Looking ahead sparks Decatur discussion
By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Does the city of Decatur wish to not only reinstate its facade program, but extend it to the residential area?
Does the city want to place term limits on its various appointed board?
Can anything be done about some nasty graffiti a home owner has placed on a building he owns?
Those were some topics tossed out for discussion at the July 5 meeting of city council. They mainly came up as city officials, halfway through 2023, begin looking ahead to the budget process.
No decisions were made; only discussion was involved.
The city has been annually putting $50,000 into the popular facade program, but suspended it this year in the face of a money crunch due to having to fork over a match to the state for the Five Points renovation.
The facade program offers matching dollars for local businesses wishing to improve their facades, such as was done at Vinnie’s downtown a couple of years ago (see photo). There is a good chance the program will return for 2024.
Mayor Dan Rickord has been talking for some time about adding a residential component to the program and that possibility was discussed. The amount talked about was much smaller than the facade output.
Councilman Wylie Sirk brought up the term limits subject, having read about Fort Wayne City Council’s recent adoption of limits on various appointments.
“There may be some value in thinking about that,” Sirk said. “We want a variety of people over time. I would just like to present that idea to see if we might want to do that.”
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Councilman Craig Coshow added. He noted that term limits could help to eliminate burnout and/or complacency.
Councilman Matt Dyer raised the matter of certain graffiti, referring to some spray-painted on one of the buildings at south 11th and 12th streets which have come under code enforcement scrutiny of late.
City Attorney Anne Razo and Mayor Rickord noted how difficult it can be to force any change, given free speech laws, especially if the building owner put it there.
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