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CITY OF SNELLVILLE
PUBLIC HEARING
FY-2021 BUDGET

On Monday, May 11, 2020 the Mayor and City Council will hold a Public Hearing at 7:30 p.m. to give its citizens the opportunity to provide written and oral comments on the proposed Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget. All citizens are urged to attend this Public Hearing on May 11th at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Snellville City Hall,
located at 2342 Oak Road, Snellville Georgia.

The proposed budget is available for inspection at Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville, Georgia during regular business hours from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. or on the City website at www.snellville.org.

The Mayor and City Council will consider adoption of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget on Monday, June 8, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville, Georgia.

Melisa Arnold, City Clerk
City of Snellville

BID SOLICITATION
COS200508
The City of Snellville, GA is seeking sealed RFQ proposals for Construction Manager-at-Risk services
for a Towne Center Parking Deck Construction

Please visit our bid page for details.

An area business donated 300 surgical masks to the members and staff of the Snellville Senior Center for use when the facility reopens.

The donation from CPL Architecture – Engineering – Planning, of Suwanee, came after a request for masks went out on the Senior Center Facebook page. CPL has also help donate masks to John's Creek, Brookhaven and Suwanee.

"In these unprecedented times, Snellville Parks and Recreation is honored to have the support of local businesses willing to donate such a valuable item in order for our members and staff to remain safe as we attempt to get back to serving our community," said Lisa A Platt, CPRP, director of Parks and Recreation. "We cannot thank them enough."

The following is a wrap-up of the meeting of Snellville Mayor and Council of April 27, 2020.

Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the meeting was conducted via Zoom.

The program is administered by RedSpeed Georgia LLC which provides the equipment, sends the citation and collects the fine. The city will receive 65 percent of revenue from the program which will be used toward public safety.

Offenders will not be given points on their license and the offense is not reported to state.

"Where automated enforcement is in use, violations go down and that's good," said Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead.

For the Trees. April 24 was proclaimed Arbor Day in Snellville.

"I urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect out trees and woodlands," Mayor Barbara Bender said in the proclamation from Monday's meeting. "I urge all citizens to plant trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations."

Down the Drain. The Dickerson Group, Inc. was awarded $263,434 for five stormwater drainage projects, which will improve the handling of stormwater and reduce the city's overall inventory of poor infrastructure.

The projects, located at 1525 Winding Creek Circle, 1670 Winding Creek Circle, 1715 Winding Creek Circle, 1340 Summit Chase Drive and 3096 Brooks Drive, will will begin immediately and hopefully be completed by June.

"The financial impact is one of great importance when taking into consideration our volume of drainage projects that have been identified as being in poor condition," said Public Works Director Gaye Johnson. "The use of our Stormwater Utility Fee will be put to work."

Clerk Kudos. On Monday, Mayor Barbara Bender read a proclamation stating: "It is most appropriate that we recognize the accomplishments of the Office of the Professional Municipal Clerk." The proclamation declared next week the 51st Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week.

In Snellville, we're lucky to have Melisa Arnold at that post.

On behalf of the city, the Mayor and Council want to "extend appreciation to our Professional Municipal Clerk, Melisa Arnold and to all Professional Municipal Clerks for the vital services they perform and their exemplary dedication to the communities they represent," the proclamation reads.

Tid Bits:

•Next week is also National Travel and Tourism Week in the city Snellville Tourism and Trade was recognized for "the critical role this industry places in our community," according to another proclamations from Monday. For information on city events, visit STAT's website at SnellvilleEvents.com.

•The Snellville Farmers' Market will have a drive-through market Saturday from 9 – 12 p.m. behind City Hall. Because of COVID-19, patrons are required to stay in their cars and drive up to vendors. A plan is in the works to make the regular season of the Snellville Farmers' Market better align with social distancing guidelines when it opens in June for the summer season.

•Elizabeth Reisner was officially appointed to prosecuting attorney for the Municipal Court of the City of Snellville.

