MEG AVERY, COUNCIL ELECT for SUGAR HILL
I'm please to have the opportunity to serve as Post 3 on the City Council to focus on smart growth with lower density, increased greenspace & enhance city parks and be responsive to residents concerns. My primary goals are to: 1) Listen to Residents and Respond to Feedback, 2) Implement Responsible Growth Policies and 3) Cut Taxes and City Debt to Stimulate Commercial Growth and 4) Prioritize Residents over Developers
Meg Avery
ABOUT ME
Sugar Hill is a wonderful city that has grown so much since we moved here in 1990. There have been many positive changes, along with growth challenges. I believe it’s important to have the correct balance of both finances, density and infrastructure to keep our city on a positive track for the future. Council members have a responsibility to the residents to listen to their concerns, address the issues, and act in the best interest of the majority while maintaining state standards, as well as city & county requirements. Sugar Hill is at a major turning point with growth & finances, and I would like to represent the citizens as a City Council member to insure we are moving in the right direction.
I’d also like to focus on increasing greenspace in our city, expanding our parks for organized sports, as well as for special events. Recreation is an important part of family life. We are fortunate to have parks & greenway paths. Adding amenities to our parks or updating the facilities would enhance them.
I served on the City Council from January 2000 to December 2003 and am proud of the decisions and teamwork achieved with those council members. Attending recent council meetings led me to believe the time is right to represent the residents again. I look forward to once again serving on the Council, along with former Mayor Gary Pirkle, who is also a candidate, as well as my neighbor, Joshua Page, who is running for a council seat for the first time.
My husband & I have been married for 45 years and we’ve lived in Frontier Forest for 33 years. We have been host parents for 12 exchange students from Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Australia & Brazil, who have lived with us and attended North Gwinnett High School and Lanier High School. This is a wonderful program and our girls became involved with both school & community in various ways. One of our girls was a volunteer at the Sugar Hill Fall Festival and another girl completed a two-week internship, as an introduction to government, at Sugar Hill City Hall. Opening our home and getting our girls involved at school & in the community, has been an enriching experience.
I am retired after 30 years with Gwinnett County Public Schools. I was a paraprofessional in elementary school for 17 years and a Registrar & Records Clerk for 13 years in middle school. These various positions and responsibilities were challenging and rewarding, requiring creativity & organizational skills, which I believe will be beneficial assets as a council member. I intend to be responsive toward residents, and be available to listen and answer questions.
Keeping connected with our extended family here in Georgia as well as in Florida and California, plus our international family, is very important to me. My outside interests include traveling, photography, camping, hiking, kayaking and cooking. I have also been a chapter leader, group facilitator, steering committee member and newsletter editor for the Gwinnett Chapter of The Compassionate Friends, a bereaved parents support group, for the past 25 years. My husband, Jim, volunteers for the Boy Scouts as a Director for their climbing program at Camp Rainy Mountain in Clayton. We love living in Sugar Hill and look forward to many years here.
What does the future hold for Sugar Hill? There are avenues to explore to decrease the city debt, planning & zoning proposals to examine more closely, looking at how to lower tax rates, and reviewing options for trash service & recycling. It’s time for a change on the City Council and this change began with your votes on Nov. 7 and Dec. 5th! Thank You!
Contact me by email averyshga@yahoo.com, or text or call 404-660-9826