PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Five single-family home permits were issued in the month of October, averaging 2,564 square feet and six multi-family home permits were issued averaging 1,879 square feet. A building permit was issued for building B at 4536 Nelson Brogdon Boulevard. The 4,100 square foot building is slated to be a corporate building for Legacy Academy. A remodel permit was issued for one of the suites in the E Center (M207), soon to be Manley, Spangler, Smith Architects. An additional remodel was issued for Legacy Medical at 5422 Cumming Highway.
Residential Permit Issuance by Date
Residential CO Issuance by Date 
In the month of October, 308 building inspections were accomplished; a decrease from the 390 performed the previous October. Year-to-date, there has been a decrease in overall building inspections, with about 500 fewer inspections being performed in 2019.
A total of 369 zoning and property maintenance code inspections were carried out in October. This is about a ten percent decrease from the 407 inspections performed the previous year. About 350 additional code enforcement inspections have been performed as compared to 2018.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. Regular maintenance to the park was completed to include tree trimming along walking paths, light poles and cameras. Georgia Force along with All-In Futbol Club and i9 recreation leagues continue practice and play at the park. Several improvement projects were completed at the Community Garden and surrounding area.
Downtown and City Hall. Regular grounds maintenance activities continued at City Hall, The Suite Spot, The Bowl and the Plaza. Fresh seasonal flowers were added to the planters in front of city hall.
E Center. Gym memberships now exceed 8,000 with citizens and guests participating in a variety of different activities and health-focused classes. Several private events and group meetings occurred in the Waterfall Banquet rooms to include Leadership Gwinnett and Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia.
Golf. The course had another busy month with mild weather conditions along and several successful tournaments. Irrigation work was carried out as the project nears completion. The Annual Sugar Hill Cup Tournament was held on the 19th and 20th of October. The event brought out golfers to the course to enjoy two days of play and fellowship.
EVENTS
The Eagle Theatre. October in the theatre hosted several events to include the Halloween-themed movie series, a book launch, The Marshall Tucker Band concert, and a special showing of The Goonies as well as tours during Sugar Rush. The Eagle had a very successful month with over 2,000 guests visiting to enjoy the various events.
Events. Sugar Rush was a great success with over 8,000 in attendance throughout the day. We are grateful for all the volunteers, community groups, partners and city staff that helped make both the Loop installation and Sugar Rush wonderful events for our community.
In partnership with the American Legion Post # 127 and the Suwanee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the City of Sugar Hill proudly honored veterans in a special ceremony on the 11th of November. The ceremony included music from The Broad St. Concert Band as well as a flag raising ceremony and remarks from local veterans. The event was held at the site of the new Veterans Memorial Plaza and was well attended by city leaders, staff, members of the community and decorated veterans from every branch of service along with their families.
Upcoming Events.
The Eagle Theatre:
11/8-11/17 Players Guild presents The Game’s Afoot
11/17-11/18 Players Guild auditions for Blithe Spirit
11/19 Showings of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (11:00 AM and 7:00 PM)
11/26 Showings of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11:00 AM and 7:00 PM)
12/3 Showings of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (11:00 AM and 7:00 PM)
12/19 Tim Shelton’s A Very Vintage Christmas
Downtown Sugar Hill/The E Center:
11/16 Biscuits and Brews
12/7 Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting (5:00 PM – 9:00 PM)
Featuring: Performances of Santa’s Magical Journey by Susan Chambers Dance Company in The Eagle at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
The department brought a new member on board this month. Kami Clements joined the team on the 7th of November as the new Marketing and Communications Coordinator. She brings expansive experience in diverse marketing and communication roles, including work with the Gwinnett Stripers and Gwinnett Sports Commission. She holds a dual degree in Communications and Advertising from the University of Arkansas.
Metro Atlanta Redevelopment Summit. The Broadstone at Sugar Hill project was recognized at the annual Metro Atlanta Redevelopment Summit for innovative redevelopment in the heart of our growing downtown.
Suite Spot. The Suite Spot business incubator was recognized at the annual Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Awards as a finalist in the Advocate category of awards. Management improvements continue as the Downtown Coordinator increases programing and opportunities for members.
Gwinnett Great Days of Service. Nearly 60 community members participated in the Sugar Hill Gwinnett Great Days of Service project on the 26th of October. Volunteers worked to care for and repair plots in the historic community cemetery on West Broad Street. A special thanks to the Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society for preparing and providing lunch, the Sugar Hill Youth Ambassadors and Youth Council, and the Scouts BSA troops and Girl Scouts troop who made the day such a success.
Community Round Table. The quarterly community roundtable was held at the close of October, bringing together leaders from Sugar Hill’s diverse community groups. Conversation focused on partnership in 2020, including compiling a welcome bag for new residents with information about ways to get involved in the community.
Trick-or-Treat on West Broad Street. Over 200 community members participated in the first Trick-or-Treat on West Broad Street to celebrate Halloween with some of our E Center businesses.
