Planning and Development:
Eleven single-family home permits were issued in the month of November with an average square footage of 2,665. Three commercial remodeling projects were completed this past month. They include Cloud Performer located in the E Center,The Joint in Sugar Hill Corners shopping center and improvements to the existing McDonalds in front of Kroger. The remodel permit for Central City Tavern in the E Center was also issued this month.
A development permit was issued for the Broadstone mixed-use project, located directly across from City Hall and the E Center. Demolition permits have been issued for the former Buice School building, and early site preparation has begun.
Residential CO Issuance by Date
Residential Permit Issuance by Date
In the month of November, 285 building inspections were accomplished; a decrease from the 408 performed the previous November. Year-to-date, a reduction of overall building inspections occurred, with about 22 percent fewer inspections performed.
There have been 205 zoning, and property maintenance code inspections carried out this November, slightly less than the 268 performed in November of last year. This year has seen an overall increase in code inspections, with about 14 percent more performed.
Parks and Recreation:
Parks. Weekly maintenance occurred throughout the park to include tree trimming and clearing of the walking paths. Staff worked to clear trees from the pathways due to the storms. The synthetic turf was cleaned and the buildings throughout the park were pressure washed. Pavilions remained reserved on all weekends throughout the month.
Downtown and City Hall.Regular maintenance was performed throughout the downtown area to include City Hall, The Bowl, the Town Green, The Bowl, and the Community Plaza. The light poles along West Broad were decorated for the holidays.
The Bowl/The Ice Rink/Splash Park. Regular maintenance to The Bowl was completed in preparation for the upcoming holidays.Staff decorated the ice rink and plaza area in anticipation of the tree lighting and other downtown holiday events. Tests were performed on the drains of the splash pad to locate the repair locations. The contractor continued work on the drainage issues to the splashpad.
ECenter. Several orientations have been conducted with instructors to show them the spaces in which they will be holding their classes. These new community classes will begin once the ECenter is fully operational. Staff attended training sessions to learn about all the new equipment.
Golf. Attendance was slow this past month due to the rain and colder weather conditions. Course maintenance continued to include mowing, and the annual greens care program. Repairs to the storm drain outlet structures and transfer valves were performed to allow a greater amount of water storage for irrigation usage. A Sugar Hill Golf Association Tournament was held on Saturday, November 17th.
The Eagle Theatre. The Players Guild held their first set of shows in the theatre this past month.They sold nearly 900 tickets for the three weekend performance of “Importance of Being Earnest.” Artios Academies hosted their winter concert in the theatre as well with a complete sellout. Several upcoming events in the theatre include the All Stars Performing Arts’ rendition of The Nutcracker scheduled for December 7th – December 9th and Suwanee Performing Arts’rendition of The Nutcracker, scheduled for December 15th. The theatre will also be showing Christmas movies beginning December 19th including Elf, Home Alone and The Polar Express. The Players Guild will move their set into the theatre at the end of the month to prepare for their January production of The Odd Couple.
Holiday Celebration.The celebration and tree lighting were canceled due to inclement weather. Santa Claus came out on December 5th, and an estimated 75 families were able to get their photo taken with him.
Economic Development and Community Connections:
E Center. Rushing Trading Company, the first restaurant to open in the E Center, has a soft opening scheduled for December 20th.
Community Connections. Our community volunteers were celebrated at a reception at the E Center on November 28th.Mike Reilly was named Community Champion of the Year, and Kerry Murphy was named Sugar Hill’s Volunteer of the Year in recognition for her work with the Sugar Hill Arts Commission.
A new Creative Content Coordinator will join the Economic Development team this month. The Marketing and Communications Coordinator position is also now open within the department.
The Suite Spot. The business incubator and co-work space reached a record number of members this month with continued interest and a growing waiting list for both office suites and premium memberships.