The Snellville Recycling Center will re-open Wednesday.

The Recycling Center, located at 2531 Marigold Road, will resume its regular hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

The American Kidney Foundation Donation Truck will also be open.

Access will be limited due to ongoing social distancing practices.

Please be prepared to show your license as access to some recycling services are limited to Snellville residents.

For guidelines on what the Recycling Center accepts, please visit: https://www.snellville.org/recycling

SNELLVILLE — The City of Snellville, along with co-developers CASTO and MidCity, are excited to announce that the street names have been approved for the City's highly anticipated city center development – The Grove at Towne Center.

It has been important to all involved with the planning process that the project include street names that honored Snellville's rich history. The Grove's $85 million first phase will commence construction in 2020 and begin to deliver in 2021.

"We're honored to consult with the Snellville Historical Society on this decision," said Mayor Barbara Bender. "Honoring Snellville's history and bridging the gap between our City's past and future is important to us. We want everyone to feel welcome and know that they have played a part in this exciting growth!"

Extending through the heart of the development, Grove Walk will connect Phase I of the project to City Hall. The name was given in honor of the historical meeting place that the entire center was named after and holds great meaning, especially to those with a close connection to the City's history.

The second and third streets, Thomas Snell Way and James Sawyer Way, are a nod to Snellville's co-founders. As young adults, these two men traveled from England to America and, eventually, established Snellville as a city in the late 1800s. Thomas Snell and James Sawyer are still remembered today for their hard work and dedication that put Snellville on the map. The City is pleased to honor its founders with the exciting growth that they laid the foundation for.

"It was important to us to work closely with the Snellville Historical Society and City Council to develop names that were meaningful to the City's history, but also fit the new development and would resonate with newcomers," said Shannon Dixon, EVP of Southeast Development for CASTO.

For more information and updates on the Grove at Towne Center project visit www.snellville.org/the-towne-center-snellville.

SNELLVILLE — The city has been awarded $385,000 in Community Development Block Grant Program funds for the Briscoe Trail sidewalk construction project which will link The Grove at Towne Center with T.W. Briscoe Park.

"As our city is moving closer each day to accomplishing a long-term goal of constructing a new Snellville Towne Center, the Mayor and Council approved, as a part of the Towne Center design, plans for making our community more walkable," said City Manager Butch Sanders. "One key component of our efforts toward achieving the City's walkability goal is the construction of interconnected sidewalks and trails as recommended in the Snellville Greenway Master Plan adopted by Mayor and Council in December 2017."

The Briscoe Trail sidewalk, will be a 5,000-linear-foot connection between T.W. Briscoe Park, Highway 78, nearby neighborhoods and the planned Towne Center trail system which will run through the Historic Cemetery and behind the office parks on Wisteria Drive. The City will be providing at least $68,000 for engineering design and construction supervision. The Briscoe Trail sidewalk will connect with the planned trail system to be constructed in the Towne Center area via an existing sidewalk which begins at the Snellville City Hall and Senior Center complex on Oak Road. The path the park will travel from Oak Road to Main Street in front of First Baptist Church to Church Street to Freemont Street. It will then connect to a path off Fremont Street into the Briscoe Park public use area. The path will include signage, landscaping and paved paths and is one piece of our Greenway Master Plan available to view here.

Construction on the highly anticipated The Grove at Towne Center is scheduled to begin this summer. When completed, The Grove will offer high-quality apartments, a parking deck, City Market, the Elizabeth Williams Public Library and numerous dining and shopping options.

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Dear Snellville Residents,

Because the Snellville Recycling Center requires much personal contact between employees and customers and it is also not deemed an Essential Service under Gov. Brian Kemp's Executive Order regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, our facility will remain closed until further notice.

However, we are still providing Snellville residents this service through the option of placing yard debris out for curbside pickup. Simply place your yard debris in the City of Snellville brown paper bags that can be bought at Kroger or Publix, call 770-554-0455 and schedule a Wednesday pickup.

