NEW for 7/21: On moving, rental cars and Olympic park update

GwinnettForum  |  Number 22.52  | July 21, 2023

A NEW PLAYGROUND is in the future for Town Center Park in Suwanee. The city unveiled its plan recently.  More than 1,500 volunteers will be recruited to help construct this new playground. (See story in Lagniappe below.)

IN THIS EDITION

TODAY’S FOCUS: Longtime Gwinnettian moving away, yet remembers the past
EEB PERSPECTIVE: It was an unusual and frustrating car rental
SPOTLIGHT: Gateway85 Community Improvement District
ANOTHER VIEW: Update on Olympic Stadium area near Mountain Park
FEEDBACK: Remembers swimming in cold water of Cayuga Lake
UPCOMING: Gwinnett keeps same tax millage rate as in 2022
NOTABLE: Jeremy Collins is new chief deputy tax commissioner
RECOMMENDED: Tall Timber Tales; More Paul Bunyan Stories by Dell McCormick
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Glass-like objects found in Georgia from outer space
MYSTERY PHOTO: Unusual sculpture asks where it is located
LAGNIAPPE: Suwanee to get new volunteer-built playground
CALENDAR: Two more workshops to hear Gwinnett’s 2045 United Plan

TODAY’S FOCUS

Longtime Gwinnettian moving away, yet remembers the past

(Editor’s Note: A member of a longtime Gwinnett family is moving to Birmingham, Ala., his wife’s hometown. He is the author of Snellville’s first complete history book, entitled “200 Years of Snellville History.He plans to return to Gwinnett…eventually.  Here he remembers Gwinnett’s days of yore.—eeb)

By Jim Cofer

 SNELLVILLE, Ga.  |  As I leave Gwinnett for a new life, I look back on the county where my family has been for 196 years and am wide-eyed with amazement at the changes I have seen and heard my forefathers describe. Much of the change has been for the good, but some, not so much so.

Jim and Joanne Cofer

I personally remember dirt roads, riding granddad’s plowstock behind a mule, picking cotton, killing hogs and curing the meat, milking cows, gathering eggs, drawing well water, visiting the outhouse, running the rabbit box trail, observing a KKK rally, and getting paddled in school.

Some of the change has been good, traffic excluded, especially in the options for health care. 

Gone are the days of Dr. Ezzard’s little round pillboxes and Dr. Willis McCurdy bending you over his desk and jamming a penicillin shot into your rump, no matter what the ailment. We had no dentists until the Mazzawi family came to town in 1969. Our hospitals now rival any facility in the Southeast.

My grandparents got what little education they had from the numerous one-room private schools that dotted the county. My parents rode buses to the Snellville Consolidated School (1922-1956) that served as a community center (but still had outhouses). My generation benefitted from the opening of four modern schools in Lawrenceville, Norcross, Snellville, and Suwanee in 1957 (Central, West, South and North Gwinnett high schools.) We gained access to chemistry labs, modern cafeterias, large gymnasiums, and lighted football stadiums, instead of cow pastures. Gwinnett now has 165 state-of-the-art schools in its system, thanks to the leadership and vision of former Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks. Enough said about that.

I grew up in a Gwinnett where violent crime was not a worry. Sure, a county commissioner would take a kickback from the price of a new bulldozer, camping gypsies would pilfer your tool shed, a bootlegging sheriff was sent to prison, and even I snitched a watermelon or two from a neighbor’s patch. 

But then on April 17, 1964, we were horrified when three Gwinnett County policemen happened on to a car stripping gang off Beaver Ruin Road and were cuffed together and murdered with their own pistols.  Now, we have become numb to daily reports of gang initiation killings, human trafficking, road rage, random shootings, and widespread use of powerful drugs. Big city crime has come to Gwinnett. 

Gwinnett in the 1950s had small incorporated towns, with each supplying their own water from city wells, police with a judge and maybe a jail, and a volunteer fire department. Later came garbage pickup and sewage treatment. We rural residents drew water from a well, burned our garbage in the backyard, and had propane delivered to a tank. We gradually assimilated all of these services into county-managed functions, with much of the credit going to former Commission Chairman Wayne Mason. 

