That unreasonable Decatur annexation plan -- meeting report

On November 4, the Decatur City Commission conducted its Annexation Master Plan Work Session. DecaturMetro reports on it under the title Despite Petitions, No Additions To Decatur Annexation Map – and Other Annexation Meeting Notes (includes link to meeting video). The AJC reported on the meeting as well, noting that over 100 people attended and of the 31 who participated in the public comment session, 20 spoke against annexation.

Decaturish also covered the meeting (see here), and a comment by Mayor Baskett deserves follow-up:

“After dealing with annexation a couple of years back, we weren’t anxious to get back into this annexation discussion,” Baskett said. “I for one certainly was not anxious to. We did not choose this. It was dropped on us. A bill was dropped for a city of Briarcliff that totally surrounded us to the north. So these people that were here tonight who live in some of those areas who were saying we want to stay in the county of DeKalb seem, to me, to be burying their heads in the sand.”

As to the facts:

As of right now, Medlock Park and nearby neighborhoods are not known to be in any map other than the unincorporated DeKalb map. Thus, "these people's" heads are not "in the sand" but rather, held high as they call out City of Decatur's unreasonable annexation proposal... just like City of Decatur residents would be justified in calling foul if unincorporated DeKalb or a new city reached inside Decatur's existing borders to cherry-pick commercial property.

The idea that the Briarcliff proposal somehow snuck up and forced Decatur's hand is misleading. Unincorporated residents, at the time, asked to be included in a new city proposal, as is allowed by the state constitution. Are Decatur's ~20,000 residents somehow more deserving of this commercial property tax base than the ~93,000 citizens that were included in the Briarcliff proposal? More deserving than the ~500,000 residents of unincorporated DeKalb overall? Who made this judgment? We would really like to know.

Had City of Decatur had the foresight to annex Suburban Plaza and the Medline LCI area as recently as five years ago, it is doubtful that anyone would have strenuously opposed. Today, after business owners, community and county have worked so hard to improve the future of these commercial zones, it is a different story, one that does not reflect well on the City of Decatur.

Admitting you have a problem is a good first step. Another Decaturish item includes a statement that City of Decatur issued in advance of the November 3 meeting that finally gets to the issue:

"Another part of the analysis is the implications for adding to, and diversifying, the real property tax base. Both the City Schools of Decatur and the City of Decatur are reviewing the potential revenues and expenditures associated with the draft annexation master plan area. Opportunities to expand the tax base in the long term in order to stabilize and minimize potential future tax increases must be considered and annexation provides an opportunity for that possibility." [emphasis added]

During their meeting with MANA leadership, representatives from City of Decatur insisted that their annexation map is not about money, it is about protecting the city's "gateways" and being mindful of overburdening their school system. It is good to finally hear Decatur admit that it has concerns about its ability to sustain the quality of its brand, namely, the "value" they can deliver vs their tax rates. There is no shame in admitting to income worries: from individuals to corporations, everyone is familiar with the difficulty of balancing income vs expenses.  The important thing is to find solutions that are ethical and sustainable, even if they involve tightening the proverbial belt.

City of Decatur has certainly grown and made great progress in the last 30 years. This growth, unfortunately, has apparently outstripped its school capacity, and the City is also concerned about its ability to deliver expected services without raising taxes. We sympathize with the quandary but maintain that it is absolutely unreasonable for City of Decatur to try to solve its income and school capacity problems by walking on the backs of other county residents who are also trying to secure a good education for their children and protect their ability to live and age in place in their chosen neighborhoods. 

- - - 

UPDATE: Decaturish has just posted a summary of school attendance projections for City of Decatur and expected financial impact: Study: School taxes will go up without annexation. 

DeKalb shelter: free adoptions during November

ATLANTA, GA -- (November 3, 2014)  LifeLine Animal Project wants you to give shelter pets a reason to be thankful, so throughout the month of November, the organization is offering fee-waived adoptions at DeKalb County Animal Services (DCAS).  Through their “Give Our Shelter Pets a Reason to be Thankful” promotion, you may adopt any dog, puppy, cat or kitten for FREE at DCAS!  Adoption counselors will be on hand to ensure the animals are being placed in good homes.

