The City of Duluth marketing team recently attended the City-County Communications & Marketing Association conference in St. Louis, MO where they were awarded the following:
Savvy Award for the Discover Downtown Duluth Campaign
Silver Circle Award for the Visitors Guide
Award of Excellence for the City’s Instagram (@city_of_duluth)
Award of Excellence for the Mayor’s Carpool Karaoke video
Alisa Williams, Marketing Manager, Mayor Nancy Harris and Talore Ruedt, Senior Marketing Coordinator
The Savvy Awards, held in conjunction with 3CMA’s Annual Conference, recognize outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing and citizen-government relationships. The Savvies salute skilled and effective city, county, agency or district professionals who have creatively planned and carried out successful innovations in communications and marketing. 3CMA accommodates local government organizations of all sizes and budget classes by judging entries in several different population groups. Over 800 entries in 40 categories were received. 3CMA utilized volunteer judges from across the United States to review every entry and provide constructive comments on the winning entries. The list of all award winners is available online at 3cma.org.
On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, the City of Duluth will hold a Public Information Open House (PIOH) to determine the level of public interest in a potential pedestrian project. The potential project, currently called the West Lawrenceville – Pine Needle Pedestrian Connector would, if constructed, connect cyclists and pedestrians to/from and around downtown Duluth on a roadside trail along West Lawrenceville Street, Pine Needle Drive, and SR 120/Abbotts Bridge Road. The meeting to discuss this project with the public will be held in person in the lower-level community room of City Hall, located at 3167 Main Street, Duluth, GA 30096. CDC Guidelines in effect at that time will be enforced.
The meeting will be conducted between the hours of 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm. The meeting will be informal and the public is invited to attend anytime during these hours. There will be no formal presentation.
The project has not yet started. A potential concept design will be available for discussion purposes only. There are no funds available yet for this project. The goal of the meeting is to solicit input and gauge public interest. There will be an opportunity to leave written comments. Based on feedback from the public, the City may apply for federal funding in order to design and build this project.
For those not comfortable with in-person interaction, there will be a virtual PIOH on the City’s website from August 24 through September 7. Comments and input are encouraged to be left online and will be included with the written comments collected at the in-person meeting.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information:
The meeting site is accessible to persons with disabilities. Accommodations for people with disabilities can be arranged with advance notice by calling Ms. Margie Pozin, City Engineer, City of Duluth Planning Department, 678.957.7284.
Written statements will be accepted concerning this project until September 7, 2021. Please submit written statements to:
At the last Council Meeting, Mayor Nancy Harris proclaimed July 12, 2021 to be Adam Flagler Day.
Mayor Nancy Harris and Adam Flagler
Adam attended school in Duluth from K-12 where he was a member of the City of Duluth LEAD program, held a 3.5 GPA, was a Duluth High School Honor Student and earned the 2016-17 “Wildcat of the Year Award”. Adam holds the all-time 3-point shooting record of 227 in Duluth High School history, scored the most points in a game and is the all-time leading scorer with 1,300 points for Duluth High School.
Adam earned first-team 6-7 A All Region and All-County during his Junior and Senior seasons, Gwinnett Tip-Off Club and Gwinnett Daily Post All-County selection in 2018, was a member of GACA Junior and Senior All-Star teams, was named to McDonalds Tift County Invitational All-Tournament team and was 2015 and 2016 SEBA Atlanta Hoop Festival MVP. He was the recipient of the 2019 Big South Freshman of the Year Award and was a five-time Big South Freshman of the week.
Adam was the recipient of the All Big 12 Academic First Team Award for having a GPA higher than 3.2 and on April 6, he was on Baylor’s first NCAA Division 1 Championship Team making him the first Duluth High School graduate to play in an NCAA final 4 championship Dl game.
The Gwinnett County Library branch located on Main Street in Downtown Duluth is set to open on Wednesday, May 26!
Elected officials and city staff had the opportunity to tour the library today after the ribbon cutting. You are all in for a treat!
This library is not only equipped with a lifetime worth of books but also private rooms for classes and workshops, a green screen setup, learning labs, tech stations and so much fun seating.
Check out the photos below for a sneak peek at the new facility and then check it out for yourself when they open to the public!
Judge Barrett and Judge Lee of the City of Duluth Municipal Court will be hosting a Korean American Outreach Program on May 19 from 6:00-8:30pm at the Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta. This event is presented to enable our Korean neighbors to gain a better understanding of the various courts in Gwinnett County with which they may interact.
Judges from across Gwinnett County have been invited to participate. Guests can expect short presentations from judges representing all classes of court. This will include what types of cases the court hears, overview of special programs offered to the community and general court information. Following the presentation, the judges will take questions from the community.
There will be a Korean-language interpreter present and the event will be televised by Korean-language television.
Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta
5900 Brook Hollow Parkway, Norcross, GA 30071
For questions regarding this event, please email pio@duluthga.net.
In the fall/winter of 2020, many of you participated in our Community Preference Surveys. This series of surveys was designed to help City leaders plan for Duluth’s future.
