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SNELLVILLE – The city hosted a unique and highly successful Atlanta Regional Commission Civic Dinner Saturday. The ARC, in conjunction with its International Advisory Panel, has been sponsoring dinners throughout the region since the spring of this year. To date, each dinner has been relatively small with six to eight people in attendance.

The planning committee for Saturday's dinner, which included Snellville Councilman Dave Emanuel, took a different approach by expanding the number of people attending. In what has potentially become a prototype for future events, the Snellville dinner included more than two dozen attendees.

Each ARC civic dinner focuses on a specific topic, including livability, mobility, prosperity, beloved community and "Our Future Atlanta." At the Snellville dinner, catered by Fratelli's Italian restaurant, the discussion was about prosperity. Each attendee discussed his or her interpretation of prosperity's meaning and the ways in which the ARC can help the region maintain prosperity and expand opportunities for people who are struggling.

"The purpose of ARC's International Advisory Panel is to involve a broad cross-section of the region's international community to provide feedback on key regional topics and issues of interest," Emanuel said. "In planning this dinner, we thought the conversation would be more productive if we had 20-to-30 people expressing their views and listening to the views points of others. It was rewarding to see a diverse group from virtually every part of the region, exchanging ideas. I think the ARC will receive excellent feedback, which will be extremely helpful in future planning."

ARC's Civic Dinners will continue through December. Information about attending or hosting a dinner can be found at www.civicdinners.com.

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Upcoming Parks and Recreation Events

SNELLVILLE – City police and public works crews had their hands full Monday and Tuesday, keeping roads clear of trees and power lines and residents safe in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

As heavy winds and rain forced most people to seek shelter, the two agencies went the extra mile to keep residents safe and traffic moving.

"On behalf of the Mayor and Council I just want to thank our dedicated employees for their efforts in keeping Snellville safer and our roadways cleared throughout this major weather event," said City Manager Butch Sanders.

Snellville police responded to eight accident calls, 109 area checks, 10 citizen assist calls, four calls reporting trees hitting structures, 24 street hazard calls, 14 calls of wires down, 25 calls of trees down, 26 alarms and three fire-related calls on top of their usual workload during the storm.

Ten additional officers including three reserve officers were called in and 16 officers were held over their usual shifts to assist.

Public Works crews removed trees from blocking roadways through the evening on Springdale Road, Elizabeth Lane, Larkspur Circle, Alamo Place, Pine Road, Summit View Circle and Ridgedale Drive at Driftwood Place.

As of Tuesday morning, several streets had trees or live power lines down prohibiting travel - Williams Place, Village Court and Norton Street.

The storm left many in the city without power. More than 50,000 Walton EMC customers lost power in the storm, half of which had power restored by Tuesday morning.

The mandatory pre-bid meeting will be rescheduled to Monday, September 18th at 10:00 a.m. Please see the addendum on the bid page for more information.

Please visit our bid page for more information.

NOTICE OF ELECTION CANCELLATION

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-291, notice is hereby given that the City of Snellville General Election scheduled for November 7, 2017, is cancelled. The following candidate has qualified for office and is unopposed:

For Council Post 3: Cristy L. Lenski

For Council Post 4: Gretchen Schulz

For Council Post 5: Barbara A. Bender

The above unopposed candidate shall be deemed to have voted for him/herself.

This the 6th day of September 2017.

Melisa Arnold
Election Superintendent
City of Snellville

NOTIFICACION DE CANCELACION DE ELECCION

Acabo de O.C.G.A. § 21-2-291, se pone en conocimiento del público que la Elección General para la Ciudad de Snellville programada para el 7 de Noviembre 2017es cancelada. Los siguientes candidatos están calificados para los puestos y no tienen oposición.

Para Miembro de Concejo Puesto 3: Cristy L. Lenski

Para Miembro de Concejo Puesto 4: Gretchen Schulz

Para Miembro de Concejo Puesto 5: Barbara A. Bender

Los candidatos sin oposición por encima serán considerados que han votado por él/ella mismo.

El 6to día de Septiembre 2017.

Melisa Arnold
Superintendente de Elección
Ciudad de Snellville

SNELLVILLE – There will be more housing options locally for those 55 and over in the near future.

The Mayor and Council approved a measure making way for a 130-lot age restricted singlefamily detached subdivision on a more than 36-acre tract of property located at the intersection of Ridgedale Road and Pinehurst Drive.

The development will be gated and will have ingress and egress points on both Pinehurst Drive and Ridgedale Road, city officials said.

Plans call for a density of approximately 3.59 units per acre. In addition to the home sites, the development will include walking trails, a clubhouse and other open space and amenities for residents of the subdivision.

The proposed development is bordered on all sides by low-density residential land uses.

SNELLVILLE – As an entrepreneur during the last eight years, Josh Sweeney spent each day growing Atcore Systems, a software consulting firm.

As the startup company grew to 15 employees and went through multiple offices, Sweeney said he felt first hand, the challenge that work space plays on a small business.

