The Pierce County Industrial Development and Building Authority (PCIDBA) recently discussed and/or voted on the following during the regular monthly meeting June 3.
Industrial park timber: Previously, at the regular May meeting, the board unanimously approved a bid by Beach Timber Company to harvest timber from the industrial park at a rate of $4 per ton for hardwood.
Work on the project began the Friday prior to the board’s regular June meeting (May 29). IDBA Executive Director Blake James said the project was estimated to take between 2-3 weeks to complete and at that time looked as if it might be done in closer to 2 weeks.
Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certification application submitted: James informed the board that the final application for GRAD certification has at last been submitted to state officials in Atlanta.
The lengthy GRAD certification process, which involves various site preparation requirements and various tests and assessments, including core samples of soil, and clearance by experts saying the location is not archaeologically significant or will not negatively impact endangered animals or environments, was previously begun under the tenure of former Executive Director Matt Carter.
Pending approval of the application, the Pierce County Industrial Park will be shortlisted as a site ready for rapid development by project managers and business investors.
James says a an official response to the application is expected in about two weeks.
Budget for 2027: The board has not yet voted to approve the IDBA’s budget for fiscal year 2027.
James said that he is still working on the budget and has a few things left to finalize before presenting it to the board. The proposed budget was promised to be ready for review by the board’s next meeting in June.
Partnership update (Pierce County): County Manager Thomas Sauls delivered a brief update on various county-related issues, specifically the recent news that the county’s assessments would be going up.
Sauls said it was “nothing we were excited about” but explained it as a necessity to continue qualifying for funds from state and federal sources as well as public utilities. His best advice was for those impacted by the newly assessed property values to make sure they file for homestead exemptions.
Sauls also said there would be public hearings on the matter and wanted “to see all our Facebook fans, see their faces, the whites of their eyes.” The county manager said he is not one to get into arguments on social media and preferred directly engaging with them in a public forum.
Partnership update (Chamber of Commerce): Executive Director Christi Pitts was not available for the regular June meeting’s partnership update.
The chamber’s newest ambassador Joe Biagini was on hand to introduce himself to the board and outline some of his long term goals for the chamber, hoping to help make it a clearing house of local information and foster greater cooperation between chamber members. His first project, already underway, will be to completely overhaul the chamber’s welcome packet.
Originally from New York, Biagini is a veteran and the finance officer for the local AmVets chapter. Biagini has lived in Pierce County for the last three years and says he is eager to help the chamber and to become more involved in the local community.
Closed session: The IDBA board went into a 56 minute closed session for the purposes of discussing real estate. No action was taken following the session.
Minutes/Finances: The PCIDBA’s minutes and financials were both unanimously approved and entered into the record with no comments or questions.
Next meeting: The PCIDBA’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 1 in the Chamber of Commerce boardroom, located in Blackshear’s Historic Train Depot, pending final approval.
Chairman Steven Paul said that, while he understands summer is a busy time for many member’s families, he feels once you miss or skip one meeting it gets easier to do it again and recommended having the meeting as usual.
