Historic Preservation Commission re-approves minutes, moves to resend preservation letter to mayor and council

The Decatur City Historic Preservation Commission met Dec. 9, 2025, approved minutes from its September meeting and agreed to resend a preservation letter to the mayor and city council concerning the Old State Bank.

During board briefing, Speaker 2 reported that "a letter was sent out to council, after the September meeting" about the Old State Bank but said the commission had "not heard anything from any council." Speaker 1 proposed resending the letter "to the mayor and council," and Speaker 2 seconded the motion. Speaker 1 asked that Caroline draft the letter.

The commission also raised concerns about the condition of a separate property, Allstate Bank. Speaker 2 noted, "There was nothing in the budget for 2026 for Allstate Bank. So it is now starting to actively decay," and added that a humidifier currently in place would not prevent mold.

The transcript records the motion to resend the letter and a second, and a staff assignment to draft the letter, but does not include a formal roll-call vote or tally for the resend motion in the provided segments. The earlier procedural motion to approve minutes was seconded and carried by voice "aye" without a recorded roll-call tally.

Next steps referenced in the meeting included sending letters again to council representatives and the mayor and commissioners contacting their council reps directly if needed. No timeline for further council response was recorded in the available transcript.

The meeting moved on to other briefing items after these actions; no public comment was recorded in the provided segments.