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SNELLVILLE — The city is proud to announce a new partnership with Peach State Cornhole to bring the popular recreational game to The Grove at Towne Center.

“Peach State Cornhole is thrilled about the new partnership with the City of Snellville to host social cornhole leagues in The Grove at Towne Center in downtown Snellville,” said PSC co-owner Nick Boyers. “This space is poised to become the heart of the city and we look forward to drawing in the community to friendly competition on Thursday nights. We welcome all levels of players for a chance to toss bags, meet new people, and enjoy local restaurants and vendors.”

Peach State Cornhole hosts cornhole leagues throughout the state of Georgia offering multiple skill levels in the favorite tailgate game. At the end of each eight-week season, top teams gather for a state tournament. 

Registration is now open for the upcoming Fall League in Snellville at peachstatecornhole.com/snellville through Aug. 19. Players can register as a team or free agent in their skill level of choice. 

To receive a $20 discount at signup use code: NLSNVL.

The first night league night is Aug. 29. The season ends Oct. 17.

NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

The City of Snellville has tentatively adopted a 2024 millage rate that will require an increase in property taxes of 6.16 % percent. All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville, GA 30078 on Monday, July 8, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at Snellville City Hall on Monday, July 22, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. and Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 4.00 mills, an increase of 0.232 mills over the rollback rate, but no actual millage rate increase from last year.  Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate would be no more than the rollback rate 3.768 mills.  The proposed tax increase for a home with fair market value of $350,000 is approximately $32.48 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $450,000 is approximately $41.76.

The Snellville Mayor and Council approved a $16.4 million Fiscal Year 2025 budget June 10. 

The millage rate for the $16,421,455 budget will be set in July following public hearings.

View the budget here.

Mayor and Council made several appointments to boards, commissions and authorities at Monday night’s meeting.             

Re-Appointment to Board of Appeals

Post 2 - Deborah Jones - Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Post 4 - Tim Van Valkenburg - Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Re-Appointment to Planning Commission 

Post 3 - Terry Kori - Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Rose Purdy - Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Re-Appointment to Parks and Recreation Board

Post 2 - Anne Dowdall - Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Post 3 - Regina Hart -Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Post 4 - Alice Snipes - Term Expiration June 30, 2026

Re-Appointment to Downtown Development Authority of Snellville Board

Post 3 - Rafiq Ukani - Term Expiration June 30, 2028

Post 4 - Dan LeClair - - Term Expiration June 30, 2028

Post 5 - Jamey Toney - Term Expiration June 30, 2028

Post 6 - Deborah Jones - Term Expiration June 30, 2028

Also confirmed were Kevin Morrisey to Planning Commission Post 2 with a Term Expiration Date of June 30, 2026 and Richelle Brown to the Snellville Youth Commission Adult Advisory Board.

The Snellville Mayor and Council plan to approve a $16.4 million Fiscal Year 2025 budget at their next meeting June 10. 

The balanced budget carries a levy of 4 mills – the same it has been since 2022.

FY25 net spending increased by 8 percent, or $1,160,299. The increase is due, in part, to rising costs related to public projects and city services. As well as the addition of four full-time positions, and one part-time position. In addition, the budget includes the city’s portion of operations and maintenance expenses for The Grove at Towne Center and rental income from the newly opened development. This income will be used to fund expenses related to The Grove.

Other budget highlights include: 

$1.2 million is being invested for transportation-related projects including street resurfacing.

Sanitation services are subsidized with $1,309,300 in property tax collections.

The only planned capital expense is $150,000 for a new bucket truck for the Public Works Department.

A second reading and adoption of the budget is set for the June 10 meeting at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 2342 Oak Road.

CITY OF SNELLVILLE

PUBLIC HEARING

FY-2025 BUDGET

On Wednesday, May 29th 2024 the Mayor and City Council will hold a Special Called Meeting and Public Hearing at 7:30 p.m. to give its citizens the opportunity to provide written and oral comments on the proposed Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget. All citizens are urged to attend this Public Hearing on May 29th at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Snellville City Hall, located at 2342 Oak Road, Snellville Georgia.

The proposed budget is available for inspection at Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville, Georgia during regular business hours from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. or on the City website at www.snellville.org.

The Mayor and City Council will consider adoption of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget on Monday, June 10, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Snellville City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville, Georgia.

Melisa Arnold, City Clerk
City of Snellville

City staff joined members of the Snellville Adult Activity Center Thursday to learn helpful sign language techniques they may find helpful during the course of their workdays.

