Planning and Development:
Planning. Sixteen single-family home permits were issued in the month of April with the average square footage of 2,836. Commercial building permits were issued for the two 2,500 square foot buildings located outside Westbrook Village. A demolition permit was issued to remove the fuel tanks at the former Texaco station located at the corner of Suwanee Dam Road and Nelson Brogdon Boulevard. The removal of the tanks will act as the first step towards preparing the site to be a Regions Bank. A burn ban is now in effect through October 1st. A development permit for The Park at Hillcrest was issued this month. Six townhomes will be constructed for this development.
An application for a Special Use Permit was received this month. The applicant is requesting that they be able to operate a check cashing business as an accessory use in the Mercado Fresco.
Two rezoning applications were received this month. RZ-18-004 requested an expansion of the Central Business District to include the Northwest corner of Hillcrest Drive and Highway 20. The intention is to be able to accommodate a mixed-use building at that location. The second rezoning includes City Hall and the E Center. It seeks to make City Hall OI and the E Center BG.
Residential Permits Issued by Date
Inspections. In the month of April, 313 building inspections were accomplished; a slight decrease from the 335 performed the previous April. Year-to-date, we have seen an increase in overall building inspections, with about ten additional inspections performed in 2018.
387 zoning and property maintenance code inspections were carried out this April, an increase from the 265 that were performed in April of 2017. This year has seen an increase in code inspections, with about 12 percent more being performed year-to-date.
Parks and Recreation:
Parks. Weekly maintenance and cleaning was completed throughout Gary Pirkle Park. Regular maintenance continues on the community garden as well. The Splash Park closed at the end of April for the repair of some warranty maintenance items. New caulking was installed to alleviate water loss. Lights and show programs were adjusted, and the park is now open for the season and is experiencing large crowds daily.
Downtown and City Hall. Weekly maintenance throughout downtown was completed. The grass areas and shrubbery around City Hall, The Bowl, the Town Green and the Community Plaza were trimmed and cleaned.
Golf. The course experienced a very wet month in April with close to 7 inches of rain. Despite the rain, the course has remained busy with multiple tournaments. The new well was approved, and drilling is expected to begin soon. Installation of new stormwater pipes will ensure collection of appropriate amounts of rainwater for irrigation needs. Replacement of the driving range net is underway, and repairs are expected to reach completion by the end of the month. Two large tournaments are planned for this month, the Annual All-In FC Nicky MacKain Memorial Golf Tournament on Friday, May 18th and the King of the Hill Tournament on Saturday, May 19th.
Economic Development and Community Connections:
E Center. The E Center was named “Project of the Year” for North Georgia by the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. The award was presented for the project’s innovative strategies including its state-of-the-art gas heating technology.
Marketing. A Sugar Hill lifestyle advertisement was placed in Explore Gwinnett’s annual publication. The magazine features the best attractions, restaurants and annual events in Gwinnett County including The
Bowl, our Sparks in the Park event, Sugar Rush and several local businesses.
Billboards throughout the metro area reached over 4.1 million people advertising Colbie Caillat and Easton Corbin this month. The billboards are in Dekalb, Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties. Radio ads for Colbie Caillat began on Star 94.1 and staff is working on Easton Corbin ads on country music station Kicks 101.5. Advertisements for the event lineup were published in Suwanee Magazine, The DiG, and The North Gwinnett Voice.
Community Connections. The History of Sugar Hill mural is expected to reach completion this month. A celebration and mural unveiling ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, June 9th at 1:00 P.M.
The Youth Council hosted a Georgia Cities Week event in April in conjunction with the Historic Preservation Society. The groups gave 8th graders a tour of Downtown Sugar Hill and hosted a “Build-a-City” activity where students were given a budget and asked to put together a city.
The city is holding a photo contest. Photographers can enter photographs in four different categories: Environment, Community, Architecture and “Sweet Life.” For more information, please visit the city’s website.
Events:
Concert Series. Tickets are still available for the Colbie Caillat concert on Friday, May 18th. The event will begin at 7:00 PM and is expected to end around 11:00 PM. The next concert will be held on June 2nd and will feature country artist, Easton Corbin. Visit www.thebowlatsugarhill.com for details and to purchase tickets to all concerts.
The city hosted several events in May including Gwinnett Young Professionals, Distinguished Gentlemen, the Stepping Stone Montessori School and the Kiwanis 5K. On Saturday, May 19th, The Bowl will host the Family Promise fundraiser featuring the Sugar Hill Gang. Tickets are available on Xorbia for this event.
Public Works and Utilities:
Gas Department. The gas department continues to make progress on our automated meter reading system with nearly 1,600 transmitters installed. The transition to this new system will enable a more efficient and accurate process as well as reduce the risks associated with monthly meter access. The staff also completed some noteworthy service installations at a new assisted living facility, Magnolia Senior Living Center on Riverside at Cumming Highway and our very own E Center project downtown. We also completed utility-locate services on 680 construction projects this month in addition to completing over a hundred work orders for the month.
Street & Stormwater Department. The staff has been busy at the start of the mowing season with getting both Peachtree Industrial and Highway 20 ready for a warm spring. Development inspections have also kept the department workload full with a number of new projects nearing final plat or completion of site development. The city’s stormwater management reporting period ended at the end of April and staff will be working the next six weeks on our annual report to the state. Stormwater management, plan review, inspections, and repair projects occupy much of the report of our regulatory compliance program.
Construction Update:
E Center. The gymnasium stair tower will be taking on its final appearance soon as the glass installation for the curtainwall gets underway next week. In addition, the mural inside the tower will get started in a couple of weeks and will help distinguish the corner from the surrounding elevations of the adjacent project elements. The roof component of the project is nearing completion with the rooftop activity area being the new focus of the subcontractor’s crews. The brick masons have also made significant progress on the plaza wall nearing the gym and along the east elevation of the gym. Metal panels, featuring a matte black finish will soon be installed on the gymnasium pilasters around the exterior which will complement the brick in and around the mixed-use building. The outdoor plaza on the north end of the project is also the focus of attention as the sealed layer of hot rubberized asphalt gets applied prior to the final concrete and brick pavers. The theatre is now dried-in with ceilings, paint, countertops, and floor tile being installed. Furniture, fixtures, and equipment are being lined up for delivery and installation between now and the end of the project with about seven weeks remaining until the contractor obtains certificates of occupancy. Lease-up is going well as our agent continues to show the project to a number of interested restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and business owners looking to expand into the Sugar Hill area.
Sidewalks on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. The project is at completion.
Sugar Hill Greenway. Final plans are in review, and the project is in the final construction documents stage while right-of-way acquisition continues. There are some 26 parcels required in phase 1 of the project and discussions are ongoing with the owners to provide clearance for the proposed trail.
