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SNELLVILLE – A Fiscal Year 2019 balanced budget of $13,426,874 was approved by council Monday.

Net Fiscal Year 2019 spending is projected to increase by 4.6 percent or $520,254, City Manager Butch Sanders said. Three non-discretionary reasons for the increase include $45,000 in new funding for maintaining aging facilities, $46,000 for the cost of living adjustment in the city's sanitation contract and $30,000 in planning and development which can be accounted for through the Comprehensive Plan update, the Unified Development Ordinance project and inspection costs.

$696,000 in is budgeted for street resurfacing and $650,000 in stormwater projects helping to maintain important city infrastructure.

Salary increases for police and labor and maintenance crews will help to keep the city competitive with other local governments.

Positive local economic growth is exhibited in several strong city revenue items including: occupational tax, five years of positive growth; building permits, which have increased four-fold in Fiscal Year 2018; and recreation programs, which are up more than 25 percent in the last three years.

SNELLVILLE – The popular Star Spangled Snellville event featuring one of the best firework shows in the Southeast is set for July 4.

The Snellville Tourism and Trade Association will present an unforgettable Fourth of July experience in the heart of Snellville from 4-10 p.m. on the Towne Green.

The event begins with family friendly entertainment, including the tastes and smells of some of your favorite festival foods along with a large playground of inflatables, the BIG KAHUNA water slide, train rides and bungee jump. Ride as often as you like with an all-day arm band for only $10.

The CONTAGIOUS Band will take the stage at 5 p.m. followed by RHYTHM NATION at 7:30 p.m.

The fireworks display will begin when the sky becomes dark, approximately 9:30 p.m.

For information on concert tables, please contact Kelly McAloon at kelmca@comcast.net

For more information on other upcoming events visit www.snellvilletourism.com.

SNELLVILLE – The award-winning Snellville Farmers' Market will open its ninth season Saturday.

The popular weekly market is open each Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Towne Green through Sept. 29. The market will open its season with the National Anthem sung by Snellville's own Kriss Johnson at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Johnson is the 2015 Ms. Senior Georgia and the 2017 Ms. National Patriot.

Also, David Tyberg, will entertain patrons with his tenor banjo, focusing on rock/pop favorites, jazz and Broadway classics, as well as his own pop songwriting. More entertainment and guests will be featured throughout the season.

The market features products that come from farms and gardens that, for the most part, are located within a 100-mile radius of Snellville. When you purchase local produce, rather than produce that has been shipped across the country, it comes from farmers who have nurtured their crops and usually picked their produce the day before the market, or even early that morning. For the consumer, this means the produce they purchase is freshly picked and flavorful.

Primary parking is across the street in the City Hall parking lot with overflow parking at Cobblestone Place.

There will be new vendors this year, as well as all your favorites from years past.

Believe Handmade Jewelry
Black Door Designs
Blooming Beauties
Bon Appetit
Bread of Life Bakery
BZ Pet Delights
Cari's Corner Bakery
Cedar Seeder Farm
Cooking with Bubba
Cousins Maine Lobster Truck (10:30 am - 12:30 pm)
Deb's Jams and Jellies
Eastside Medical Center
El Cuate Foods
Fitzgerald Fruit Farms
Fokus Foods
Formaggio
Gralan Farms (Greg Earle)
Grand Prix Bakery
Great Harvest Bread Co.
Green Bean Organics
Kona Ice
Legacy Bakers
MJ's Vegetables
Old Mariner Treasures
Pearson Farm
Pie-A-Bakeshop
Presley's Farm and Garden
Q-Cumber Fusion
Renaissance Gardens
Seed to Petal Flower Farm
Shawnee's Goodies
Shadow Wings Farm
Simple Scoop Cookies
Snellville Honey
Sol Bowl
Southern Butterflies
Sparkles
Sunshine Farm
The Woodmeister
Twisted Natural Foods
TyCoB Farms
UGA Extension Service

For more information and recipes featuring market products, visit www.snellvillefarmersmarket.com.

