News Release
Contact: Blake House Terry Cullen
Phone: (770) 887-7510 Fax: (770) 886-8119 Phone: (770) 270-7791 Fax (770) 270-7450
Email: blake.house@sawnee.com Email: terry.cullen@gatrans.com
Survey of Gwinnett County Historic Sites Debuts at Co-op Annual Meeting
CUMMING, Ga. – To avoid displacing historical landmarks, Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) is making use of a historic resource survey program as rapid growth continues to require construction of new electric transmission lines and substations for member cooperatives, including Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation (EMC). Sawnee members will be the first to view survey findings that include 329 historic properties in unincorporated Gwinnett County at their annual meeting in Cumming on October 7.
GTC is a major sponsor of the FindIt! Historic Resource Survey Partnership that also includes the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the University of Georgia (UGA) and other organizations. UGA graduate students in the Historic Preservation Program identify and document the resources through a countywide survey. The data then become part of the SHPO’s inventory of identified historic and cultural properties.
Eligible properties include historic districts, sites, buildings, structures or objects that meet state or National Register of Historic Places standards. The unincorporated Gwinnett County survey includes landmarks such as a cemetery on Island Ford Road and the New Prospect United Methodist Church. Similar FindIt! surveys are being conducted in other high-growth counties throughout the state.
“We’re honored to be able to share the survey results with our members at our annual meeting. Identifying and preserving historical landmarks secures the county’s heritage for generations to come and serves as part of the rich history that makes us who we are today,” says Mike Goodroe, Sawnee EMC president and CEO.
“Participating in these surveys benefits GTC, because we’re ahead of the game when we prepare to build transmission lines and substations,” says Christy Johnson, environmental and regulatory compliance coordinator, GTC. “By having this information readily available in a database, we are able to incorporate it earlier in our planning process and meet customer needs more efficiently and effectively while preserving the historical aspect of the community.”
GTC plans to co-sponsor similar displays with other EMCs as surveys are completed in other areas of the state.
About Georgia Transmission Corporation:
GTC is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by 39 EMCs in Georgia, including GreyStone Power Corporation. Georgia Transmission delivers the high-capacity, long-haul power to EMCs that deliver electricity to members along local electric distribution lines and systems. GTC owns $1.25 billion in assets, including more than 2,700 miles of transmission lines and 595 substations across the state.
About Sawnee EMC:
Sawnee EMC is a member-owned electric cooperative providing electricity and related services to almost 134,000 meters in Forsyth, Fulton, Cherokee, Hall, Dawson, Gwinnett and Lumpkin counties.
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