The Decatur Minute

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2015
Contact: Casie Yoder, casie.yoder@decaturga.com, 678-205-9655

Statement on civic space in Decatur

The City of Decatur has intentionally created an attractive, accessible and safe environment for public life. This combined with the city’s role as the county seat of DeKalb County means people gather here all the time, whether for a festival, to enjoy the nice weather or to demonstrate about an issue they feel passionately about. We are viewed as the civic heart of the county and this creates the challenge of democracy in Decatur. Over the past few weeks there have been several protests in and around the Square on both public and private property.

“Our police officers have responded appropriately and professionally by instructing participants that they cannot protest on private property without permission from the owner,” stated Mayor Jim Baskett. “They can protest on public sidewalks as long as they do not obstruct others from using the sidewalks and if they want to have a parade they would need to secure a permit. In the future we would hope that if these individuals are interested in making a statement to DeKalb County that they would choose a venue more closely associated with the county that would allow their voices to be heard by those they are trying to reach.”

Decatur is committed to civic space and public discourse. Civic space is a crucial component of any community, including ours. Peaceful gatherings play a valuable role in our society and will continue to be treated with respect by city staff and the Decatur Police Department.

Police Chief Mike Booker confirmed that, “The Decatur Police Department respects and acknowledges the individual right of every person in this country to assemble peaceably in public. Every Decatur officer is trained to respond to protests and protestors respectfully and professionally. This department will continue to uphold the highest standards when balancing protestors’ constitutional rights with the rights of others who may be impacted.”

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The City of Decatur is hosting its annual Touch a Budget expo from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31 at the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore St. Every one in the community is welcome at this free event. In addition to learning about the city’s plans for spending in the July 2015 – June 2016 fiscal year, the expo will feature music, food and prizes. The purpose of Touch a Budget is to engage people of all ages in the city’s budgeting process in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

New this year are the “In the Spotlight” break out sessions that focus on one department’s key projects and initiatives. Community members who are interested in hearing about a particular department are encouraged to attend the appropriate spotlight session. The “In the Spotlight” schedule is as follows:

5:00 – 5:15           Active Living and CYS

5:20 – 5:35           Community & Economic Development

5:40 – 5:55           Administrative Services

6:00 – 6:15           Police

6:20 – 6:35           Fire

6:40 – 6:55           Public Works and DEC

The popular budget bingo game returns this year, appropriate for ages 5 to 105. Public safety and public works vehicles will be parked in front of the Recreation Center for children and adults to see up close. Touch a Budget attendees will also be able to visit the Visitors’ Center tent and sign up as special events volunteers.

For more information about this event or the city’s annual budget, visit www.decaturga.com/budget

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Jeremy Pickett hard at work in the City of Decatur 911 call center

City of Decatur 911 Call Center superstar Jeremy Pickett is a finalist for the 4th Annual Smart Telecommunicator Awards (presented by Smart911). He is the only person from Georgia to be selected as a finalist for the 2015 Smart Telecommunicator of the year – and you can help him win by voting for Jeremy!

More about Jeremy from his nominator:

Every single firefighter and police officer is relieved and excited when Jeremy is the voice we hear. He always remembers to periodically check on us, repeats traffic back to show he understood, speaks clearly and at a good rate. He gives the emergency crews the needed information before he is asked.  He uses our Smart911 system so we don’t bust doors, but find a key. He helps us to respond accordingly to autistic children. He gets us information when the patient is unconscious. In my entire career, he is the best we have ever had and over 100 emergency personnel will back this nomination.

Click HERE to vote for Jeremy now (one vote per email address). Voting closes April 3 at 5 p.m.

