PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Four single-family home permits were issued in the month of September with an average of 3,152 square feet. A development permit was issued for the new Dunkin restaurant located on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
New Homes Completed (Year-to-Date)
New Homes Completed (Year-to-Date)
In the month of September, 274 building inspections were completed; a decrease from the 321 carried out last September. Year-to-date, there has been a decrease in overall building inspections, with about 500 fewer inspections being performed this year.
Staff completed 370 zoning and property maintenance code inspections this September. A decrease will likely occur in these inspections as less lawn maintenance violations are issued in the fall. About 350 additional code enforcement inspections have been performed as compared to 2018.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. Georgia Force High School Football along with All In Futbol Club and i9 fall leagues are in full swing at Gary Pirkle Park. Regular maintenance to the park was completed to include tree trimming along walking paths, light poles and cameras. Fresh mulch was applied to the playground area and light poles were checked and tagged for maintenance by our electric provider. Core drilling samples were taken from the ground as part of the grass field expansion project. A fresh coat of paint was applied to the barn at the Community Garden.
E Center. Gym memberships for the year now exceed a total of 7,500 as the facility continues to gain new community fitness classes and health-focused citizens and guests. New directional and instructional signage continues to be installed throughout the facility. Several private rentals were held in the Waterfall Banquet Rooms. Staff assisted in set-up ahead of Glance Gwinnett and Leadership Gwinnett group visits.
Golf. Although we experienced another hot, dry month, September proved to be another busy month at the course as several successful tournaments were held. Applications of fresh mulch and cleaning of the landscape beds around the clubhouse was completed. The Sugar Hill Golf Association Fall Classic Tournament was held this past month and players experienced beautiful weather and an enjoyable day of golf.
EVENTS
The Eagle Theatre. September in the theatre was a month of classic films from The Wizard of Oz to the Sound of Music. A special free movie, World Trade Center, was shown on the 11th of September. Several hundred guests enjoyed movies and concessions at the theatre this past month.
The Bowl. The 2019 concert series wrapped up with two major concerts in the same week. Trace Adkins returned with John Berry and Craig Campbell. These three artists put on an amazing performance. Concert attendees enjoyed an evening of great country music and beautiful weather. Then, on the 24th batting cleanup for the series was The Commodores. The group performed a lively show with a vibrant audience. The two shows brought over 2,700 guests to the venue and well over 3,000 guests to the downtown area.
Events. The final weekend in September welcomed two downtown events. The Happy Hour 5K which began at The Eagle Theatre and ended with participants exploring the downtown restaurants. Sugar Hill Church hosted a free service in The Bowl with a large crowd enjoying live music and fellowship. Over 1,400 guests were in attendance for the two events.
Staff attended the International Festivals and Events Association Conference where Sugar Hill was awarded a gold honor and first place in the division under the category, Best Digital/Social Ad Series, for the 2018 concert series. This digital ad series was created by former employee and graphic designer, Dekotah Mathis, for the concert ads used for Colbie Caillat, Easton Corbin, The Village People and Sister Sledge, Vertical Horizon, Michael Bolton and Don Felder.
October’s Events.
The Eagle Theatre:
10/8 Hocus Pocus (11:00 AM and 7:00 PM)
10/15 Hotel Transylvania (11:00 AM and 7:00 PM)
10/17 Marshall Tucker Band Concert (7:00 PM-11:00 PM)
10/19 The Goonies (playing two showings during Sugar Rush, 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM)
10/22 Friday the 13th (11:00 AM and 7:00 PM)
Downtown Sugar Hill/The Bowl:
10/19 Sugar Rush (10:00 AM-6:00 PM)
Featuring: Creos, Arts Commission Juried Art Show, a pumpkin patch, painting stations, live music and dance in The Bowl, a variety of food trucks, vendors, inflatables, a car show and much more.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Sugar Hill hosted the most recent Glance Gwinnett class at the E Center on September 25th. As part of the 2.5-day program offered by Leadership Gwinnett, Glance class members discussed a variety of community development topics. Sugar Hill also hosted the 2020 Leadership Gwinnett class on October 9th for their Economic Development learning day in the E Center.
Sugar Hill was featured on the Business RadioX program this month. Staff spoke about community development and business in the city.
