Avondale Estates, GA — The Avondale Estates City Commission will meet on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 5:30 p.m. for a regular meeting immediately followed by a work session. The City Commission meetings are held in person at City Hall, 21 N. Avondale Plaza.

Anyone wishing to make a public comment must do so in person, Mayor Jonathan Elmore has said at previous meetings.

To view the meeting agendas, click here.

The city will consider a funding request from Welcoming Avondale for Placita Latina 2021, a celebration of Latin heritage that has four events planned over a month, beginning Sept. 15 and ending Oct. 15.

The organizers have requested $5,000 and the Avondale Estates Downtown Development Authority has approved $3,000 and the organizers are seeking an additional $2,000 from the city.

The event was created by former Avondale Estates Commissioner Adela Yelton and Mayte “Maria” Peck, president of SheLends Consulting and principal managing partner at Mark of the Potter. The planning committee is also made up of several Hispanic residents of Decatur and Avondale.

The festival will be a series of events during Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to create awareness while promoting a positive narrative of Latinx people and their contributions to society. The events will engage and promote local businesses in the celebration of Hispanic/Latinx culture, according to the agenda packet.

Events would include a coffee tasting event with live music in partnership with Banjo Coffee in Avondale Estates. Another potential event is maker market with music and performances at the Lost Druid.

Events in Decatur would feature salsa on the Square and an emerging Latinx artist showcase, in partnership with the Decatur Arts Alliance.

During the work session, the City Commission will discuss the North Woods project and options for moving the project toward construction.

The North Woods is an area by Lake Avondale is planned to get some much-needed improvements.

“This is an area, a wooded area near the lake and the Community Club,” Assistant City Manager Shannon Powell said during a project presentation in March. “It has the potential to be an amazing pathway and recreational area, but due to rainwater and stormwater runoff [it] has very hazardous conditions right now that are jeopardizing some of the trees within the area.”

The city is working with Long Engineering and Lord Aeck Sargent on the schematic design process and understanding how to capture and treat rainwater.

The North Woods project dates back to 2008 when the city created the Lake Avondale Master Plan which included a subsequent North Woods rain garden concept plan to mitigate erosion, said Marco Ancheita of Lord Aeck Sargent, at the March meeting.

The project aims to build on the master plan, take a green infrastructure approach and create an outdoor recreation area with accessible trails.

Also, on the work session agenda, the City Commission will discuss adopting a more nuanced policy for addressing stormwater needs in places where public infrastructure meetings private infrastructure. The change would likely increase maintenance costs and reduce liability for the city, according to the agenda packet.

The board will additionally discuss traffic-calming to address traffic flow and patterns in the residential area. The City Commission will adjourn to executive session to discuss real estate toward the end of the meeting.

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