Fun-Filled Friday: New Art Center Opens, Food Truck Fridays Return
Friday, Aug. 3 will be a busy day in downtown Cumming as the Sawnee Association of the Arts (SAA) holds a grand opening for the new Art Center inside the historic Brannon-Heard House, followed by the City's Food Truck Friday on School Street. 

The Art Center's grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the Brannon-Heard House. The event is open to the public. 

SAA members will continue the grand opening festivities during the City's Food Truck Friday event, which begins at 5 p.m. and continues through 9 p.m., with various art displays and demonstrations at the Art Center throughout the event

Food Truck Friday event will feature great food from Patty Wagon, Peace of Pita and Kona Ice, as well as a DJ, vendors, and activities for kids. 

Reminder: Pilgrim Mill Road from Pirkle Ferry/Hwy. 9 to School Street, and School Street from Mason Street to Pilgrim Mill, will be closed for Food Truck Friday from approximately 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Parking is available in the School Street Parking Deck (access via Mason Street), City Hall parking lot, Cumming Recreation Center and Creative Enterprises on Pilgrim Mill. Please note: Parking at the Cumming Playhouse will be reserved for viewers of "Camelot," which is in its final weekend. 

Did you know?  The SAA Art Center is now open Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, click here.

Aquatic Center Lifeguards Honored, State Meet a Success
Cumming Aquatic Center lifeguards compete at the GRPA State Lifeguard challenge on July 16 at Lake Oconee.
A group of six lifeguards from the Cumming Aquatic Center earned second place honors in the annual Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) statewide lifeguard competition on July 16. 

Held at Lake Oconee, the competition involved a variety of events including rescue board and rescue tube relays, a CPR scenario, swimming contests, and a team triathlon. A total of 13 teams from across Georgia took part in the contest. 
The Cumming Aquatic Center team took second place out of 13 teams.

Congratulations to Captain Annsley Marks and team members Audrey Clanton, Josh Birk, Brandon Birk, Megan Kasper, and Katherine Brostrom!

Just a few days after their successful run at the lifeguard competition, Aquatic Center staff all were busy hosting the annual GRPA Class A State Swim Meet from July 19-21. 

During the meet, Aquatic Center staff hosted nearly 1,300 youth swimmers from around the state, as well as their coaches, GRPA competition officials, and thousands of the young swimmers' supporters. This was the fourth time since the center opened in 2011 that it has been selected as the host site of the state meet. The Cumming Aquatic also hosted the competition in 2014, 2015, and 2017. 

37 Main Presents Second Music Fest at the Fairgrounds on Aug. 18
On the heels of a successful first effort in July, which drew some 6,000 patrons, 37 Main will present their second summer music festival at the Cumming Fairgrounds on Aug. 18. 

Dubbed the Classic Rock Tribute Fest, the August event features a number of tribute bands saluting classic '70s and '80s rockers. 

Tickets to the event range in price from $5 for general admission to $49 for a "Rockstar Package." Click here to learn more about ticket packages and to order tickets. Reserve before Aug. 6 to secure tickets at the lowest prices. 

Gates open at 3 p.m. on Aug. 18, and concerts kick off at 4:15 p.m. with Grand Paradise, a Styx tribute. Aerosmith tribute, Pandora's Box, takes the stage at 5:45 p.m., followed by Wanted, performing the music of Bon Jovi, at 7:15 p.m. Journey tribute, Departure, closes the evening when they take the stage at 9:15 p.m. 

For more information about all of these awesome tribute bands, including bios and performance videos, click here! 


City Council Approves Several Ordinance Revisions
During their July meeting and work session, Mayor and Council approved several revisions to City ordinances. 

Among them was the addition of a new Planned Unit Development category to the Zoning Ordinance. This new category will serve as the primary means for implementing horizontal and vertical mixed-use developments, while allowing and encouraging more unique and creative arrangements and mixes of land than are permitted in other zoning categories. 

Council also approved revisions to the Sign Ordinance, which primarily address billboard usage. Specifically, the revision increases the amount of space between placement of billboards from 500 feet to 1,500 feet, and establishes a "cap and replace" provision which states that for every new LED billboard added, two old style billboards must be eliminated. 

Additionally, Council approved a revision to the Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance which simplifies the process of securing an employee serving permit. Previously, applicants had to provide a copy of their social security card during the application process but the revision allows for them to only provide their social security number. 

Finally, Council approved an update to the Speed Ordinance, which allows speed levels on Atlanta Highway, Lanier 400 Parkway and Market Place Boulevard to be monitored by the Cumming Police Department. Speed limit signs and speed-checked-by-detection-device signs must be in place for 30 days prior to the use of radar on these roads. 

Among other business during the July meeting and work session, City Council:   

  • Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Forsyth County to identify projects that will be funded by the proposed SPLOST VIII and division of funds. The County projects that total collections of the Sales and Use Tax over the six-year collection period will be approximately $274 million. As outlined in the IGA, Forsyth County would receive 94.71 percent and the City would receive 5.29 percent, or an estimated $14.49 million, for City projects.  
  • Approved an agreement with the Marketplace Commons' Home Owners Association in which the City will remit the residential services fees collected from the subdivision's residents in previous years to the HOA. In return, the HOA will take sole responsibility for maintenance of certain infrastructure in the development for 10 years. 
  • Approved the low bid for server virtualization for the City's six computer servers. This process will better protect the servers from hardware crashes, while also providing more processing power, redundancy and a better disaster recovery plan.  
  • Approved revisions to the City's procurement policy to bring the policy, which was outdated, in line with current state limits.  
  • Approved the low bid for a new standby generator for City Hall.  
  • Approved an alcohol license for the sale of distilled spirits for consumption on the premises for Bello Italian Restaurant, which already had a license for sale of beer and wine on the premises.  
  • Voted to reappoint Robert Long of the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce as the private sector representative on the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission.  

Click here for meeting videos.  
Coming Soon
 
To the Cumming Playhouse

To the Cumming Fairgrounds

To the Cumming Aquatic Center 
Meetings
  • Cumming Country Fair & Festival Advisory Board Meeting - Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. (Location: Gallery B, City Hall Second Floor) 
  • City Council Work Session - Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. (Location: Gallery B, City Hall Second Floor) 
  • Planning & Zoning Board - Aug. 21 at 5 p.m.  
  • City Council Regular Meeting - Aug. 21 at 6 p.m. 

All meetings are open to the public and held in the third-floor Council Chambers at City Hall, 100 Main Street, unless otherwise noted. For all meetings after 5 p.m., please enter through the rear parking lot entrance. Click here for previous meeting videos. 

 

We hope everyone has a smooth start to the new school year! 

 

Sincerely,   
City of Cumming
Division of Public Information
  

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