Politically, Gwinnett had been solidly in the camp of Strom Thurmond’s ‘Dixiecrat’ splinter of the Democrat Party until 1964 when Republican Barry Goldwater ran for President and opposed the passage of the Civil Rights Act.  Again, the county swung heavily Republican when Ronald Reagan won in 1980, and elected GOP local leaders.  Surprisingly, Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in 2016, and  Gwinnett voted strongly for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. 

That election swept in a new slate of black Democratic leadership, with the long term prediction that Gwinnett would remain a ‘blue’ county. 

Leaving Gwinnett is an emotional experience for me. I recently purchased a granite headstone in Bethany Cemetery, so I will be back….some day.

EEB PERSPECTIVE

It was an unusual and frustrating car rental

By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum

JULY 21, 2023  |  When on vacation, most of the time renting an automobile is relatively easy and routine. Our recent trip to New York didn’t fit into that category, for a couple of reasons.

Arriving in Buffalo late in the day, when we got to the rental counter, there were people backed out the door at one car rental counter (handling one brand), while the other rental desks had several people in line, if they were manned.

Later we learned what happened at Buffalo rentals: the companies were about out of cars, for what some said was overbookings.   Taxi drivers told us that this had been going on for three days.

Axs we got in line, we were about 30 people from the front. Every now and then a customer, though not all, got a car. It took us an hour and a half to reach the counter, where we were told they had no cars immediately and would call our name when one was available. About that time one lady’s name was called for a car.  She said she had been waiting over an hour after they said she would get one eventually.

We bailed out, taking a taxi to an airport motel. We had not planned to stay overnight in Buffalo, but that’s what happened. We canceled our other reservation.

The next morning, I shuttled to the airport at 6 a.m. (when the counter opened).  Three people were in line, and by 6:30 I was told I had a car.  “Go to Aisle Q, slot number three.”

There I found the car, and that’s where the second reason this was not routine.  Instead of the standard cars you might expect to rent, this was an Italian car, an Alfa Romeo small SUV.  And it was solid bright red.

When getting into the car, I found that difficult.  The entry was hard for me (six feet tall), because of low ceilings and high seats.  I finally scrunched in. Then I started looking at the features: they were unfamiliar, compared to the American car cockpit. I finally found the starter button (on the steering wheel). But before it would move, you had to click another button, similar to starting my Jeep. I must have sat there five minutes trying to get familiar with the car, and get the rear view mirrors right. Eventually I pulled forward out of the parking space.

When at the hotel, I parked thinking nothing about it.  But when loading the car to leave later on, suddenly I had a real problem: backing out of the parking space.  The gear shift was in Park, of course, and I could shift to drive or neutral, but though I could see a “R” button, the gear shift would not go into Reverse.

Lucky for this car, it had an owner’s manual. We flipped through that, and even read directions, yet somehow the gear would not go into park.  Then suddenly, though I didn’t know why, it was in Rear, and we backed out. It must have taken at least three minutes.

That problem with shifting into Reverse lasted the entire trip.  Only on two occasions, did I move my hand and feet properly and the car shifted into reverse. It was frustrating. Meanwhile, I was always looking for a parking space where I would not have to shift into Reverse.

The Alfa Romeo drove well, had a lot of power, and was comfortable (except for getting in.) It was a distinctive trip. We will long remember this red car rental experience.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gateway85 CID

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Gateway85 Community Improvement District is a self-taxing  district that includes just over 800 commercial property owners with a property value of over $1.7 billion. Gateway85 includes the southwestern part of Gwinnett County including properties along Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Buford Highway, Indian Trail Road, and Beaver Ruin Road. Gateway85 is one of five  CIDs to be created in Gwinnett County and is one of the largest CIDs in the state. The community is an economic powerhouse that helps fuel the regional economy. More than 3,000 businesses employing roughly 47,400 people call Gateway85 home. The jobs in the district account for almost 16 percent of Gwinnett County’s total employment. Gateway85 provides $27.5 billion in economic output for the County and $36.4 billion economic output for Georgia. Gateway85’s mission is to improve property values through increased security, decreased traffic congestion, and general improvements to the curb appeal and infrastructure of the area.Gateway 85 CID’s office is located at 6305 Crescent Drive, Norcross, Ga.  30071. For more information visit  https://www.gateway85.com/ or call or call Emory Morsberger at 770-409-8100.

