Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Community’ Category

Housing Authority wins EarthCraft Award

Posted in Community on October 29, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

The Housing Authority of the City of Decatur, Georgia was named Multifamily Project of the Year by Southface and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association at the EarthCraft Celebration of Excellence held at the Southface Eco Office in Atlanta.  EarthCraft, the Southeast’s premier green building program, promotes energy efficient, healthy, comfortable and durable new construction and renovation.

 

Photo courtesy of The Champion

The Decatur Housing Authority and NorSouth Construction were honored for leadership and excellence in green building design and construction for Oliver House, a multifamily senior living development in downtown Decatur.  The project exemplifies high-performance green building and includes features such as a 50 kWh photovoltaic system, a Huber Zip weather resistant barrier, and geothermal HVAC and water heating.  The award was presented by David Ellis, executive vice president of the Greater Atlanta HBA, and Dennis Creech, executive director of Southface, in the presence of over 100 industry leaders at the Southface Eco Office.

Read Full Post »

Celebrate National Food Day Right Here in Decatur

Posted in Community, Events, Sustainability on October 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

A nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, & sustainable food. 

Food Day was created by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in 2011 to bring people together in celebration of healthy an affordable food produced in a sustainable way.  More than 2,300 events were held in all 50 states. This year, Atlanta has lots of local Food Day events to keep you full and happy, with 2 events right here in Decatur!

For a full list of events or more information visit www.foodday.org

.

Food Day Eat-In 

Celebrate Food Day by shopping at the Decatur Farmers Market on Wednesday, October 24! Bring a blanket or chair, grab some delicious picnic food and walk across the street to our Food Day Eat-In outside of the First Baptist Church and enjoy your fresh, local food with fellow Food Day supporters. Local musicians will provide entertainment.

WHERE: Decatur Farmers Market and First Baptist Church, Commerce Dr
WHEN: 4 to 7 p.m.
CONTACT: Emily Cumbie-Drake, ecumbiedrake@gmail.com

.

Potluck and Volunteer Day with Decatur’s Kitchen Garden

Global Growers will celebrate and build the movement towards healthy, affordable and sustainable foods by hosting a volunteer work day and potluck lunch at Decatur’s Kitchen Garden. Activities for the day include wood chipping, orchard cleanup and other around-the-garden fall activities.

WHEN: workday: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. // potluck lunch to follow
WHERE: Decatur’s Kitchen Garden in Decatur, GA, located behind the United Methodist Children’s Home at 500 South Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30030
HOST: Jesse Sutz
CONTACT: visit globalgrowers.net

.

If you shutter bugs are out and about this week, take your Food Day pictures and submit them to fooddayatl@gmail.com.

Or Tweet using the hash tag #foodday2012. Follow @FoodDay2012 for news and updates throughout the day on October 24.

.

Read Full Post »

ZTF issues on Open City Hall

Posted in Community on October 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

The Zoning Update Task Force (ZTF) has studied several zoning issues over the past year at the direction of the 2010 Strategic Plan. The link above will take you to a forum on Open City Hall which outlines the recommendations to date of the ZTF. They would like your input. The topics include accessory dwelling setbacks, transition standards between residential and downtown commercial properties, community gardens and home based businesses among others.

Click here to access the forum.

The forum will close today – Tuesday, October 23rd at 2PM. It doesn’t take long to vote on each issue- just one click.

We appreciate your participation and please contact Amanda Thompson at Amanda.thompson@decaturga.com if you have any questions.

Read Full Post »

Public Meeting Regarding Annexation

Posted in Community, Meetings on October 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

As many of you are aware, the Decatur City Commission is currently considering an annexation plan that includes areas to northwest, northeast and southeast of the existing city boundaries. In an effort to gain a better understanding of how current residents and potential residents feel about the plan, the City Commission is holding a public meeting regarding annexation from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, October 22, 2012. The details are below and if you would like more information on the draft plan including a draft map and an estimated property tax calculator, please visit the City’s website at the following link: http://www.decaturga.com/annexation.

Annexation Public Information Meeting
Monday, October 22, 2012
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Commission Meeting Room, Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street

Opening Presentation 6:00 p.m.
General Question & Answer Session 6:30 p.m.
General Public Comment 7:00 p.m.

If you’re unable to attend the meeting, fear not. The meeting will be streamed live on the City’s website starting at 6:00 p.m. and then will be available for viewing at anytime beginning Tuesday the 23rd on the streaming video page.

Read Full Post »

TLC is Looking for Decatur Houses

Posted in Community on September 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

We recently received a call from TLC’s Four Houses show. They’re looking for houses for the second season in the Atlanta area and they’ve zeroed in on Decatur. Here are the details from the show’s casting producer:

From the producers who brought you Four Weddings, FOUR HOUSES is the unique competition show that brings four homeowners together to tour each other’s properties and decide who’s house is the best based on originality, livability, and style. In order to showcase a truly authentic and beautiful style that America would enjoy, we thought it best to reach out to the Decatur area specifically. We are looking for sociable, competitive, and expressive homeowners that are passionate about their home and want to showcase their unique style because it’s the best house on the block! They could win $10,000!!!

Are you interested? Know of any neighbors that would be perfect for this? All you have to do is submit your name, location, contact information along with photos of four different rooms in your home and a picture of you and your family to lauren@pitmancasting.com by Oct. 5.

If you haven’t seen the show, you can watch clips from the first season on the Four Houses TLC website.

Read Full Post »

Oliver House Opens in Decatur

Posted in Community, Sustainability, Uncategorized on September 17, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Oliver House, the 2nd phase of the revitalization of Allen Wilson Terrace, a former 200 unit public housing community originally built in 1941, is ready to open.  The Decatur Housing Authority describes Oliver House as a new eighty unit elderly housing community with affordable rents as part of of the ongoing revitalization of the Allen Wilson Commmunity in downtown Decatur.

