PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Two single-family home permits were issued in the month of February, averaging 2,542 square feet while only one permit for a townhome was issued. Development permits were issued for Sugar Hill Self Storage to be located to the west of Zaxby’s on Cumming Highway and Aqua Blue Car Wash on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
Residential Permit Issuance by Date
Residential CO Issuance by Date
In the month of February, 212 building inspections and 235 zoning and property maintenance inspections were carried out.
We received seven proposals from qualified firms seeking to assist us with our Highway 20 pedestrian safety and greenway extension plan funded mostly by the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative grant program. A selection will be made in March and we will begin work on research and analysis as well as our public involvement program soon after. The study is expected to be complete by October.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. Regular maintenance was completed throughout Gary Pirkle Park. Repairs and replacement of the lighting was carried out under the playground structure. Trees and shrubs were trimmed and fresh mulch was applied throughout the park. New safety netting was installed behind the logo field to keep the balls contained and out of the wetland area. All In Futbol Club and i9 Sports leagues continue use of the fields. North Gwinnett and Lanier High School soccer teams also practice at the park. Several workdays were held at the Community Garden to clean the barn and grounds. Work was also performed on the new pollination and bee garden.
Downtown and City Hall. Weekly maintenance occurred through the downtown area. Testing and repair work continued on the Splash Pad to include work to the lighting and programming systems. Weed control was performed throughout the downtown area and fresh mulch was applied in the planting beds. The breakdown and removal of the Ice Rink occurred this month as well.
E Center. Gym memberships now exceed 9,550 with a variety of different activities and health-focused classes offered. Several successful private events were held at the center to include the blood drive, the lifeline health screening and the Lanier Education Foundation event.
Golf. February brought historic amounts of rain and wet conditions resulting in low attendance at the course. Fairways were treated with several pre and post growth herbicides to strengthen the course as we head into spring. The Sugar Hill Golf Association hosted the 3-Club Monty Tournament on the 15th of February.
EVENTS
February welcomed a variety of events in Sugar Hill. The Eagle Theatre hosted The Player’s Guild performance of Up, Up and Away. The inaugural Broad Street Film Festival was also held this past month along with the continuation of $2 Tuesday movies. Over 500 people attended these three events and experienced downtown Sugar Hill. The Eagle Theatre will feature two weeks of movies during spring break for the enjoyment of kids attending schools in Gwinnett, Forsyth and Hall counties.
The first concert in The Bowl was announced last week. Roots and Boots featuring Aaron Tippin, Sammy Kershaw and Collin Raye will kick-off the 2020 concert series on May 2nd and will feature opening band, Parmalee, at 7:00 PM with the main act scheduled to take the stage at 8:30 PM. Stay tuned for more exciting concerts to be announced.
Upcoming Events
The Eagle Theatre:
03/05 Rental: Frozen Jr. (11:00 AM showing for local elementary schools)
03/06 Rental: Frozen Jr. (7:00 PM)
03/07 Run Your Tails Off 5K (downtown)
03/10 Movie: Dr. Dolittle (10:30 AM and 6:30 PM)
03/17 Movie: Brooklyn (10:30 AM and 6:30 PM)
03/19 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit Open Dress (7:30 PM)
03/20 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit (7:30 PM)
03/21 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit (7:30 PM)
03/22 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit (3:00 PM)
03/24 Movie: Yesterday (10:30 AM and 6:30 PM)
03/27 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit (7:30 PM)
03/28 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit (7:30 PM)
03/29 Player’s Guild: Blithe Spirit (3:00 PM)
03/30 Movie: How to Train Your Dragon (10:30 AM and 6:30 PM)
03/31 Movie: Big Hero 6 (10:30 AM and 6:30 PM)
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
The Guide to Sugar Hill is fresh off the presses. Keep an eye out around town, at City Hall, the E Center Gym and The Eagle Theatre for this snapshot of all there is to do, eat and enjoy in Sugar Hill. The Guide to Sugar Hill is also available online at www.cityofsugarhill.com
Staff worked this month on the new Sugar Hill Snapshot, a digital publication highlighting community events, projects and other announcements. This monthly communication will link back to updated webpages and supplemental information online. A website refresh is also planned for 2020 and the Economic Development team is working closely with IT and other departments to streamline navigation, introduce new visual branding and expand information sharing.
