Lilburn CID June 2020 Newsletter

Lilburn CID June Newsletter

LCID Spotlight on Lilburn’s Assistant City Manager, Jenny Simpkins

A global pandemic was not what Jenny Simpkins expected during her first six months on the job as the new Lilburn Assistant City Manager. However while City Hall was closed, she made the most of her time by going through old files and thoroughly researching Lilburn and its projects.

When Jenny first met Lilburn’s City Manager, Bill Johnsa, at a previous position working in the Gwinnett County Department of Support Services in 2016, she was drawn to his professional, passionate, yet laid back demeanor and thought he would make a great boss. She had no idea that he would be extending an offer for her dream job only four years later. Though she was fond of her job as Fort Oglethorpe’s city manager, Jenny did not hesitate to accept and make the move to Gwinnett County.

She finds working with organizations like Lilburn CID, Georgia DOT and the Downtown Development Authority beneficial and efficient on projects like the Hood Rood realignment, streetscapes and other road improvement and connectivity.

Jenny loves Lilburn for its distinct, charming downtown personality in the midst of a large metropolitan city, and is excited about assisting with projects like the new open-air pavilion in the former City Hall and Police Headquarters location, wayfinding design and installation and much more. In the short time she’s been on the job, Jenny knows Lilburn’s strong leadership has put the city on a path to thrive and be successful.

Spotlight on New Lilburn Councilman Emil Powella

Lilburn photographer Emil Powella was elected to Lilburn’s City Council Post 4 following the May 19 special election held after Tim Dunn vacated the position to become Lilburn’s mayor.

Retired after a 35-year management career from Procter & Gamble and Amoco/BP, Emil is still a problem solver and a self-described “terminal extrovert.” As a Lilburn resident for more than 20 years, serving on the Lilburn Planning Commission for seven and an HOA president for the largest neighborhood in the City, the natural next step was to run for city council.

“I love this city and have seen it grow so much,” he stated. “I had the time, so why not?”

Emil is eager to be a part of the process that helps Lilburn continue to grow. He feels projects like the Hood Road realignment and Killian Hill Road widening project will greatly benefit the community.

As his schedule fills up with council duties, Emil still plans on documenting Lilburn events and festivities as its unofficial photographer.

LCID News

COVID-19 Testing at Lilburn First Baptist Church

Walk-up and drive-through COVID-19 testing is now available at the Lilburn First Baptist Church from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. The site has tested thousands of people since its opening on May 20. The Lilburn location is near two Gwinnett County transit locations for easy accessibility. Tests are available by appointment only by calling 770-513-5631. Learn more in this Gwinnett Daily Post article.

Photo by Curt Yeomans

LCID Adds New Board Member and Reelects David Freeman

At the June 17 Caucus of electors, David Freeman was re-elected to another board term and Taylor Mathis’ Kate Woyce was elected as a new board member to fill the seat vacated by Joe Comonte when he relocated outside of the Lilburn district.

Welcome aboard, Kate and thank you for your continued service, David!

LCID Connects with Gwinnett CIDs on Transit, Infrastructure and More

In order to be more efficient, effect more change and be more strategic, Lilburn CID has joined forces with the Gateway85, Gwinnett Place, Evermore, Sugarloaf and Braselton CIDs to be more competitive with larger CIDs when applying for funding and grants for transit and infrastructure projects. By opening communication with each other, the CIDs will be able to offer more connectivity when building trail systems, improving traffic corridors and upgrading infrastructure.

Learn more about the partnership and upcoming projects in this Georgia Trend article.

BrightView Continues to Make LCID Look Good

BrightView’s crew has been doing a great job keeping the district beautiful with these American Hornbeam Trees along the Greenway Trail.

BrightView’s crew also replaced dead crepe myrtles along Jackson Creek Trail. Check both trails out on a socially distanced walk!

LCID Project Updates

Lilburn’s Wayfinding Project

The wheels have been set in motion to design and install more signage around the City of Lilburn. Wayfinding has been on the City’s mind for quite some time to properly direct people to downtown and various landmarks around town. The City and LCID have selected Sky Design to design the signs by the end of 2020.

Hood Road Project

LCID, GDOT, Gwinnett County and the City of Lilburn have come together over the safety concerns regarding the Hood Road intersection at Bryson Park and Lilburn Middle school. LCID funded $30,000 to complete the survey, the City funded $170,000 for the construction design by Kimley Horn, while Gwinnett County and GDOT are finalizing the permitting. The improvements call for a realignment of Hood Road at Lawrenceville Highway, a traffic roundabout and new traffic signal. The timeline for construction and completion of the project is dependent upon identification of a funding source, however the stakeholders intend for the project to be “shovel-ready” by the fall of 2020 pending identification of the funding mechanism.

Connect with Us!

Lilburn Community Improvement District has a new website and is on LinkedIn. For more timely project updates and news, please follow our page.

To have your business or event included in our next CID newsletter, please contact Tad Leithead at [email protected].