Thursday, November 15, 2012
At a special called meeting Thursday, the Lilburn City Council voted to extend the franchise agreement another year.
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Thursday, November 15, 2012
From the city of Lilburn: Big League Dreams is still on the table, but the timeframe for developing the mega sports complex has been extended another year. At a special called meeting on Thursday, the Lilburn City Council extended a franchise agreement with Big League Dreams as planning continues for a future baseball park. Big League Dreams would feature four fields that are replicas of major league baseball stadiums, drawing tournaments, tourists, and ultimately more economic activity to Lilburn. "Big League Dreams could be an economic game-changer for Lilburn," City Manager Bill Johnsa said. “We look forward to continuing progress on this project as all the details are solidified.” The Lilburn Downtown Development Authority recently …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist: “These are two very big vision pieces in our city."
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012
(Note: This report is based on a City of Lilburn press release) The Lilburn City Council approved two important property transactions at its monthly meeting Monday night. --The council approved the transfer of 38 acres of Gwinnett Water and Sewer Authority property to the Lilburn Downtown Development Authority. The former site of the Jackson Creek Water Treatment Facility, located near the intersection of Lawrenceville Highway and Indian Trail-Lilburn Road, is the property tied to Big League Dreams, the city's proposed multi-use sports complex. The property has 1,350 feet of frontage on Indian Trail Road and around 500 feet more on Lawrenceville Highway. According to a press release emailed Monday evening, "The DDA’s ownership opens up …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Council addresses graffiti ordinance, new rules for pain clinics, alcohol at businesses without permits, and more.
Lilburn City Council met on Aug. 13 for its regular work session and council meetings of the month. Here is a quick run-down of the major happenings. 1. Items for Action: Graffiti Ordinance Summary: Introduced by Police Chief Bruce Hedley, the item provides mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for those who violate the graffiti ordinance. It is an effort to reduce crimes that misshapen the character of the city, and that may lead to other crimes. Not only does graffiti cause problems for the affected property owners, it also causes the city police manpower and city resources. According to the chief, there have been 198 instances of graffiti in the past 60 months in the city. The new guidelines considered: $250 fine for the first …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
City officials answer questions about the 2013 Budget and Lilburn's DDA, along with the potential and particulars of Big League Dreams
A thoughtful and informed crowd turned out for May's Town Hall Meeting. City officials were on hand to walk those in attendance through the Proposed 2013 Budget and answer questions where possible. Some key points were: During the question and answer period, there were several who were concerned about the exempt properties showing as 18% and asked if there was something that could be done to ensure that this number did not increase in coming years. Mayor Crist explained that there were no guarantees as these types of properties were protected by state and federal laws. When asked about the point of returned revenues from properties bought through the DDA, it was explained that Lilburn has asked the DDA to revitalize the area and has …
Monday, April 9, 2012
The council approved an online application form for residents who want to sit on a board, commission or task force.
Want to have a hand in shaping the city of Lilburn's future? The council on Monday night approved an online application form for residents who want to sit on a board, commission or task force. There are about 50 people out of the city's 12,000 residents whom the council uses "again and again and again" for such positions, Mayor Johnny Crist said in explaining the move, approved by a vote of 4-0. In the future, Lilburn city council members will have access to much wider range of candidates when making appointments. The online application will be modeled after one used by the city of Norcross (See the pdf included in the photos of this article to view Norcross' application form). The form is eight pages long and for that reason is basically…
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sports complex will be the 'best thing to happen to our city in 100 years,' Mayor Crist said.
At Mayor Johnny Crist's inaugural monthly town hall meeting Monday night, Big League Dreams -- or rather the mega sports complex it would operate -- was the topic de jour. The sports complex planned for the corner of Indian Trail-Lilburn Road and Lawrenceville Highway could be in operation by the summer of 2013, Crist said, and would attract thousands of people each weekend to Lilburn, along with restaurants, hotels and other businesses. The complex would be used for travel ball, which refers to baseball and softball teams that travel to various tournaments. Studies show that people who take part in that sport spend on average $86 a day in the city where the tournament is played, Crist said. Lilburn doesn't have the restaurants and other…
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The county on Tuesday agreed to sell 38 acres to Lilburn's Downtown Development Authority; the city wants to then sell it to a private developer for a large sports complex.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to sell 38 acres on Indian Trail-Lilburn Road -- which the city wants to sell to a private developer of a large sports complex -- to Lilburn's Downtown Development Authority for $1.31 million, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. That means the sports complex could open by June of next year, Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist said, according to the report, adding that the project will be “an economic engine that sits at the very heart of our community.” The property, formerly a water treatment plant, was appraised at $1.31 million. Removing the plant and doing environmental cleanup will cost an estimate $690,000. After the improvements, the appraisers said the land would be worth…
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Are you in favor of a multi-use sports complex in Lilburn? Or does your support depend on whether the city funds it or private investors fund it?
The city this week said the dream isn't dead of a multi-use sports complex on about 40 acres off Indian Trail-Lilburn Road. Big League Dreams, a sports complex operator, is talking to private investors about building the complex. In the meantime, though, Lilburn asked Big League Dreams, to extend for six months a fee license agreement it has with the so that Lilburn isn't totally out of the picture if the complex operator hasn't found a private partner in that time. The idea is controversial among Lilburnites. While many in the city, including City Manager Bill Johnsa, see the complex as a juggernaut for Lilburn's redevelopment, others worry about the cost and whether it will succeed financially. On that note, Johnsa said all studies have …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The council authorized Mayor Crist to enter into an agreement to extend the city's license fee agreement with Big League Dreams if an extension is offered by the sports complex operator.
Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist opened Monday night's city council meeting by announcing that it was a historic evening -- the first time the council has gone paperless. Crist and councilmen Tim Dunn and Thomas Wight were using laptops to go through what's normally stacks of paper -- copies of proposed policies or ordinances and other business matters. Here's what else happened at the council meeting: - approved, with a 4-0 vote, the appointment by Crist of Kathy Rice to the Planning Commission and the appointment by Wight of Patrick Carr to the Board of Adjustments. - approved with a vote of 4-0 the use of the city park for the Lilburn Girl Scout Day Camp June 4 - June 8. - approved with a vote of 4-0 an alcoholic beverage license application …
Monday, February 13, 2012
Big League Dreams is on the city council's agenda Monday evening.
The city of Lilburn today gave notice on a license fee agreement with Big League Dreams Sports Parks, a national operator of sports complexes, but also asked to extend the agreement for six months without a penalty. The city was obligated to give notice by Feb. 13 in order to get a full refund of the $450,000 agreement, City Manager Bill Johnsa said. He's waiting to hear whether the sports complex operator will grant an extension. Big League Dreams is talking with private investors about building a multi-use complex on land that the city would buy, about 40 acres on Indian Trail-Lilburn Road, Johnsa said. Originally, the city was considering funding the construction itself. "It's not dead," Johnsa said of the project. "It has shifted …
Tiimothy Dunn
5:51 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Sorry I didn't check back on this earlier. Here's a reference to the legal requirements regarding called meetings [meetings other than the 2nd Monday night of a month]. http://1.usa.gov/S93GfP In addition to the legal requirements of posting notice to the Gwinnett Daily Post and posting notice at City Hall, we also sent notice to the AJC, Patch, and tv media [one tv media rep attended, so we know… more ›