Permits/Inspections. During the month of July, seventeen townhome permits were issued for the Northmark subdivision, averaging 1,875 square feet.
Annexation Petition. The city accepted an annexation petition for a three-parcel, 16.5-acre assemblage in the 5000 block of Suwanee Dam Road for a proposed residential subdivision. The property is currently zoned R100 in the county and the applicant is requesting a RS100 planned residential subdivision for 41 single family detached homes. Public hearings are scheduled for the August 15th Planning Commission meeting and the September 12th City Council meeting.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Community Engagement. Staff attended the Sparks in the Park event on the 3rd of July and continue to make a presence throughout the city. Deputy Chief Smith partnered with a neighboring agency teaching a class for active shooter awareness with approximately 100 attendees.
Parking. Several vehicles have been towed from the parking decks and E Center parking area. Marshals continue to monitor and place warnings on illegally parked vehicles. Parking regulation signs are posted in areas where parking is time-restricted.
Patrols. Patrols through residential and commercial areas throughout the city continue. Chief King and Marshals McElroy, Callazo, and Thongkoth responded to several specific calls. Staff began a new daily activity log that will assist in keeping up with the residential and business patrol metrics for the department. Paradigm Security Services continues to perform patrols of the city between the hours of 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. Georgia Force began their 2022 practice season at Gary Pirkle Park with games beginning in August. All-In Futbol Club and i9 Sports wrapped up their summer camp season. A workday was held and well attended at the Community Garden to clean up the common areas. The new garden pavilion is now up, adding a new feature to the 105-plot existing garden.
E Center. Gym memberships are now at 16,894. Come try out the new gym equipment, take a walk on the state-of-the-art indoor walking track or play a game on one of the multiple ball courts. Open Pickleball play continues on Tuesday nights, early afternoons on Fridays, and early evenings on Saturdays. The 35+ Basketball League is now full and has a total of 8 teams. The number of reservations for the Waterfall Room and classrooms continue to remain high. The spaces are the perfect location for either a public or private event or meeting. If you are interested in renting one of these areas, contact an E Center representative and they can assist you with your reservation.
Golf. Play at the course continues to trend upward as July proved to be another successful month at the course. The greens have recovered nicely after aeration during the month of June. Some landscape work was done at the main entrance and around the clubhouse in preparation for another busy month. Thirty players participated in the two-day 3-Player Step-A-Side Tournament held on Saturday, July 16th. Participants battled the heat, but the day resulted in some good, competitive golf and great fellowship. The Member/Guest Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, August 20th. This tournament allows members to bring a guest to our beautiful course for a nice day of golf and camaraderie. For information on becoming a Sugar Hill Golf Association (SHGA) member or course information, contact our pro shop staff at the Golf Course by calling 770-271-0519.
Splash Park. The park continues to be a very popular venue between the hot temperatures and everyone trying to get in some summer fun before school started back. Splash Night, the free community event that occurs the last Friday of each month (5:00-9:00 PM from May – September) takes place on the Plaza behind City Hall and at the Splash Park. The event includes live entertainment, local food trucks, inflatables, games, and much more. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, Splash Night on July 29th had to be cancelled. Don’t miss the next one planned for Friday, August 26th and be sure to enjoy dinner at one of the food trucks or at one of our delicious local restaurants. The hours of operation are from 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM daily (weather permitting – guests are encouraged to check the website and social media for closure information prior to making the trip).
COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Events. In July, On The Stage Children’s Theatre Alliance hosted their summer camp and had several successful performances at The Eagle Theatre. The first Sugar Hill Live On Stage concert at The Eagle Theatre was held this past Saturday, August 6th and featured Tommy DeCarlo, singer of the band Boston. Also on Saturday, the Downtown Development Authority held a Cleanup Event in Downtown Sugar Hill. Thank you to all who volunteered for this event. Michael Franti & Spearhead will perform during the August 27th Sugar Hill Live On Stage at The Bowl event. Doors will open at 7:00 P.M. Don’t miss out on this show or the two others in the series – Diamond Rio performing on September 3rd and The Robert Cray Band performing on September 24th.
