PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Permits were issued for six new townhomes in the month of December with an average size of 2,429 square feet. RaceTrac obtained a commercial remodel permit for interior building upgrades to accommodate expansion of their Grab-n-Go hot food menu. Two development permits were issued this month, one for the final two lots located in Primrose Creek Unit 5 and one for a watermain replacement on Frontier Drive. For the month, our building department conducted 151 building inspections. Compared to the previous year, our building inspection team performed 33% fewer inspections in 2020.
We finished the year having performed 33% fewer building inspections (2,296) than the previous year (3,436) while holding steady at 4,579 property maintenance and zoning inspections in 2020 as compared to 4,488 carried out in the previous year.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. The original synthetic turf fields at Gary Pirkle Park remain closed from the storm damage. A bid was awarded to Precision Turf, LLC to complete the project and work is now underway. The field renovation project is going well with installation of turf beginning this week. A fresh coat of paint is being applied to the barrier and protective fencing throughout the park.
Ice Rink. The Ice Rink continues to remain extremely popular and business was brisk throughout the holiday season. The rink is expected to remain open through mid-February.
Downtown and City Hall. After a very festive season, our holiday decorations were taken down at City Hall and throughout the entire downtown area.
E Center. Gym memberships have reached 11,961 and thorough cleaning practices continue throughout the facility. Classes and programs are still limited with a few private rentals being held in the Waterfall Room and classroom space.
Golf. A very busy and challenging 2020 ended on a successful note for the course with another good month in December. Clubhouse renovations got underway and work is expected to be performed on the entrance and restroom facilities into January. The project is expected to reach completion by the end of the month. The Sugar Hill Golf Association held a December charity tournament raising over $500.00 for the North Gwinnett Co-Op. For more information on the course or membership, contact a representative from the Golf Course at 770-271-0519.
EVENTS
The Bowl and The Eagle. The department finished up the year with several private rentals. Three private rentals were held in The Bowl including The Aurora Theatre’s Christmas Canteen. An estimated 1,200 people attended the various events. The Eagle hosted several private rentals as well bringing in approximately 1,000 guests during the month of December.
Giving is Sweet Program. Staff continued the program encouraging our community to donate items to both the North Gwinnett and Lanier School clusters as well as the North Gwinnett Co-Op. This event brought in over 2,000 donations. Thank you to all the donors and downtown businesses for assisting in collection of these items.
Eagle Theatre Improvement Projects. With the theatre less occupied throughout the pandemic, staff has been working alongside contractors to modify the space. Improvements include enhancement of the sound and lighting systems, making way for this year to be the best yet for our community members and guests. Movies, live performances, concerts, and speakers will all sound crystal clear in superior illumination.
Upcoming Events. There are several events coming up in the months of January and February. The Eagle will host a private event for Leadership Gwinnett on January 12th with several other private events for filming and dance scheduled for the 15th, 16th, 18th and 23rd. On January 31st, the Players Guild will begin set up for their upcoming February production of Blithe Spirit. The Broad Street Film Festival is accepting submissions for the 2nd annual festival scheduled for the 26th and 27th of February. Several long-distance running events are scheduled over the next couple of months in different locations throughout downtown.
For more information on 2021 events, please visit www.thebowlatsugarhill.com and www.eagleatsugarhill.com
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Soofa Signs. The signs were installed in three prime locations throughout downtown Sugar Hill. Located near The Bowl, behind The Eagle Theatre, and nestled between Rushing Trading Co. and Knuckies Pizza and Hoagies on West Broad Street, these new interactive signs display information such as a community calendar of events and city updates as well as information about local businesses. Visitors are also invited to share their thoughts and ideas by a response to changing community questions and posting to soofatalk.com Frequent visitors to the Beltline, Ponce City Market, and Midtown may recognize the signs, which are scattered throughout Atlanta but have been installed for the first time outside the perimeter in Sugar Hill. The Soofa signs are solar powered, sustainable, and tech forward communication platforms used to build engagement by displaying small business offerings, information on local events, community surveys and city updates on an e-ink display. We encourage community members and visitors to engage with the Soofa signs by electronically submitting their own messages or responses to questions. We are incredibly excited about this new opportunity to connect with our city in a unique way and are sure that these signs will be a valuable resource to display community information for all residents and guests to see.
Rewards Program. The Exclusive Downtown Sugar Hill Rewards program has been extended to the 14th of February. To participate, shoppers can visit one of our participating downtown businesses and make a purchase in the qualifying amount. The shopper would then bring their purchase receipt from one of the participating businesses to the City Hall Customer Service desk to select a special reward. Visit cityofsugarhill.com/shopsmall2021 for full details and a list of participating businesses.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. The staff has now installed 5,981 transmitters on our automated metering system. Our utility locating team completed services on 476 sites and worked with our construction contractors on various sites around the city to protect our underground utilities. Staff has been working through regulatory compliance tasks, new service installations, and 130 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. The yard debris team is back and delivered two (2) loads of mulch, three loads of rock, and collected 105 truckloads of bagged clippings for the month. This generated twenty-one (21) loads of debris to the disposal site. Minor street flooding was reported on the last day of 2020 as slow storms moved through; but was quickly cleared. Stormwater staff continued their proactive inspection program, drain clearing, and regulatory compliance efforts (training) also assisting city projects with pipe inspections.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Sugar Hill (Main) Greenway Trail. Construction is beyond the halfway point for the segment of construction on Level Creek Road. While there is more to finish on segment one, the contractor is now staking out the next segment from PIB to Level Creek Road, just north of Gwinnett Church. Submittals, RFI’s, orders are still a significant portion of the progress, but construction is well underway.
Gary Pirkle Park Field Improvements. Construction of the new fields made it to the finished grade stage at the end of the year with the synthetic turf on site and ready for placement. After a quick repair to the drainage system, Advanced Sports Group, is expecting to get the fabric installed and conclude the project near the middle of February with final completion expected later in the first quarter of next year. The work and progress to date is being coordinated with the various user groups, leagues, and programs in the park.
Art/History Room Buildout – Broadstone Project. Stonepoint is at the finish line with a flurry of installations, finishes, and clean-up at the end of December. The Sugar Hill contractor was able to leave a very short punch list of deficiencies and is waiting on close-out inspections from the Fire Marshal to wrap up the permit. City staff is aiming to move-in during the last two weeks of January and expects to schedule a ribbon-cutting event in February. The Historic Preservation Society and the Arts Commission may schedule other events in late winter to celebrate the transition to the new space.
Sweet City/22-Acre Passive Park Project. The design team is in the middle of the process for phase one of improvements at the park whose preliminary scope is set to include a parking lot, pavilion, pond repairs, walking paths, and restroom building. Site considerations like the pond repairs and on-site septic management are part of the current process.
Roadway Resurfacing & Repairs 2020/2021. The bid documents are being assembled and advertised in January for the proposed contract. The road repairs will include sealing, milling, patching, resurfacing, valve and manhole adjustments and restriping. The following streets are proposed for this contract:
[columns] [column size=”1/3″]Long Needle CourtPrinceton Oaks Drive
Megan Court
Hunters Oak Trail
Bankside Court
Amberside Court
Amberside Lane
[/column] [column size=”1/3″]Riverside Walk Drive
River Ridge Lane
Appling Road
Frontier Drive
Forest Green Way
White Oak Drive
Frontier Way
[/column] [column size=”1/3″]Frontier Trail
Davis Street
Mountain Ridge Way
Spring Willow Drive
Grand Loop Road
Eagles Rest Trail
Summer Breeze Lane[/column] [/columns]
