Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

205 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 SNELLVI LLE , GA . the apartment style. They are a more mobile population, and they want the type of housing that we’re building now. Millennials and younger people are not interested in the three- bedroom, two-bath house on a quarter of an acre. We’re seeing a lot of older folks, close to being empty-nesters, who are looking for the type of housing we are putting in place. It’s good to see that we are attracting both young and old in the efforts that the mayor and the city council are putting forth.” Some 10 years ago, as Bender reveals, the City created the Snellville Tourist and Trade Association, recently renamed “Experience Snellville.” It’s an organization simultaneously working to maintain that famous small- town feel whilst also bringing in new business and drumming up tourism. Winter markets and farmers’ markets bring folks in as well, as Bender points out. “The farmers’ market is a great way to socialize and meet people,” she says. “We do lots of fun community events. We also do the Beach Blast in May. We do Fourth of July fireworks. We have a fall festival. ‘Food Truck Fridays’ are held every Friday during the summer. We do ‘Live on the Lawn’ concerts once a month during the summer months. There’s always something going on, on that Towne Green.” The mayor continues that the City publishes the Snellville Spirit magazine every quarter. It has helped to create more tourist-driven efforts. Every edition has a feature called: “Twenty Things to Do Within 20 Miles.” “We are drawing in people,” says Bender, “both locals and tourists and letting them know what there is to do around the Snellville area. We’ve also been actively marketing with the film industry, which has become very big in Georgia.” The Mayor elaborates that roughly five or six years ago, the State of Georgia instituted some film credits: tax credits for production companies. Things have just really taken off since then mainly attributed to Georgia being a non-union state and the relatively low cost of living which has resulted in many film companies being drawn to the area and several studios have been built here to support the thriving industry. “(Noted film actor and comedian) Tyler Perry built a studio in Georgia. Western Electric built a big plant here in the ’70s, and that’s (in part) where The Hunger Games was filmed. And all of that filming—most of them used all-local vendors.” “We are a very strong entrepreneurial city,” Bender adds, “and we start that in high school. Gwinnett County, in conjunction with the City, along with a teacher at the local high school, created an entrepreneurial class, and that started a few years ago. And now, the Gwinnett County Public Schools have put that class in all of the schools.”