Decatur’s planning director since 2015, Angela Threadgill has been promoted to Planning and Economic Development Director, meaning that she’ll oversee the Planning and Zoning Division and the Economic Development Division. She has also been named Executive Director of the city’s Downtown Development Authority.
Earlier this month Assistant City Manager for Community & Economic Development Lynn Menne retired after 36½ years with the city. Until Threadgill Menne had been the city’s only DDA director, dating to her hiring in May 1983.
“One of things Lyn started, and that I’ll continue, is marketing and growing the Decatur brand to draw businesses to the city,” Threadgill said in a recent interview. “[Regarding] the DDA I’ll be focusing on the big picture and long-range planning for [attracting] development that supports the city’s strategic plan goals.”
In her four years Threadgill cites two projects she’s particularly proud of: helping create the Decatur Youth Council four years ago, and 2018’s year-long community-wide process of creating a master plan for Legacy Park, the former United Methodist Children’s Home.
Threadgill has worked in city planning for 15 years. After graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 1999 she worked in the planning department of her hometown Asheville, N.C., until 2004 before leaving to work for the Atlanta planning office’s urban design committee from 2004-2007.
From 2007-2010 she was a senior planner for the northeast quadrant of the city and county of San Francisco, an area covering that city’s major tourist areas including the Ferry Building, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Financial District, Market Street and Union Square.
With Threadgill’s promotion Decatur has created the new position of senior planner, recently hiring Ryan Sellers, previously the city planner for Newton, Kansas, with a population of 19,000.
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