Officers Thaddeus Clark and Scott Hermel of the Snellville Police Department along with Chief Court Clerk Robin Gordon learned several signs from instructor James Scales who led the course. 

Signs for words such as “license,” “insurance” and “help” were shown to the class participants – words that will be helpful to the officers and court personnel if they need to communicate with a deaf person. 

Scales, who has a friend who is deaf, is a dialysis nurse who volunteers at the center free of charge. He learned sign language as a sort of hobby to communicate with his friend and others and now teaches the language as a way to give back. 

The sign language class is free of charge to all members and takes place each Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the center located next to City Hall at 2350 Oak Road. 

For more information on the center visit www.snellville.org/senior-center-parks-and-recreation/center.

SNELLVILLE - Gwinnett County student entrepreneurs braved the Shark Tank Thursday, collecting a total of $1,750 in donated funds to help grow their budding businesses.

The annual pitch competition, based on the popular TV show of the same name, encourages local students to create a self-sustaining business complete with business plans, financial forecasts and marketing strategies. They then pitch their businesses to a room full of judges comprised of local business leaders who grant them seed money based on the strength of their presentations. 

Each of the judges donated their time and $250 to the competition which has been taking place in the city for more than a decade.

“The City of Snellville believes in creating a bond between our schools, our business community and the city itself to bolster student entrepreneur efforts which, in turn, fosters a healthy business environment for all residents,” said City Manager Matt Pepper. “The competition brings together the best of our young student entrepreneurs and our business community to create a thriving business environment.”

Student businesses ranged from cakes in a jar to crocheted stuffed animals. 

Here’s a list of what was awarded:

Zuri Jackson - Styled By Z (Brookwood High School) - $425

Oluwaferanmi Ogunmefun - Anmi Jadore (Grayson Tech) - $100

Monty Robinson - Legends of the Minigame (Brookwood High School) - $300

Fazzilet Salewala – AdTract (Brookwood High School) - $100

Christopher Martin - Young Dedicated Hustlers (Grayson Tech) – Mentorship at The Print Lounge and The Wing Suite

Mina Torab – FoodCycle (Brookwood High School) - $325

Antwan Williams II – Transcendence (Grayson Tech) - $100

Simi Sodipe - Blissful Delights (Brookwood High School) - $100

Holly Nguyen - Cozy Crochet (Brookwood High School) - $300

The judges for the event were:

Sara Jones – The Print Lounge

Kelly McAloon – Experience Snellville

Sara Beddington – Walton Gas

Morgan Spivey – Walton Gas

Rodney L. Alexander – Piedmont Eastside

Kartisha Henry – The Wing Suite

Amanda Desena – Powell & Edwards

PICS: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2ijn0h28vlyilo772u538/ADJ70gzXYaw84PCTx4jGyOg?rlkey=q5tchw7fbdpamun6ttoqebcmh&dl=0

SNELLVILLE — City officials are proud to announce the hiring of Mercy Montgomery to the position of Assistant City Manager.

Montgomery joins the City of Snellville after serving as Assistant City Manager for the City of Chamblee where she managed the directors of the Parks and Recreation, Planning and Development, and Economic Development departments as well as a range of policy development and special projects, including housing policy, downtown activation strategies, and collaborative community service provision. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Snellville team at such an exciting time in our community’s history,” she said. “I look forward to supporting ongoing progress in downtown Snellville and seeing The Grove thriving with new businesses and community activity. The city is fortunate to have exemplary leadership and a highly-skilled staff and I’m looking forward to building strong working relationships and collaborating on innovative ideas as I serve our city.”

Montgomery received her Bachelor of Arts in Education with a focus on experiential learning from the University of Georgia. She also holds a Master of Public Administration degree as well as a certificate in Non-Profit Management from UGA. Following completion of the top-ranked MPA program, she completed a Local Government Management Fellowship in Hamilton, OH through the International City/County Management Association. 

Returning home to Georgia provided Montgomery with the opportunity to work with students at her alma mater before joining the team at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government as a consultant on workforce development for communities and clients such as the State of Georgia’s Department of Economic Development.

She then served for three years as Director of Economic Development for the City of Sugar Hill, leading cultivation and support of business opportunities in the community and lease-up and opening of the community’s new E Center project. Mercy and her team also managed and provided customized small business support, implementation of an interactive public communications strategy, and various community and economic development initiatives. 

Montgomery proudly serves as a member of the Alumni Advisory Board for the Master of Public Administration program at The University of Georgia and is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Gwinnett.

She can be reached at mmontgomery@snellville.org.