SNELLVILLE – A Flag Day ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. June 16 at the T.W. Briscoe Park Partee Flag Pole.

The event will feature welcoming remarks, a keynote speaker, flag presentation, a 21-musket gun salute, raising the flag which was flown over the U.S. Capitol and was sponsored by U.S. Sen. David Perdue. The Pledge of Allegiance by Boy Scout Troop 65, Snellville UMC and others will follow. The event is open to the public.

All citizens, businesses and municipalities are asked to fly the U.S. flag that day. Flag Day is also a great time to take a close look at your current flag to ensure that it is in good condition. Retire old flags appropriately by reaching out to your local American Legion or the Boy Scouts as they accept old flags year round.

"It's the utmost honor, that we the citizens, the American public stand tall saluting this great symbol of Freedom, the reality of freedom, the USA flag, remembering what it stands for and thanking all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and remembering all service men and women who stood in the forefront ensuring our flag is flying high," said Mike Sabbagh, Snellville Flag Day Committee president.

Refreshments will be served after the program.

SNELLVILLE – The Snellville Police Department will be out in force, hosting its annual Public Safety Night June 5.

The free event, also sponsored by the Snellville Citizens' Police Academy Alumni Association, will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on the Towne Green in front of City Hall.

Expect family fun and great information on protecting your family, pets, personal identity, home, business and yourself.

The event will feature police vehicles with anti-crime accessories, tactical equipment and weapons and the Special Response Team. County fire equipment and personnel, emergency medical service members and first responders will be on hand offering information.

Area mascots and activities will be onsite to entertain children and there will be door prizes.

Other popular attractions returning this year are demonstrations by the Snellville K-9 Unit and officers demonstrating how to manage a traffic stop.

Exhibitors will be providing information on: CodeRED - a free emergency notification system; personal safety; road safety for adults, teens and young children; gun safety and training; financial security; home security; pet security; and fingerprinting of children.

The county is celebrating its 200th year and a display of county history is now open to visitors at Snellville City Hall.

The display will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the lobby and community room at City Hall.

A torch run bringing a commemorative torch will arrive at City Hall May 30 and leave June 7 with the display. As the day approaches a time of the torch arrival will be released, It is open to the public.

CITY OF SNELLVILLE
PUBLIC HEARING
FY-2019 BUDGET

On Monday, May 14, 2018 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 2019 budget. All citizens are urged to attend this Public Hearing on May 14, 2018 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. (Visit our Budget/Finance Page.)

The Mayor and City Council will consider adoption of the Fiscal Year 2019 budget on Monday, June 11, 2018 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

SNELLVILLE – Somehow Jim W. Cofer Jr. managed to cram 200 years of Snellville history into one book.

It did, however, take 529 pages and more than 360 photos, figures and tables.

Snellville's first complete history book, entitled "200 Years of Snellville History," was published by King Publishing of Boston.

This research intensive history, commissioned by the Snellville Historical Society, was six years in the making and has 275 references cited.

The author covered many important aspects of the Snellville community including the Native American period, early settler families, churches, schools, business and industry, military heroes, medical community, city governance, sports and community organizations. The lost art practices of one-horse farming, saw milling and hog killing are described. Chapters are also devoted to a Snellville Hall of Fame, local Folklore, and the "Demands of the 21st Century."

The hardback book with dust jacket is priced at $30 for members of the Snellville Historical Society and $35 for non-members. Copies may be purchased at Snellville City Hall on Mondays and Fridays between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

The book will also be for sale this weekend and the Snellville Historical Society booth at Snellville Days May 5 and 6.

Contact the Snellville Historical Society office at 770-985-3500 for more information. Calls are returned on Monday and Friday of each week.

SNELLVILLE - A task force comprised of students, business owners and community leaders met with representatives of Jacobs - a planning and engineering firm - to begin talks about the city's 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update Thursday.

