By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The lack of storage space is a growing concern within the city administration of Decatur.
As the city continues to grow, that translates into a need for more equipment, more of many things. But Decatur has outgrown its storage space.
There is simply no space left. “We don’t have any, none,” city Operations Manager Jeremy Gilbert said after a recent city council meeting. “We’re parking a lot of stuff (including expensive equipment) outside.”
Accentuating the need is the realization that some of the current storage space is going to go away in the next year.
Gilbert told city council that it was in March of 2022 that the city closed on its Grant St. property (see photo), which houses the water and parks departments.
The property was purchased by the Adams County Regional Sewer District which, at the time, granted the city two years to vacate the structure. Now, it’s less than a year before the March 1, 2024 deadline.
“I don’t think they would (throw us out next March), but they certainly would be within their rights to do so,” City Attorney Anne Razo said at the meeting.
The quonset hut building on the property was vacated some time ago.
Gilbert told council he would like “a little direction” as to how a new building would be paid for. Would it, for instance, be placed in the budget for 2024? And under which department?
A new building would be used by all departments.
Gilbert said that in 2022 he worked on estimates on the costs of a new building, the size of which would be needed by the city. At that time, the estimated cost was pegged at $440,000; he now has updated cost estimates.
No decisions were made, but it’s an issue that surely will return soon.
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