The Pierce County Industrial Development and Building Authority (PCIDBA) recently discussed and/or voted on the following during the regular monthly meeting held January 7.
New park signage: During his regular monthly update IDA Executive Director Blake James informed the board that the new signage project was now officially underway.
A 50% deposit of the approximately $38,750 total price tag has been paid to Georgia SBJ Company of Waycross. There is currently a 6-7 week timeline for the completed project. The sign will be a vinyl faced, fully illuminated and backlit structure with its base mounted 12 feet above the ground.
The park’s new signage will be located close to the current temporary signage. James said everyone involved would have preferred a more central location for the signage, but bringing power to it would have drastically increased the cost.
Partnership update (Pierce County): Interim County Manager Thomas Sauls was present at the Wednesday meeting, largely to reintroduce himself to the IDA board and reaffirm his dedication to and vision for Pierce County.
Sauls said he is looking forward to serving Pierce County in his new capacity. “I really believe Pierce County is the greatest county to live in,” said Sauls. “I want to strive for our future. It isn’t so much about us as about what we can do for our children.”
Sauls said his first duty upon becoming interim county manager was a meeting with all county department heads, which he described as an “eye opener.”
Partnership update (Chamber of Commerce): Chamber of Commerce Director Christi Pitts gave a brief update, reminding the IDA board members of the upcoming Chamber Gala. Pitts explained that a date had not yet been set for the event. Originally it was tentatively scheduled for March 23, but concerns had arising that it might conflict with or be too close to the Cancer Society’s March 24 event.
Pitts solicited the board to think of good candidates to nominate for the event’s various awards. “In the past, this has fallen short. I need more nominations this year,” said Pitts. “I need more nominations to chose from this year. We need sponsorships too, but what I want to highlight are all the wonderful people in our community.”
(See related story in this edition of The Times.)
SGRDA update: Former IDBA executive director Matt Carter delivered a brief update in his capacity as director of the South Georgia Regional Development Authority (SGRDA) of which Pierce County is a member. Carter said there had been minimal developments due to the slowness of the holiday season.
Carter teased some promising potential developments for the SGRDA in the form of a new project, but declined to offer further details. Carter said he was waiting on a phone call for further developments and promised more news in February.
Grow Southeast Georgia: Seven of the nine member communities of Grow Southeast Georgia sent representatives to Atlanta January 13-14 for “Eggs and Issues.” The event was held at the Mercedes- Benz Stadium and provides an opportunity for local representatives to meet with state officials and representatives of various businesses to highlight the benefit of investment in Southeast Georgia.
Minutes/Finances: The PCIDBA’s December minutes were unanimously approved and entered into the record with no comments or questions.
Executive Director James noted that due to downtime over the holiday season, financials for December will be entered into the record along with the IDA’s quarterly statements at next month’s regular meeting.
Closed session: The IDBA board went into a 20 minute closed session. The topic under discussion was real estate.
When the board returned to regular session, a unanimous vote approved the solicitation of bids for the clearing of timber from approximately 100 acres of land in the industrial park along Floyd Drive. The goal is to have lots prepared for new businesses to coincide with the paving of Floyd Drive and the construction of a new railroad crossing/entrance to the park.
Next meeting: The PCIDBA will hold its next meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, February 4 in the Chamber of Commerce boardroom, located in Blackshear’s Historic Train Depot.