Public Works and Utilities:
Gas Department. The Gas Department staff has installed just over 2,725 transmitters as part of the project to automate the meter reading process. Our team also completed utility-locate services on 453 sites for the month and worked with our construction contractors in various sites around the city to protect our underground utilities. The staff has been working through regulatory compliance tasks, new service installations, and 111 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. Street department staff has been assisting with downtown development at the Broadstone and ECenter projects as well as getting ready for the demolition of a few recent property acquisitions. The house formerly at 5079 West Broad Street was demolished at the end of the month to make way for future downtown development. Stormwater and development inspections, yard debris collection, storm debris removal, mowing, and storm drain clearing continues to keep the department staff busy.
Construction Update:
ECenter. The second tenant has moved into Suite M236 at the E Center and is the home of the consulting group, Cloud Performer Inc. They are getting settled into their space, and we are excited to welcome them to the downtown. CPI recently graduated from a home-based business in Sugar Hill and, like many others, is growing with the economy. Many of our other tenant spaces are under construction with two nearing completion and opening for business soon.
“The Importance of Being Earnest,” an Oscar Wilde play presented by our local Players Guild concluded its run at the Eagle Theatre recently to rave reviews. The Players Guild as well as the Broad Street Community Band have been instrumental in identifying some of the unique characters in the facility and to expose a number of remaining punch list items for the contractor to work through.
NewSouth Construction is nearing completion of their punch list prior to achieving final completion on the project. The water features, access controls, heating, and air controls, and audio-visual equipment are some of the last items to be installed. As each system is completed, they are being put through their paces prior to final acceptance.
Sidewalks Projects – Whitehead and Suwanee Dam Roads. The SPLOST-funded side walk project is now underway with the contractor cutting the edge of pavement to begin the demolition and curb installation. The phasing plan for the project will allow the contractor to start at the south end of Suwanee Dam Road, working north then back. Whitehead Road will follow in similar fashion working north as well. This work is jointly-funded with the county and will link key destinations in and around the city.
LMIG Annual Resurfacing Program. The two-year cycle of road repairs and repaving is slated to get started in early 2nd quarter of 2019 and has a contract completion date in June. The project will be authorized for construction once the bids are approved, contract awarded, and work can be scheduled. The roads included in the next iteration of improvements areas follows:
Brogdon Park Court
Brogdon Place Cove
Brogdon Exchange
Creek Park
Cook Drive
Mendi Court
Edinborough Place
Wetherby View
Railroad Avenue
Hillcrest Drive
Hidden Meadow Way
Simmons Mine Circle
Frontier Drive
Forest Green Drive
Spring Hill Drive
Old Suwanee Road
Pine Acre Drive
Sadie Court
Tallant Drive
Richland Creek Court
Sugar Hill Greenway. This first phase of the greenway project will connect downtown with the two parks on Level Creek and continuing further to Whitehead Road, via Georgia DOT property, a distance of nearly five miles. The project is currently in the right-of-way and permitting phases with a construction start expected in early 2019.
Veterans Memorial Relocation. Schematic plans to relocate the memorial park across the street from City Hall have been finalized. Concepts involve the current obelisk-shaped monument, commemorative bricks, water feature, eternal flame, additional memorial features, and sculptures. The project is expected to get underway in early 2019, and a portion is expected to be open and available for Memorial Day activities.
Oaks at Lanier Storm Water System Modifications. The project to construct stormwater improvements in the Oaks at Lanier neighborhood is nearing the starting line with a couple of construction easements required in order to give the green light to the contractor. The project involves the installation of about 100-feet of additional pipe to safely convey stormwater at a lower speed to the natural discharge point in the area.
Stormwater Pipe Repairs. Repairs to a number of pipe culverts in key neighborhoods are also ready to get underway. The pipes under the following roads are scheduled to be lined to extend their service life: Secret Cove Drive, Eagle Close Lane, and Deep Creek Drive. The cured-in-place liner solution will allow the roads to be repaired without impacting traffic or access to these neighborhoods.