The Comprehensive Plan is a map of the city's future for the next 20 years and sets policy and direction and a five-year work program to accomplish these goals. The topic areas include land use, transportation, housing, economic development and quality of life issues.

It is the first time the task force met following a day of interviews by "stakeholders" - another group of business and community leaders - last month. That group told Jacobs its opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of the city.

The task force was asked "What kind of place do you want Snellville to be in 2040?"

"You will be deciding what the city will become," said Jacobs Urban Planner Meghan McMullen. "You are representatives of the city whether you go to school here, your business is here - you will be the ones taking the conversation of the future of the city back to kitchen tables."

The task force took part in a SWOT analysis which asked the group its impressions of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the city.

The task force will meet three more times through September and will address the Livable Centers Initiative and draft community polices and the work program after identifying areas of need.

A website detailing the process will be launched next week and members of Jacobs will be at Public Safety Night June 5 on the Towne Green, an August Snellville Farmers' Market and at a local shopping center to get more resident input.

SNELLVILLE – The Snellville Commerce Club rewarded two area students with $1,000 scholarship checks Tuesday.

Each year, the Snellville Commerce Club, the business arm of Snellville Tourism and Trade, awards two $1,000 scholarships to a student active in either FBLA or the DECA program from Brookwood and South Gwinnett high schools. Students must demonstrate academic success and have been engaged in the community.

South Gwinnett's recipient was Arnesha Clark. Brookwood's winner was Philena Yang.

"The Snellville Commerce Club is proud to offer these scholarships to these deserving students each year," said STAT Executive Director Kelly McAloon. "We hope these scholarships help them with their education and wish them success in the years to come."

Arnesha is a hard-working student athlete and AP scholar who is very active and dedicated to her community. She serves as secretary of the FBLA at SGHS and is an officer of the DECA program. She is a year round cheerleader which means she cheers for competition, basketball and football. Being a cheerleader has helped Arnesha manage her time wisely and also has given her plenty of volunteer opportunities throughout the year.

Arnesha is planning on attending Georgia Southern University and majoring in biology and attending the Nursing Program. She is involved in many volunteer and community service centers around Gwinnett County.

One of the roles most important to her is being involved with the Snellville Youth, Commission as a youth ambassador for the city of Snellville and serves as Mayor Pro Tem. She is also a second-year Explorer in the Sarah Care of Snellville Explorer Program.

She is a violinist and is a principal player in the first violin section. She is also active in her community and volunteers at Eastside Garden to socialize with the elderly during their ice cream socials and spends time at Sarah Care with an explorer buddy who has Alzheimer's or dementia. She also mentors younger girls and has cleaned up and repainted the school. She volunteers at the Co-op and works at Honey Baked Ham seasonally.

At Brookwood High School, Philena serves as the co-president of the FBLA and is a member of the BETA Club. She has demonstrated academic excellence and commitment to her school and community.

She has been accepted to Georgia Tech to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science with the end goal of also attaining a Master's Degree in Management Information Systems at the University of the Georgia. Her goal is to become a Computer Systems Analyst.

Philena took first place in the FBLA 2018 Regional Leadership Conference along with many other FBLA local and regional awards. She is very involved in her community serving as Camp Director at Crews STEM Technology Camp, tutors students, volunteers at Camp Invention guiding elementary students through the basics of entrepreneurship and engineering and manages 30 students through the camp day. She is the campaign leader that organizes activities and fundraisers benefiting the March of Dimes. She also volunteers with the Adopt-A-Road Program and cleans the roads outside of Brookwood High School.

Philena, while keeping a 4.0 GPA and volunteering in her community, has also managed to work at a job while in school.

Coming from a family of 10, Philena's aspirations continue to grow and she is confident that she will have a tremendous impact at the college she attends, her community, family and peers in her future endeavors.

For more information about STAT and the Snellville Commerce Club visit www.snellvilletourism.com.