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Decatur City Commission to consider downtown security agreement with DDA

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Decatur City Commission to consider downtown security agreement with DDA

Decatur City Hall. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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Decatur, GA — The Decatur City Commission will meet on Monday, April 17, for its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a dinner session at 5:30 p.m. and a work session at 6 p.m. The meetings will be held in person at Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street, and virtually via Zoom.

The work session will focus on the city’s climate resilience plan. During the regular meeting, the city commission will consider approving a memorandum of understanding with the Decatur Downtown Development Authority to hire police officers to provide supplemental security and law enforcement services within downtown Decatur. 

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/93879776524. 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 a[email protected] by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 17th.

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

The DDA approved the memorandum of understanding at its meeting on Friday, April 14. If the city commission approves the MOU, the program will begin on Tuesday, April 18.

“Due to staffing shortages in the Decatur Police Department, the city is not able to adequately meet the need for police officers in the downtown business district at this time,” Assistant City Manager Teresa de Castro wrote in a memo. “This program will provide security and patrol services in the downtown business district during peak hours.”

Officers would be on patrol on foot from 5:30 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays and Fridays, and from 4 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays and Sundays. Some of the duties and responsibilities of the officers would include monitoring radio traffic, responding to calls for service, and engaging “in self-initiated activity, which includes addressing ordinances and laws related to smoking in public places, loitering, littering, urban camping, aggressive panhandling, drugs and improper disposal of waste,” the memo states.

The city commission will also consider amending an MOU with the Decatur Arts Alliance to support the public art program at Sam’s Village Crossing, the mixed-use development anchored by Publix on East Ponce de Leon Avenue. The amendment would extend the timeframe for installing the three art sculptures from June 30 to Dec. 31, Planning and Economic Development Director Angela Threadgill wrote in a memo.

The developer contributed $250,000 to the public art program for the project and granted the city a license agreement for at least five years to install and maintain public art on the site.

“Taking into consideration the timeline for public art program development, a call for artists and evaluation of submittals, selection, site preparation, fabrication and installation of public art, the Decatur Arts Alliance requests additional time to achieve the expected quality of a successful public art program,” Threadgill said. “Therefore, the request is to extend the install by date to no later than December 31, 2023. All remaining terms and conditions of the MOU would remain of full force and effect.”

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