Planning and Development:
Planning. Twenty-five single family home permits were issued in the month of March with an average square footage of 3,137 and ten multi-family home permits were issued averaging 1,892 square feet each.
Eleven fence permit applications and five residential addition applications were received during the month of March. Many of the additions were to increase outdoor living space via covered porches and sunrooms. Burn permits have been popular as well with the improvement of the weather. They will be available to issue until May 1st.
Residential Permits Issued by Date
Inspections. In the month of March, 335 building inspections were accomplished; a slight decrease from the 374 performed the previous March. Year to date has seen an increase in overall building inspections, with about 30 additional inspections being performed in 2018.
318 zoning and property maintenance code inspections were carried out this March, an increase from the 291 performed in March of 2017. This year has seen a slight increase in code inspections, with several more being performed year to date.
Parks and Recreation:
Parks. Weekly maintenance and cleaning was done throughout Gary Pirkle Park. Areas throughout the park were treated for insects. Repair work on the Wi-Fi to the camera system was performed. An increase in pavilion rentals occurred due to the warmer weather. A new county water meter was installed at the Community Garden.
Downtown and City Hall. Weekly maintenance throughout downtown was completed. The areas around City Hall, The Bowl, the Town Green and the Community Plaza were treated for insects. Breakdown and removal of the Ice Rink was completed.
Golf. The new irrigation improvements are being put into place. Replacement of the driving range net is underway with quotes being collected. Work is expected to begin and be completed this month. Annual equipment maintenance was completed readying the fleet for spring and summer mowing. Several new tournaments were booked this month. The Master’s Bungler Tournament was played on April 7th and was a success. The next Sugar Hill Golf Association Tournament will be held on Saturday, April 21st with the Annual Lanier Golf Shootout Tournament scheduled for Saturday, April 24th.
Marketing, Events and Economic Development:
Events. Ticket sales continue to remain steady and feedback on the event lineup has been positive. Tickets are available at www.thebowlatsugarhill.com. Staff is still working to line up the August concert in The Bowl.
Sugar Hill Maker Fest is scheduled for Saturday, April 21st in Downtown Sugar Hill. The Maker Fest is an event where businesses and hobbyists can gather and show what they do and how they do it. The Wowee 5K and Expo will take place before and during the Maker Fest.
The Players Guild @ Sugar Hill. The group hosted a successful run of “Bullets & Badges” this month.
Marketing & Communications. Sugar Hill promotional items are still available at the customer service desk. These include water bottles, t-shirts, coffee mugs and more. Staff is working with Community Profiles to advertise in their annual publication. Advertisements for the city will also be seen in Explore Gwinnett Magazine this month.
Public Works and Utilities:
Gas Department. The gas department continues progress on our automated meter reading system with over 1,200 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 Department’s Public Awareness program survey was completed in March. Our staff also completed utility-locate services on 514 sites this month.
Street & Stormwater Department. Staff completed overseeding and aerating the medians on Peachtree Industrial and Highway 20 in preparation for the mowing season. Our mechanically-minded staff now has developed and tested a brine-mixing and spraying system to use for future winter storms in Sugar Hill, reducing local road icing potential. The old city hall generator was repurposed to serve for emergency power backup at the public works shop on Hillcrest, enabling the department to keep most systems running in the event of an outage. Stormwater and development inspections continue to keep pace with the building and development industry for our area as well.
Construction Update:
E Center. Work on the exterior of the project continues to move it closer to completion with the roof, brick, windows, and doors being installed for most of the project. The last month saw the final roof layers go on the mixed-use building and get started on the gymnasium. Utility rough-in work for the mechanical and electrical trades is finishing up in the theatre as well as the mixed-use building. The floorplan is now firming up with the framing and wallboard having been installed throughout the project. The Sugar Hill skyline is taking on a very distinctive character with the brick and architectural variety provided in the project. We are approaching a number of key milestones on the project with certificate of occupancy, water feature completion, and bridge installation right around the corner.
Sidewalks on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. Work is substantially complete now and an inaugural running event is now being planned by the Sugar Hill running club for the end of the month. A few punch list items remain to be completed prior to project close-out.
Sugar Hill Greenway. The project is in the final construction documents stage and 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. The first event associated with opening the greenway will be later this month in association with the running club along the segment on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
