Georgia rides to the Capitol [Mar 18]

Do you ride a bicycle? Would you ride a bicycle if you felt safer on our area streets? Join the annual Georgia Rides to the Capitol event! Riders gather in downtown Decatur and depart at 10:45 a.m. and reach the Capitol at 11:40am. The ride is free but you should register in order to be covered by event insurance. Read on for more information...

See full-size version at
http://www.georgiaridestothecapitol.org/images/flyer-2014.pdf

"Hi All,

The ninth annual Georgia Rides To The Capitol bike ride is coming up Tuesday, March 18th. I know a lot of y’all have done this ride and we hope y’all can join us once again.

The ride supports cycling advocacy efforts in Georgia and we routinely have over 30-40 metro area mayors and other elected officials join us on the ride. The ride is split into two parts – the Decatur option leaves from the E. Lake MARTA station parking lot (north side of DeKalb Ave.) and is a slow paced, 5 mile ride to the state capitol. We always have plenty of beginners, families and folks just riding for fun!

The ride is police escorted to the capitol, but cyclists are on their own for the return trip. Last year we had Lt. Governor Casey Cagle address the riders along with other statewide officials. It’s a great way to show support for cycling and an opportunity to meet (and ride with) a lot of elected officials!

For details, start times and registration (all pre-registered riders are covered by event insurance AND receive a free commemorative leg band), please visit the website:

www.GeorgiaRidesToTheCapitol.org

Please feel free to spread the word! Apologies for any cross postings.

Fred Boykin
Event Director"

DeKalb Cooperative Extension Annual Plant Sale [order by Mar 10, pick up on Mar 22]

Order form and list of available plants from http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/dekalb/documents/2014PlantSaleOrderForm-webversion.pdf

DECATUR – DeKalb Cooperative Extension is pleased to announce its second annual Plant Sale. The office will accept orders between January 6, 2014 and March 10, 2014.  The one-day pick up is Saturday, March 22, 2014 at the DeKalb Cooperative Extension office.  We have several varieties to choose from including azaleas, blueberries, hydrangeas, gardenias and many more.

“Although this is just our second year, we are excited to see this annual sale grow.  We are committed to helping citizens realize and understand the role they play in the beautification and sustainability of their own neighborhoods, said Jessica E. Hill, Director of the Cooperative Extension office in DeKalb.

For more information about ordering plants or to learn more about other programs and services, please contact the DeKalb County Cooperative Extension office at 404-298-4080 or visit us at www.ugaextension.com/dekalb.

Lynwood L. Blackmon II
DeKalb County Horticulture Agent
DeKalb County Cooperative Extension
4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 200
Decatur, GA 30032
404-298-4087
404-298-3084 Fax
blackmonl@dekalbcountyga.gov

MANA Community Meeting [Mar 3]

Please join us on March 3, 7pm at the North Decatur Presbyterian Church (611 Medlock Road) for our first meeting this year. 

On the agenda:

Election of officers for 2014
ICS updates
Laurel Ridge updates
Neighborhood Watch
Lifelong Communities
Cityhood updates
Medline LCI
Georgia General Assembly Updates – Rahn Mayo
Candidates for Senate seat - Elena Parent and Kyle Williams
Zoning updates

Update on Medline LCI Study: community meeting notes

Ideas and concerns collected in prior discussions (left, middle) + hands-on opportunities for people who live, work and play in the area to literally draw better solutions (right)
= COMMUNITY THINK TANK!

The February 27 Medline LCI Community Meeting was a success, with Commissioners Rader and Gannon and their staff present to kick off the project. Jen Price (Sycamore Consulting) has kindly secured the presentation slides (see below), so that those who were not able to attend can also participate. Jen has also supplied us with hard copies of the community survey that will be available at the MANA Community Meeting on March 3.

The Medline LCI study group is funded by the Atlanta Regional Commission:

This study focuses on the area around DeKalb Medical Center and will plan for redevelopment of underutilized and vacant properties to create a variety of housing options and an appropriate mix of commercial, office and retail. The study will incorporate Lifelong Communities concepts and the establishment of a “wellness district” for the DeKalb Medical Center area. Additionally, the plan will address sidewalk and bicycle facilities along the major corridors in the area to create a more walkable center and to improve connections to MARTA bus routes and Emory’s Cliff shuttle.

For more information on the Medline LCI Study, see https://sites.google.com/site/medlinelcistudy/
where you can also find a link to the online survey. There is still time to fill out the community survey!

The presenters emphasized that this is the kick-off to a long process; as the area is developed, we will need to continue to push for investment from developers, with a focus on obtaining concessions that help us create an environment that meets the many and diverse needs of our residents.

