Decatur City Commission to hold mid-year retreat, its first in-person meeting in over a year
Commissioners, pictured left to right, are: Mayor Pro Tem Tony Powers, Lesa Mayer, Kelly Walsh, Mayor Patti Garrett, and George Dusenbury. Photo obtained via the city of Decatur
Decatur, GA — The Decatur City Commission on June 17 will hold a day-long mid-year retreat from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the Decatur Conference Center, located at 130 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030. The agenda’s only items are “team building” and “governance.”
To see the agenda, click here.
It appears to be the first time the City Commission has held a retreat in the middle of the year.
“We will convene around 8:30 a.m. for a light breakfast and the meeting will start at 9 a.m.,” City Manager Andrea Arnold said. “Since the City Commission hasn’t met in person since March 2020 and the 2021 City Commission retreat was held virtually, a mid-year retreat will provide the opportunity for the team to re-connect in person. In January 2021, as in most years, the City Commission focused on developing an annual work plan. The mid-year meeting will focus on governance and applying principles of policy and administration that will help us achieve our work plan.”
Every year, the City Commission and city staff get together in January for the City Commission retreat, which is ostensibly a public meeting. It’s subject to public notice requirements under Georgia law. However, unlike every other public meeting held by the Decatur City Commission, this one is typically held two hours outside city limits in Young Harris, GA. That’s legal under the letter of Georgia law. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s annual retreat was held virtually, offering the public a rare glimpse of what is arguably the city’s most important public meeting of the year. It sets the tone and agenda for the coming year. It will be an opportunity for the public to better understand how their commissioners think and what their priorities are.
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