Category: Departments

Director of Student Services with the Decatur Public Schools and Associate Pastor of Discipleship at Maranatha Church, Lawrence Trimble will serve as the guest speaker for this year’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon to be held at noon Saturday January 13^th at the Decatur Club, located at 158 W. Prairie Ave.

The theme for this year’s event is “50 Years Later – What is Your Dream?” with the lunch and annual freedom march scheduled for what will be the 32^nd annual weekend of events in Decatur in honor of the slain civil rights leader. Tickets for the luncheon are $35 and are now available in the Human Resources Office of the City of Decatur, located on the 2^nd floor of the Decatur Civic Center. Individuals or organizations can also purchase tables of 10 for $350.

Tickets will be issued on a first come first served basis and will not be sold at the door on the day of the luncheon.

For the past 14 years, Lawrence Trimble has been an active part of his community by helping organize youth/community events, volunteering in youth organizations, facilitating discussions on reducing truancy drop-out rates, organizing community meetings and being a community facilitator of conversation on race and racial taboo (moving beyond biases to mend racial relationships). Additionally, Lawrence serves on community boards and helps organizations reach their goals. Recently, he has been fortunate to facilitate discussions and training sessions on the impact trauma and negative experiences have on children’s ability to learn. As an engaged individual, the main idea he seeks to impart is for individuals and organizations to understand that forward mobility is tangible with the appropriate resources available.

Lawrence has also been part of symposiums on race at the University of Illinois, Springfield, beginning the conversation on how to reconcile racial divides in our nation; as well as a featured speaker for many different organizations.

To his credit, he is the author of three books. His blogs and writings have been featured on different national publications. Lawrence lives by the motto, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” understanding that if we engulf all of our mental capabilities in all we do, the possibilities are endless.

This year’s annual Freedom March is set to begin at noon on Monday, January 15 and will begin at one location –  the Decatur Civic Center located at 1 Gary K. Anderson Plaza in Decatur. All marchers will begin at the civic center and will proceed north to the Church of the Living God Temple #1 at 1915 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

The annual King weekend events are led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Steering Committee, a subcommittee of the Decatur Human Relations Commission. Contact the City’s Human Resources Department at 217-424-2805 for more information.

Developer GMX Real Estate Group recently held a public meeting to discuss plans to develop a new retail and commercial site at the intersection of Ash Avenue and U.S. 51. In the attached document, the company has addressed many of the concerns raised. One of the most popular questions has been related to what companies would be located in the site. According to GMX, the proposed redevelopment would include a family friendly mix of national and regional restaurant, retail and service-related users typically found in “first-class” shopping centers. Chipotle Mexican Grill has corporately approved the site and would serve as the anchor for the project if the rezoning is approved.

The company’s request to rezone parcels to facilitate the development is set to be heard by the Decatur Plan Commission at 3 p.m Thursday, December 7th at the Decatur Civic Center.

Click Here to Download GMX Real Estate Group’s response to resident questions about the proposed Development at Ash Ave. and U.S. 51.opens PDF file

The City of Decatur will participate in a statewide Illinois Bicentennial Flag Raising Ceremony to help kick off the state’s yearlong celebration of its 200^th birthday on Monday, December 4^th at noon in front of the flag poles at the Decatur Civic Center.  This event is part of a statewide opportunity coordinated at the direction of Governor Bruce Rauner who stated,   “The Bicentennial is a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to fall in love with Illinois all over again.  It is an opportunity to celebrate all that has been great in our first 200 years and lay the foundation for 200 more years of growth and prosperity”.

As part of this celebration, Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe will be present to read a proclamation followed by the raising of the Bicentennial Flag of Illinois by the Macon County Honor Guard.

Contact Billy Tyus at 217-424-2801 for more information.

The City of Decatur has extended the deadline for residents to sign up to be a part of its community revitalization initiative until Monday, October 23 in response to public requests to do so.

As part of the initiative, individual committees will be created based on neighborhood-related areas of focus collected from the public and ultimately decided by the Decatur City Council. The groups will meet at least 3 times before the end of the year with facilitators to gather input and provide the framework for a formal neighborhood plan to be introduced in early 2018. Individual focus areas will be determined once the sign-up period has closed, however, residents will still be able to provide input after that date even if they don’t participate on a committee.

People interested in serving on a committee can visit www.decaturil.gov and click the sign-up link at the top of the page or call 217-424-2801 and provide us with their information. Residents who don’t want to serve on a committee can also use the link or call the city to give feedback on what they would like to see happen to improve Decatur’s community.