Along with help from a few celebrity guests, mayor Nancy Harris would like to share the results of those surveys with you now.
The City of Duluth, in partnership with the City of Johns Creek, Gwinnett County and Fulton County broke ground on the pedestrian bridge at Rogers Bridge Park this morning. Representatives from all sides were present and participated in the ceremony.
Pictured left to right: Gwinnett County District 1 Commissioner Kirkland Carden, Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris, Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson, Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker and Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann
This is a partnership 15 years in the making! In 2006, Gwinnett County commissioned a study of Rogers Bridge to determine its structural integrity. The goal was to repurpose the bridge for pedestrians and in doing so, reconnect the communities on each side of the Chattahoochee River. In 2014, the City of Duluth took over the project and confirmed the study results. Duluth then applied for a grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission in order to develop construction plans for the bridge. The grant provided $560,000 to the City and required a local match in the amount of $140,000. As the project is of regional significance, Duluth teamed up with the City of Johns Creek and Fulton and Gwinnett Counties to come up with the $140,000 match. Evenly split, each local partner contributed $35,000 toward what is referred to as the “preconstruction” effort, which culminated in the development of construction plans.
At the time the plans were in their initial stages of development, it was not yet known if the bridge would be rehabilitated or replaced. Along the preconstruction journey, it was determined that the existing bridge was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places due to its unique construction method. The existing bridge is a 228’ long pin-connected Pennsylvania Petit truss. As such, the design team carefully documented the bridge’s history as well as its current condition. Ultimately, the Department of Natural Resources agreed the bridge could not be salvaged as is and approved its replacement. Concurrently, the preconstruction team reached out to citizens and stakeholders through various meetings and public open houses held in multiple locations (in multiple languages) to gain feedback as to what the ultimate users of the facility would want. Participants voted on their favored selection of bridge type and it was ultimately determined that a replica truss would best suit the needs of the end users. Both Councils and both Commissions concurred and the design team moved forward with developing construction plans for the replica truss.
The preconstruction process took about 4 years to complete and followed strict state and federal guidelines. Once again, the City reached out to the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation to assist with funding of the construction. And again, the four local partners came together, this time to participate with $350,000 each for a local match of $1,400,000. GDOT covered approximately $700,000. And ARC covered the remaining approximate $5,100,000. We anticipate the construction to take 18 months and be completed in the summer of 2022, at which time we will celebrate the partnerships we’ve built as well as the new structure itself.
The preconstruction team included Duluth, Johns Creek, Fulton County and Gwinnett County as financial match partners along with the Atlanta Regional Commission, Federal Highway Administration, National Parks Services, Georgia DOT and the Environmental Protection Division’s Department of Natural Resources as additional governmental partners. In addition, Parks Departments from both Cities, Historical Societies from both Cities and local bike/pedestrian advocates participated on our stakeholder team. The design was led by Development Planning & Engineering with structural design support from CHA and environmental documentation and process support by Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. While Duluth managed the project and the process during preconstruction and will continue to do so through construction, all major decisions were vetted by the stakeholder group and approved by the financial partners. The construction team is led by Astra Group with KCI Technologies representing the City’s interests as the construction administrator on site.
The City of Duluth is looking forward to a successful project and a beautiful bridge connecting us to our neighbors across the Chattahoochee River.
City of Duluth Council Member Kelvin J. Kelkenberg was awarded the Leadership & Service Award from the Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA) at the City’s last Council Meeting. Kelkenberg was well deserving of this recognition for his service as 2020 President of the GwMA Board.
GwMA is a 501-c3 nonprofit organization lead by Managing Director, Randy Meacham. This association was created by the cities of Gwinnett to help foster better cooperation within the county, improve the understanding of the complex issues that cities face and to provide for maximum efficiency and economy of taxpayer dollars. Traditionally, the GwMA board meets monthly at varying locations within Gwinnett County. 2020 looked a bit different with regular meeting being moved to a virtual forum.
Kelkenberg was uniquely qualified to act as President of GwMA during 2020’s ongoing battle with the COVID-19 pandemic through his 20 years of experience working in emergency management with FEMA. Together with Meacham, Kelkenberg hosted weekly meetings with the 16 GwMA cities to create a unified message and plan of action.
Randy Meacham & Council Member Kelvin J. Kelkenberg pose with the Leadership & Service Award.
“Leading this organization during a pandemic may look like a heavy lift from the outside but it was the right thing to do. I appreciate the challenge of emergency management and was proud to utilize my years of training to guide the City of Duluth and other Gwinnett County cities during this time,” said Kelvin J. Kelkenberg.
Through his connections, Kelkenberg was able to arrange for Dr. Audrey Arona, District Health Director for Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments and Greg Swanson, Emergency Management Director of Gwinnett County to be a part of these weekly calls. Their combined efforts enabled Gwinnett County cities to launch a campaign to encourage mask wearing, practice social distancing and celebrate our first responders.
