NEWS BRIEFS: Commission gives green light to variety of new projects

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners gave the green light to several new items recently. Here are some highlights: 

Big upgrades and repairs will take place at Lenora Park Pool, Collins Hill Park Aquatic Center and Mountain Park Aquatic Center. The improvements include the removal and replacement of tile, plaster and pool shell expansion joints at the indoor competition pools at Collins Hill Park and Mountain Park. Lenora Park Pool will undergo the removal and replacement of perimeter pool deck joints. A portion of the $329,000 project is funded by the 2017 SPLOST program. 

The County will apply for a $120,000 grant through the Atlanta Regional Commission’s 2023 Livable Centers Initiative Program. Partnering with the Centerville Community Association, the County wants to focus on a plan that will prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access to transit locations close to the Centerville area. The County will contribute $30,000. The overall project is estimated to cost $150,000.

Gwinnett Police were awarded a $50,000 grant by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. Funds will be used to secure emergency management supplies such as shelter kits, portable fans and heaters and rapidly inflatable tents to be used in the emergency operation center. The County matched the $50,000 grant.  

Retirement: After being shot while tracking an armed suspect in May 2022, Gwinnett Police K9 Kai will officially retire from service. The three-year-old Belgian Malinois will now live with his handler, Corporal Aaron Carlyle.

More than 50 miles of roads will be resurfaced, costing more than $26 million. This includes  patching, milling and paving roads across Gwinnett. Manholes and markings will also be improved.  This resurfacing project is funded by the 2017 SPLOST Program and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

New sidewalks are coming to the city of Snellville. Gwinnett County will partner with the city of Snellville to install sidewalks on Skyland Drive and Pinehurst Road. The total cost of this project is $1.9 million, including a county contribution of $800,000. Snellville will manage the project, which is funded by the 2017 SPLOST program.

NOTABLE

Hospital in Gainesville is now a Level I trauma center

Patients north of Atlanta can now rest assured that they will receive the highest level of trauma care as soon as they need it, as Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville was recently verified as a Level I trauma center. This makes NGMC Gainesville one of five state-designated Level I trauma centers in Georgia and only the fourth nationally-verified Level I trauma center in the state.

Carol Burrell, president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System, says: “Since NGMC Gainesville’s Level II trauma center designation in 2013, our amazing trauma team has cared for nearly 20,000 trauma patients that would have had to travel outside our region for care.”

According to the American College of Surgeons, verified Level I trauma centers must be capable of providing system leadership and comprehensive trauma care for all injuries.

Verified Level I centers also have an important role working with first responders and other agencies to develop a local trauma system and regional disaster planning.

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