The Pierce County Industrial Development and Building Authority (PCIDBA) recently discussed and/or voted on the following during the regular monthly meeting held Sept. 11.
Partnership update: County Manager Raphel Maddox updated the board on the results of a recent trip to Atlanta to speak with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) commission. Maddox believes they have had some success, saying, “we have some things we need to do in the next few weeks.”
Maddox also announced that he wants to have GDOT’s Pierce County day actually in Pierce County. Still in the planning stages, it will be a weekend in March for people in the Capitol to enjoy what Pierce has to offer and “hopefully get a few more zeroes down here” added to the funds for upcoming road projects. Executive Director Matt Carter suggested reaching out to consult with Wayne County, which has had success in hosting delegations from Atlanta.
South Georgia Regional Development Authority (SGRDA): Following up on Maddox’s previous comments, Carter also stressed the importance of bringing people to the area to see what Pierce and the other counties involved in the SGRDA have to offer. Carter indicated there have recently been multiple requests for information (RFI) from project managers, specifically citing an RFI just two weeks ago from a party interested about a building in Appling. However, Carter determined the building in question was not a good fit and referred the interested party to another community somewhere within the SGRDA.
Carter said that a potential project he had previously referenced prior to leaving as executive director of the PCIDBA has hired a private consultant to explore setting up in the Pierce industrial park. If they commit to Pierce, this would be a $15 million, rail driven, welding oriented project, creating 125 jobs and only made possible by the new rail service into the park.
Wetlands Determination: Carter announced to the board that the recent update on the wetlands determination was not as good as had been hoped. “We are still looking at 30-50 acres of wetlands that could be industrial, but might need to consider other options for using it,” Carter said. He also noted the assessment was “two weeks after the big storm, which did not help us”, referring to large amounts of standing water after the rains from Hurricane “Debby”. The final determination will be in “early October at the latest.”
Finances: August financials and second quarter financials for the PCIDBA were unanimously approved and entered into record without comment.
Closed session: The PCIDBA board went into a closed session for approximately 30 minutes at the end of their regular meeting. Real estate and personnel were the topics under discussion. Pierce County Chairman Neal Bennett and County Manager Raphel Maddox were asked to stay for the personnel portion of the closed session. No action was taken.
Next meeting: The PCIDBA will hold its next meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, October 2 in the Chamber of Commerce boardroom at Blackshear’s Historic Train Depot.