GwMA and representatives from the 16 Gwinnett Cities are still holding regular weekly meetings with Dr. Arona and plan to continue doing so until all willing citizens receive a vaccine and we have achieved herd immunity.
The Southeast Festivals and Events Association (SFEA) recognized Duluth’s Events Coordinator, Kristin Edwards, as Director of the Year for her efforts in providing Duluth with a fun, creative outlet, even during these challenging times.
Kristin Edwards has been coordinating events for the City since March of 2019. As you all know, most events in 2020 were cancelled with community health and safety coming forward as a top priority. By April of each year, the events coordinator typically has most of the events planned for the remainder of the season; so you can imagine how much work Kristin put into the events that never got to come to fruition. By late spring, discussions between the Events & Marketing Department, City Manager’s Office and the City Council led to the cancelling of all remaining scheduled events through the end of July.
Although she was disappointed, this tough but necessary decision did not stop Kristin from continuing to plan virtual and socially distanced events to bring entertainment to the community. During lockdown, a few virtual events were hosted. This included a TikTok Challenge and a Duluth Shines talent competition. Once lockdown was lifted, she really sprang into action. Her top priority was to stay on top of the current executive order given by Governor Kemp to ensure that we were following all restrictions and taking the proper precautions.
The first step back into normalcy was weekly Duluth Live “events”. These events consisted of music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the Town Green main stage and in Parsons Alley. These live musical performances were not meant to draw a crowd but rather enhance the ambiance for those that were utilizing the outdoor dining space. Other socially distanced activities were creatively themed photo-ops, Seek Duluth scavenger hunts, and a drive-in theater. The season ended with the annual Deck the Hall event which featured unique social distancing activities including photos with Santa inside a snow globe, free caricatures and tree lighting.
The award was accepted virtually at the annual SFEA Conference on February 24, 2021. The SFEA Kaleidoscope Awards, which recognizes the marketing, programming and overall event, acknowledges the highest level of achievement in the festival and event industry throughout the southeast United States.
The mission of SFEA is to strengthen, educate and unify the festivals and events industry throughout the Southeast. Comprised of festival and event planners, venues, and industry service providers, SFEA was founded to strengthen the festival and event industry throughout the southeast United States by hosting educational sessions, networking opportunities, award recognition, and additional events throughout the year; thus allowing for continued professional growth within the festivals and events industry.
The Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) announced the Fast Track to the Future campaign to underwrite a new five-year initiative to expand and enhance the Museum.
Over the next five years, through the Fast Track to the Future program, SRM will:
Enhance the Educational Experience – SRM will develop a classroom at the Museum to host elementary, middle school, and high school classes visiting SRM to study transportation.
Improve and Expand Museum Exhibits – SRM will redevelop and revitalize the Museum’s collection of historic railway locomotives and cars to enhance the visitors’ experience.
Modernize the Museum for Growth – SRM will develop a new Master Site Plan to better portray the impact of transportation on our country; make the Museum grounds more visitor-friendly while improving safety and security.
Expand Professional Staff – SRM will recruit a full-time professional Executive Director to implement the dynamic Fast Track to the Future program.
The Southeastern Railway Museum Board of Trustees launched the Fast Track to the Future campaign in October following months of strategic planning as well as a comprehensive feasibility analysis. John Pollock, an SRM board member, is excited with the area’s early response to the project:
Pollock says: “This is an exciting time for the Southeastern Railway Museum. Fast Track to the Future is a dynamic program that will meet the current and future needs of the Museum and the thousands of visitors they serve.” Pollock added, “SRM and all of our volunteers have done an outstanding job over the last 35 years. Now, this new five-year program will take this Museum to the next level. The Fast Track initiative will enable us to do so much more in a better way.”
Joining John Pollock and the SRM Board in supporting the initiative is Lisa Anders, Executive Director of Explore Gwinnett, the county’s tourism agency. Anders says: “Now is the right time for us to focus our attention on this important education treasure. The Southeastern Railway Museum has been a “well-kept secret” in our community for years. I’m impressed with how much SRM has accomplished over the last twenty years at this location through hard work and determination. This new initiative will help us strengthen and enhance SRM’s current programs and enable the Museum to implement new programs that will make it a stronger more vibrant tourist destination. Ultimately, the Fast Track to the Future program will significantly impact not only the lives of all who visit the Museum…but it will impact the lives of all who live and work in our area.”
Pollock added, “The Fast Track to the Future campaign is off to a great start. We focused our early efforts on organizing the campaign, enlisting leadership, and soliciting pledges from our SRM staff, Board of Trustees, and volunteers. We have already raised 20% of our goal in the process! Excitement is building for this important initiative as we enter 2021!”
The Fast Track to the Future campaign has established a five-year goal of $1 Million to be raised from corporate and community leaders in the Gwinnett County / North Metro Atlanta region. The Southeastern Railway Museum is located at 3595 Buford Highway, one mile south of the Duluth city center. For further information or to get involved in the campaign, please contact Steve Dorough in the Fast Track to the Future campaign office (678-906-4081) or at sdorough@fcdusda.com.