According to DCAS Shelter Director Susan Feingold, the goal of the promotion is to increase the number of shelter animals who will find homes this holiday season.  “All pets deserve a warm bed, a full belly and someone to love them, and in return they bring many positive benefits to a home,” she says.  “Our fee-waived promotions tend to bring more people into the shelter, so we’re counting on continued community support to help more of our animals find forever homes.”

LifeLine Animal Project CEO Rebecca Guinn says that offering fee-waived adoptions is a great way to increase adoption rates.  “Free adoptions tend to create a buzz of excitement and bring more people into shelters,” she says.  “According to numerous studies, fee-waived promotions increase adoptions without compromising the quality of care that the animals receive.”

All November, adopters will receive a dog or cat that has been spayed or neutered, has had all vaccines and is microchipped – a $200 value – for FREE!  To view animals available for adoption, or for the shelter’s address and phone number, please go to DCAS or visit us online at http://www.dekalbanimalservices.com/adopt-a-pet.

About DeKalb County Animal Services
Managed by LifeLine Animal Project, DeKalb County Animal Services provides humane care for animals at the shelter, veterinary care, pet adoptions, pet reclaim services, volunteer opportunities, foster care, and rescue group coordination.  To learn more, please visit www.dekalbanimalservices.com.

Laurel Ridge: Little Free Library garden launch

from Tanya, our schools liaison

Laurel Ridge Elementary is hosting a community workday the next two Saturdays to prepare the Little Free Library garden, Nov 8 and Nov 15 from 9 am to 1 pm. Come help support the installation of this project as a great resource for school families and neighbors - any time that you can carve out to help would be appreciated!

Community meeting summary [Oct 27]

These are very informal notes so we can report on the meeting asap.

We had a great meeting and very well attended: around 135 people showed up to hear about our schools, zoning and yes, annexation.

Acting president Lynn Ganim acknowledged the many volunteers that worked on the annexation survey.

Schools Update (by Tanya Myers, MANA Schools Liaison): Brian McKinley, neighborhood resource coordinator at Laurel Ridge Elementary, gave a brief history and update from the school. Test scores have risen across the board from 2012-2013 in reading, science, math, and social studies. He also described a plan to set up a mini park/gathering area with a bunch of Little Libraries. Home Depot has donated materials for the libraries, benches, arbor and some landscaping material as well. Volunteers are welcome for grounds days (always the first weekend of the month, next one is Nov 8th from 9-1) and site prep day for the Little Libraries (Nov 15th from 9-1)! Laurel Ridge's Fall Festival is coming soon on November 15th.

Preliminary results: annexation survey
based on mid-afternoon, Oct 24, with 224 surveys in.

NOTE: THE SURVEY DEADLINE IS NOW EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 31. Same rules apply: complete online or mail in/drop off @ UPS store at Emory Commons (full info included in the newsletter/survey packet that MANA distributed door to door).

Preliminary survey results:
tiny so you can't read them  but
know we discussed them :) Full
report coming soon!

I. On the individual questions regarding whether the respondent would choose a certain option vs. remaining in unincorporated DeKalb County:

- Join City of Decatur ( 66%) vs Remain unincorporated ( ~34%)
- Join City of Atlanta (~45%) vs Remain incorporated (~55%)
- Join new city (Briarcliff/Lakeside) ( 60%) vs Remain unincorporated ( ~40%)
- Legislature decides now ( ~39%) vs. 1-year moratorium on all new cities and annexations ( ~61%)

II. On the question asking people to rank our various options, those options are listed below

1. Join City of Decatur [highest interest]
2. Join new city of Briarcliff/Lakeside
3. 1-year moratorium on new cities and annexations
4. Remain unincorporated
5. Join City of Atlanta [lowest interest]

Standing room only: House Representative Oliver addresses the audience. Around 135 people attended.

Guest speaker: Mary Margaret Oliver
(these are not complete notes nor a transcript)

Mary Margaret Oliver (no longer our rep, but still a member of the House of Representatives as well as Government Affairs Committee) and Elena Parent (our newest Senator, effective January 2015) were both at the meeting and answered questions about our concerns with annexation. It was a very informative session, thanks to both for attending.