A big question in everyone's mind is how to ensure this LCI study yields improvements both short and long-term. The answer goes something like this:
1) as LCI recommendations are finalized, we become eligible for County and Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) funding to complete certain projects
2) finalized Medline area use and design recommendations will be added to the zoning code for the area. This means that future developers will have to abide by those guidelines.
3) the Atlanta Regional Commission requires LCIs to be reviewed every 5 years. This allows the LCI to remain a living, evolving project.

The next Medline LCI community meeting will be on a Saturday in late March; details will be posted soon. The meeting will be held in a charrette format to encourage participation.

The Medline LCI Study began last month and will be completed in June 2014.

Moratorium motion

GRAB-IT! ® -- a new and defective board game that simulates DeKalb County's cityhood and annexation landscape. 

Reviews are mixed: shoddy documentation and many missing pieces!

Last week, the City of Briarcliff initiative released a new map and declared that Briarcliff had "chosen to defer to the published annexation plans of existing cities." This came as a surprise, given that the Vinson Institute study included these commercial properties in the Briarcliff proposal viability test... a study that MANA dues helped support. Briarcliff, at this time, is not on the docket.

New Lakeside map, via http://lakesidecityalliance.org/
wp-content/uploads/2013/02/City-of-Lakeside-map-
2-26-2014-1.pdf. Click to enlarge.

This week, the Lakeside initiative released a new map that engulfs nearby Laurel Ridge (including Laurel Ridge Elementary School, attended by many Medlock area children) as well as other neighborhoods. In rushed, ongoing committee negotiations, legislators are redrawing proposal boundaries in a manner that makes it difficult for constituents to offer timely feedback. As of this week, the Senate has approved the bill (SB 270); if the bill passes the House, it will need to be voted upon, but only those within its boundaries can voice their support or lack thereof.

Many of these concerns were voiced in the Senate this week, and video is available at http://www.gpb.org/lawmakers/2014/day-29. Click on the "Senate Day 29 PM link" and cue to 1:29:10 to watch Senator Steve Henson challenge Senator Fran Millar's Lakeside proposal's incursion into Tucker. Then, cue to 1:44:30 and watch Jason Carter light into Senator Millar and describe the broken process that has led to an ever-changing Lakeside map that amounts to a "foray into someone else's district". Thank you for the Medlock/MANA shout-out, Senator Carter, and for speaking for all the communities being aggravated and antagonized by Lakeside's schemes.

There are many reasons not to rush this process; Commissioner Rader articulated them well here. We encourage the legislature to bench all cityhood and annexation proposals for DeKalb County to allow sufficient input from citizens and analysis on the repercussions these changes will have on the County at large. We encourage DeKalb County residents to reach out to their legislators to ensure these concerns are heard and recorded, in particular as SB 270 moves to the House.

Addendum 3/3/2014: City of Decatur's proposed annexation map to which the Briarcliff Initiative defers. Apparently City of Decatur wants the whole Medline LCI area in addition to commercial properties on North Decatur Road.

Highlight of City of Decatur's annexation plan to which the Briarcliff Initiative defers. Red notes desired boundary;
current boundary not quite as visible in black, so it is now highlighted in pink. Click to enlarge or see original image at http://www.decaturga.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4724  Aug 2014 update:
this link now shows a map without the current city boundary. Subliminal inevitability nudge: check!

This is all very exhausting and confusing, thank goodness for Monty Python's take on annexation.

Lost dog [Jasmine] sighted in Medlock area

UPDATE: Jasmine sighting  ~4pm Feb 27 "running across the grassy area from Powell Ln toward Clairmont Circle, so if you live in that vicinity (near Emory Woods Apartments) please keep an eye out." Message left @ phone number listed below.

Jasmine is a scared, semi-feral foster who escaped while at DeKalb Animal Services, where she was taken to receive medical treatment for an urinary track infection. She appears to have made it to our neighborhood all the way from Kensington Rd.

She is dragging a green leash and there are concerns that she may get stuck somewhere. Jasmine was sighted in the Medlock area of North Decatur (Willivee) early on Feb. 26. 

She is very skittish and volunteers are trying to set up traps. It is possible she could be lured to a backyard if food were available. If you see her, please contact the above number.

Reminder: Fuqua / Scott Blvd. Church community meeting [Feb 26]

Fuqua Development has arranged a meeting at Scott Boulevard Baptist Church to discuss its plans in more detail on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm. We hope you will plan to attend.

To review recently released information about this development, see http://www.medlockpark.org/2014/02/scott-boulevard-baptist-church-update.html