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ANOTHER VIEW

Update on Olympic Stadium area near Mountain Park

By Sheri Clark

MOUNTAIN PARK, Ga.  |  The latest progress on the Olympic Tennis Center Development  comes straight from Commissioner Ben Ku via a Facebook post: The Commissioner’s actions have been tabled to our August 22 meeting as Fuqua Development is making several reconfigurations to the plan in response to the feedback from the planning commission and myself.”  This is good news for the Mountain Park community and surrounding areas!

First, a little history, the Olympic Tennis Center site was purchased in 2016 to create a landmark “Gateway to Southern Gwinnett” mixed-use development.  The vision for this well-located and  highly visible property included walkability, boutique dining and shopping, as well as housing, greenspace, and a spectacular view of Stone Mountain. 

As many of us know, the wheels of government planning turn slow.  In 2017 the tennis facilities and stadium were demolished to prepare the way for the innovative mixed-use development.  During the height of the pandemic, Gwinnett’s Board of Commissioners authorized Fuqua Development to create a modern live-work-eat-shop-play mixed-use development as catalyst for revitalizing the local area.  The contract placed the project under a strict non-disclosure agreement, keeping everyone from citizens and even the County Commissioners, in the dark.

Finally, in April 2023, Commissioner Ben Ku and Fuqua Development held a community meeting to unveil the proposed plan to be presented at the next Gwinnett Planning Commission meeting in May.  The developer’s proposal was not what the county originally requested, eliciting a polarized response from the local community that attended.

Much of this feedback was expressed on social media, both for and against the proposal.  This feedback was also apparent at the Planning Commission public meeting on May 2.  The Planning Commission offered several suggestions for modification to the proposal. 

Should the Board of Commissioners approve this modified plan, if it still does not fit the original vision?  Mountain Park Community Association wants the community of Mountain Park to have a say.  Become informed, share your opinion with MPCA, and let our County Commissioners know what you want.  

Check out the MPCA News page on its website for more information on the history and progress of this property and other important issues impacting where you live, work, and play! MPCA News | Mountain Park GA (mountainparkcommunity.us) 

Want to stay informed?  Sign up for the MPCA newsletter on our Contact page!

How can you contribute to the future planning of my area? Participate in the development of Gwinnett’s 2045 Unified Plan, the next revision of the current Gwinnett 2040 Unified Plan.

In the next 20 years Gwinnett’s population is projected to increase by 600,000.  Revision of the Unified Plan is intended to address a variety of issues related to this projected growth such as housing shortage, commercial development, and quality-of-life options.  The county has several public workshops planned to share their vision and to listen to your input. 

The workshops ask area residents about what housing would best fit in the areas still available to build and develop on to accommodate the predicted growth and avoid a housing shortage. Since developers will build to meet this demand, the county planners want to do this in the most favorable way possible to the current community members. That’s why they’re asking for our input. 

FEEDBACK

Remembers swimming in cold water of Cayuga Lake

Editor, the Forum:

Thank you for the wonderful article on the Finger Lakes of New York.  My mother, Elaine Tompkins Merkel, was born and raised in Ithaca (Tompkins County), N.Y. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Journalism in 1947. She met my dad at Cornell and they were married in the Cornell Chapel in 1947.

Our Cayuga cottage

Her family settled in Ithaca after her great great grandfather served as the sixth Vice President of the United States (1817-1825) under President James Monroe.He was Daniel D. Tompkins, for whom Tompkins County, N.Y. is named, of which Itacha is the county seat.  They were of the “Democratic-Republican” party.

My mom’s father (Warrington) was one of nine children. All the children were farmers, except for Warrington (professional photographer) and a brother (Smithy, Colonel in the U.S. Army). Warrington was an aerial photographer in World War I, serving in France.