Oliver House is a “Williamsburg Style” building with 72 one-bedroom and 8 two-bedroom apartments designated for the elderly.  The 82,419 SF four-story building is equipped with two elevators and a portion of the first floor also houses the new management/rental offices and maintenance facilities for the entire Allen Wilson property.

Oliver House is named for a distinguished African American businessman, Henry Oliver, who lived in this area in the 1800s.

The revitalization planning process was designed to retain the residents in the area while constructing the new housing.  Many families were able to move directly into the new Oliver House.   The overall campus includes a 1 1/2 mile paved walking trail to provide a place for residents to walk for exercise and to socialize outdoors.

The Allen Wilson community and Oliver House are participating in Southface Energy Institute’s EarthCraft Communities and EarthCraft House Multifamily programs.  Earthcraft energy features include a 50 kWh photovoltaic (PV) solar power generating system; geo-thermal heating and cooling systems, geo-thermal water heating; rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation; and spray foam insulation in walls and attic spaces.  The Housing Authority also incorporated green building practices including maximizing natural day lighting with thermally-efficient windows and ENERGY STAR appliances, incorporating bio swales into the design to minimize storm water runoff, and using Crystal Stream fixtures to purify storm water before it moves downstream.

Phase 1 included 40 units of family housing and Phase 2 includes these 80 units of senior housing.  The Housing Authority is pursuing low income housing tax credits for Phase 3 which includes 71 units of family housing.  They hope to begin construction in January, 2013.

Phase 1 of the Allen Wilson Terrace revitalization project includes 40 units of family housing

Visit The Decatur Housing Authority website for more information.

Read Full Post »

Keep It Indie-Catur is Here!

Posted in Community, Events on September 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

And when I say write “here” I mean that you’ll really start seeing “Keep It Indie-Catur” everywhere now – in shop windows, on restaurant employees’ tees, in Terrific Thursday advertising and up on the square next Tuesday, Sept. 18!

In conjunction with the Restaurants for Repairs event, we’ll be selling Keep It Indie-Catur shirts for $15 on the square between 5:30 and 9 p.m. And just to add to the festivities, we’ll have music playing from the stage (where the Blue Sky Concerts and Concerts on the Square have been taking place), balloons and Keep It Indie-Catur stickers.

So next Tuesday, spend the evening supporting Decatur’s local businesses. Click here to see a list of participating restaurants that are donating a portion of their proceeds to the 2013 Martin Luther King Jr. service project and click here to learn more about the Keep It Indie-Catur slogan.

See you on the square!

Read Full Post »

Enjoy a Meal, Lend a Hand on Sept. 18: Dine Out for Decatur MLK Jr. Service Project

Posted in Community, Events, Retail & Restaurants, Sustainability on September 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Image

Dine out at a participating Decatur restaurant on Tuesday, Sept. 18, and support Restaurants for Repairs, benefiting the Decatur Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project. The service project will hold its 11th annual service weekend in January 2013 to provide home repairs and yard work for some of Decatur’s low- and fixed-income senior citizens.

Choose from a wide variety of cuisines at price ranges for every budget and help support Decatur’s senior citizens – while also supporting Decatur’s Keep It Indie-Catur (shop local) campaign. Here is an updated list of Decatur restaurants that have signed on to participate in this fund-raising event:

Read Full Post »

Bid On Little Free Libraries at Book Festival

Posted in Art & Culture, Community, Events, Uncategorized on August 30, 2012 | 2 Comments »

We are gearing up for the AJC Decatur Book Festival.  Lenz Marketing has done a fantastic job of getting the word out about the festival so if you haven’t heard about it, seen the schedule, seen the articles and blogs, let us know!

We want to highlight the Little Free Libraries here at TheDecaturMinute because they are a really cool idea and look absolutely amazing.  Little Free Libraries let you share your surplus books and adorn your yard (or business) with a unique work of art.  They are designed to provide weather-resistant outdoor storage of books where neighbors can pick up or drop off reading material.

There are 12 Little Free Libraries available for auction.  They were designed and built by Michael Montgomery of Revisioned Furniture and decorated by a variety of well-known local artists, illustrators, and more (including Michael himself).  Come and bid on one (or more) of these unique works of art.  Your dollars go to support the AJC Decatur Book Festival which is offered free to the community.  Plus, you will join a national movement to suppplement our public libraries through sharing books in the community.

Come see Catlanta’s mark, Elizabeth Dulemba’s fanciful creation, Mike Luckovich’s cartoons, and, of course James Dean’s Pete the Cat.  They join libraries from Anita Arliss, C. Flux Sing, David Laufer, Greg Farley, Kyle Brooks, Lenz Marketing, and Nell Ruby.  AJC Decatur Book Festival board members will be on hand  at the Little Free Library tent on the MARTA Plaza to explain the project and to encourage you to bid.

Read Full Post »

Just in case Bookzilla can't keep the rain away this weekend

Posted in Community, emergency management, Events on August 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

2012 AJC Decatur Book Festival weekend forecast – hot and humid with slight chance of thunderstorms.

In the event that a major storm does make an appearance, festival goers should look for the “Storm Shelter Area” signs designating safe places to seek cover from the elements.  

You will find them at City Hall (509 N. McDonough Street) and the Old Courthouse on the Square (101 E. Court Square). And if you’re not close to either of those places, you can also pop in to any of the other author venues to seek shelter.

If you have any questions about storm shelters, contact the Decatur Fire Department at 404-373-5092 or visit the First Aid tent on the MARTA plaza during the festival.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »