Peachtree Corners, the first new city in Gwinnett County since 1956, is close to reaching a deal on a home for its fledgling government.
City council members have directed consultant John Kachmar, city manager for Johns Creek, to negotiate the terms of a one-year lease agreement for a 8,076-square-foot facility at Technology Park. Kachmar told the council Tuesday the office space will need some renovation but will cost little more than $9,000 a month, including utilities and renovations.
"I think they’re making you a reasonable offer," Kachmar said. "But this is not a fancy space by any stretch of the imagination."
Once Kachmar finalizes the details, the council will consider and vote on the deal at a later meeting.
At the least, Tuesday night's council meeting in a room at the Robert Fowler YMCA demonstrated the need for the city to secure a larger space. Nearly 50 people crammed into the small room, using nearly all of the available space -- and chairs.
Peachtree Corners is the sixth new city created in metro Atlanta since 2005 -- following Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Milton, Chattahoochee Hills and Dunwoody -- and the second outside Fulton County. It is poised to become the largest of Gwinnett's 16 municipalities with an estimated 34,000 residents between Norcross and Berkeley Lake when it starts operations July 1.
Identifying a site for the new City Hall is merely the latest step in turning the unincorporated community into a city.
Kachmar, who has said identifying a new city manager is one of the most important decisions facing the city, told the council that he has received 48 applications and about 70 percent of those have come from outside of Georgia. He said that he'll start phone interviews in the next two weeks before setting up face-to-face meetings with the finalists.
Council members also decided to establish July 1 to June 30 as its fiscal year; considered hiring Colorado-based private firm CH2M Hill to run a call center for citizen response; adopted a resolution to hold weekly meetings on Tuesday through the end of the year; and agreed to one-year membership with the Georgia Municipal Association.
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