Stay tuned as we will have more exciting concert announcements coming soon. For tickets and information about upcoming shows please visit The Bowl and The Eagle websites.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. We have added another 41 transmitters to our AMR system during July and now have 7,753 accounts that can be read automatically through our radio-based system. The gas department staff also focused on other regulatory compliance and project support tasks during the month, responding to a Public Service Commission visit and assisting with the cemetery project. The utility locating technician completed services on 534 sites down from the first months of summer. The staff continues to coordinate with 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 38 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. Yard debris operations delivered 2 loads of mulch and had 83 truckloads of bagged clippings collected. This resulted in 5 loads of debris to the disposal site. We did not have any open-top dumpster rentals during the month of July. Our right-of-way maintenance crews continue to raise the bar as the focus remains on mowing along our major roadways and is one of the reasons we continue to get noticed by state and county transportation officials. Litter pick-up is a big part of that process and one of the reasons we are proud of our staff’s work keeping the roads clean. The DDA completed a litter cleanup event in the downtown area this past weekend as a part of our adopt-a-road program. Stormwater staff remained focused on inspections, regulatory compliance, and new public/private project coordination.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Sugar Hill Greenway Trail. The city’s contractor, Tri Scapes, has completed an almost 3-mile-long section from the corner of Church and West Broad Streets to Level Creek Rd across from the new Gold Mine Park. Tri Scapes has installed both bridges and most of the boardwalk in this, the most natural of the greenway segments to date. Many of the project’s natural segments follow the old Georgia DOT right-of-way for the outer perimeter project and take visitors through many of the most scenic places in the city. A pedestrian crossing signal proposed for the Level Creek Road crossing near the back entrance to Gwinnett Church (just south/west of Markim Forest subdivision) will be activated once the trail is closer to completion and the county approves the installation. The Bethany Church parking area and trail section under Whitehead Road are nearing completion and should be ready to open soon. Wayfaring signs are complete and ready for installation.
Many of the project’s natural segments follow the old Georgia DOT right-of-way for the outer perimeter, taking visitors through many of the most scenic places in the city that could have been a six-lane highway through the city.
Gold Mine Park. TriScapes, the city’s general contractor has made significant progress on the small (2.4 acre with 7 acres of greenspace), but important park. The final touches for this trail head and passive park project are taking shape. The asphalt parking area, landscaping, and trail connections are complete to the south and east with guardrail, dumpster enclosure and the trail tie-in to the boardwalk to the west remaining to finish up. A team of city staff is working on a viewing platform to showcase the mine’s entrance and provide access to what, once was a key part of Sugar Hill’s history.
E Center Event Space. The city’s contractor on the E Center Event Space & Conference Room, Barnsley Construction has received the certificate of occupancy and the project has reached the Substantial Completion Milestone. The space will consist of two areas that can be used for classes, meetings or events. These areas can be rented by HOAs, businesses or individuals. The space consists of two areas that can be used for classes, meetings, or events.
Ridge Lake Park. The 22 acres that the City owns on Highway 20 east of the Arbor Clos neighborhood, named Ridge Lake Park will become a new passive recreation area. Consisting of a parking area, rest room building with covered seating area, a dog park, pond improvements and trails; it will be the newest place to relax and unwind. Many of the amenities in the park were suggested by the public during open houses that we held in 2017 and 2018. The contractor, under the construction manager at risk method, Reeves+Young is working on the guaranteed maximum price for the project and a recommendation will be presented when the details are finalized.
Community Garden Improvements. Construction on the pavilion has been completed in house and we are excited about the newest improvement to the garden. The space will be available for educational uses and demonstrations for garden members, the community, and our stormwater compliance program. The photo below shows the new fence, new irrigation connections, and pavilion which is part of the scope of this phase of improvements.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
In the month of July, 159 new gas service applications and 135 disconnects were processed. A total of 14 new meters and 41 Automated Meter Readers were installed. There were 11,832 active meters billed in the month of July. A total of 10 new business licenses were issued. Passport totals reached 101 with 78 photos processed this past month.