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Just a reminder that City of Decatur is teaming up with researchers at Georgia Tech for a very cool project:

Georgia Tech is researching methods for collecting, analyzing, and interacting with data pertaining to people’s interaction with their environment.  We are planning to deploy a system of sensor units in Decatur to collect real-time data about pedestrian-driven traffic (e.g., foot, skateboard, bicycle, pets) and environmental conditions (e.g., weather, air quality, noise).  The sensor units will send anonymous data to a server at Georgia Tech, which will merge that data with social media feeds (e.g., tweets, check-ins, reviews), which may be relevant to activities in Decatur. Through a novel visualization and sonification (i.e. transforming data into sound) system, our hypothesis is that researchers, city planners, and the public will be able to query this dense amount of data to explore questions about how and why people interact with Decatur by seeing and hearing patterns and correlations in urban infrastructure use and surrounding environmental conditions.

We will be holding an event as part of the Atlanta Science Festival in Decatur Sq. on March 27 to let people to preview the project as well as hear an artistic rendition of city data collected during the week of the festival.  More details about the long-term research project will be presented at the ASF event.
http://atlantasciencefestival.org/events/event/1095

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City Schools of Decatur asked me to share the following: 

Are you interested in learning more about the proposed general obligation bond, rising enrollment and master plan?

Please join City Schools of Decatur on Tuesday, March 31 at 9:30 a.m. OR 6:30 p.m. in the Board of Education Room at the Central Office at the Beacon Municipal Center, 125 Electric Ave., for an opportunity to learn more about these important topics.

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The annual Decatur Business Association Easter Egg Hunt is this weekend!  Join us on Saturday, March 28th on the front lawn of Decatur First Baptist Church

The Easter Bunny arrives at 10:30am and the hunt starts at 11am sharp

The DBA would like to thank our sponsors who make this annual event possible:

Gas South             Decatur School of Ballet            Cook’s Warehouse             Sherlock’s Wine Merchants            PRO Martial Arts    

Candy, Easter Bunny, treats, family fun- come one and all because it’s all FREE!

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We have several film projects popping up all over Decatur in the next few weeks. Here are two on the calendar this week:

* TV pilot for Cordon filming at 750 Sycamore Street and Avondale Marta station on Monday, March 23rd (Decatur Police will be present)

*Rings movie filming at 222 Fayetteville Road from March 23-28 (Decatur Police will be present)

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Each year, the Publix Georgia Marathon runs right through downtown Decatur. This event brings thousands of runners ( and probably new visitors) though our great City. We do our best to welcome them with cheering crowds, upbeat music, and fun noisemakers and signs. We want everyone who runs through Decatur to come back and visit us,so we need to make a lasting impression. So what can you do to help? Call some friends and neighbors and plan to join us along the race route. The runners enter our city limits around 8:30am so come on out and make some noise! We will be there with plenty of noisemakers, pom-poms, and doughnuts to share. Join a group in front of Felini’s , the Old Courthouse, or near the Eastlake Marta Station. Want to know more about the race routes and road closures? Just click here

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Georgia Tech is researching methods for collecting, analyzing, and interacting with data pertaining to people’s interaction with their environment.  We are planning to deploy a system of sensor units in Decatur to collect real-time data about pedestrian-driven traffic (e.g., foot, skateboard, bicycle, pets) and environmental conditions (e.g., weather, air quality, noise).  The sensor units will send anonymous data to a server at Georgia Tech, which will merge that data with social media feeds (e.g., tweets, check-ins, reviews), which may be relevant to activities in Decatur. Through a novel visualization and sonification (i.e. transforming data into sound) system, our hypothesis is that researchers, city planners, and the public will be able to query this dense amount of data to explore questions about how and why people interact with Decatur by seeing and hearing patterns and correlations in urban infrastructure use and surrounding environmental conditions.

We will be holding an event as part of the Atlanta Science Festival in Decatur Sq. on March 27 to let people to preview the project as well as hear an artistic rendition of city data collected during the week of the festival.  More details about the long-term research project will be presented at the ASF event.
http://atlantasciencefestival.org/events/event/1095

Read Full Post »