"As we grew, we had to start looking at office space," he said. "This led to the search for a temporary sub-lease space that matched our current size, but also offered an easy termination for when we reached maximum capacity. Once we outgrew this space, the only option was to move into a traditional leased office space. Companies that lease out traditional office space require multi-year commitments and also want assurances of the business's longevity."

In the business's early days, working from home presented multiple challenges. Sweeney says a home office didn't present the level of professionalism that he needed to attract the best talent. If the entrepreneur was not able be home, the employee had to work at another location which inhibited collaboration and organization. Plus an entrepreneur and/or spouse may not feel comfortable with outside employees coming in and out of their home.

From these struggles came GarageWorx, a new business incubator located at 2385 Clower St., Suite B near City Hall.

GarageWorx recently partnered with the Snellville Downtown Development Authority to help defray the cost of the venture at the city-owned building. Mayor and council established a fair lease rate for the space involved.

The partnership came to fruition when Sweeney was volunteering at the Grayson Tech Program at Grayson High School and presented to Heather Kishuns' entrepreneurship class. From there he was introduced to Snellville Economic Developer Eric Van Otteren, who has been looking to create an accelerator locally to grow businesses.

"I wasn't sure exactly what form it would take, but after a few months, I had the vision," Sweeney said. "Within a short time after, I received a call from Eric informing me that the DDA had an opportunity for us to build a proof of concept. Within 30 days of the discussion, we had launched GarageWorx and were open for members."

GarageWorx currently has three services with a fourth service in the works. An entrepreneur can get a single "Hot Desk" to work from, a permanent "Dedicated Desk" or a "Private Office" inside GarageWorx. Inside the confines of GarageWorx, entrepreneurs can be around other like-minded business owners in confines which includes internet and Wi-Fi access, snacks and restrooms.

"Being around other driven entrepreneurs and witnessing their achievements, gives you the energy and drive to succeed," Sweeney said. "The other benefit is collaboration. GarageWorx is an open forum for 'needs and leads.' Daily conversations can often result in the exchange of wisdom, useful contacts and laughs."

Eventually, Sweeney said he wants to offer a formal accelerator and accountability program that anyone can join (members and non-members). The goal is to use a proven peer-to-peer platform to help businesses grow faster and get the mentoring they need.

"Many people are surprised at the amount of value that comes from working in an incubator," Sweeney said. "They discover that it's not just about a desk. At first people equate the membership with the cost of the desk. Later they realize that the culture, the motivation, and the energy from being around others is far more valuable than just the desk. They are building their business, building relationships and building a future.

City officials are excited about the venture and hope it spurs business growth locally.

"GarageWorx is a great way to pilot business development in Snellville with the help of the city and DDA," said DDA Chairman Buddy Scott. "This is a program that will yield great business opportunities for years to come."

Van Otteren added: "GarageWorx is a next step in growing an entrepreneurial mindset in Snellville and is a significant effort between city leaders and the Downtown Development Authority of Snellville to turn the tide on the city's daytime exodus to jobs in other places. The City of Snellville is known as an entrepreneurial community. GarageWorx is focused on growing suburban entrepreneurship through high paying jobs here in Snellville."

For more information, visit https://garageworx.co/

PHOTO 1:From left, Josh Sweeney of GarageWorx and Snellville Economic Development Director Eric Van Otteren.

PHOTO 2: Josh Sweeney of GarageWorx shows off one of the offices inside the Clower Street business.

SNELLVILLE – The city's police department placed second in its category at the 18th Annual Governor's Challenge Awards last week in Savannah.

The strong showing in the category for agencies with 26-50 officers was the highest the Snellville Police Department placed in recent years in the competition hosted by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. SPD placed third in 2016, 2015 and 2014. Snellville's finest placed first in 2013.

"Our department takes pride in being a partner with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety in keeping our roadways safe," Chief Roy Whitehead said. "Our classification received the most entries so receiving this award is an honor and a testament to the hard work and quality of the men and women of the Snellville Police Department."

The awards program is designed to highlight outstanding achievements in highway safety enforcement and education, according to the GOHS website. The awards program recognizes agencies for the approach and effectiveness of their overall highway safety programs. Agencies are evaluated not just for enforcement initiatives, but for innovative problem-solving in their communities, using public information activities and creating departmental policies that support their traffic enforcement campaign efforts.

"We have placed in our category in 11 of the 18 years that the Governor's Challenge has taken place," said Lt. David Matson. "I compiled the data and submitted our application again this year. Our application focused on the areas of occupant protection, impaired driving, speed awareness, distracted driving and underage alcohol prevention."

More information about the Governor's Challenge can be found on the GOHS website at http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/sitemap/governors-challenge/ or on its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GAHighwaySafety/.

PHOTO 1: Governor's Office of Highway Safety Deputy Director Jim Andrews presents the Snellville Police Department's second place award to Lt. David Matson. Photo courtesy of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

PHOTO 2: The Snellville Police Department's second place award in the 2017 GOHS Georgia Governor's Challenge.