The Pierce County Industrial Development and Building Authority (PCIDBA) recently discussed and/or voted on the following during the regular monthly meeting held February 4.
Land purchase: The IDBA board unanimously voted to approve an offer to purchase 34.55 acres of land from Tuten Farms, LLC in the amount of $205,140. The IDBA intends to rezone the parcel from agricultural to business/ industrial. The vote took place following a 35 minute closed session to discuss real estate.
Park signage progress: During his regular monthly update IDA Executive Director Blake James informed the board he has sent out invoices for the majority of spaces on the new signage and was awaiting responses. James also reported permission had been received from CSX to clear the brush and other vegetation along their right of way to help make the new signage visible once constructed.
James said the completion date for the new signage would most likely be updated to mid-March from the previous late-February estimate.
Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certification: The ongoing GRAD certification process for the industrial park is finally nearing completion. The Thomas and Hutton engineering firm retained for the work says the only thing left to do is conduct a survey of the remaining land in the park.
Once the results of that survey are turned in to the state and receive final approval, the industrial park will then become eligible for rural site development grants. James says the work will likely not be complete in time for the earliest round of grants in June, but should hopefully be ready for the next round in July.
Grow Southeast Georgia: The Grow Southeast Georgia organization, comprised of 9 counties including Pierce, will host visiting state-level project managers March 31.
The visit will begin in Alma before moving to Pierce, where the project managers will do a site visit at the industrial park before spending the evening at Mossy Pond.
Approximately 10 - 12 project managers are expected as part of the visit, but exact numbers will not be known until they RSVP.
IDBA board training: February 23 there was a 2 hour training course in Baxley available for board members to complete their yearly training requirements. Training for IDBA board members must be completed prior to July 1.
Executive Director James said it was more likely they will try to arrange with GA Power to host their own training locally in March or April rather than make the trip to Baxley.
Partnership update (Pierce County): County Manager Thomas Sauls was present at the Wednesday meeting, where he delivered a brief update on various county projects, mentioning the recently completed work at Whitney Lakes and the ongoing roadwork on Tornado Lane.
Relaying something he had learned since stepping into the interim county manager role, Sauls said, “There’s two parts of a circle, the outside and the inside. When you’re on the outside it’s easy to throw rocks at the inside and criticize, but once you are in it, it’s a lot harder and you have to make difficult decisions.”
Partnership update (Chamber of Commerce): Jason Beard, the newest board member of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, appeared in place of Executive Director Christi Pitts. Beard introduced himself to the IDA board and spoke briefly of his family’s business, B Well Family Practice, which has been operating in Blackshear for the last two years. Beard’s wife, Kelli, is the medical practitioner and his daughter works as the receptionist. “I do everything else,” Beard chuckled. He went on to say he looked forward to being involved in the chamber and wanted to ensure B Well served more than just the business side of the local community.
Chairman’s comments: IDBA board chairman Steven Paul relayed a brief family anecdote as a way to remind the other board members the outcome of current decisions they make are not always immediately obvious, ending with “It’s the little things that we do that make a lot of impact in people’s lives.”
Minutes/Finances: The PCIDBA’s January minutes and financials were both unanimously approved and entered into the record with no comments or questions.
Next meeting: The PCIDBA will hold its next meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 4 in the Chamber of Commerce boardroom, located in Blackshear’s Historic Train Depot.
