The Decatur Minute

Have you ever wondered what you could be doing to improve water management on your property or in your community? Perhaps you’ve taken a stroll around Glenlake Park and noticed all the lovely stream bank restoration efforts that were included in the renovation?  Well, you’re in luck.  The City of Decatur is hosting a Green Umbrella meeting on Thursday, March 3rd for you to learn all about green infrastructure.

Green infrastructure methods imitate nature’s own systems to manage water using engineered soils and specific plant materials on a regional, community and individual site scale to reduce flooding and improve water quality.  Attendees will gain an understanding of the role of green infrastructure in our cities, parks and even our own back yards. Topics will include:

• Rain gardens
• Bioswales
• Structural soils for urban trees
• Utilizing the existing natural landscape to reduce flooding and improve water quality

Our presenter will be Steve Provost (RLA, LEED AP), from jB+a, inc. and an Environmental Sustainability Board member.  Following the presentation there will be Q&A as well as networking time.  We hope you can join us!

Date:  Thursday, March 3rd

Time: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: Decatur City Hall

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This press release came to me from Cheryl at Active Living…

Clairemont Elementary has been selected by GDOT ‘s Safe Routes to School Resource Center to be the featured school for the second annual Georgia Walk to School Day event on March 2, 2011. Based on the success of last year’s event, this year the Resource Center has selected a school to showcase.  This recognition will highlight Clairemont’s 6-year commitment to the SRTS program and their countless successes in transforming student commuting behavior. Though Clairemont was one of Georgia’s first SRTS programs, their process can be adopted by any school that is looking to increase their walking and biking population.

After arriving at school on GA Walk to School Day, students will gather in the auditorium for the morning assembly.  Highlights of the assembly include student-made videos of their experiences walking and biking to school, words of encouragement from  Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd, and representatives from the Georgia Department of Transportation and the GA SRTS Resource Center.

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The Nalley Tree Campaign inaugural tree planting will take place this Friday, Feb. 18, (Georgia’s Arbor Day) at 11 a.m. at Decatur Cemetery. At this inaugural planting, Mayor Bill Floyd will speak on the Nalley Tree Campaign, Georgia Arbor Day and the Decatur Cemetery construction initiative. Additionally, members of Trees Atlanta will assist in the inaugural planting.

Please come out and join us- the weather is going to be beautiful!

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The City of Decatur has been awarded the designation of Tree City USA!  We join the ranks of 132 Georgia communities with this distinction.  The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters in order to recognize successful community forestry programs. Decatur’s application was developed and coordinated by city staff with assistance from the Environmental Sustainability Board. 

To qualify as a Tree City USA, a town or city must meet four standards. Click HERE to read Decatur’s application and see how we meet these standards.

1. A Tree Board or Department
2. A Tree Care Ordinance
3. A Community Forestry Program With an Annual Budget of at Least $2 Per Capita
4. An Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation

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In October 2010 the City of Decatur’s Environmental Sustainability Board launched the Kilowatt Crackdown, a friendly neighborhood competition to encourage individual households to reduce their energy consumption.  Participants signed up with a tracking system called Earth Aid at www.earthaid.net/decatur.  The website automatically tracks energy usage through the household’s utility bills. Neighborhoods were asked to sign up a minimum of 10 participants to be eligible.  The Decatur neighborhood that reduced its electricity use during October and November of 2010 by the highest percentage over their 2009 usage would win a block party.

We are proud to announce that the Decatur Heights neighborhood has won the Kilowatt Crackdown.  With 13 participants, and 3,500 kilowatt hours saved, this group was able to reduce their usage by 20%!  This is certainly an amazing accomplishment, and one worth celebrating.

Of the users that signed up for the challenge and successfully linked their Georgia Power accounts to Earth Aid, Decatur saw a 1.46% reduction in electricity usage, representing an overall decrease of 1,800 kilowatt hours.  That is enough energy to run your air conditioner 24 hours a day for over 2 months.  During the competition, some users saved more than others.   Among users that decreased their usage, the reduction was almost 12,000 kilowatt hours, resulting in a $15 savings per month on each household’s bill.

“The most rewarding part of the challenge was the number of participants and the level of interest in the community,” said the Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Board Gary Garrett. Over 130 residents signed up for the program, representing 10 neighborhoods.

The program created some unexpectedly positive results.  “I’m proud that Decatur residents stepped up to the challenge and tightened their energy belts,” said Lena Stevens Resource Conservation Coordinator for the City of Decatur.  “Little changes in behavior really can make a difference, and the Kilowatt Crackdown proved that.”