Contact Billy Tyus at 217-424-2801 for more information.

 

Lake Decatur dock owners are advised to check and adjust their docks and boat hoists as necessary due to the lake level gradually decreasing as a result of below normal rainfall.

Lake Decatur’s water elevation is 613.1 feet above mean sea level, which is 1.4 feet below the full summer elevation of 614.5.  The current lake level is normal for years that are drier than average.  It will continue to slowly decline until a significant amount of rain is experienced this fall.  The City is not concerned about the quantity of water in Lake Decatur as it is currently 83% full.

Property owners adjacent to the lake are encouraged to take advantage of the low water level to remove debris from their shoreline area if it is safe to do so.

Contact Joe Nihiser, Lake Maintenance Supervisor at 424-2837 or Water Production Manager Keith Alexander at 424-2863 for more information.

 

The City of Decatur is now offering Electronic Billing for your Municipal Utilities bill.  This new convenience allows you the option of receiving your bill via e-mail instead of receiving a paper bill through the mail.  Each month you’ll receive an e-mail letting you know your Municipal Utilities Bill is attached and ready to view.  Your paperless bill will be identical to the paper bill you’re currently receiving.

To sign-up you can visit www.decaturil.gov/ebill

If you would like to sign-up in person, please visit Utility Customer Service inside the Decatur Civic Center located at 1 Gary K. Anderson Plaza between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information click on link: ebill_flyeropens PDF file

For more information regarding Electronic Billing please contact Utility Customer Service at 217-424-2841.

 

The Decatur City Council on Monday approved agreements that members hope will strengthen future funding requests for Brush College Road corridor improvements, part of a region where significant travel and access barriers hamper current travel and future growth possibilities.

Members approved an agreement with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly to perform land acquisition services for the project and authorized a second agreement with the State of Illinois to use Illinois Jobs Now grant funds to help pay for the acquisition costs. The Brush College Road project is made up of multiple phases with the acquisition work approved on Monday associated with planned construction of a Fairies Parkway and Norfolk Southern Railroad overpass and interchange.

In April 2016, the City applied for $20 million in funding through the federal TIGER VII Grant program to design and build the Brush College Road/Faries Parkway Grade Separation and Improvement Project. Upon learning that its application was not selected, the City asked for feedback to learn how to improve funding applications going forward. The most significant short-coming listed was that the City was not far enough along on the project and representatives were advised that one of the ways to move forward was through acquisition of needed right away.

Contact Billy Tyus at 217-424-2727 for more information.

On Tuesday, August 1^st, the City of Decatur is inviting all residents to join us for the 34^th Annual National Night Out (NNO) crime and drug prevention event at HESS PARK from 5-8 pm.

As part of the event, local officials will participate in a fund raiser for the Coalition of Neighborhood Organizations.

A dunk tank event will take place throughout the evening where residents and children will have the opportunity to “dunk” some of our favorite community leaders.

5:30-5:45 pm — Jay Scott, Macon County States Attorney

6:00-6:15 pm — Chief Jeff Abbott, Decatur Fire Department

6:30-6:45 pm — Lt. Antonio Brown, NNO Committee/Macon Co. Sheriff’s office

7:00-7:15 pm — Chief Jim Getz, Decatur Police Department

7:30-7:45 pm — Deputy City Manager, Billy Tyus

Tickets can be purchased for kids 12 and under, 2 balls for $1, while adults can purchase 6 balls for $5.

All proceeds go to the Coalition of Neighborhood Organizations for future neighborhood activities and events.

The NNO campaign involves local government officials, not-for-profit organizations, citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses and neighborhood organizations. Over 16,000 cities around the U.S. will host block parties, cookouts, parades, flashlight walks, contests, and youth activities.  In all, over 38.3 million people are expected to participate in “America’s Night Out against Crime”.

For more information contact Richelle D. Irons at 424-2864.

 

The City of Decatur in conjunction with other community partners will hold its first Economic Development Forum from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, July 27 in the City Council Chamber of the Decatur Civic Center.

The forum is being held to discuss current economic development activities and opportunities within the Decatur community, to provide information related to job training possibilities and employer needs and to address community questions about local economic development. The goal is to provide a broad overview of the local development process and the state of our local economy and to give residents information about resources that are available to help persons seeking employment.

The Decatur Civic Center is located at 1 Gary K. Anderson Plaza. Contact Billy Tyus at 217-424-2727 for more information.