Decatur’s commission reappointed Patti Garrett as mayor Tuesday night, her third consecutive term, while Tony Powers was named mayor pro term. Garrett just concluded her eighth year on the commission and Powers his second.
Newest commissioner, Kelly Walsh, was also sworn in during Tuesday’s regular meeting. She replaces Fred Boykin, the previous mayor pro tem, who’d served the board for 17 years before retiring in December.
Garrett has continued expanding the mayor’s role beyond the immediate community. She currently serves on the community resources board for the Atlanta Region Commission and is policy chairperson for the DeKalb Municipal Association.
But Garrett said she’s also looking at three major civic projects for 2018:
- Creating a master plan for the old United Methodist Children's Home site—the first community-input session is later this month although a date hasn't been set.
- Begin planning for rebuilding the Atlanta Avenue intersection from Howard Avenue across the railroad tracks to College Avenue. Anticipated costs are $5 million to be paid with SPLOST proceeds. This would be the last major transportation improvement project listed on the 2007 community transportation plan.
- Begin the 2018 community transportation plan.
Decatur is the only Atlanta-area municipality that doesn’t popularly elect its mayor, instead appointing the position annually from among its five-person commission. This has been the practice since Decatur adopted the council-manager form of government in 1924.
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