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Mayor Barbara Bender and Lisa Platt, director of Parks and Recreation, presented Earnestine Jones of Snellville with the 2022 Active Adult Center Volunteer of the Year Award, Monday.

“It’s because of volunteers like Ms. Jones that the city is able to provide such great events for our citizens,” said Mayor Barbara Bender.

Jones is involved at the center and volunteers regularly in many different areas.  She currently serves on the Advisory Committee representing the Travel Club.  After recently retiring from her full-time job she has helped tremendously with many of their events and activities.  In February, she coordinated the Black History Program which has become a huge success.  In addition, Jones has willingly stepped up to organize the Red Hat Society group, also known as The Royal Red Hatters of Snellville, by offering to serve as their queen. She has put in a multitude of hours organizing socials and programs for this fun group of ladies. 

The City of Snellville commended and acknowledged Jones for her extra-ordinary service to the Parks and Recreation Department by devoting her time and efforts to serving their citizens. 

“Snellville Parks and Recreation takes pride in serving all of our citizens and visitors, but our staff at the Senior Center love providing programs for our active adults to stimulate their mind, body and spirit,” Platt said. “SPRD staff are always looking for new programs and ideas, along with the steady favorites, to enhance the experience our members have at the center. Without dedicated volunteers like Earnestine, our staff would never be able to get it all done. Earnestine never questions a task we ask of her, she simply says ok and helps us in any way she can. She is an invaluable asset to our staff and to all our members.  We’re privileged to have her assist us as we serve our community, and we are forever grateful to her.”   

The Snellville Police Department has a long-standing tradition of partnering with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and participation in the Georgia Governor’s Challenge. The Governor’s Challenge Awards is the state’s premier law enforcement awards ceremony for recognizing state, local, campus, and military law enforcement units for the outstanding work they do in promoting highway safety through education and enforcement. On Dec. 9, the Snellville Police Department was recognized for excellence at the Georgia Governor’s Challenge Awards banquet and received the following awards:

1st Place in Category 4: Awarded to the agency with the highest cumulative score for their submission for agencies with 46-75 officers.

Regional Challenge Winner: Awarded to the agency with the highest cumulative score for agencies their size in the Southeast region.

Distracted Driving Award: Awarded to the agency in the state who made the most effort to reduce the hazards caused by distracted driving through enforcement and education.

”We are proud of our officer’s efforts in education and enforcement to keep our citizens and the motoring public safe on the streets of Snellville,” said SPD Chief Greg Perry. “We will continue to do everything possible to reduce the number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities on our roadways in the future.”

There will be three new construction projects in Snellville following action taken by Mayor and Council Monday.

An 11-lot single family housing development will be built on 2.765 acres at 2706 Lenora Church Road near T.W. Briscoe Park.

The development will include a total of 11 lots and abundant open space, according to developers. Homes will be two-stories with a modern farmhouse-style architecture, including a variety of concrete exterior materials. Homes will range between 2,400 and 2,800 square feet, all of which will include a minimum two-car garage.

The price of the homes will start in the mid-$500s. As proposed, the development will include sidewalks throughout the site, which provide safe and efficient access to Lenora Church Road and the park.

Mayor and Council also gave the go ahead for an indoor self-storage facility next to Hampton Inn & Suites on Pharrs Road near Highway 124.

Plans call for a three‐story, 100,149-square-foot climate controlled self‐storage facility on the 1.82-acre site located in the Park Place development which also houses Cracker Barrel and Freddy’s among other businesses.

T.W. Briscoe Park will get a much-needed new maintenance building as the current one housing parks equipment is in poor condition.

During the summer, the Mayor and Council approved a proposal from Champion Buildings, Inc. for the new maintenance building. The proposal also included delivering and erecting the building totaled $254,500.

Then city officials bid the site grading, interior finishes, and asphalt and concrete work separately.

The project will take place in three phases after a $1.569 million contract was awarded to Diversified Construction of Georgia. Funding for Phase One and Two of the project will come from 2017 Special Local Option Sales Tax funds.

Phase One – The civil and infrastructure work will be performed, including all underground utilities, paving and grading, building concrete pad, and all required plumbing stub outs.

Phase Two – The pre-engineered metal building will be erected by the manufacturer (already approved).

Phase Three – The interior build-out will be performed, including all interior partitions.

The City of Snellville is mourning the loss of longtime councilman Samuel Wayne Odum who passed away Thursday.
He was 92.
Odum was the longest serving councilmember in the city’s history, serving several terms spanning the course of 33 years from 1963 to 1999. The city’s former senior center was named after him, city officials said. He was instrumental in creating T.W. Briscoe Park and a sewer system in the city.
Former Mayor Emmett Clower praised Odum for his service to the city and considered him a great friend.
“Wayne Odum was a man of his word,” Clower said. “He loved Snellville.”
The City of Snellville flag at City Hall has been lowered in his honor.
Funeral services will be at Tom Wages Funeral Home in Snellville.

Several streets in Snellville will get new road surfaces and improved stormwater infrastructure thanks to action taken by Mayor and Council in recent months.