Collaboration on marketing and communication strategies and content continue including work on Sugar Rush materials, logo design and announcement of the Broad Street Film Festival. Other projects include calendar presentation of the many community events in Sugar Hill, the Loop exhibition at the E Center, promotional marketing materials, and Suite Spot marketing.
Members of the 2019-2020 Youth Council have begun planning for volunteer activities and projects during the academic year after being sworn in at last month’s Council meeting.
The Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society unveiled the newest historical marker in Sugar Hill at a ceremony on the 5th of October. The marker stands at Sugar Hill’s former city hall which now serves as the Suite Spot business incubator. Planning for expansion of programming and services at the Suite Spot continues and new tenants are expected to move into newly opened office space on the first floor soon.
City leaders, DDA, staff, and neighbors participated in a downtown clean-up day on the 12th of October. It was a great turn out with nearly 100 volunteers participating in this effort to clean-up our sweet city. Planning is also underway for Sugar Hill’s Gwinnett Great Days of Service project at the historic Sugar Hill Cemetery which is scheduled for the 26th of October.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. Utility staff have installed over 3,800 automated meter-reading transmitters for the system since the replacement program began in late 2017. Staff also completed utility-locate services on 664 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 97 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. Mowing, right-of-way maintenance, and yard debris collection is still a big part of the monthly work program even as the growing season begins to wind down. Over eighteen (18) loads of yard debris were collected and hauled to our disposal site during the month with 127 truckloads of bagged debris collected. We also completed pothole and sidewalk repairs in several locations as well as trimmed overhanging limbs in three neighborhoods. Our stormwater staff is working on edits and revisions to our stormwater management plan which will need to be submitted for compliance review by the state later this year. Stormwater and development inspections, leaf clearing, storm drain clearing, regular equipment maintenance, and repair continues to keep the department staff busy.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
E Center. New South Construction and the project management team concluded the warranty period at the end of September, with a few items still being tracked. The items are being repaired and will be cleared off the list once the resolution can be confirmed. The focus of these recent items have largely been related to handrails inside the theatre and the waterproofing of the water feature pools as well as a few other finishes which have all posed problems in various places in the facility. Southern Grace is running behind on their buildout program but seeks to join our other tenants open for business later this fall.
Sidewalks Projects – Whitehead and Suwanee Dam Roads. Construction continues on Whitehead Road for this important SPLOST-funded pedestrian project. The Whitehead Road segments need another three weeks to finish up pending approval of design changes proposed at a road culver north of Sugar Ridge. The contractor will remobilize on Suwanee Dam Road north to finish the project out. Erosion control, demolition and grading have extended to the north end of the road and we are reinforcing traffic controls in each area where they are actively working.
Sugar Hill Greenway. There are only a few more hurdles left before the project can be advertised for construction, one of which involves an agreement and permit from Georgia Department of Transportation. The next, imminent phase along Peachtree Industrial is in the final permitting stage and will most likely be advertised separately from the balance of phase 1. Additional alignment and scope modifications are underway in order to keep the project moving on the north end (downtown) of the project as right-of-way and easement acquisition concludes.
Veterans Memorial Relocation. Construction continued through the last month of summer on this important relocation project. Granite panels and the underground tank have been waiting on progress prior to installation in October. November will see the facility dedicated at the Veterans Day service on the 11th.
2019 Bowl Improvements. Work was initiated on the 23rd of last month with mobilization, demolition and site work initiated. The project includes the construction of an open-air concession building, permanent panels between the suites, handrails, stair nosings, step lighting, synthetic turf in The Bowl along with a few other necessary safety improvements.
E Center Monument Sign. The city’s sign contractor completed replacement of new brick corner on the sign base, installation of the LED sign panel, and the other project elements. Several punch list items remain and will be completed before this project can be closed out. The static sign panels will be installed separately as the tenants provide designs for the sign panels.
Whitehead Road Bridge Replacement. The County’s contractor reopened the road recently, about a week later than the originally proposed completion date, having encountered a slight delay with supplies and the bearing capacity of the piles on the east side of the project. Final shoulder grading, sidewalk installation, and finish work on the paving remain to be completed. So, while the contractor is able to reopen to through traffic, lane closures may still be required from time-to-time until the county closes-out the contract.