Funding for this program is provided by the  Better Buildings Grant program.  If you are interested in learning more about upcoming programs and incentives related to home energy efficiency, email lena.stevens@decaturga.com.

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Although they have been filming the last week or so around Forest Hills Elementary School, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” has offically begun shooting here in Decatur today. They will be on location all day today and then back at the end of next week to wrap up. The following is a press release with more infomation on the cast and crew…

Principal photography began today on Walt Disney Pictures’ “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” starring Jennifer Garner (upcoming “Arthur,” and  “Butter”), Joel Edgerton (upcoming “Warrior” and “The Thing”) and CJ Adams (“Dan in Real Life”).

Academy Award^®–nominated writer/director Peter Hedges (“Dan in Real Life,” “About a Boy,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) is directing the film, and also penned the script, based on a story from producer Ahmet Zappa.  Zappa is producing along with Emmy^® and Tony Award^®–winning Scott Sanders (“The Color Purple,” “The Pee-wee Herman Show”), and Jim Whitaker (“American Gangster,” “Changeling”). Executive producers are John Cameron (“Lars and the Real Girl,” “Fargo”) and Mara Jacobs.

Rounding out the cast are Rosemarie DeWitt, Dianne Wiest, Ron Livingston, Odeya Rush, Lin-Manuel Miranda,  M. Emmet Walsh, Lois Smith, and Common.

 “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is an inspiring, magical story about a couple, Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton), who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. When young Timothy (CJ Adams) shows up on their doorstep one stormy night, Cindy and Jim, and their small town of Stanleyville, discover a whole new view on what it is to love and be loved.

The production’s creative team also includes double Academy Award^®–winning cinematographer John Toll (upcoming “The Adjustment Bureau”), production designer Wynn Thomas (“Get Smart,” “A Beautiful Mind”), costume designer Susie DeSanto (“13 Going On 30,” “White Oleander”) and Academy Award^®–nominated editor Andrew Mondshein (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Chocolat”).

The film is being shot in and around Atlanta, Georgia, notably in the surrounding counties of Walton, Morgan, Coweta and Cherokee. “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

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Date: February 8^th, 2011
Time:
6pm – 7pm (presentation)
7pm – 8pm (drop in at Planning, Zoning, and Inspections Office)

Location: Decatur City Hall, City Commission Meeting Room

Homeowner’s Night is a great opportunity for homeowners in Decatur to meet with Planning, Zoning, and Inspections staff to discuss projects you may be considering for your house.  You can find out what your zoning allows, what construction is required, what inspections will need to occur, and how the heck you pull a permit! 

As a part of the February Homeowner’s Night, the Planning Department is proud to present a special workshop on home energy efficiency from 6pm-7pm.   Guest presenters Mike Barcik and Frank Burdette of Southface will be providing homeowner’s with advice on how they can save money by reducing their utility bills.  As experts in the field, Mike and Frank will help attendees understand how most homes leak energy, and explain what projects can make your home more comfortable and easier to heat and cool—while saving you money.  Call it weatherization, energy efficiency, or greening your home… we’ll call it just plain smart.

After the presentation, homeowners are invited to drop into the office  untill 8pm with questions.  We look forward to seeing you at City Hall tomorrow night.

Contact Nathan Soldat for additional details at nathan.soldat@decaturga.com.

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Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd and New York Times best-selling author Mary Kay Andrews are among the local guest celebrities who will face a team of Glennwood Academy 5^th graders for “r  U smarter than a Glennwood 5^th grader?” sponsored by Decatur ED TV.

The fun begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at the Decatur High School Performing Arts Center. Advance admission is encouraged. Adult tickets are $10; $5 for students 14 years or older. Tickets at the door on the night of the event will be $15 per person.

All of the proceeds raised from this event will be donated to the 5^th Grade class at Glennwood Academy so they can produce an art project as a Legacy Gift for the new 4-5 Academy at Fifth Avenue. To buy tickets online, visit http://glennwoodshow.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit the show’s website at http://www.glgatorshow.org.

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The Board of the Georgia Register of Historic Places approved listing downtown Decatur on the state-wide register on January 28th. The next step is to nominate the downtown to the National Register of Historic Places, our nation’s list of buildings, sites, and districts that are historically and architecturally significant to our country. Why is this so important? It will help Decatur’s growing tourism industry. Heritage Tourism is the fastes growing segment of the Tourism Industry and Tourism is Georgia’s second largest industry (even bigger than peanuts!). People love to visit cities rich in history. It will also give property owners of historic buildings the opportunity to apply for significant preservation tax incentives.

Now that’s good news in tough economic times!

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