commission meeting agenda is “Recommend expanding the existing “No Parking” zone on the south side of Nelson Ferry Road adjacent to Decatur First Christian Church.”

Details for the proposal can be found on pages 37 and 38 of the supplemental materials provided by the city.

It is stated that that Asst. City Manager David Junger met with Rev. James Brewer-Calvert and with “neighborhood representatives” regarding the problem. I didn’t realize that Ponce Heights had neighborhood reps!  Who are they?

After residents of Ponce de Leon Heights lost power early last week due to down power lines near the church playground, yesterday we took another hit.

A large tree fell across Nelson Ferry Road (nearer to the Scott Blvd end) getting caught up in power lines and knocking out power across the neighborhood. Residents spent the evening without power, congregating in the street to survey the damage and compare stories.

We personally took a harder hit than most. Because the tree landed on lines very close to our house, we arrived home from Germany in the dark yesterday to find our driveway full of down and hanging power/cable/telephone lines. Operating on little sleep in the last 24 hours, we surveyed the damage and determined that it was just the phone and cable that had snapped…the power was just pulled away from the house.

To their credit, both GA Power and the city responded very quickly to this event.  GA Power worked through the night (and rain) and had the power back on by morning, even though at least two transformers blew. The city was cutting up the tree early this morning.  (Just another reminder of why we pay a little more for city services.)

I’ve been worried about all of the large trees in our neighborhood since the drought last year. Tree roots aren’t as strong as a result and many of Decatur’s old neighborhoods with mature growth are taking big hits when the wind picks up. A very large tree fell through a house on the Scott Blvd. end of Clarion just a few months ago.

How can large trees get the vast amounts of necessary water that they need in times of drought/water restrictions?  Grass watering may be unnecessary and wasteful in times of water shortage, but deep tree watering could potentially prevent some of the destruction we will continue to see due to weak root systems.