Notes and Quotes-5/1/2020

• Economic Recovery Task Force

-The Economic Recovery Task Force held their first meeting this week. It was attended by over 20 representatives from across the community. This initial meeting was focused on understanding the current landscape for various industries and organizations represented.

-The task force will meet again next Thursday and will share an update at the May 11^th city council meeting.

• Governor Kemp’s Executive Order

-Updates regarding the Executive Order can be found here https://cityofsugarhill.com/covid-19/

• Sugar Hill Facilities and Operations

-All indoor facilities of the City of Sugar Hill will remain closed to the public through the local declared public health State of Emergency, which expires at midnight on May 13, 2020. Facilities closed to the public during this time include: City Hall, The Eagle Theatre, The Suite Spot, The Bowl and the E Center Gym.

-Pavilions, playgrounds, ball courts, athletic facilities, and public restrooms at Gary Pirkle Park remain closed during this time. Parks and trails will remain open for exercise that meets the existing State orders (no gatherings of more than 10 and practicing social distancing).

-Staff is working on a phased re-opening plan. We are also assessing all events for the month of June and subsequent months to determine opportunities to offer these events and concerts as city-sponsored or private rental in our facilities (The Bowl and The Eagle Theatre) or other venues. Our decision-making will be informed by the data and recommendations of public health officials.

• Virtual Events & Future Events

-Our Trivia Tuesdays will continue through the month of May. A TikTok video was released on Wednesday, featuring The Bowl and highlighting its most recent upgrades.

-The Tour de Chalk art challenge has been active this week and will continue until Saturday, May 2^nd when several polls will be held and a winner announced on Monday, May 4^th.

-On Monday, May 4^th we will be releasing the details of a “Lip-Sync Battle” virtual event that the events team is collaborating with the City of Norcross to produce with the support of the communications team.

-The Bowl Concert schedule is being re-evaluated in light of the dynamic pandemic guidance and regulations.  The outdoor venue relies heavily on a short weather window in which to host these concerts.

• Leaf and Limb Service Operations

-Beginning May 4, limb and branch chipping will resume on a limited, monthly basis. Please keep your limbs to the required limits on sizes and volume (4ft x 4ft area and no taller than 6ft), allowing us to catch up. We will pick-up during the first week of the month with an all-hands effort to get everything during that week. We are still short-staffed and having to bring some workload in-house as our vendors and suppliers are still not back up to speed. For the time being, this will be the schedule until such time as we are able to staff back up and/or outsource support services.

-Our leaf/grass bagged yard debris collection service will resume on May 11 with a limited and revamped schedule. The schedule will correspond to the day BEFORE your regular garbage collection day.

-This service was initially limited because demands left by other outsourced services and suppliers (understaffed due to the pandemic or ones that chose to shut-down) in other public works areas required a redeployment of staff.  We have also experienced a depletion of staff due to COVID-19 concerns as well as due to natural attrition since January.

• Heroes Work Here Photos

-In a joint venture between Gwinnett County and its 16 cities, “Heroes Work Here” signs provided by Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA) were installed at the Suwanee Dam Fire Station, the Buford Highway Fire Station, our public works facility, and the North Gwinnett Co-Op to thank and honor individuals working on the front lines in our community. Photos from our public works facility and the North Gwinnett co-op and are attached. These photos will also be shared in a social media piece this coming week. Please note that these photos were individual photos that were photoshopped to create the illusion of a group shot. These photos were taken while carefully respecting social distancing guidelines. We thank the Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA) for coordinating this thoughtful effort.  

• Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Stories

-It’s times like these that we are reminded of the importance of storytelling and our shared history. The Sugar Hill Historic Preservation Society is compiling stories, videos, and photos to remember the events of the coronavirus pandemic and the ways we have responded as a community with acts of care, kindness, and creativity in staying connected while social distancing. We encourage you to share your photos, videos and stories via email to communciations@cityofsugarhill.com. We or our children will look back on these times as a time of community pride, cooperative spirit and certainly resilience.

• Paint the Town Blue

-Recently, GwinnettCares.org put out a call-to-action to Paint the Town Blue as a creative way to show our essential workers, COVID-19 survivors and families that have lost loved ones that we support them and are with them every step of the way. The City of Sugar Hill honors these heroes with blue lights on our Veterans Memorial and our downtown water features. Join us by changing your porch lights to blue or putting blue ribbons on your trees, mailboxes, or front doors.

• May City Council Meeting and Work Session Details

-The May 4, 2020 City Council Work Session and May 11, 2020 City Council Meeting will be held using remote technology as authorized under the public health State of Emergency. Public participation in the meetings is accessible via the teleconference link listed online on the city calendar at www.cityofsugarhill.com. A determination of the June meetings will be made over the next few weeks.

• The “Eagle” has Landed at the Veterans Memorial

-As Troy said earlier today, we extend a special thank you to Joe Appling and Shane Anderson who took a very challenging problem of mounting a bronze eagle statue on the completed water feature at the Veterans Memorial and made it look easy. At the unveiling Troy will share more, but suffice to say the piece was not very installation-friendly. We have some really talented people here on the Sugar Hill team and while it doesn’t always show up when we are mired in the routine, these special projects give them a chance to really show-off their talent and creativity. The eagle will be a wonderful addition to the already stunning memorial.