Decatur, GA — The Decatur City Commission will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 6, for two work sessions beginning at 6 p.m., followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. The meetings will be held in person at Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street, as well as Zoom.

The first work session, at 6 p.m., will focus on a community survey. The second work session begins at 6:45 p.m. and the commissioners will discuss technology updates.

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/92799041354. 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 Tuesday, September 6th.

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 a project budget of $200,000 and awarding a contract to AECOM in the amount of $171,180 to investigate and recommend operational and safety improvements for all modes of transportation at the intersection of North Decatur Road and Superior Avenue and along the 0.3 mile section of North Decatur Road that’s within the city limits of Decatur.

“AECOM’s scope for re-visioning North Decatur Road includes project management and oversight, a traffic study of existing conditions and future traffic estimates, community engagement, including open houses/workshops, development of alternative concepts and cost estimates, and the final design recommendation,” Decatur Senior Engineer Cara Scharer wrote in a memo. “Approximately 5,000 linear feet of the study area is in unincorporated DeKalb County, a key stakeholder in the success of this project.”

The city anticipates the concept phase, which includes stakeholder, public and community involvement, to last eight months.

Also on the agenda, the city commission will consider issuing revenue bonds by the Decatur Housing Authority for the acquisition, rehabilitation and operation of Philips Tower and Calvin Court.

Philips Tower is located at 218 E. Trinity Place, and the multifamily housing bonds would be for $35 million. Philips Tower was built in 1971 and has 219 one-bedroom units. About 30 units may be converted to project based vouchers.

Calvin Court is located at 479 E. Paces Ferry Road NE in Atlanta, and the multifamily housing bonds would be for $35 million. The property was built in 1970 and is made up of 116 efficiency units and 121 one-bedroom units. Ninety-two units are under a HAP Section 8 contract, and the remaining 145 units can be converted to project based vouchers. About 130 units are expected to be eligible for the new project-based vouchers.

Hallmark Development Partners and SCG Development Partners plan to renovate the property, including interior unit repairs and replacements, exterior work, and repairs and replacements in common areas. The developers have a preliminary budget of about $57 million for Philips Tower and about $60 million for Calvin Court, according to memos from DHA Executive Director Doug Faust.

The developers plan to apply for low income housing tax credits for both projects. They will also utilize debt financing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the acquisition, renovation and continued operation of the properties.

Additionally, the city commission will consider awarding $438,100 in grant funding from the tax allocation district No. 1 to the Decatur Housing Authority for the Decatur East Phase II project. The city commission previously allocated the grant funding to Columbia Residential to cover infrastructure costs for the senior affordable housing project.

The grant was conditioned upon an award of low income housing tax credits, City Manager Andrea Arnold wrote in a memo.

The project team of Columbia Residential and DHA was awarded an allocation of 9% low income housing tax credits from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

“Due to the structure of a standard Low Income Housing Tax Credit transaction and the tax consequences that structuring the grant directly to Decatur East Phase II, LP ill create, effectively lowering the net grant award, we respectfully request that the City amend the grant award and change the recipient to the Housing Authority of the City of Decatur, Georgia (DHA),” said Jim Grauley, CEO of Columbia Residential, in a memo.

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