Warrington’s father (“Gramps”) built a cottage, by hand, just outside of Ithaca on Cayuga Lake (see included photo). He also built the stone wall from rocks taken from the lake. The cottage and wall still stands today and is a private residence. Unfortunately, it is no longer in the family.

Your article brought back many fond memories, especially since my mom (97) recently passed away. As a boy, I spent many summer vacations in the cottage, swimming in the cold waters of Cayuga Lake and working on my uncles farms.

“Thanks for the memories.”

Tom Merkel, Berkeley Lake

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UPCOMING

Gwinnett keeps same tax millage rate as in 2022

Gwinnett County will operate under the same general fund millage rate as last year, 6.95 mills. Before holding a vote, county commissioners took public comments at three public hearings and via an online comment form.    

Property taxes are based on millage rates set by county government, the schools and cities. One mill equals a dollar tax per thousand dollars of assessed property value.

The Gwinnett County Tax Assessor calculates the total value of all taxable property in the county, called the tax digest, by conducting annual updates of residential and commercial property values.

The 2023 total property tax millage rate for property owners in unincorporated Gwinnett County will be 14.71. The millage rates for special service districts and countywide levies for recreation and economic development also remain unchanged from last year. Millage rates for service districts in Gwinnett are based on property location and county services provided, such as police fire and emergency medical services, and code enforcement. 

Details on the 2023 millage rates and additional information about how property taxes are calculated are available online atGwinnettCounty.com. Tuesday’s action paved the way for the Tax Commissioner’s Office to mail property tax bills in August. Payments will be due in October. Property owners or mortgage lenders can make payments by mail, online, at the main tax office in person or by using one of the special drop boxes located at tax and tag offices.

Third Gwinnett Beer Week kicks off July 24

The third annual Gwinnett Beer Week is just around the corner, taking place  Monday, July 24 through Sunday, July 30. The weeklong celebration is showcasing the county’s local breweries and flourishing craft beer scene. 

In addition to a multitude of brewery events with live music, trivia, bingo, karaoke nights, and more, official Gwinnett Beer Week activations include:

  • Tuesday, July 25 (5 – 9 p.m.): Industry Night at Social Fox Brewing. The first 30 hospitality industry professionals to arrive can enjoy a complimentary first pour by simply showing their business card.
  • Thursday, July 27, (4 – 9 p.m.):Axe Throwing at Cultivation Brewing. Put your aim to the test and try your hand with free axe throwing!
  • Saturday, July 29 (6 – 9 p.m.): Brews and ‘Cuesat Slow Pour Brewing. Put on your finest Country-Western attire and dancing boots for an evening filled with line dancing, country music, mechanical bull riding, barbecue, and the opportunity to win the “Best Dressed” prize.
  • Saturday, July 29 (1 – 5:30 p.m.):Sippin’ in the Suburbs Brewery Tour with Southern Culinary Tours. Embark on a four-hour behind-the-scenes bus tour of Gwinnett’s beer scene, visiting StillFire Brewing, Social Fox Brewing, and Good Word Brewing and Public House. This immersive experience allows guests to skip the line and indulge in a pint at each stop while learning about the history of the beer, the person who created the beer and more. Tickets can be purchased online, with pick-up locations offered in Buckhead and Gwinnett.

For more details on all brewery events or to participate in the Gwinnett Beer Week festivities, visit ExploreGwinnett.org/Gwinnett-Beer-Week. 

NOTABLE

Collins is new chief deputy tax commissioner

Collins

New chief deputy tax commissioner in Gwinnett is Jeremy M. Collins, appointed by Tax Commissioner Denise R. Mitchell. Collins has served as the property tax director for the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner’s Office since 2022. He replaces Lisa Matic, who retired from the position. Collins will oversee the day-to-day operations of the office. His responsibilities will include monitoring customer service, overseeing budgets and contracts, and administrating internal controls and audits.  A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, he began working at the GCTC in 2011 and worked in management for over 20 years in the private sector in Atlanta before joining the GCTC. 

Four Gwinnettians in Franklin Pond chamber music program

Four students from Gwinnett County are included as members of the 2023 Franklin Pond Chamber Music program.  It will be in Kellett Chapel of Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Road in Atlanta on July 30. The concert, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored in part by Fulton County and the Georgia Council for the Arts.   

