Council Approves Cost of Repairs for Road Pipe to Summit Chase Lake

After nearly a year of discussion, the Snellville City Council finally approved a measure to restore the Lower Johnson Lake Dam in the Summit Chase subdivision. 

At Monday's (Aug. 12) city council meeting, the council and mayor unanimously voted the approval to spend $34,800 to repair the road pipe at Timberline Trace in order to fix the lake. The decision came with much applause from the audience. 

The Summit Chase homeowners association is spending $7,000 to complete the restoration, too.

"We're going to finally get this resolved," said Councilman Bobby Howard.

"Now we can hope to get our lake filled once again and have the neighborhood back to the way it should be," said June Jones, a resident of the Timberline subdivision.

Much of the area surrounding the lake has become an eyesore since it was drained in Dec. 2011. Issues ranging from giant rats attacking their small dogs to a child getting stuck up to his neck in mud have plagued the property. The topic to fix the lake was brought to the council's attention since at least October 2012.

The city owns the Timberline road, and therefore many of the homeowners felt that the city should pay for the broken standpipe underneath Timberline. Once the pipe is fixed, the lake can be filled again. 

The original estimate for fixing the lake was $96,396, but the city was able to decrease the restoration cost to around $41,000.

Other actions during the council meeting include: 

-The council and mayor approved the construction of the veterans memorial easement, which is a fountain with a descending wall that will be located off Oak Road near city hall. $45,000 has been pledged so far for the project, which is projected to cost around $42,000. A groundbreaking is expected to take place Saturday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. in conjunction with the Star Spangled Snellville celebration. 

-The city celebrated its 90th birthday with cake, the singing of the birthday song and a small recess.

-A few passionate citizens came forward during the public comments portion to speak out against a remark the mayor made during her report. She reasoned that talks concerning the veterans memorial, the farmers market and other projects were springing forward because it is election season. 

-The council and mayor approved the purchase of two 2013 Harley Davidson FLHP Road King Motorcycles for the Snellville Police Department. The city is spending $31,000 on the bikes, with the funds coming from drug confiscated assets. 

-The council and mayor passed an amendment for the Retail Package Sales of Wine Regulations to allow the decrease of food sales for wine shops. This action allows the city of Snellville to be competitive with other municipalities, according to the council. 

-The following items were waived: the Text Amendment to amend the 2001 Zoning Ordinance regarding collective residences; the Speed Zone Ordinance; and a rezoning application for Petra Realty at 2128 East Main Street.

-The Field Chemical Contract was postponed to the Aug. 26th council meeting.

-Jean Baldwin and Rhonda Streat were appointed to the Snellville Public Arts Commission, and Claudette Forbes was appointed to the Urban Redevelopment Agency. 

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