The Pierce County Industrial Development and Building Authority (PCIDBA) recently discussed and/or voted on the following during the regular monthly meeting held December 4.
South Georgia Regional Development Authority (SGRDA) update: IDBA Executive Director Matt Carter reported there has been some positive traction in Baxley for an equipment company needing a 5 acre parcel to set up operations. If the plan goes through, it will create 20 jobs in Baxley. This would be “the first project outside of Pierce that we can benefit from” since the county joined the SGRDA system of mutual profit and support.
GRAD certification: Carter informed the board that the current Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certification process, including a Geotech certification, for the Pierce Industrial Park is on track to be completed by early January, 2025 and no later than February. Once the GRAD certification is completed, the industrial park will be listed alongside 60 other locations in the state short-listed for Second St. will be extended to Drawdy St. to relieve congestion around pick up and drop off times for school. The DOT also agreed to pave Hyers St.
Plans are in place to host DOT officials at Mossy Pond in March 2025. “You get money one of two ways,” said Maddox. “Go to Atlanta or bring them down here. If you don’t ask them. They won’t give it. One of our next objectives is to get funding to four lane County Farm Rd. from U.S. 84 to the high school roundabout.”
Chamber of Commerce Director Christi Pitts updated the IDBA board about the chamber’s new members. November and December to date as of the meeting marked 6 new businesses joining; Oak Plaza Restaurant, Vintage J’s Music and Apparel, Blackshear Dentistry, Jeremiah’s Promise Neurodevelopmental Learning Center, Beau Henry’s Children’s Boutique and Leonard’s Freeze Dried Candy. Leonard’s is part of the chamber’s entrepreneur member category, which are local businesses without a brick and mortar location.
Pitts also outlined a plan to gather sponsors for a new, updated map of Pierce County. The last time a detailed road map of Pierce was made was 2010. According to Pitts, the Road Department’s initial estimate is 40 roads are not listed on the previous map.
Minutes/financials: The minutes of the IDBA’s previous meeting and closed session as well as November’s financials were all unanimously approved.
Closed session: The PCIDBA board went into a closed session for approximately 15 minutes at the end of their regular meeting. Personnel was the topic under discussion. Upon returning to their regular session, the board unanimously voted to enter into a service agreement with the SGRDA to retain Carter for the purposes of handling, managing and maintaining the PCIDBA until such time as a suitable replacement for the executive director can be found (See related story in a future edition of The Times).
Next meeting: The PCIDBA will hold its next meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, January 8, 2025 in the Chamber of Commerce boardroom of Blackshear’s historic train depot.
