The Decatur Minute

DeKalb County Property Assessment Appeal Process: You Filed an Appeal, Now What?

City of Decatur homeowners are invited to learn about the next steps in the DeKalb County property assessment appeal process on Thursday, September 17, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore Street.  A representative from the DeKalb County Property Appraisal Department will outline the assessment appeal process and will provide information regarding what will happen next.

This year’s deadline to file an appeal has already passed. If you have already appealed, this is the opportunity to find out about the rest of the process. You will also learn how to plan for future assessments. This information session is part of the Decatur Lifelong Community Advisory Board’s Third Thursday series. For more information, contact leeann.harvey@decaturga.com or 678-553-6548.

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Photo of Bill Bolling from the Atlanta Community Food Bank

At the regular meeting on Tuesday, September 8 the Decatur City Commission appointed Bill Bolling to finish out the remaining four months of former Mayor Pro Tempore Kecia Cunningham’s term, who resigned to take a job out of state. Commissioner Bolling is not one of the two candidates running for the District 2 seat (the election is November 3) and has stated he has no further political ambitions.

“We are fortunate to have Bill Bolling, a pillar of our community and long-time Decatur resident, agree to serve alongside us for the next few months on the Decatur City Commission,” said Mayor Jim Baskett. “Commissioner Bolling has had a long career in community service and I am confident he will do a great job as a City Commissioner through the end of the year.”

Commissioner Bolling founded the Atlanta Community Food Bank in 1979 and was its executive director until earlier this year, when he shifted into a senior advisor role. Prior to his association with the Food Bank, he served as director of community ministries for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. He continues to support other food initiatives in metro Atlanta and elsewhere, including the Food Well Alliance.

Born and raised in Lexington, North Carolina, Commissioner Bolling holds degrees from Central Piedmont College and Appalachian State University in Business and Education. He received his Master of Arts degree in Psychology and Counseling from the University of West Georgia in 1976. In July of 2003, he attended Harvard Business School, completing a course on Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. He has served as an adjunct professor in the School of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and has taught classes at Georgia State, Emory and Oglethorpe Universities. Commissioner Bolling is a frequent speaker on topics related to hunger, poverty, regionalism, affordable housing and public policy reform.

Five City Commissioners are elected in nonpartisan elections for overlapping four-year terms – two from District 1, two from District 2, and one At-Large. Each January, Commissioners elect two of their fellow members to serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

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Mayor Pro Tem Patti Garrett (seated, third from left) at the ceremony earlier this year honoring the City of Decatur as the Atlanta Regional Commission’s only Platinum-level Green Community.

At the regular meeting on Tuesday, September 8 the Decatur City Commission elected Commissioner Patti Garrett Mayor Pro Tempore. The previous Mayor Pro Tempore was Kecia Cunningham, who resigned her District 2 seat on the City Commission last month to take a job out of state.

“Thank you to my fellow commissioners and to the Mayor for this honor,” said Mayor Pro Tem Garrett. “Kecia Cunningham’s years of service on the City Commission contributed greatly and positively to the Decatur we live in today. I have some big shoes to fill.”

Patti Garrett was first elected to the City Commission in 2009. She has been active in the community since moving to Decatur in 2001, serving as chair of the Decatur Tour of Homes committee, house captain on the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project, a board member of the Oakhurst Community Garden Project, and as secretary of the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association.

Mayor Pro Tem Garrett is a 2012 graduate of Leadership DeKalb, a member of the 2010 class of the Regional Leadership Institute and serves on the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA). A graduate of Texas Christian University and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Garrett teaches nutrition at Georgia State University, works as a Clinical Dietitian at Emory University Health Services, and is active in the Atlanta Local Food Initiative network. She also received the 2010 Georgia Dietetic Association Distinguished Service to a Community Award.

Five City Commissioners are elected in nonpartisan elections for overlapping four-year terms – two from District 1, two from District 2, and one At-Large.  Each January, Commissioners elect two of their fellow members to serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem.

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The DeKalb County Board of Health has asked the city to share the following information: 

A mosquito collection from a DeKalb County Board of Health’s sampling station which is located in Decatur has been reported as positive for West Nile virus (WNV).

While most people infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms or experience mild flu-like symptoms, the virus potentially can cause serious and sometimes fatal illness. The chance that any one person is going to become ill from a single mosquito bite is low. The risk of severe illness and death is highest for people over 50 years old, although people of all ages can become ill.

The easiest and best way to avoid West Nile virus is to prevent mosquito bites. While the potential for WNV transmission exists throughout the metro area, this WNV positive collection does indicate a higher risk at this time in this area. Please remember to use the following precautions and remind your neighbors, friends and coworkers to do the same.

•    Apply insect repellent. DEET (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus and IR3535 are effective repellents recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, please see: http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html.

•    When possible, wear long sleeves, long pants and socks. Clothing may also be treated with permethrin.

•    Use extra care when mosquitoes are most active, particularly from dusk to dawn.