A total of 10 stormwater drainage projects will commence Dec. 1 to improve the handling of stormwater and reduce the city’s overall inventory of poor infrastructure. 

Weather permitting, the $1.39 million project will be completed by The Dickerson Group, Inc. by June 2023.

The projects will take place at: 2025 Highriggs Lane; 1830-1840 Meadowchase Court; 3060-3065 Oak Meadow Drive;  2747 Oak Meadow Lane; 3155 Pond Ridge Trail; 2221 Westridge Drive; 2281 Westridge Drive; 2963 Williams Place; 2975 FlintRock Way; and 2849 Mountain View Road.

Earlier this month, the annual resurfacing and paving project bid was awarded to Pittman Construction Company in the amount of $1.4 million.

The funds for the patching, milling and resurfacing will be taken from our LMIG allotment and city’s budgeted capital paving expense. The road improvements will begin after the new year and be completed, weather permitting, by June 2023.

The roadwork will take place in two subdivisions.

In Old Hickory subdivision, the following streets will be resurfaced: Benchmark Dive; Gazebo Lane; Hickory Station Circle; Hickory Station Drive; Picket Fence Lane; and Wicker Wood Way.

In Woodberry subdivision, the following streets will be resurfaced: Woodberry Run Drive; Glenwood Lane; Glenwood Way; and South Crestview Drive.

Residents approved a referendum that calls for the city to issue licenses to businesses for package sales of alcohol.

Unofficially, residents approved  the referendum:

Yes - 485
No - 226

Voters were asked: “Shall the governing authority of the City of Snellville, Georgia be authorized to issue licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits within the city limits of the City of Snellville?”

Now, Mayor and Council will determine the process of awarding liquor licenses through a new local ordinance including the number of licenses to be awarded. When stores will be able to sell liquor will also be determined in the new law.

Draft ordinance

SNELLVILLE — Residents will be asked in November to vote on whether they want the city to issue licenses to businesses for package sales of alcohol.

Mayor and Council approved a measure to put the following question on the ballot Nov. 8: “Shall the governing authority of the City of Snellville, Georgia be authorized to issue licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits within the city limits of the City of Snellville?” Residents will be asked to vote “yes” or “no.”

This Special Election will be held in the Snellville City Hall Community Room, located at 2342 Oak Road. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

If approved, Mayor and Council will determine the process of awarding liquor licenses through a new local ordinance including the number of licenses to be awarded. When stores will be able to sell liquor will also be determined in the new law.

Advance voting will be held Monday through Saturday, beginning Oct. 17, 2022 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Snellville City Hall. Advance voting ends at 5 p.m. Nov. 4.

The voter registration deadline for this Special Election is Oct. 11. This is the last day a person may register to vote in the Special Election.

A 350-foot section of the Pate Lake Wall at T.W. Briscoe Park will be repaired thanks to a Community Development Block Grant.

The wall has been in disrepair for some time and the grant will cover the $204,210 repairs by Bailey Construction & Landscaping LLC.

Three hundred feet of sidewalk will also be repaired during the course of the project.

The lake will be drained when the repairs take place. A timeline for the project has yet to be determined.

The Snellville Police Department is pleased to announce it has received a $95,096.06 grant from the
Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). These funds will continue to support the department’s Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (H.E.A.T.) unit.

The funds from the grant will help finance operating expenses and activity hours for the H.E.A.T. unit. The
goal of the H.E.A.T. unit will be to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities caused by impaired driving,
speeding, and unrestrained occupants.

The Snellville Police Department H.E.A.T. unit will participate in G.O.H.S. mobilizations and campaigns
such as Click It or Ticket, Operation Zero Tolerance as well as the G.O.H.S. Thunder Task Force
mobilizations. The H.E.A.T. unit will also partner with regional local traffic enforcement networks to further
combat impaired and aggressive driving on local roadways.

“The Snellville Police Department is excited to continue our partnership with the Governor’s Office of
Highway Safety. The grant will enable us to increase our enforcement efforts allowing us to impact impaired
driving, distracted driving, speeding and other serious traffic offenses occurring in our city. This will help us
achieve our goal to significantly reduce injuries and fatalities resulting from these violations while improving
the safety on our roadways for the motoring public,” said SPD Chief Greg Perry.

The grant year for this award runs through Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023.

For more information on the Snellville Police Department H.E.A.T. grant award, contact Cpt. Zach Spahr at
770-985-3548 or zspahr@snellville.gov. For more information on GOHS and its other highway safety
programs visit www.gahighwaysafety.org.

SNELLVILLE — In an effort to safely discard unused and expired medication, there will be a Drug Enforcement Agency Drug Take Back hosted by the Snellville Police Department Oct. 29.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Snellville Police Department, 2315 Wisteria Drive.

Participants can drive or walk up and drop discarded medication into the drop boxes. Medication may be left in its original containers with or without the labels as all items discarded are burned.

Please do not bring needles or sharp objects for disposal.

Contact Lt. A. Sullivan at asullivan@snellville.gov or 770-985-3555 for more information.