PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Permits/Inspections. A new self-storage facility located at 613 Buford Highway recently broke ground. The project will include a three-story climate controlled self-storage building with 88,000 square feet of space.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Community Engagement. Marshals attended Georgia Gwinnett College Safety Expo and handed out safety material. Chief King and Deputy Chief Smith met with Corporal Parker with Gwinnett County Police Department to partner with his unit for community events within the city limits of Sugar Hill. Chief King attended the Youth Council informational meeting. Staff represented the Sugar Hill Marshal’s Office this past weekend by participating in the Faith and Blue community event hosted by Gwinnett County Police and Buford Church of God. The event facilitates safer, stronger, and more unified communities by connecting law enforcement and faith-based organizations.
Parking. Marshals continue to monitor and tag illegally parked vehicles. Parking regulation signs are posted in areas where parking is time-restricted.
Patrols & Other Business. The Marshals continue to patrol residential areas, businesses, and schools within the city limits of Sugar Hill. Chief King and Deputy Chief Smith attended a Parkland School Shooting seminar at Buford High School and a Chief’s meeting in Cleveland, Georgia which included training regarding law enforcement response to people with autism. Chief King also attended the Gwinnett Chief’s Meeting and received training on One Stop 4 Help, which is about warming stations throughout Gwinnett. Also, active shooter response training will be offered to all agencies. Marshals completed a blended first aid training course and obtained certification in adult and pediatric first aid, CPR, and AED use.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Parks. Georgia Force High School Football continued their season with a couple of home games. All-In Futbol Club and i9 recreation leagues and academy tournaments began this month. The new signage has been installed at Gary Pirkle Park and looks great! Gardeners have experienced a successful season at the Community Garden. The Garden Board Members hosted four elementary school classes at the garden pavilion discussing the importance of pollinators. The students conducted a pollination survey.
E Center. Gym memberships now total 17,320. Public and private rentals continue to fill the Waterfall Rooms and classrooms. If you are interested in renting one of these spaces, contact an E Center representative and they can assist you with your reservation.
39th Street Station. The new space located just off the lower parking deck at the E Center is the city’s new meeting and event space. For information on reserving this new space for a meeting or event, contact an E Center representative today for more information.
Golf. September was another successful month on the course. Regular maintenance of grounds, clubhouse, and equipment continues. The Sugar Hill Golf Association held their 2-Man Stapleford Tournament on Saturday, September 17th. Golfers enjoyed beautiful weather and a wonderful day of play. Sign up now for the 2-Player Alternate Shot Tournament scheduled for November 19th. 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. After a very successful summer, the park is now closed for the season.
Ice Rink. The tent for the ice rink is now up and opening day is scheduled for November 10th.
COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Events. This month, we have several community events hosted by various community groups and businesses, as well as some exciting concerts at The Bowl and The Eagle Theatre.
The City of Sugar Hill welcomes its 8th Annual Sugar Rush Festival this upcoming weekend – October 15th and 16th. Sugar Rush Arts Festival is an outdoor event located in Downtown Sugar Hill featuring visual and performing arts, food, music, history, and family fun. Spend the day in downtown Sugar Hill on Saturday from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and catch a free, general admission concert at The Bowl beginning at 3:00 PM. The festivities open back up again for day two on Sunday from noon – 6:00 PM.
We will have back-to-back concerts on October 21st and 22nd with Bret Michaels Nothin’ But A Good Vibe Tour at The Bowl and Lit & Hoobastank Tried and True Tour at The Eagle Theatre. Tickets are still available for both concerts.
Ending the month, join the city and downtown businesses for Trick or Treat on West Broad Street with the Movie Under the Stars event featuring The Haunted Mansion on October 28th.
Looking ahead in The Eagle Theatre, we have John Berry’s Christmas concert on November 25th, the Players Guild performances of Over the River, and Lonestar Christmas and Hits on December 15th.
For tickets and information about upcoming shows and events please visit The Bowl and The Eagle websites.
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Gas Department. We have run through existing inventory and now have added 31 transmitters, bringing the total to 7,789 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. For September, the utility locating technician completed services on 539 sites, down some 20% from August. 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 100 other service requests to round out the workload last month.
Street & Stormwater Department. During September, yard debris operations delivered 8 loads of mulch and had 117 truckloads of bagged clippings collected. This resulted in 11 loads of debris to the disposal site, holding pace with August totals. There were no open-top dumpster rentals this month. Our right-of-way maintenance crews continue to tackle grass, weeds, and litter along our major roadways maintaining our high level of service. 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 is quickly approaching the final stretch of construction. The section of trail from Gold Mine Park to Whitehead Road was paved last month. Work on grading the shoulders and stabilizing the slopes on either side of the trail continues. Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources is still working in one 40-foot section on a new sewer line that will break up the continuity of trail through the natural area. When all trail construction is complete, the entire 4.7 miles of phase 1 will be ready to enjoy. 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 area. Wayfinding signs are scheduled for installation in October.
Gold Mine Park. TriScapes, the city’s general contractor, has completed the pavement portion of the park and now is finishing a dumpster enclosure and storage building, striping the parking spaces and entrance lanes, commissioning the street crossing lights and finishing up some other small details. 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 (39th Street Station). Construction is complete on these spaces making them available for HOA groups, businesses, or individuals. The space consists of two areas that can be used for classes, meetings, or events.
Ridge Lake Park. Reeves Young, the city’s contractor for the first phase of construction is prepared to break ground on the project this fall with an eight-month construction schedule.
Park Restroom Building. Design is being finalized for a restroom building to serve the new fields on the South side of Gary Pirkle Park. They will incorporate 7 unisex stalls and a water bottle filling station. We will advertise for a construction partner when the design is finished.
Whitehead Road Traffic Calming (Speed Humps). Construction is scheduled to begin in late October on ten (10) speed humps voted on and approved by the property owners on Whitehead Road. The ten locations will extend from West Broad to the north down to Arbor View Lane to the south.
Bowl Pond Improvements. Intended to make this amenity more stable and usable, these improvements include replacing the failed outlet that regulates pond water level and prevents flooding, a new pavilion area for events, congregating or just relaxing and a new parking area that will also serve as a load in area for concerts and performances. The city’s general contractor, Barnsley Construction Group, anticipates starting construction in November.
Alton Tucker Blvd Extension. The survey work is complete and design work is well underway for an extension of Alton Tucker Boulevard. This project will improve the intersection of Level Creek Road and West Broad Street, as well as extending Alton Tucker to Highway 20 at the east end of the E Center property. When design work is complete, we will then advertise for a construction partner.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
In the month of September, 138 new gas service applications and 104 disconnects were processed. A total of 62 new meters and 31 Automated Meter Readers were installed. There were 11,851 active meters billed in the month of September. A total of 29 new business licenses were issued. Passport totals reached 116 with 114 photos processed this past month.
