Decatur, GA — The Legacy Decatur board, at its Jan. 25 meeting, approved leases for four nonprofits that are located at Legacy Park.

Legacy Decatur is the organization that oversees Legacy Park, which was formerly the United Methodist Children’s Home. Legacy Park is located on South Columbia Drive in Decatur.

The board approved leases in the administration building for L’Arche Atlanta, Global Growers Network, the Decatur Book Festival, and Decatur Education Foundation.

“All nonprofit organizations are a great benefit to the Legacy Park community and have been responsible and courteous tenants,” the meeting agenda states. “The leases for L’Arche Atlanta, Global Growers Network, and Decatur Education Foundation have three-year terms while the Decatur Book Festival will have a one-year term as they evaluate their needs as an organization.”

Executive Director Madeleine Henner gave an update on other leases that are in the works as well. In September, Legacy Decatur had discussed leasing space to Trellis Horticultural Therapy, but that has shifted to a land use agreement. Henner said the agreement still has to be finalized.

Trellis Horticulture Therapy Alliance and Decatur resident Carson Williford have been working with the Wylde Center to create a community garden space at Legacy Park. The garden would be on the north side of Nickerson Cottage, which is the stone cottage that faces the front lawn.

Trellis Horticulture Therapy Alliance is a nonprofit that offers garden therapy for people who are living with cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental illness. Trellis currently operates at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.

Paint Love currently rents space in Hyatt Cottage and has expressed interest in moving to a bigger space at Sambell Cottage. The board may consider that lease in March.

In other business:

– The board authorized the executive committee to review Legacy Decatur’s bylaws.

The bylaws were adopted on Jan. 27, 2020 and amended on July 20, 2020.

“Also, discussed at our Dec. 7 board retreat that as we continue to grow and have more need for board members as we move into fundraising, which we really haven’t done before, and some other pieces of the park activation, that only having 11 board members requires all of you to be already pretty heavily involved and on multiple committees. It was discussed at our board retreat that our executive committee review the bylaws,” Henner said.

The committee would only review the bylaws and any recommendations will be brought to the board of directors.

– The board also authorized the Master Plan Committee to approve office space within the administration building and storage leases.

“Even though our external offices are nearly full, we have gotten some feedback that our process, especially for an individual office, is slow,” Henner said. “For these individual office spaces in the administration building, as well as storage leases…staff recommends that the master plan committee be authorized to review the evaluation form that the nonprofit would send in to ensure that the nonprofit does meet our master plan goals and be able to approve a lease within the master plan committee.”

– Henner also told the board that the Wylde Center will be hosting its annual plant sale at Legacy Park this year. The sale usually takes place at Oakhurst Garden, but the Wylde Center is doing some construction at the garden. The plant sale will be held on April 13.

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