City of Decatur updates its annexation menu: two sides of commercial, hold the residential

Decatur Patch reported on last night's City of Decatur commission meeting that the new recommendation is to

1) drop most of the residential areas being considered. By dropping most of the residential areas, the City may be able to bypass the need for a referendum and still secure the commercial properties.

2) annex the heavily commercial areas comprised by Suburban Plaza and Emory Commons. This plan reduces the pressure on City of Decatur schools (by not adding as many students) and benefits the City's budget (by securing commercial area revenues they can use to provide services to City of Decatur residents without, hopefully, having to increase their tax rates).

As noted elsewhere [see the Impacts on county taxes or services, Scenarios section, @ CHCA website], the County will still receive some taxes from these properties, just not as much. The textbook explanation is that these transfers should be neutral: the revenue that is "lost" by the County is offset by their being relieved from providing certain services the City now assumes. The entity on the "losing" side of such an exchange is expected to adjust its overall budget (via planning and management) to ensure level of service is maintained.

An example of how these plans affect us directly would be police and firefighting duties--City of Decatur would be responsible for patrolling and serving Suburban Plaza, Emory Commons, and any other annexed properties.

Additional information should be available next week at the City of Decatur's Annexation page.

Annual Christmas tree sale benefits North Druid Hills High School

The Druid Hills High School PTSA benefits from holiday tree sales at the Suburban Plaza lot at the corner of N. Decatur Rd. and Scott Blvd.  

This annual event continues to be a significant source of funding, providing instructional technology, books and digital media for classrooms at DHHS. 

Please encourage your family, friends and neighbors who buy live trees for the holidays to buy trees at Suburban Plaza and to make your checks payable to Druid Hills High School.  For visuals, check out their video.

Cityhood resource @ CHCA website

With so many moving parts and unknowns, cityhood discussions can be overwhelming.

Mercifully, Tim at the CHCA has assembled a summary in a clever cascading format that outlines the big picture then lets you zoom in on the details.

Also note the permanent link on the left margin of the CHCA website so you can easily return for updates.

Click on the image to the left to visit http://clairmontheights.org/node/3002.

Thanks, Tim!

Both

Riding the thermals
at Medlock for breakfast
chipmunk or squirrel
or both?

12/1/2012

FOUND: Old girl needs home

FOUND November 21, 2012 near Decatur

Older, sweet, female, brindle Pitbull mix. Please give this dog a home-looking for a permanent home or foster if can’t find the owner! She is well trained and playful. CALL Angela at 404.398.3573

She was found across the QT on Lawrenceville Hwy.

One Love, One Heart 5K Race/Walk [Dec. 1]

Please watch out for these runners and walkers on
Saturday, December 1

Schedule:

8:45 a.m. - Race Day Registration

10:00 a.m. - 5K Run/Walk

Entry Fees:

Pre-registration (by November 24) - $20

After November 24 & Race Day Registration - $25

Race to benefit the Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation and research facilities.

For details, see http://www.rungeorgia.com/cdlsrun.html

DCSD releases attendance line adjustments and proposes a modified timeline for Fernbank Elementary

Tanya Myers, MANA's education liaison, alerted us that the DeKalb County School District is considering a proposal that would accelerate the construction of the new Fernbank Elementary grounds and shift attendance lines for many young Medlock residents:

Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson presented a draft of her plan to merge some schools and expand others as part of a new five-year school construction program. ... Another proposal also provoked a strong reaction: Atkinson recommended floating $80 million in bonds — borrowing money — to expedite construction of several schools.  Read the whole article @ AJC.

Following up with a Fernbank contact and with Mr. McChesney, Tanya reports that "it looks like the new plan would have our neighborhood (most of or perhaps all) redistricted to Fernbank with the enlarged school re-opening to accept 200 additional students in fall of 2014. This proposal returns Laurel Ridge to its original (2011) attendance zone prior to the addition of Medlock students."

Tanya also clarified that "under the SPLOSTIV timelines that the board has already approved, the new, larger Fernbank Elementary will open January 2016. If the bond were approved, construction timelines would be accelerated and the new, larger school would open January 2015 (see page 53 on the above link for the comparison). It may be worth pointing out that the only difference is one of timelines; redistricting is planned to happen whether the bond is approved or not."

Dr. Atkinson's presentation is posted at the DCSS website, SPLOSTIV section. Below is the Druid Hills Cluster proposal:

Image from from http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/splost-iv/proposed-organization-facilities-presentation-and-binder-%282012-11-12%29.pdf

The image below superimposes the attendance line adjustment on a Google map of the area, using the location of the schools (in both depictions) as anchor points. This image is presented for informational purposes only.

Overlay of proposal, showing Fernbank Elementary as marker "A" and Laurel Ridge Elementary as marker "B".
The purple area highlights Fernbank Elementary's proposed reach.

Below, the same map, with MANA highlighted in yellow. Again, noting that these depictions are not final nor validated by DCSS, it appears that some MANA neighbors who reside in parts of Hunting Valley and Willivee Drive would remain in the Laurel Ridge Elementary attendance zone.

As we know more, additional information will be posted.

ADDENDUM: Battle of the Annexations? The extended Fernbank attendance line overlaps City of Decatur's annexation goals.

Image added to highlight overlap between newly proposed attendance lines for Fernbank [purple highlight] vs. City of Decatur's annexation plan [inset]. The overlapping areas appear in blue and green in the City of Decatur map (the magenta area already attends Fernbank Elementary).