PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Three single-family home permits were issued in the month of September, with an average square footage of 2,857.
In the month of September, 153 building inspections were accomplished; 67% fewer than the 357 performed in September of last year. Year-to-date, 33% fewer inspections have been performed in 2020 (1,781) as compared to 2019 (2,685).
A total of 377 zoning and property maintenance code inspections were carried out this September. Year-to-date, 515 or 14% more code compliance inspections have been performed this year for a total of 4,019 in 2020.
Plans for two new warehouse buildings on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard (Sugar Hill Distribution Center) are currently under review. Vertical construction in the new Northmark residential subdivision is also underway with new townhome units and single-family home permits under review.
We conducted our final public involvement work during the last week in September and extended into the first weekend of October for the Livable Centers Initiative Sugar Hill Greenway Extension Concept Plan. This is a plan for a future phase of the greenway to connect the eastern side of Sugar Hill to downtown and central Sugar Hill at a future park location on Highway 20. The plan also contemplates pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements along the highway corridor including a route through downtown Sugar Hill which connects the downtown area to Richland Creek via a pedestrian bridge and intersection improvements at Highway 20 and continuing northward along the Hillcrest Drive corridor.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. Due to storms and heavy rains from tropical storm Delta, Richland Creek crested over its banks in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 11th causing significant damage to the park. The flooding impacted pedestrian trails, fields, and parking. At this time, the entire park, including the parking area and trails is closed to the public. Our Parks and Recreation Department staff along with our Public Works team is working to return the park to full operations, but we anticipate the park will be closed for several days. We will continue to keep the public updated as progress is made to clean up and re-open the park.
Downtown and City Hall. Weekly maintenance occurred throughout the downtown area. The beautification projects continue on the grounds of city hall and throughout the downtown area. The Splash Park closed for the season on Sunday, September 27th while work on the concrete seams and caulking will begin this month to properly repair the area.
E Center. The gymnasium continues to operate consistent with and monitoring the ever-changing public health regulations. There are currently 11,350 members. Regular cleaning continues daily throughout the facility. Limited classes and programs have resumed along with some private rentals for meetings.
Golf. September continues as the sixth month in a row of record revenues at the course. The nice, seasonably warm weather played a large part in the result. Landscaping in the common areas was cleaned up and winter grasses were planted throughout the main entrance areas. The King of the Hill bracket tournament continued through the month of September while the NET Championship tournament was held on the 19th of the month. The Sugar Hill Cup was held on the 11th and 12th of October. For more information on the course or membership, contact a representative from the Golf Course at 770-271-0519.
EVENTS
We had many events this past month, both city-sponsored and private rentals. Gwinnett Church rented The Bowl to record live music for their upcoming online streaming worships; this was a staff-only attended event. On the 18th, live music was offered on the plaza and the movie, Grease, was played in The Bowl bringing approximately 200 people to downtown Sugar Hill. Southern Muscle Association rented The Eagle Theatre for a fitness competition on the 19th bringing 120 guests to the venue throughout the day. A professional development organization rented The Bowl on the 25th and 26th for an in-person and online conference. There were 250 attendees throughout the day and the company that reserved the space ensured all guests followed proper social distance guidelines. The Bowl was privately reserved on October 3rd to hold a concert and worship night.
On October 17th, the Sugar Hill Business Alliance plans to host a car show from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the upper parking deck at city hall. Later that evening, the city is partnering with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to offer guests a showing of the Georgia vs. Alabama football game at 7:30 p.m. in The Bowl. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink and donate to the ACS. Food and drinks will be available for purchase and there will be some halftime entertainment.
City management and staff made the difficult decision to change our live Sugar Rush event to a virtual one. We replaced our usual vendor markets on West Broad Street with an online virtual market. Each vendor set up an online shop that opened on October 1st and will run through the 17th of the month. This is a great way to support our local businesses while doing some early holiday shopping. In place of the live Sugar Rush event, the city will offer a full month of “micro” events to encourage residents to visit downtown and get out of the house for a little live entertainment. The full schedule of events is available on The Bowl website under the Fall Activities tab. The events will include trivia, live music, karaoke, and movies all on the Promenade or in The Bowl. Those that wear a costume on movie nights will have a chance to win a prize. A highlight on this schedule is The Andrews Brothers dueling pianos in The Bowl on the 24th. This will be a ticketed event with pricing and details to follow.
For more information on 2020 and 2021 events, please visit www.thebowlatsugarhill.com and www.eagleatsugarhill.com
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Downtown Residential Leasing. A steady flow of traffic continues at Broadstone, with regular tours and new leases. As of last week, the projected occupancy is 14% (44 units) with 23% (73 units) pre-leased.
Rubber Duck Fundraiser. The City of Sugar Hill has partnered with the Gwinnett Tech Foundation and Quantum Bank to raise funds for the Parker Killian GIVES Moore Scholarship. The scholarship supports up to 5 veterinary technician students with their books and class fees. To raise the funds, we will be selling Sugar Hill branded rubber ducks for $3.00 at our online merchandise store. Quantum will be matching $1.00 of every duck sold to help us reach our fundraising goal. Also available online will be an option to donate a sum larger than the $3.00 duck purchase. 100% of the proceeds and donations will go to the scholarship foundation.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. The total number of transmitters installed on our automated metering system is 5,083 addresses as we inch closer to the halfway mark. Our utility locating staff completed services on 603 sites for the month 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 64 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. For September, the right-of-way maintenance team continued mowing operations as the season began winding down. They also aerated, over-seeded, and fertilized medians on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard as well as Highway 20. In addition, the yard debris team delivered five loads of mulch, four loads or rock, and collected 123 truckloads of bagged clippings for the month. This generated fifteen loads of debris to the disposal site during September. Stormwater staff continued their regular inspection programs, drain clearing, and regulatory compliance efforts.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Peachtree Industrial Greenway Trail Project. The general contractor, Ohmshiv, has completed almost 90% of the work along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and will still have guardrail to relocate and ADA ramps to install before fully completing this segment.
Whitehead Road Greenway Trail Segment. Ohmshiv Construction is substantially complete on this portion of their contract with minor drainage work, finish grading, and grassing needed to wrap-up this segment.
Sugar Hill (Main) Greenway Trail. Construction is getting started on this very important trail project this month and will focus on the Level Creek Road end of the job at its intersection with Church Street. The contractor expects to then concentrate on the off-road segments near the elementary school and then further south toward Gwinnett Church after the first of the year. Submittals, contract document finalization, and orders were the tasks completed during the ramp-up to construction in August and September.
Veterans Memorial Relocation. A few warranty items remain for the contractor, but the project has achieved final completion.
Gary Pirkle Park Field Improvements. Construction of the new fields continued in September with the clearing, demolition, and relocation of lighting taking up much of the focus for the contractor. Grading and drainage will be the focus for October’s schedule at the park. The work is being coordinated with the various user groups, leagues, and programs in the park to minimize disruption.
Art/History Room Buildout – Broadstone Project. Construction notice to proceed has been issued and contract documents filed for the 60-day project at the new Broadstone development.
