Mayor Urges Involvement for Suwanee

Several people spoke during the Suwanee State Of The City address on Wednesday. The mayor was actually one of them.

In his second such address, Mayor Jimmy Burnette issued a call for involvement, and an overhead video played during a break in his speech had testimonials from people who already had done so. The video highlighted people who participated in the 20/20 Vision strategic plan.

Burnette urged those in attendance at City Hall, which included members of the Suwanee Business Alliance, to "find something in the 20/20 Vision (strategic plan) that you are passionate about."

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"Take a leadership role, and make it happen."

Among the speakers in the video were Vickie Johnson of the North Gwinnett Arts Association and Dion Jones, principal of Roberts Elementary.

"Art develops a community," Johnson said.

"(Citizens) wanted a diverse vision of the city," Jones said.

Burnette's speech also highlighted other achievements during 2012, such as:

• the new police substation at I-85. Burnette said City Hall "is the most unique of the city's facilities, but it no longer can lay claim to being the newest." He noted that the substation, which opened last September, has served nearly 600 individuals already;
• reshaping a hillside at Sims Lake Park, to allow for installation of a sculpture that was donated to the city by the Rohloff family;
• an improving economy that saw the city issue 92 permits for single family housing, up from 59 in 2011;
• lowering the city's millage rate for the third straight year.

And the call for involvement was motivation for the future.

"We can't do it alone," the mayor said.

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