R2009-192 DESIGNATING HONORARY STREET

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COUNCIL MEMORANDUM NO. 2009-18 TO: Honorable Mayor McElroy and City Council FROM: Ryan McCrady, City Manager � Billy Tyus, Assistant CiTy Manager -�� � ) SUBJECT: Bishop E.A. Morgan Honorary Street Signs Designation DATE: September 30, 2009 SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Decatur City Council approve the attached resolution authorizing an honorary street designation for the area in and around the 300 Block of East Macon Street at the intersection of Macon and South Franklin Streets in honor of Bishop Eddie Morgan as per terms of the City's Honorary Street Sign program. BACKGROUND: The Decatur City Council in August implemented a new honorary street sign program to formally honor residents who have made significant contributions to the Decatur community. Dr. Jeanelle Norman recently submitted a petition signed by 109 people in support of having this portion of the street receive an honorary designation in honor of Bishop Morgan, longtime pastor for the Church of the Living God C.W.F.F. located at this intersection. Bishop Morgan was pastor of this Church for 44 years having also served as an active leader in the civil rights movement in Decatur, championing the cause of equal opportunity in the workplace. He also served as a member of the Mental Health Board, Board of Consumer Credit Management, YMCA Board of Directors and was an active member of the local Ministerial Alliance. Bishop Morgan also served as the presiding Bishop over the Seventh Dioceses: Kansas, Western Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado and was honored with a resolution from the Illinois State Senate upon his passing. He was honored with the NAACP Joe Slaw Civil Rights Award, the Illinois-Wisconsin I.B.P.O. Elks Distinguished Service Award, the YMCA Board of Directors Award, the Church of the Living God District #7 recognition award, received a certificate of appreciation from the Illinois Department of Corrections and a certificate of recognition from Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. An honorary street naming program does not actually change the names of the streets so there would be no changes for emergency personnel, dispatch or others seeking the actual address of a location. In addition, notification will be given to individuals and businesses near the proposed honorary designation in advance notifying them that an honorary designation has been proposed for their area and that they should continue using the regular street name in all correspondence.