Sixteen talented young musicians, ranging in age from 11 to 16 will perform iconic works by Haydn, Mozart, Dittersdorf, Shostakovich and more. Those from Gwinnett include: 

  • Yejoe Jeremy Kim, violin, North Gwinnett Middle School;
  • Emily Anne Klayman, violin, homeschool (Suwanee);
  • Juan Valencia, violin, Duluth High School; and 
  • Sonayon Ayeni, viola, Duluth High School.

“The summer intensive program began July 1 and concludes with this performance on July 30. While brief, it’s remarkable what these students accomplish in just four short weeks,” said Ronda Respess, Franklin Pond Program Founder. Admission is free and open to the public. Visit www.FranklinPond.org or call 404-252-3479 for more information.

Local PGA golf tournament raises $352,000 for charities

Georgia’s only PGA TOUR Champions event, the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, concluded its tournament in May raising money for local charities. In partnership with Gwinnett Championship Foundation, Primerica and Gwinnett Place Ford and Nissan, the Mitsubishi Electric Classic said its Birdies for Charity program garnered $352,000 in charitable donations.

Beneficiaries of the Birdies for Charity program include Annandale Village, Cooper’s Crew, Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett and Women’s Club of Sugarloaf Country Club Charities. Since 2016, Birdies for Charity has raised over $2.35 million for local organizations.

The Mitsubishi Electric Classic returns to the metro Atlanta area April 22-28, 2024.).  

Those helping in the tournament are, from left in the front row, Stan Hall, MacKenzie Tritt, Sydney Lowe, Kristen Joiner and  Ashley Hamilton.  On the back row are Tyler Brummett, Bill Marriott, Monte Ortel and Jeff Cadran.

RECOMMENDED

Tall Timber Tales; More Paul Bunyan Stories,
by Dell McCormick

From Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: “The stories of Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox, have entranced both children and storytellers for many years.  These stories span the country from the East, West, North and South and bring with them the flavor and joy that is the USA. Delightful in their characterization of Paul, Babe, Sandy McNab and many others, this collection is to be shared in families and should have a permanent home on the shelves in Public Libraries.  Some of the deeds of Paul Bunyan are grandiose and also believable. If you are new to this collection of stories by Dell McCormick, you are in for a treat if you read a copy.”  

  • An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next.  Send to: elliott@brack.net 

GEORGIA TIDBIT

Glass-like objects found in Georgia from outer space

Georgiaites, found in the soil of Georgia’s Coastal Plain, are rare natural glasses produced by asteroid or comet impact. These rounded, translucent olive green masses average one to two inches in diameter and commonly have pitted surfaces. Georgiaites, like arrowheads, are often found in areas where the soil has been disturbed, such as in freshly plowed fields and gravel pits. 

Of the approximately 1,700-2,000 georgiaites found to date, most are from Dodge and Bleckley counties, although a few have been found in surrounding counties. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of georgiaites is their age; scientists have dated several of them at 35 million years old.

Superficially, georgiaites look like volcanic glass, or obsidian; however, there was no volcanic activity in or near Georgia 35 million years ago, and georgiaites lack the mineral crystals that characterize volcanic glass. Natural glasses of the same age from Texas, called bediasites, and smaller spherules of glass dating from the same era have been found in deep-sea sediments off the eastern coast of North America and in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Natural glasses of different ages have also been found in central Europe (15-million-year-old moldavites), in Africa’s Ivory Coast (1-million-year-old tektites), and in Indochina and Australia (800,000-year-old indochinites and australites). All of these glasses, including the georgiaites, are known as tektites.

The Georgia glasses were first recognized as tektites, based on a sample collected by Dewey Horne in Dodge County, in 1938 by E. P. Henderson of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. They were named georgiaites in recognition of their geographic distribution. Georgiaites have been linked to the Chesapeake Bay Crater, which lies beneath sediments of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. The crater is about fifty miles wide and formed as the result of an asteroid or comet, with a diameter of about two to three miles, colliding with the earth’s surface. The age of this crater is identical to the age of the georgiaites.

