Decatur, GA — The Decatur City Commission will meet on Monday, Aug. 1, at 6 p.m. for a work session, followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. The regular meeting will be held in person at Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street, as well as Zoom.

The work session will be a joint meeting between the city commission and the Decatur School Board. The work session will be held in person at the Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Ave.

To access the meeting, follow these instructions:

To view the agenda, click here.

This meeting will be held in-person. Members of the public wishing to participate during either the “Public Comment” or “Requests and Petitions” portions of the meeting may attend the meeting in one of two ways:

1. Attend in-person by coming to Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough St.

2. Register in advance at https://zoom.us/j/94621826947. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You may also participate by phone by calling (929) 205-6099 and entering the meeting ID (The 11-digit number shown in the Zoom registration link.)

NOTE – This meeting will utilize virtual meeting technology. We cannot guarantee it will operate as planned. If your participation must be a matter of public record, attend the meeting in person or email your comments to City Manager Andrea Arnold at [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 1st.

Members of the public may also view the live broadcast of the Decatur City Commission meeting at https://www.decaturga.com/citycommission/page/streaming-video

During the regular meeting, the city commission will consider approving an intergovernmental agreement between the city, the Decatur School Board and the Decatur Public Facilities Authority to develop a track and field at Legacy Park, which is a recommendation in the Legacy Park Master Plan.

“Furthermore, the demand for outdoor, recreation space was heightened during the pandemic, and demand for such facilities within the city remains high,” City Manager Andrea Arnold wrote in a memo. “There currently are not enough athletic fields to meet the demands for recreational and competitive activities, and there is no running track available in the city for community or school use. The City and school system recognize this unique opportunity to partner to bring this desired facility to the community.”

If the agreement is approved, the city would commit up to $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, and the school board would contribute up to $3 million in ESPLOST funds.

Some highlights of the agreement include that the project would be joint ownership between the school board and the city, there would be a ground lease with the Public Facilities Authority, and routine maintenance of the track and field facilities would be provided by City Schools of Decatur.

Arnold recommends that the city commission approve the IGA as well as allow for the execution of the agreement within the next few weeks, and to execute the ground lease at a later date. It is anticipated that the school board will consider the agreement at its Aug. 9 meeting, and the PFA will consider the agreement later in August, Arnold wrote in the memo.

According to the Legacy Park Master Plan, a competition level track and field was one of the most requested facilities during the master planning process. The concept in the master plan has the track and field located to the east of the historic core and near the next to the conservation easement of the park.

Also on the agenda, the city commission will consider a change order to the contract with CGS Waterproofing for the replacement of the concrete floor slab in the dairy barn at Legacy Park. After cleaning and preparing the existing floor to install a two-inch topping, the contractor found there is no concrete in most areas of the building. They recommend installing a four-inch concrete slab.

The cost of the proposed change order is $18,832.50 for the additional concrete work. Upon approval, the project budget would increase to $175,000 from $160,000. The contract amount would also increase from $138,500 to $157,332.50.

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