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SNELLVILLE – A standing room only crowd heard operational plans for the state's highway 78/124 intersection project and about a library and city market proposal for the Towne Center Wednesday.

Residents left the meeting with a better understanding of the future of the Georgia Department of Transportation intersection project. While right of way issues came up, city officials made clear it is the state, not the city, which is responsible for all property acquisition and the construction of the planned Divergent Left Turn intersection. Scott Shelton of Gresham, Smith and Partners, the lead engineer for the project, said actual construction could take two years to complete. Currently the state and landowners are in land acquisition talks and construction is slated to begin next summer.

Shelton's presentation, which concentrated on explaining how traffic would flow in the new design and the history of the project, can be found at http://www.snellville.org/Forums/Thread.aspx?pageid=95&t=7~1

Also at the meeting, city leaders announced their desire to move the Elizabeth H. Williams Library to a new facility in the city's planned Towne Center. The new library would be located in a more centralized and convenient location on Wisteria Drive near the Police Department and City Hall and be a real driver for the Towne Center.

The city has invested wisely in property for future development on Wisteria Drive, and Mayor Tom Witts, fellow councilmembers and city officials stated that they had begun a conversation with county officials regarding the potential of funding for the construction of the new library in the county's 2017 Special Local Option Sales Tax renewal if it is passed.

Plans for the library would be developed in a partnership with Gwinnett County much like the new Lilburn library. The city's vision also includes a connected City Market that would be home to retail market space, restaurants, bistros, outside dining and pedestrian space and patterned after ultra-successful market developments such as Krog Street Market and Sweet Auburn Curb Market which have revitalized their adjacent neighborhoods.

City officials also believe new construction should include open building space that would be available for uses from education to civic events.

City leaders hailed the proposals for the library and City Market as vital catalysts for moving Snellville's Towne Center Plan forward. The projects will serve as big steps and major anchors for the future Towne Center. The crowd in attendance agreed wholeheartedly through their positive comments and input.

Please see the Bid Page for more information.

SNELLVILLE – Residents will have a chance to learn more about the upcoming intersection improvements at highways 78 and 124 and the results of a survey regarding the Towne Center at a Town Hall Meeting Oct. 19.

The meeting will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. at Snellville United Methodist Church, 2428 East Main St.

Scott Shelton of Gresham, Smith and Partners, the design team tapped by the Georgia Department Transportation for the project, will be on hand to discuss how the intersection – known as a Displaced Left Turn – will function and why and how the change will improve traffic flow. Construction is expected to begin next year.

Attendees will also hear the results of a survey which asked residents and city officials to identify the architectural features and use guidelines in the new Towne Center that appeal to them most. The survey was compiled from input at visioning sessions led by the city Urban Redevelopment Agency, resident input collected at a May Town Hall meeting regarding the Towne Center and an online query.

The city is currently in the midst of a revamp of its downtown building regulations in preparation for the creation of a city center with walkable residential and commercial properties.

SNELLVILLE – The Mayor and Council approved funds to improve area streets and stormwater infrastructure Monday.

Ten city streets will get facelifts after the council approved $709,459.55 in Special Local Option Sales Tax and Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant monies for the annual streetscape improvement project.

The city streets that will be repaved are:

• Tree Brooke Court
• Tree Brooke Lane
• Savannah Bay Court
• Little Forest Court
• Flintrock Way
• Splitwood Drive
• Eastwood Drive
• Eastgate Drive
• Timber Lane
• Industrial Way

Through the Stormwater Management Program, the city's Public Works Department addresses stormwater maintenance needs in right of ways, ditches, detention ponds and easements which are vital to stormwater management.

Management of stormwater runoff has become an increasingly important responsibility for local governments. Recently enacted stormwater regulations, combined with aging drainage infrastructure, has resulted in local governments like Snellville developing and implementing more comprehensive stormwater management programs to achieve regulatory compliance and address recurring drainage problems.

More than $553,000 in city Stormwater Funds will take care of stormwater infrastructure maintenance near the following addresses:

• 1359-1367 Summit Chase Drive
• Summit Chase at bridge
• 1963 Masthaven Court
• 2275 Springdale Drive
• 2311-2322 Junes Court
• 2760 Holly Springs Drive - 1602 Stonegate Way

Both projects will be completed by the end of June 2017.

SNELLVILLE – The city's police department is hosting a drug take back event Oct. 22.

In recent years, the event has netted nearly a ton of unwanted or expired prescription drugs.

This year's event will take place from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m., Oct. 22 at the Snellville Police Department, 2315 Wisteria Drive.

Residents can pull up to a tent and have medical students and police take the drugs.

More than 430 pounds of prescription medication was dropped off at the last drug take back event in May, a record for the program.

The event is a partnership between the SPD and the Drug Enforcement Agency National Take Back Initiative and ensures that powerful pain medications and other prescriptions are properly disposed of. Disposing of this medication properly thwarts the opportunity of abuse and improper disposal.

SNELLVILLE – Ready for a howling good time?

Snellville Parks and Recreation and the Gwinnett Humane Society are hosting a Canine and Kids Carnival from 12 to 4 p.m. Oct. 29 at T.W. Briscoe Park, 2500 Sawyer Parkway.

The free event will feature a Community Halloween Trunk or Treat for all kids – those with both two and four legs.

Attendees are asked to wear costumes to this old fashioned fall carnival.

Scheduled events include:

•Canine carnival games such as Treat Toss and Best Howler.

•Halloween costume contests for kids and pets with prizes awarded for first, second and third places.

•Cake walks and inflatables

•Carnival food and music

•Best Trunk or Treat display

•Low-cost pet vaccines from 12 – 1 p.m.

For more information, visit www.gwinnetthumane.com, www.snellville.org or email events@gwinnetthumane.com

SNELLVILLE – Brookwood Elementary School teacher Sharon Smith is one of 15 nationwide finalists vying for six $100,000 educational grants and she needs your help to win.

Smith's proposal to improve math and language arts standards through experiential learning with an entrepreneurial focus went through a competitive review process. The proposal was selected to move on to the public voting phase of the Dream Big Teacher Challenge.

With the $100,000 grant, Smith said she would implement a tuition-free after-school program for the lowest achieving 10 percent of third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Brookwood and Meadowcreek elementary schools.

This program would provide remediation on the students' weakest math and language arts standards by providing a real-life application of their skills to construct a community garden and maintain an aquaponics system. Through this interactive learning experience, students would learn about entrepreneurship, apply and interview for garden jobs and sell produce at a local farmer's market.

To vote for Smith's proposal, visit ThankAmericasTeachers.com. The public can vote for any of the 15 teacher proposals, but a person can only vote once for the same teacher proposal per day. Winners of the grants will be announced in December to those proposals with the highest vote count across the country.

"Winning the Farmers Insurance Thank America's Teacher $100,000.00 grant would truly be a life changer for academically at risk students at Brookwood Elementary and Meadowcreek Elementary," Smith said. "This tuition-free, innovative intervention would help strengthen students' weakest math and literacy standards through explicit instruction that would be applied to the building and maintaining of a community garden and aquaponics system. Students would also learn about entrepreneurship as they realized jobs that needed to be filled, completed job applications and interviewed for these jobs. As a result of this grant, we would be providing engaging intervention that feels more like enrichment and is one of a kind."

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