Meeting Notes

by Paul Huggins, Staff Writer, The Decatur Daily

Decatur-Morgan County Convention and Visitors Bureau
The Decatur-Morgan County Convention and Visitors Bureau conducted the following business Thursday:
Reported it had a net income of $12,514 in May and a net loss of $34,722 for the eight months of the current fiscal year.
Reported the city received $69,447 in lodging taxes in March, down 29 percent from the same month in 2008 (one hotel had not made its payment yet). Lodging taxes are down 10 percent for the year.
Reported the $2-per-night occupancy tax collected $36,341 in March, down 15.9 percent from the same month in 2008.
Reported room occupancy rates for all Decatur hotels was 44 percent in March, down from 60 percent in March 2008.
Announced it will make an audio guide to Decatur’s Civil War Walking Trail, “A Hard Nut to Crack,” available for MP3 downloads by the end of the month, and is looking at making CDs available for the Historic Decatur Tour, to be played in vehicles.
Reported that People magazine had a small feature on and recipe from Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q in its June edition.

NAIA wants Decatur for soccer tourney, but press box a must

By Paul Huggins, Staff Writer, The Decatur Daily

Decatur recreation and tourism officials in May warned that the city needs to enhance the Jack Allen Soccer Complex with a press box to lure future tournaments.
They now can couple that warning with a letter from the NAIA men’s soccer championship.
It would like to play in Decatur in 2010 and 2011, but not without a press box, said Tami Reist, president of the Decatur-Morgan County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Decatur Parks and Recreation estimates the press box would cost $150,000.
The men’s championship should generate a $1 million economic impact for both years, Reist said, so it looks like the tournament would pay for the press box.
The city has plans to spend $250,000 for parking/drainage enhancements at Ingalls Harbor this year.
Press box or parking?
That money would come from revenues generated by hotels’ $2-per-night room occupancy tax.
Some bureau board members said the press box should take priority over parking at Ingalls.
They noted the city wouldn’t need the press box in place until November 2010.
Reist said the NAIA needs confirmation by Aug. 3 that the city will commit to building a press box.

Beautification winners

by Amanda Irle, Staff Writer, The Decatur Daily

The Decatur Landscape and Beautification Department gave beautification awards Wednesday to 81 properties in the city, 16 more properties than last year. The recipients in various categories are:

Commercial, less than two acres: Burchfield Place; Cook’s Pest Control; Decatur Convention and Visitors Bureau; The Decatur Daily; deLoain New York Salon and Spa; Express Oil Change; Hospice of the Valley; Innovative Eyecare LLC; Lentz, Whitmire, House & Propst LLP; Drake & Murphree Family & Cosmetic Dentistry; Nephrology of North Alabama PC; North Alabama Industrial Development Board; Braswell, Pella Bella ‘410 Plaza’; Potter Eyecare; Ronald Terry Electric; Shelton Funeral Home; Talley, Mauldin & Peete PC; Temple Inc; AT&T; Cricket by the Creek; Progress Tower; French Door Day Spa; Surgery Center of Decatur.

Commercial, more than two acres: City View Estates; Decatur General Hospital; Deer Foot Estates; Greystone Properties of Decatur LLC; Longview Plaza; Parkside Plaza; Parkway Medical Center; Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.
Churches: Central Park Baptist Church; Central United Methodist Church; Decatur Baptist Church; Decatur Christian Fellowship; First Baptist Church; First United Methodist Church; King’s Memorial United Methodist Church; Parkview Baptist Church; Somerville Road Church of Christ; Southside Baptist Church; St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Container Beauty: Blackburn, Maloney & Schuppert LLC; Baron’s; Changes Salon; Chel’den’s Gift Emporium; Elite Travel; J. Ross the Florist; The Paper Chase; Sykes Place on Bank.

Financial: Raymond James Financial Services; Bank Independent; CB&S Bank; Family Security Credit Union; Peoples Bank; Peoples Bank of North Alabama; Redstone Federal Credit Union; Regions Bank; Renasant Bank.

Government: Decatur City Hall; Fort Decatur Recreational Center; MCATS; Morgan County Commission on Aging; Morgan County Courthouse; The Old State Bank; Rose Garden at Delano Park; Turner-Surles Community Center.

Apartments/hotels: Granada Apartments; Home-Towne Suites; Jordan-Neill Apartments; Microtel Inn & Suites.

Restaurants and clubs: Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar; Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q (Danville Road Southwest); Burger King (Sixth Avenue Southeast and Beltline Road Southwest); Chick-fil-A; Chili’s Grill and Bar LLC; Hardee’s (Sixth Avenue Southeast); McDonald’s (Sixth Avenue Southeast and Danville Road Southwest); Red Lobster; Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburger’s.