It was a long meting but Ms. Oliver's message was strongly in favor of

1) deciding what we want
2) keeping on fighting for what we want, whatever that may be, by contacting the elected officials who stand to make decisions

Ms Oliver said our survey looked great and that other communities are doing surveys as well.

Ms Oliver answered questions about annexation to City of Decatur:

Q: How can we be talking about Decatur as an option if Decaur said they are not interested?
A: "it ain't over", do not accept defeat today

City of Decatur is likely to get commercial areas but there is an unspoken rule that commercial annexations should also include residents

We would need Representative Rahn Mayo to write legislation to propose that our neighborhood be annexed to City of Decatur. Even if the legislation is approved and a referendum is mandated, the Decatur Commission could still say no.

As to schools, Ms Oliver said that her personal opinion is that by refusing to vote on the highly supported Druid Hills Charter Cluster, DeKalb Schools have given the organizers a very good argument for approaching Atlanta. Atlanta sands to gain a new $79 million school (Fernbannk): if they get the kids, they get the school.

Q: What would happen to our neighborhood if we lose Druid Hills High School to Atlanta?
A: DeKalb Co Schools would reopen a closed middle school or high school to meet the need.

Ms Oliver offered that our neighborhood has desirable resources such as the Medlock Elementary site: is that something that City of Decatur might want for future use? What is valuable to Decatur that we have?

Ms Oliver briefly touched upon property taxes and who those might change due to annexation and she said that annexation to Atlanta or a new city would bring increases but nothing in the magnitude we can expect if we annexed to City of Decatur.

Q: What can we do to fight City of Decatur's annexation of commercial property?
A: Ms Oliver answered that this is a political rather than a legal battle. Last year, Decatur backed away based on strong arguments from commercial owners and voters.

Ms Oliver said the trend seems to be smaller government that is closer to the voter but that is also costlier in terms of property taxes. However, that because of inefficiencies within DeKalb County, it is possible that smaller local municipalities can provide the same services at a lower cost. On taxes, she said that very roughly speaking, there should not be huge changes except if annexed to Decatur. Each municipality has different senior exemptions, for example.

Regarding annexation to City of Decatur, Ms Oliver stressed that City of Decatur needs to hear from us: we need to make a financial case--what is in it for Decatur? We in the Medlock neighborhood have assets. The more folks speak out, the greater the leverage.

Q: How can we leverage the results of our survey?
A: Ms Oliver said that the key is is to be politically strategic and effective. We could put together a legal team, use the survey, make the arguments.

There were many questions from concerned seniors about how their property taxes may go up and create hardship.

Q: Why did the Briarcliff proposal team back away and allow City of Decatur to claim all this commercial property?
A: (Alan Venet answered) When the process began, the cityhood planners were given some rules. One was that they cannot draw maps that create islands. Another guideline, not a rule, was that they were advised to "politically respect reasonable annexation plans" in order to get a hearing for their plans.
Q: was Briarcliff told that they would not be heard at the legislature if they did not honor the "reasonable plan" that City of Decatur proposed?
A: THERE WAS NO CLEAR ANSWER.

Ms Oliver again stated that we have more leverage than we think.

At the end of her enjoyable back-and-forth with the audience, Ms Oliver asked for a show of hands as to how those present felt about the options available. The results (with 1 having the highest show of hands and 5 having the lowerst):

1. City of Briarcliff/Lakeside (amusingly referred to as Briarpatch throughout the meeting)
2. City of Decatur
3. moratorium/wait a year to decide what we want to become
4. City of Atlanta

There was a strong message, be the squeaky wheel. That means contacting the elected officials that represent us but also those who don't directly represent us but stand to make decisions that do affect us (e.g., City of Decatur council members, state legislators who sit in key committees such as the Government Affairs Committee). So hold the WD-40 folks, here we come!

To join Ms Oliver's e-newsletter, go here: http://marymargaretoliver.org/
To join Ms. Paren'ts e-newsletter, go here: http://www.elenaparent.com/about/

Zoning Report (from Theresa Same, MANA Zoning Chair): 
Walmart construction has begun. Moe's, hearing aid shop, Pizza Hut are staying; bowling alley not confirmed. Starbucks and LA Fitness confirmed, additional junior anchors should be announced soon. So, not too many updates since the last Medlock Matters newsletter, which you can read online. 