Sugar Hill hosted a group from the Georgia City-County Management Association for the metro Atlanta region in February. Guests enjoyed lunch and a program featuring Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director, Vic Reynolds as well as Aisha Ford with the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
Puzzles donated by the community on National Puzzle Day earlier this year were donated to Annandale Village, a local non-profit dedicated to providing progressive life assistance to adults with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. The Georgia Public Service Commission paid us a visit recently and conducted one of their routine system audits. We will receive a report in the next few weeks of their findings. Our natural gas technicians have installed 4,274 transmitters as a part of our automated meter reading program. The total represents just over 37% of our total accounts. Staff also completed utility-locate services on 437 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 75 other service requests to round out the workload last month, including leak investigations, relighting pilot lights, setting new meters, and other customer-driven requests.
Street & Stormwater Department. We had one winter weather operations activation during February with our staff responding with sand, gravel and in limited locations, our brine spreader on the 8th and 9th. This event, fortunately for most residents occurred on the weekend and allowed staff to get to these locations without significant traffic impacts. We also were on standby for another storm later in the month but did not have to call up our staff. Over 80 bags of yard debris were collected during the month along with 12 trips to the disposal site in Gainesville. Seven weekend dumpsters were rented out during the month and five (5) loads of mulch provided to residents. Potholes were also repaired on Broadmoor, Hillcrest, West Broad and Level Creek, Riverside Road, and Parkview North subdivision. The stormwater staff stayed busy as the rainfall patterns stayed consistent for the second month of the year keeping drains clear and responding to calls for service during these storms.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
E Center. Red Clay Interactive, the marketing firm relocating from Buford, is hoping to get started on their construction program in March. New South Construction continues to focus on the waterproofing and finishes on the pools at the base of the water feature (temperature/weather dependent) and minor issues with utility and HVAC reporting. New floor finishes are being scheduled for installation as tenant schedules allow along with a few other aesthetic and security improvements inside the building.
Sidewalks Projects – Whitehead and Suwanee Dam Roads. This project is nearing the finish line as Chattahoochee Group made the most of a wet February to complete over half of the remaining sidewalk from Austin Garner to the Fire Station #26. The project, both on Whitehead and Suwanee Dam has had numerous conflict segments with Gwinnett County stormwater structures. The project is expected to wrap up in March.
Sugar Hill Greenway. The main portion of the greenway project is ready to bid this month with bids due in mid-April. Bids have been received for the next segment along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard from E.E. Robinson Park to the county’s new park, completing a continuous segment of just less than a mile. Construction contract award for the latest segment is on the March agenda for Council consideration.
Veterans Memorial Relocation. Surfaces Group, the city’s general contractor, is nearing the final few weeks of construction, having to pace out material deliveries from key suppliers. One of the last project elements that can be installed is the decorative metal flags connecting the memorial panels along with permanent signage and the dedication plaque. The metal flags, as well as the sign scope of work was waiting on the remaining granite installation on the panels, completed in February. Sidewalk construction to the south on Church Street is set to start in early March and the full scope of work, punch list, water feature testing and training is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Bowl Improvements. Work proceeded slowly during February with much of the activity rained-out. The electrician, mason, and painter were all able to complete small, but key portions of their work during the month. The electrical conduit, boxes, and panels were installed as were the cast stone cap blocks in the concession building. The painter found a very short two-day period of dry, warm weather to prime and paint the steel structure. The roof panels are on site and set for installation in March. Artificial turf installation is almost complete pending installation of the logo section of turf in the middle of section B, row 5. The lighted handrails and a number of other lighting components are in progress, with plans to reach completion by the end of April, but the completion depends heavily on the supplier’s schedule. The permanent divider panels for the suites are on the schedule for late March or early April. The contractor anticipates reaching substantial completion in April, with the concert series expected to kick-off May 2nd.
Gary Pirkle Park Field Improvements. The design team is finalizing the bid documents, having taken a final look at the scope and budget pushing through the February goal of starting the bid phase. The target bid schedule for the project is now in mid-March to mid-April. The scope of work will include synthetic turf fields, new trail around the fields and relocated field lighting. The proposed synthetic turf solution will be weather-resilient, providing three field sizes and four different configurations as options.
Art/History Room Buildout – Broadstone Project. The design process has begun and is wrapping up the schematic phase. The project is a part of the proposed 2020 budget.
Level Creek/Alton Tucker Intersection Improvements and Road Extension. The construction plans are at the 95% stage and staff is giving consideration to the traffic control design at the West Broad, Level Creek Road, and Alton Tucker Road intersections before finalizing the plans. The project will connect West Broad with Highway 20 on the east side of the E Center gym. ROW acquisition will most likely affect the construction schedule for this project.
