Update: The Decatur City Commission on March 2 approved the agenda items mentioned in this article. Here is our earlier story … 

Decatur, GA – The Decatur City Commission at its March 2 regular meeting will consider a small increase in the fee charged to residents for garbage and recycling collection.

City staff is recommending the fee increase by $10, to $300 per single-family residential unit.

The City Commission will meet on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, located at 509 North McDonough Street. All meetings are open to the public. To view the live stream, click here.

In a memo about the fee increase, Sanitation Services Superintendent Sean Woodson said, “The fee recommendation accounts for actual costs, budget trends, economic inflation and the continued volatility in the recycling industry.”

Decatur is now charged a “tipping fee” for its recyclables, Woodson said.

“The city of Decatur recycling program currently includes paper, plastics #1-7, glass, and metal,” Woodson said. “Currently, material recovery facilities are accepting commingled recyclables that include plastics #1-7. In previous years we were not charged a disposal fee for these materials, however with the challenging recycling market, contamination issues and processing costs, the material recovery facility currently processing the City of Decatur recyclables has indicated they will be implementing a $60 per ton tipping fee to accept our materials. Currently, the City of Decatur is hauling approximately 160 tons of comingled recyclables per month. This tipping fee will increase our annual expenditures by $120,000.”

To see Woodson’s full memo about Decatur sanitation services, click here.

In other business, commissioners will consider an alcoholic beverage license for Paolino in Oakhurst. Three years ago, a local pasta shop – Saba – departed from its spot on Mead Road in Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood. Saba had been in Oakhurst for eight years, but owner Shane Mixon decided to focus on Emory Village instead. But now Mixon will be bringing the restaurant back to Oakhurst and renaming it Paolino. He said it will be the “same menu but more focused on the Italian side and we will have a gelato and dessert shop as part of the restaurant.”

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