Reminder to complete your MANA survey

Dear neighbors,

Doodle says "Read the newsletter and complete the survey. Or you get no kisses!" :)

Just a reminder that the survey closes on Oct 28 and that we will report on preliminary data at the MANA community meeting on Oct 27. If you have questions, email medlockassoc at gmail.

Doodle is a rescued puppy who now has a MANA newsletter delivery route. Photo by Barb.

The way we were, in plaid and stripes

Ruby found a photo in the Medlock Elementary alumni group on Facebook that just has to be shared and saved for the Medlock history books. It's the 3rd Grade class at Medlock, circa February 1953.

Click to enlarge.

1953 fashion favored plaid and stripes and ruffles, and these Medlock kids wore them well. Looks like it was a nice day, with a high in the low 60's.

Now, when we look at the great 1950's aerial views of the neighborhood that Greg Germani shared in the Atlanta Time Machine (Medlock page), we can also picture the kids who lived, played and grew up in our neighborhood... back in the day when our houses were new and our trees were little.

For a list to all our posts on Medlock history, including some fun strolls down memory lane by long-time residents, click here.

Click to enlarge, see full-size image at the Atlanta Time Machine.

Clifton Corridor light rail gets a second wind

h/t Anne

The failed T-SPLOST wounded it, but did not kill it: The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that MARTA, in conjunction with the Federal Transit Authority, will launch a study to explore the Clifton Corridor light rail project.

Per the statement in the Regulations.gov website, the study will review a no-build option (no light rail) and two light-rail scenarios:

"No-Build Alternative: The No-Build Alternative includes all transportation improvement projects within the Clifton Corridor project area that are programmed in the Atlanta Regional Commission's Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) with the exception of the Clifton Corridor LRT project. The No-Build Alternative serves as a comparison baseline for the project build alternatives. 

Build Alternative 1: Build Alternative 1 is a new LRT line that was previously referred to as the LPA following the 2009 AA study and includes segments that are at-grade, tunnel, and on aerial structure. From Lindbergh MARTA station, the alignment for Build Alternative 1 would parallel the existing MARTA heavy rail transit (HRT) line to the CSX railroad corridor, then continues eastward adjacent to the CSX railroad right-of-way, then along Clifton Road, adjacent to and under the CSX railroad corridor and Clairmont Road. The alignment would then proceed along Scott Boulevard, North Decatur Road, DeKalb Industrial Way, and North Arcadia Avenue to Avondale MARTA station. 

Build Alternative 2: Build Alternative 2 is a new LRT line that includes at-grade and aerial segments only. From Lindbergh MARTA station, the alignment would parallel the existing MARTA HRT line to the CSX railroad corridor, then continues adjacent to the CSX railroad right-of-way and then along Clifton Road, N. Decatur Road, DeKalb Industrial Way, and North Arcadia Avenue and finally on to Avondale MARTA station."

Public commentary will be welcomed at two sessions, each to take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as follows:

Thursday, December 4, 2014 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church located at 1438 Sheridan Rd. NE., Atlanta, GA 30324.  

Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at the Emory University Student Activity and Academic Center (SAAC), Room 316, located at 1946 Starvine Way, Decatur, GA 30033.

We have kept an eye on this project, as a potential Suburban Plaza stop could bring light rail service closer to Medlock Park. To see our previous reports on the Clifton Corridor with an emphasis to the light rail option, click here.

POTENTIAL Suburban Plaza Station CONCEPT by MARTA (as proposed in 2012)

As illustrated in this MARTA document with visualizations for the potential Clifton Corridor light rail (pdf, circa 2012), the proposed Suburban Plaza station could deliver folks right to the steps of the gym and coffee shop that are included in the current redevelopment plan for Suburban Plaza (see below).

ACTUAL year 2014 plan for Suburban Plaza redevelopment (corner of North Decatur Road and Church Street corner) showing LA Fitness and the future Starbucks ("Shop J").