GWINNETT

Lawrenceville

City partners with Impact46 to provide food, housing

The Lawrenceville City Council voted unanimously April 27 to approve an intergovernmental agreement with Impact46 to create an emergency intake center to be known as the Lawrenceville Response Center. In partnership with the Lawrenceville Housing Authority and local nonprofits, the center’s goal will be to provide food, housing and other life-sustaining essentials in response to the COVID-19 crisis to residents living within Lawrenceville city limits.

Under the agreement, Lawrenceville will provide $125,000 out of the city’s contingency fund as long as it is matched by Impact46 and partners. The requirement for matching funds had already been met and exceeded by the April 27 council meeting with Impact46 and partners having raised $300,000 for the project.

Impact46 will serve as the community liaison and fiscal agent to create a network of community partners and providers to prevent hunger, prevent homelessness, help maintain property values by preventing foreclosures, allow continued payment of utility bills, and lessen the burdens placed on public safety infrastructure.

Funds from the city should be available almost immediately. To make a donation or for information: www.impact46.org/lawrenceville-response-center.

KAREN HUPPERTZ FOR THE AJC

Lawrenceville

Hearing for craft distillery tabled until May

A number of permit and zoning applications that would normally have been presented before the Lawrenceville city council were tabled this week due to the challenges of holding a public hearing during virtual meetings. One application, for a craft distillery, was tabled until May 20.

Third Rail Distillers, Inc., intends to produce high-quality craft distilled spirits with a tasting room in the Depot Area along North Clayton Street at its intersection with Seaboard Airline Rail Road.

The property is currently developed with a concrete block storage building, driveway and loading dock. The proposed site plan includes a 50-foot tall building and an additional 1,520 square feet of floor area, in addition to the existing 3,240 square foot building. The plans also propose the addition of an exterior patio wrapping around the main front entry connecting to an existing patio (loading dock) along the south side of the building. A porch would be added to the rear of the building along the western property line adjacent to the railroad right-of-way. Part of the plan includes the installation of a grain silo that would be used as a monument sign.