Merriss not worried about Decatur getting too big

Many residents attending Monday’s public session on Decatur’s “Draft Annexation Master Plan” expressed concern over the city’s projected growth of 7,310.

“I don’t worry that a city of 20,000 today will go to 30,000 in 10 years,” saidBut Peggy Merriss, city manager for 21 years.

She added that her definition for overgrowth is less about population figures and more about continuing “the same level of services, the hands-on, high-end personal interaction that we’ve always provided. As long as we can do that, then we’re not too big.”