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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.

SNELLVILLE – The sharks are back!

Students will pitch their business ideas to local entrepreneurs Tuesday and Wednesday in the annual Snellville Shark Tank program created by the Snellville Entrepreneur Council. The program, based on the popular television show, asks students to create an actual business and compete to win seed money after pitching their business to a panel of judges or "sharks."

The competition is open to students at Brookwood, Grayson Shiloh and South Gwinnett high schools.

"It's been a year and the sharks are back in Snellville," said Economic Development Coordinator Eric Van Otteren. "The high school students, at the beginning of the school year, were asked to create their own summer job. The mission, the task of the sharks, is to identify the young entrepreneurs and businesses that are most likely to accomplish this and launch them accordingly. These young folks represent the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow, today. Their stories are amazing: their passion is relentless."

SNELLVILLE – The creation of the Towne Center took a major step forward Monday as the City Council unanimously approved a contract with TSW to design a library/city market building.

"This will be an enormous step in the direction of building our Towne Center dream," City Manager Butch Sanders said.

The contract totals $1,261,306 with the city paying $922,890 and Gwinnett County paying the difference. County officials are expected to approve the contract at a May Board of Commissioners meeting.

The plan calls for relocating the Gwinnett County Public Library currently housed on Lenora Church Road to the Towne Center. Coupled with a City Market based on similar retail space like the historic Atlanta Curb Market, the building and parking deck will become the anchor of Snellville's Towne Center. City officials said the Towne Center will create a livable, walkable downtown with commercial, recreational and residential space. Plans call for a floor above the Library/City Market which could be used as classroom space for a surrounding college and other beneficial civic uses.

The vote capped a year-long process during which TSW was chosen over eight other applicants for the task of designing the proposed three-story building and creating construction documents ready for bidding.

City officials are targeting mid-2019 to break ground on the highly anticipated project once design plans and a new intergovernmental agreement with Gwinnett County for construction is negotiated.

The Snelllville Council recognized Chad Greene Livsey for his dedication to cleaning up the city and surrounding areas Monday.

Livsey, a South Gwinnett High School graduate, grew up watching his grandfather clean up litter in the Promised Land area. Beginning in November of 2017, he adopted the project as his own in the City of Snellville and the Centerville community.

"It is easy to sit and drive by somewhere and say 'Someone should do something about that,'" said Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender. "Sometimes it's got to be you. Thank you Mr. Livsey for everything you do."

His efforts have raised awareness of the ugliness of litter as well as encouraged other local residents to join his clean-up campaign. He has collected more than 220 bags of litter, contributing to the beautification of the City of Snellville and surrounding areas. He was recently named Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful's first Unsung Hero.

"The City Council of the City of Snellville wish to show their heartfelt appreciation to Chad Greene Livsey who has unselfishly given, and continues to give, of his time and leadership talent for his clean-up campaign," the proclamation reads.

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Upcoming Senior Center Events