The DeKalb County Board of Health is aggressively working to prevent West Nile virus transmission. Program technicians will be in the area providing additional mosquito control services including applying larvicide and investigating for mosquito breeding sites. This will keep mosquito larvae from developing into flying biting insects.

Along with the larvicide treatment, it is important to eliminate any containers and other removable breeding sites which may hold water for five or more days. Some items such as bird baths can be dumped and rinsed twice a week, but do need continual attention. Also, gutters should be cleaned and checked to make sure they drain properly.

For more information about West Nile virus, refer to the following web sites:

•    http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/

•    http://dekalbhealth.net/envhealth/west-nile-virus/

Contact the Division of Environmental Health (404-508-7900) with any questions or concerns on this matter.

The City of Decatur will have mosquito repellent with DEET available at the Fire Department’s First Aid Tent at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend.

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The City of Decatur is one of only ELEVEN finalists (and the only city) for the Atlanta Magazine 2015 Groundbreaker of the Year award. The theme for this year is “Building (and Rebuilding) a Better Place to Live” and Decatur was selected for its commitment to sustainability in all aspects of community. You can read the entire article in the September issue of Atlanta Magazine and online.

The 2015 Groundbreaker of the Year will be determined by popular vote, so click here to vote now (and keep voting, as many times as you want, between now and Sept. 30).

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Weather permitting, GS Construction is planning to mill East Trinity Place between North McDonough St. and Decatur Fire Station No. 1 on Monday, Aug. 31 and to repave the project area on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Work is expected to start at 7 a.m.

This is one of the final phases of the downtown streetscape improvements project.

On-street parking will be prohibited when the work is being performed. Two-way traffic will be maintained throughout the day but will be limited where work is taking place and anyone traveling through the area should expect delays.

TEMPORARY NO-PARKING SIGNS WILL BE POSTED ALONG CHURCH STREET. ALL VEHICLES MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE STREET DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. WHEN WORK IS PERFORMED. Vehicles parked on the street during the posted times are subject to towing.

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LIFELINE ANIMAL PROJECT CELEBRATES NATIONAL DOG DAY WITH FREE DOG ADOPTIONS! 

DOG ADOPTION FEES WAIVED ALL DAY ON AUGUST 26, 2015 

ATLANTA, GA — (August 25, 2015) – LifeLine Animal Project, the nonprofit which recently pledged to have its county shelters reach no-kill levels by the end of 2016, invites everyone to celebrate National Dog Day with free adoptions!  Adopt a dog on August 26 at any of LifeLine’s shelters, including DeKalb County Animal Services, Fulton County Animal Services or LifeLine’s Dog House, and the adoption fee will be waived!  Standard screening criteria still applies to ensure the dogs go to good homes.

According to LifeLine Animal Project CEO Rebecca Guinn, National Dog Day is a great time to adopt a dog, because shelters typically have the highest intake of dogs during the summer.  “With 30 to 40 animals entering the shelter daily, we need public support to help us save lives,” says Rebecca.  “By waiving adoption fees on National Dog Day we hope to see a record number of people coming into the shelter and giving our wonderful animals a new life.”

Adopters will receive a dog or cat that has been spayed or neutered, has had all vaccines and is microchipped – a $250 value — for no cost!  To see pictures of available animals at DCAS, FCAS or LifeLine’s nonprofit shelters, please visit www.dekalbanimalservices.com, www.fultonanimalservices.com or www.lifelineanimal.org.

About LifeLine Animal Project

Founded in 2002, LifeLine Animal Project is Atlanta’s leading nonprofit organization providing lifesaving solutions to end the killing of healthy and treatable animals in county shelters, promote animal welfare and prevent pet overpopulation. As the managing organization for DeKalb County Animal Services and Fulton County Animal Services, LifeLine has dramatically increased adoption rates and decreased euthanasia rates by more than half at both county facilities.  The organization also operates two low-cost spay/neuter clinics, which have performed 85,000 surgeries to date, its own no-kill cat shelter and a rehabilitative, no-kill shelter for dogs and cats. Other outreach efforts include its Catlanta trap-neuter-return program, the first and largest in metro Atlanta, for stray and feral cats.  For more information, please visit www.lifelineanimal.org.

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​Oakhurst Porchfest: Sunday, October 18, 2015  | 2-6pm

​​Eight years ago in Ithaca, New York, someone had an idea: What if we had an afternoon when porches all over the neighborhood became stages and everyone just walked or biked around listening to musicians, hanging out on lawns and sidewalks, and connecting/reconnecting with their neighbors?

Porchfest, the ultimate grassroots music festival, was born. 100% resident owned and operated, it’s been going and growing every year since. And in that time, other neighborhoods all around the country have taken the model and run with it.

This year — on Sunday, October 18 — Oakhurst is looking to do the same. With the Oakhurst Arts and Music Festival on hiatus due to construction in Harmony Park, and limited time to plan and organize a replacement, a grassroots, neighbor-orchestrated day of music and fun seems the perfect way to bring us all together in a manner that feels distinctly Oakhurst.

We have plenty of porches to play on but now we need some more musicians!  Click here to learn more

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