Welcome back! Below you will find updates that have taken place over the past few weeks in Decatur, Alabama. You will also learn about upcoming opportunities. Thank you to our city leaders and their contributions.
Decatur Police Department – Contributor, Rocket City Now
All it takes is one look in her office to see School Resource Officer Heather Atchley is loved and appreciated by the students at Oak Park Middle School.
"They come to
me," she says. "They hug me. They can't wait to see me. They come in
my office to hunt me down to tell me hey, have a good day. It's awesome."
Oak Park teacher Anya
Davis adds, "She loves kids. She has a passion for what she does."
Officer Atchley says it’s
all about relationships. Principal Wes Black says, "she has an amazing
impact with our students. She gets to know each and every one of them."… Read
Article and Watch Video
Our Revenue, Finance and Purchasing departments enjoyed "go live" Monday, April 3rd as we transitioned to Tyler Munis software. The transition impacted all City of Decatur departments, specifically Purchase Order approvals. Many thanks to the cooperative spirit that was seen throughout our city government. I know our Purchasing team is cross-eyed from looking at their computer screens as they have re-enter outstanding Purchase Orders. Finally, a special thanks to our Information Services team for their leadership during the ongoing transition.
Legal Department – Contributor, Herman Marks, City Attorney
Lunch 4
Leaders with Chip Alexander
Register Now!
Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
Register Now!
Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
Take one hour to invest in yourself!
Speaker
Chip Alexander
Assistant City Attorney
Assistant City Attorney
Decatur, Alabama
Lifelong resident of
Decatur, Graduate of Austin High School (1983) University of Alabama (1987) and
University of Alabama School of Law (1990), Assistant City Attorney for Decatur
since 2010, Municipal Court Judge in Trinity since 2000 and Falkville since
2011, Adjunct Instructor in Criminal Justice at Calhoun since 2014, Former
Assistant District Attorney for Morgan County (1990-1995), Former Prosecutor
for Decatur (1997-2010), Private practice in Decatur (1995-2000), Married to
Susan, four children (Will, 24; Lindsey, 24; Chris, 22; Katie, 21)
Member of Parkview Baptist Church in Decatur where he
is the Adult Sunday School Director and, with Susan, the teacher of the Empty
Nesters Sunday School Class.
Community Development – Contributor, Wally Terry, Community Development Director
 |
| Allen Stover, David Lee and Wally Terry |
The building and planning departments have been active with
projects this week that hold promise for our cities future growth. The Publix
project is moving forward with the initial site preparation work for the eventual
construction of phase 1 of the project which is Publix. In addition we have
received approval from ALDOT for the realignment of Indian Hills Road to move
forward. This will entail the bidding of the project including signals and
council approval of the contractor. This process can take up to three months
before any work would start due to legal notices that must be satisfied. The
Publix project involves no incentive money and includes the developer improving
Indian Hills Road along the development site as well as all construction
entrances along Highway 67. There will also be an entrance and exit off of
Upper River Road into the site that should limit traffic on Indian Hills Road
created by the project. Indian Hills Road also is not approved to be used as a
truck route and all deliveries shall be made from Highway 67. There currently
are no tenants announced other than Publix for this site.
In addition, we are currently actively working two new
projects that if Decatur is chosen will be warmly welcomed by many for they
both would bring to our market. The product they would provide while currently
being provided would be a welcome addition to the new market that exists for
retailing in general. The outcome of these may be six months out but we will be
working hard to secure them. You need to know that while we sleep many
companies interested in our market are analyzing our activities. The soccer
tournament recently in the paper was quickly forwarded to one of the two new
projects as an indication of what tourism can bring to them that may not be
evident in our demographic and psycho-graphic analysis. This is a very
competitive market today and it will take
all of us working together as OneDecatur to be all we can be. I had one project recently familiar with OneDecatur project comment on the progressiveness of a community that would engage a 40 member steering committee and really listen to what a community desires in its planning process.
We have another project that has been delayed and should
begin within the next month or so which is the Mapco on corner of Beltline and
Old Moulton Road. This project and one other of their projects in the area was
slowed due to the sale of their company last year.
The sale has been completed and they are moving forward with new energy. Also in this area the Residence Inn is moving forward after the owners experienced an unexpected delay. This should be a really great addition for those needing an extended stay experience along with the new Holiday Inn Express which is doing well in their new building. This area will continue to grow as traffic counts and housing needs expand along this busy corridor. The Hilton Home2 Suites at Ingalls Harbor on Wilson Street is nearing completion along with a new entrance that the city is upgrading that should make for a safer entrance into Ingalls. In addition, we will have a new sign that will incorporate Ingalls Pavilion, the Hotel and Brickyard Landing Marina.
Grants – Contributor,
Allen Stover, Grant Administration
The Seville project continues to move forward. We now have 3
three homes built and have just signed the contract with the second applicant
so as of the end of this month we will have two homes occupied. The CBDO is in
the process of selecting a contractor for the construction of the forth home.
All of these homes we made possible in most part because of
your CDBG grant. We need anyone who would be willing to contact their
Congressman and Senator both State and Federal asking them to support the
continued funding of this grant as it has been very beneficial to the City
of Decatur over the past 25 years.
Planning Department – Contributor, Karen Smith, Planner
OneDecatur is an effort to create a new
city-wide plan for Decatur that reflects community values and
aspirations. The process will identify critical needs, define a long-term
vision and goals for a range of topics, and identify strategies to achieve the
vision. The new plan will serve as a guide to making all of Decatur more
prosperous in the future.
We have held two rounds of public workshops
the Listening and Learning workshops November 1, 2 and 3 and the Summit on the
Future April 4. All of these meeting were very well attended.
Decatur is fortunate to have an engaged and concerned population. The
next phase will be the Choices open house where the draft plan will be unveiled
and additional feedback will be requested. This should be in the early
fall.
Public input is very
important to making the plan a living document that our community
supports. You can still comment from the OneDecatur website.
Point Mallard Park – Contributor, Stephanie McLain, Group Sales Coordinator
Point Mallard Season Pass Attack was a huge success. This year was a record breaking year with over $500,000 sold in passes.
Decatur Water Park looking for summer employees – Contributor, Sydney Martin smartin@waaytv.com
With
summer vacation right around the corner, one attraction in Decatur is
desperately looking for seasonal employees. Point Mallard employees worked to
clean, paint and get the water park ready for summer. They told WAAY 31 they
normally hire about 500 employees for the summer, but they haven't had as many
applicants this year…Read
Article and Watch Video
Turner-Surles Community Center – Contributor, Kellie Sims, Complex Supervisor
I have a new class starting at Turner Surles
next week and hoped that you might mention it on your blog. Join us next week for
the NEW Zumba Gold class that will be held every 2nd and 4th
Tuesday per month from 9:30 – 10:15am. It is free of charge and is taught at a
pace for every senior to enjoy. This is a class that can be done standing or
from a chair. It is tons of fun for everyone!!!!
