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Gwinnett's
Mountain Park community
has been overlooked for many years
By Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JULY 30, 2002 - - For years, the Mountain Park community of Gwinnett
has not gotten its just recognition. There's a reason that we recognized
years ago: while it is very much a "community," it is
no municipality, a governmental entity officially declared and with
certain responsibilities.
If you live in unincorporated Gwinnett, it means your
community (such as Mountain Park) gets short shrift, little recognition,
and never gets a public forum. Yet smaller cities than the Mountain
Park area regularly are in the news, such small towns as Berkeley
Lake (population 1,695) or Grayson (population 765.)
In effect, living in unincorporated areas of Gwinnett eliminates
you having a centered focus, like the Norcross City Hall, or Dacula's
school and ball field.
Oh, Mountain Park has all sorts of community focuses, such as its
vast Park, with its office in a former railroad station, and its
swimming pool. And it has churches with the community name on it.
And it even has a few civic organizations.
But it lacks a city hall and government, some place where residents
can air their grievances, focus their energies, and in general,
have an impact on their lives.
What stimulated this article was a small line in a publication
of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week, its Ultimate
Metro Atlanta Guide Book, Gwinnett edition. On a page showing demographics
about Gwinnett, it listed the "area populations."
In general, this showed the city populations, with Lawrenceville's
22,397 topping the list (2000 figures.) It even showed Rest Haven's
151, though by now Rest Haven has given up its city charter, and
now longer counts among the Gwinnett municipalities.
But there was another figure included in this list of "area
populations." Fourth among the areas listed was Mountain Park's
11,753, right after Snellville's 15,351 and Sugar Hill's 11,399.
Such a figure for Mountain Park had never before appeared on a list
of community's population.
Now how the AJC drew the lines for the "area" of Mountain
Park, they never explained. But I know that the 11,753 residents
of this "area" were mighty proud to see their community
recognized in a new, and really legitimate, way.
That's exciting for their community.
Some of you remember back in the 1970s when Mountain Park, named
for a subdivision in the area with a view of Stone Mountain, had
a move toward incorporating as a city. There was one snag in the
plans; there is already a city in northern Fulton County by that
name. It's north of Roswell, west of Crabapple, and counted 506
people in the 2,000 census.
So the effort toward incorporation of the Gwinnett area known as
Mountain Park hit a snag, and people lost interest, remaining part
of the larger "unincorporated Gwinnett." By the way, it's
the unincorporated areas that have the bulk of the county population,
some 80 per cent. Though we have portions of 14 cities now, the
municipal population is only 20 per cent.
Now, through some definition devised by a newspaper, Mountain Park
is getting a little recognition. We salute you, Mountain Park residents,
all 11,753 of you!
NEWS
Hotel group breaks ground on third hotel for Gwinnett
JULY 30, 2002 - - After successfully opening and operating two previous
hotels in Gwinnett County, KBL Investments broke ground on the site
of a new La Quinta Inn in Duluth, Ga. The new 83-room, three story
inn will be built adjacent to the Camden Suites of Duluth, also
owned and operated by KBL Investments. The hotels are near the Interstate
85 intersection with Georgia Highway 120.
Ray Ashman, vice president of operations for KBL Investments, says:
"We feel strongly that Gwinnett is the place to build. There
are so many positive happening in the area, and the business climate
here continues to be upbeat. It just makes good business sense for
us to continue to build and invest in Gwinnett County."
KBL Investments opened its first hotel, Camden Suites, in Snellville,
in 1997. Its second property, also under the Camden Suites flag,
opened in 1999 in Duluth.
Steve Sherrill, president and CEO, maintains that "The key
to success of both hotels for us has been the careful choice of
location and thorough knowledge of the hotel industry. We chose
this location for the new La Quinta because it is a growing market
and is close to office buildings, retail and restaurants. Plus,
the new Discover Mills, with its attractive shopping and entertainment
complex, is right down the road from us."
Sherrill's wide contacts and knowledge of local real estate, and
Ashman's extensive background in the hotel industry, have proven
to be a winning combination. The La Quinta Inn represents a new
direction for the growing KBL hotel operations, Ashman feels.
"We developed the Camden Suites prototype ourselves, which
we felt we needed to do in order to provide the best possible product
for travelers looking for a hotel geared toward longer stays, with
nice rooms, great atmosphere, all the comforts of home, at reasonable
rates," he explains. "We will continue to build and develop
Camden Suites, but we also wanted to expand our market to the more
frequent business traveler, who needs a hotel for shorter durations,
but wants more upscale amenities. La Quinta Inn is already a recognized
and respected brand in this market, and exactly the right product
for us."
La Quinta Inn at Duluth is scheduled to open in December 2002.
"We are already fielding calls from people interested in staying
there," comments Ashman. "We expect to be near capacity
soon after opening."
Construction plans are also under development for a third Camden
Suites, in Florida, with opening scheduled for Summer 2003.
THOUGHT FOR THE
DAY:
Copying machine and
the computer conundrum
"Making duplicate copies and computer printouts of things
no one wanted even one of in the first place is giving America a
new sense of purpose."
- - Andy Rooney, commentator on CBS's 60 Minutes.
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