Newsletter of the Settles Bridge Homeowner’s Association, Inc.
Post Office Box 837 Suwanee, GA 30024
Almost 40 residents of the Settles Bridge subdivision turned out for the annual Homeowner's Picnic on Saturday, June 17th. A brief late afternoon shower was actually welcome, and didn't affect anybody's appetite. The picnic was combined with a homeowner's meeting, where the following officers were elected so serve on the Board for the next year:
| President | David Hancock |
| Vice President | Bill Williams |
| Treasurer | Ron Rogers |
| Secretary | Diane Stoll |
| Members at Large | Mark Joshi, Richard Parker and Kim Todd |
There was also a drawing for a $40 restaurant gift certificate, which was won by Sean & Katrina McKinney, of 435 Surveyor's Point.
If you get this newsletter in time, remember that Tuesday is the day to vote in the primary for the November elections. There may not be many candidates, but the election is still important - our votes for some of the candidates (for instance, in the race between Richard Trice and Bobby Reese) may well decide who wins the fall election. The nearest polling place is in the big Baptist church on Suwanee Dam Road, just across Peachtree Industrial. Voting is in the gym, so take the family and have a good time.
Suwanee's Square Mileage Gets Larger
Many of you already know that Suwanee is undertaking a rigorous annexation campaign. Target lists have been completed and letters have been sent inviting various land owners to join our city. Why? Suwanee's boundaries are extremely confusing. For a good example of what I am talking about, drive on Highway 317 west of City Hall. Before you reach Highway 23, you will go in and out of the city limits several times. Can you imagine what a time our police officers have trying to decide whether they are within our city limits or not? Can you imagine trying to explain these many exceptions to newly hired patrol officers?
Well, your City Council decided it was time to do something about this confusion. With the help of some newly passed legislation this past year, pockets of Gwinnett County within our city will soon be in our city limits. Not only will this be easier for the Suwanee Police, we will also have more control over future development
To our knowledge, Suwanee is the first city in Georgia to take advantage of this annexation legislation
I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer!
I am very happy to inform our citizens that our City Council has approved 5 additional officers and 1 additional dispatcher for our new budget period that begins July 1, 2000. This will help us to put additional officers in the field so we can meet the increase for the demand for service. One of our major goals is to put enough officers on the street so we can continue the personal service that we have provided in the past and provide patrols in our neighborhoods.
The department has had an increase in demand for service, on average, 25% per year for the past 5 years. That is a 125% increase in our workload since 1995. Our goal is to provide Community Oriented Policing to our citizens. To do this we must continue to add the officers necessary to give our citizens that personal touch. Many departments loose that personal interaction when demands increase to a point that the police department can only react to calls for service. We do not want this nor do the citizens of Suwanee.
The additional manpower will not be an asset to the department until late October or November. We will be in the process of hiring and training the new officers between July and October of this year. Once the officers are trained we will go to a work schedule that will allow overlap during key periods of the day. With the overlap, our department will be much more efficient in provided service for special request or needs.
I want to thank the Citizens of Suwanee and the City Council for being progressive and aggressive in responded to the needs of your police department.
Thank you and have a safe summer.
A few months ago, we got a letter from a resident of Settles Bridge Subdivision. I have heard similar comments from other residents, and so I decided to reprint the letter exactly as it was received (without the homeowner's name):
I was glad to see the recent SBHA letter that asked dog owners to be more responsible when walking their dogs. Unfortunately, this gentle request has not changed the bad habits of some Settles Bridge residents. They still treat any expanse of green grass (not in their yard of course) as an open invitation for their dogs to defecate or urinate. I recently had an unpleasant confrontation with one of these irresponsible dog walkers. After seeing their dog defecate in my yard, and confronting them with the steaming "evidence", I was met first with denial, then lies and anger.
This problem is not just confined to our little community. The city and county parks are routinely abused by dog owners who seem to think that excrement from _their_ dogs will magically disappear, and couldn't possibly annoy other people. The obvious answer is for dog owners to keep the mess in their yard, or to clean up any dog droppings left on other property. Pooper-scoopers are available in all pet stores. How many Settles Bridge dog walkers do we see using them?
For better or worse, the days of winding dirt roads and farms are quickly disappearing from Suwanee. Dog owners need to respect the property of others and act responsibly. Failing this, there are legal remedies available involving county and state ordinances for:
Trespass, Ga Code 16-7-21 G, Unlawful waste placement, Gwinnett Ordinance, Sec, 5-2009, Animal restraint, Gwinnett Ordinance, Sec. 10-29, Nuisance animals, Gwinnett Ordinance, Sec. 10-32.
Unless we can resolve this by persuasion, I'd also favor a city ordinance explicitly requiring dog walkers to carry a pooper-scooper, clean up droppings, or face a fine.
Send suggestions and comments regarding this newsletter to webmaster@settlesbridge.com