details on the changes to property taxes under House Bill 581, the summer concert calendar, a review of a great new restaurant, and my comments on the decrease in rental housing and an increase in public safety.

(*Note: while county school taxes have increased due to higher valuations, county government taxes for homeowners have stayed flat due to the unchanged millage rate and the Gwinnett Value Offset Exemption (VOE) which locks your house’s assessed value as of the year you purchased it.)

We’ll know for certain next autumn once the Board of Commissioners votes on the property tax millage rate for the next year.

Based on the scope of the transit plan approved unanimously by the Board of Commissioners in 2023, I wouldn’t be surprised if the county property tax rate is increased next year (after five years of no increases*) to support the current and expanded transit services called for by the plan.

The referendum to implement a county-wide sales tax (paid by any purchaser) to fund transit was defeated, so property taxes (paid by property owners) will remain the primary funding source for Gwinnett County Transit services.

I'll be interested in hearing the update on the construction bids for the mobility hub at the intersection of Scientific Drive and Technology Parkway. The goal is to create a tech showcase and a gathering spot for Technology Park.

I will be participating virtually as I'm traveling today.

And kudos to Patricia Bruschini and the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association loaned us vests and grabber sticks!

To be alerted to the next District Service Day, you can sign-up at eepurl.com/bZbybD

Volunteers should meet at 9 AM at the Crooked Creek crossing on Green Pointe Parkway (closest address is 3280 Green Pointe Parkway). The City will provide gloves and bags. Please wear closed toe shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.

A reminder that Thanksgiving Day is a holiday for Waste Management in Peachtree Corners. This week, trash for Zone 4 Thursday customers will be collected on Friday and Zone 5 Friday customers will be collected on Saturday.

4. While funding has been allocated to Simpsonwood Park in the current SPLOST, those funds will not be available until 2027. So the timeline is: 2024-25 refresh the comprehensive plan, 2027-28 implement plan.

3. The County prioritizes making all its parks accessible to all types of users: able-bodied and disabled, young and old, those who live within walking distance and those who bike or drive to a park.

2. While mountain biking would be permitted by the Conservation Easement, the County has determined that Simpsonwood will not be a site for mountain biking, due to the sensitive environmental conditions and because other sites in this area have been selected as preferable for mountain biking

1. The potential uses of the park are constrained by the Conservation Easement placed on the land by the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners in 2020. It must be a park for the general public and it can only have “passive” uses - no sport playing fields, no arts center, no community center.

On the committee are 27 residents of Peachtree Corners, three residents of nearby Gwinnett cities, and a representative of the Gwinnett Recreation Authority.

While the committee is just beginning its work on the updated comprehensive plan, here’s what we know so far:

Enrollment at Norcross High peaked at 3,805 during the 2016-17 school year. Once Duke High opened in 2018, NHS enrollment dropped rapidly. The number of high school students in the Norcross cluster (NHS+Duke combined) has remained pretty constant with an average of 3,812 during the past five years.