All tektites are thought to be impact glasses; that is, they represent material that was melted as a result of heat generated by the impact of an asteroid or comet on the earth. The energy produced by one of these impacts is tremendous—some meteorites travel at velocities of more than 40 miles per second before they hit the earth, and the largest of these meteorites produce craters. The energy released by a large impact can result in the melting of a thin layer of the earth’s uppermost crust. The chemical composition of tektites is consistent with this idea; tektites have the same chemical makeup as the rocks of the earth’s crust. Some scientists had suggested at one time that tektites came from the moon, but lunar rock samples have been found to be chemically distinct from most tektites.

Georgiaites and the other tektites are natural curiosities, but they also have a modest commercial value as collectibles. Some tektites, especially the moldavites, are quite pleasing in appearance and are made into jewelry.

MYSTERY PHOTO

Unusual sculpture asks where it is located

Today’s mystery is a stand-alone piece of art work. There might be a few clues for you as to where this is located. See if you can figure this mystery out of where it is, and why.  Send in what you learn to elliott@brack.net and include which town you live in.

Historian Gene Ramsay, Norcross, who gives tours of Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta regularly, identified the recent mystery photo: “That’s the bell tower at Oakland Cemetery. This is the official city cemetery of Atlanta, and many well-known folks are buried there, including author Margaret Mitchell, golfer Bobby Jones, country music superstar Kenny Rogers and former Mayors Jonathan Norcross, Ivan Allen Jr., Sam Massell and Maynard Jackson. The building is over a century old and was recently renovated so it can be used as an event space.

I am a little perplexed by the perspective in the mystery photo. It seems to make the Moses  Formwalt monument closer to the Bell Tower than it is now.  I was told that the fountain across from Formwalt was moved a bit at some point in the past to allow better traffic flow; perhaps the Formwalt monument was moved as well. Certainly the vegetation has grown compared to whenever the mystery photo was taken.

“Formwalt in 1848 ran against Jonathan Norcross in the first Atlanta mayoral election. Norcross was the candidate for the Moral Party, while Formwalt ran under the Free and Rowdy Party banner.  Formwalt won. Norcross was the fourth mayor in 1852.”

Others recognizing the photo include Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex.; Stew  Ogilvie, Lawrenceville; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Ruthy Lachman Paul, Norcross; Sally Eadon, Snellville; Neal Davies, Decatur; and George Graf, Palmyra, Va. 

SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but  make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)  Send to:  elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission.  Thanks.

LAGNIAPPE

Suwanee to get new volunteer-built playground

A new playground design has been revealed for Suwanee’s Town Center Park. PlayTown Suwanee 2.0 is scheduled for a community-build on October 9-15. The custom-designed playground will be the current playground site. The updated playground incorporates features that evoke the essence of the original design while adhering to modern inclusivity standards. It will be constructed using more environmentally friendly, durable materials, ensuring longevity and minimal upkeep. The city partnered with Leathers and Associates – the designer and project management team behind the original community build – to help modernize PlayTown Suwanee for a new generation. The project team organized interactive design brainstorming sessions with several classrooms from Suwanee area elementary schools. Additionally, design sheets were sent home with elementary school children and made available at Suwanee.com. The committee now shifts its focus to securing the 1,500 needed volunteers for the playground. 

CALENDAR

Snellville market open Saturdays

Snellville Farmers Market continues every Saturday during the summer from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on the Towne Green.  Enjoy snacking while shopping!

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day takes place on Saturday, July 22 from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds. Safely drop off your household hazardous waste for reuse, recycling, or disposal without having to leave your vehicle. For more event details, including accepted items, visit GwinnettCB.org.

Two more workshops on Gwinnett’s 2045 Unified Plan are scheduled to allow the community to provide input as to what Gwinnett will become in the next 20 years. Topics include regarding land use, housing, community resources, transportation, sustainability infrastructure, and economic development.  The workshops will be The workshops will be on  Wednesday, July 26 at the Lawrenceville Senior Center), and Thursday, July 27  at the Water Tower in Buford.  Both will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The first workshop was in Dacula on July 20. 

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