Decatur’s city commission has authorized that a six-year-old non-profit, Decatur Legacy Project, Inc. will manage the day-to-day operations of Decatur Legacy Park, the former United Methodist Children’s Home property. The 77-acre site was purchased (in 2017) by and subsequently annexed into Decatur, with a master plan, or broad-based rough draft for the area, completed in December 2018.
The master plan identifies a variety of possibilities for the property including affordable housing, a track and field complex, green space, an artists’ village, nature trails and cross-country course, among others. The 22 acres in the rear or eastern portion, which includes a small lake, is remaining mostly untouched.
The DLP’S basic charge: 1) manage the day-to-day operations of the property including maintenance and repairs and administrative support of tenants; 2) coordinating the master plan and making recommendations for specific projects in the plan; and 3) ensuring the financial viability of park operations including the development of reliable revenue streams, identification of grant and foundation funding, and budgeting oversight.
The DLP currently includes seven members—Mayor Patti Garrett, Mayor Pro Tem Tony Powers, City Manager Andrea Arnold, one city manager appointee and three community members—but eventually two more community members will get added.
Arnold pointed out the DLP is similar to the Piedmont Park Conservancy, a non-profit that manages improvements, maintenance and security for the Atlanta-owned park.
“The city is not just turning over [Legacy Park] to a board,” Arnold said. “The city commission will provide oversight and will make the final significant decisions.”
The DLP was actually created in 2014, long before the United Methodist Children’s Home was put up for sale. The board’s original charge was to plan Decatur’s 2023 bicentennial—the city was chartered December 10, 1823. Arnold said this week the city is still planning a 2023 celebration, for which the DLP is still in charge of “developing a vision.”
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