We appreciate your patience during the COVID-19 pandemic and are working to find a way to re-open the Recycling Center soon.

Thank you,

City of Snellville

Snellville residents looking for exercise and fresh air during the days of the COVID-19 quarantine don't have to look further than T.W. Briscoe and Oak Road parks.

Snellville's two city parks offer miles of safe and clean walking trails through scenic terrain, the perfect way to exercise and enjoy the outdoors.

Snellville Parks and Recreation staff members are still hard at work during the Coronavirus shutdown to keep the parks clean and safe.

SPD Director Lisa Platt said while the park offices, playgrounds and pavilions have been closed, the walking trails are open to visitors and are quite popular. From 5 – 9 p.m. over a 10-day period since the state's Emergency Order has been put in place, more than 100 people enjoy the trails each weeknight. That number doubles on weekend nights.

"And those numbers are only people using the sidewalk/fitness trail," Platt said. "Some are in parking lots with their kids riding bikes. Those are pretty large numbers and just shows that people still need to get out. Our staff is present to make sure people are keeping the social distancing rules. We will of course continue to serve our citizens in any way we can, even in these unprecedented times."

Even though visitors have access to the trails and open fields, they should still follow CDC guidelines and remain six feet or more apart.

T.W. Briscoe Park is located at 2500 Sawyer Parkway. Oak Road Park is located on Oak Road near Mountain View Road. Both parks are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

SNELLVILLE – Last week the Community Garden @ Snellville was awarded a 2020 Food Well Alliance Community Garden Improvement Grant of $1,500.

"We are extremely appreciative to the Food Well Alliance for their financial backing to community gardens throughout the Atlanta metro area," said Master Gardner Wes Nettleton, who was instrumental in securing the grant. "Through this effort we can support the local area and expand our opportunities to educate both young and old about the environment."

The garden, sandwiched between T.W. Briscoe Park and the city's Recycling Center on Marigold Road, will use the funds needed for equipment, such as hoses, hose nozzles, shovels and another wheelbarrow. It will also be used to add gutter, a downspout and rain barrel to pavilion for water conservation; for lighting in the greenhouse, including general illumination and LED grow lights; for temperature sensors to monitor and maintain temperatures needed in the winter for cold-intolerant plants; to supplies needed to grow plants in the greenhouse, including seeds and organic fertilizer; and to build another demonstration bed in the garden to be used for teaching purposes.

While the garden is on city land, it is fully self-supporting through garden rental fees from users and twice annual plant sales. The $1,500 will go a long way to help promote urban gardening and a strong Snellville community, according to garden organizer and Councilwoman Gretchen Schulz.

"We have many neighborhoods in the city that are quite wooded, which means those homeowners have a difficult time growing vegetables and flowers that require full sun," Schulz said. "The garden provides a place where those homeowners who enjoy gardening can grow sun-loving plants. The garden also provides a source of physical exercise as well as a relief for the stresses and anxiety of daily life. People are often happier when in a surrounding with plants and nature. It's hard not to feel happy when at the Community Garden surrounded by colorful plants as well as bees and butterflies flying from plant to plant. I feel the garden is one of Snellville's hidden jewels."

The Community Garden @Snellville was created in 2012 when the City Council took a former all-purpose field and installed 10 garden beds. Today the Community Garden has expanded to 48 raised beds rented on an annual basis and manages a 40-by-20-foot greenhouse. The garden grows vegetables, flowers and herbs in their greenhouse and offers them for sale at nominal rates at both spring and fall plant sales in conjunction with the Snellville Farmers' Market. The garden grows and donates vegetables on a weekly basis to the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op. The garden also provides educational seminars and events for young people, including classes from South Gwinnett High School.

The Food Well Alliance is a collaborative network of Atlanta area metro leaders working together to build thriving community gardens and urban farms. Since 2015, the Alliance has invested $185,000 directly into 90 community gardens across Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties through its Community Garden Grant.

For more information on the Community Garden @Snellville visit www.snellvillecommunitygarden.com/