Sugar Hill Community Scan Day. The Historic Preservation Society held their first Community Scan Day on the 10th of November. Community members had the opportunity to bring in special items such as old photographs, deeds, letters and other documentation that were digitally archived.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. The Georgia Public Service Commission completed an inspection and audit of our public awareness program and found the department to be in full compliance. Utility staff have installed 3,934 automated meter-reading transmitters for the system since the replacement program began in late 2017. Staff also completed utility-locate services on 575 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 101 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. We continue to receive compliments from our public works counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions regarding mowing, right-of-way maintenance, and turf care programs on Highway 20 and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. Now Georgia Department of Transportation is taking notice and we are appreciative of the department’s effort. Thirteen (13) loads of yard debris were collected and hauled to our disposal site during the month. We also completed sidewalk repairs in the Westbrook Commons neighborhood as well as trimmed overhanging limbs in Riverside Walk and in Arbor Clos. Our stormwater staff completed structure repairs to catch basins and inlets in Simmons Mine Circle, Elizabeth Heights, Parkview Mine, and Springview Way.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
E Center. New South construction is focused on the last few items before closing out the warranty list and wrapping up their role on the project. The items are being resolved and will be formally cleared as soon as we can confirm their satisfactory completion. Manley, Spangler, Smith Architects, Southern Grace floral studio, and our newest office tenant are at various stages of construction, building-out their spaces. Holiday decorations began installation right after the Halloween activities and are expected to be illuminated as soon as we can get them ready, but before the tree lighting event.
Sidewalks Projects – Whitehead and Suwanee Dam Roads. Construction is nearing the finish line on Whitehead Road for this important SPLOST-funded pedestrian project. Just under a thousand feet of sidewalk are left before concluding the two miles of sidewalks on Whitehead. One segment between Sugar Ridge and Arbor View will be deferred to allow the county to repair a stormwater pipe prior to completing work on that segment of sidewalk. Once complete, the contractor will bring in a few more crews to tackle the north end of Suwanee Dam Road.
Sugar Hill Greenway. This project has undergone some rearrangement of sorts as the very first phase of construction was completed about a year ago along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard between the new county park and Gwinnett Church. The next segment to be constructed will be along that same road from EE Robinson Park to the county’s new park, completing a continuous segment of just less than a mile. Additional alignment and scope modifications are underway in order to keep the project moving on the two ends of this phase.
Veterans Memorial Relocation. Surfaces Group, the city’s general contractor, wrapped up concrete work on the pools and began placing pavers and granite panels throughout the project as they worked toward substantial completion. The tank and plumbing connections associated with the water feature and gas line were run and connected in anticipation of getting the fountain and eternal flame operational in time for the Veterans Day activities. Several granite panels are still being prepared and cut before they can be delivered and placed. Georgia Power set the transformer on the project and has the site ready for temporary power.
2019 Bowl Improvements. Barnsley Construction has completed demolition, site utilities and footings for the concession building and has begun turf replacement in The Bowl seating area. The bid scope includes customer-focused improvements, such as lighting, sound, and visual enhancements centered on concessions space and finishes. The contractor anticipates reaching substantial completion in April.
Gary Pirkle Park Field Improvements. The design for this project to upgrade the natural turf fields southeast of Richland Creek is expected to wrap up later next month. The proposed synthetic turf solution will be weather-resilient, providing three field sizes and four different configurations as options. Soils and geotechnical testing have been completed, which will determine the amount of earthwork required for drainage layers in the turf system.
Level Creek Road Extension. The proposed project to connect West Broad with Highway 20 at the east end of the E Center is in the final design stage. The important transportation project is wrapping-up design and a construction schedule has not been established yet.
Highway 20 Widening Project. The Georgia Department of Transportation project to widen the state route from Buford Highway to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to three (3) lanes in each direction is wrapping up the concept stage. The concepts developed by Georgia Department of Transportation was part of a public comment period that concluded on October 22nd and is available online.
Sugar Hill Historic Cemetery. A master plan of the cemetery is being finalized with a few remaining edits, which will lay out the remaining plots, propose a new option for inurning remains in the form of a columbarium and provide areas for peaceful, quiet reflection in the facility.
Art/History Room Buildout – Broadstone Project. Staff has completed a request for proposals for the buildout design of these two spaces, seeking professional architectural services with experience in art galleries and museums. The project is a part of the proposed 2020 budget.
Gold Mine Park. This park project proposed for a 9-acre tract on Level Creek Road commemorates the gold mining industry in Sugar Hill and provides a trailhead for the greenway that passes through this area. The design is nearing completion with permitting and bid phases to follow. The project’s construction contract will be advertised for bids soon with that process taking approximately a month, followed by a review of the results, contract award and pre-construction contract documentation. It is anticipated that construction will get underway in the early part of 2020 with about a six-month construction window.
