The Pierce County Industrial Development and Building Authority (PCIDBA) recently discussed and/or voted on the following during the regular monthly meeting held on Feb. 7.
Partnership update: Chamber of Commerce Director Christi Pitts delivered a brief update about chamber activities, beginning with a reminder that the chamber’s goal is to encourage the local business community through educational programs focused on sustaining growth.
“I always try to be present at community events so I am a familiar face to our members and potential members,” said Pitts.
Pitts also briefly outlined the focus of this year’s Student Legacy Leadership program will be thinking outside the box”.
In terms of chamber membership, Pitts provided some numbers for comparison. Last year, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 9, the chamber had added only 4 new members. Since the beginning of Pitts’s tenure, from Sept. 9 to Feb. 7, the chamber had added 27 new members. She stressed none of these were renewal memberships.
Bitcoin controversy: Following the chamber of commerce partnership report, County Manager Raphel Maddox addressed the IDBA board concerning developments with the zoning of bitcoin or other data mining ventures within Pierce.
Maddox reported that he and members of the county commission recently visited a bitcoin site in Alma, “just like the one coming here.” The facility is a water cooled system that generates less noise than other bitcoin sites. Maddox added the noise is not constant, saying it kicks on and off similar to an air conditioner.
According to Maddox, county chairman Neal Bennett stood inside the structure, while commissioner Troy Mattox was outside the building and both men were able to carry on an audible conversation while the units were running.
IDBA director Matt Carter inquired if the proposed bitcoin facility for Pierce would also be water-cooled. Maddox said that it was and “is much quieter” than the older, non-water cooled system in place in Coffee county.
Maddox said that the difficulty is in trying to resolve and mediate between the community, the homeowner and the business. Public complaints were focused primarily upon noise, but if the noise issue is addressed, “I don’t want it here is not a legal reason [to reject the project].”
South Georgia Regional Development Authority (SGRDA): Kevin Ellis of the Bacon County Development Authority gave a brief update on a Jan. 29 seafood cookout in Atlanta hosted by Bacon. The event was attended by 40 legislators, including Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper and representatives from other agencies such as GDOT.
Carter and Ellis then reported on the recent Rural Site Development Director/Project Managers visit. Both agree that it went well.
Site Development Program Manager Wylly Harrison and three project managers were hosted for a tour of the local area, showing off quality of life in South Georgia. Points of focus included recent residential growth in the area and the expansion of rail service in the Pierce industrial park where they were informed of the need to open and expand the rain switch. They then visited Mossy Pond to highlight available activities for any future workforce in the area before spending the night at Blueberry Inn in Alma.
The next day the guests were shown Alma’s industrial park, old armory facility and 300 acres of timberland as the potential site for a new industrial park. From there they went to Baxley and wrapped up with lunch in Hazelhurst before the visitors returned to Atlanta.
The ultimate goal of this tour was to impress upon the powers in Atlanta the need for a $2.5 million dollar infrastructure upgrade to lure more businesses to the region.
Ellis said, “We talked about our [the SGRDA’s] common interests, supporting each other and not just being out for ourselves. We aren’t doing tax incentive wars among each other. The idea is safety in numbers.”
Finances: January 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 10 minutes at the end of their regular meeting. Real estate was the topic under discussion. was Kevin Ellis was asked to stay for the personnel portion of the closed session. Following the closed session, the board unanimously voted to sell 10 acres of land to U.S. Joist Corporation at $8500 per acre.
Next meeting: The PCIDBA will hold its next meeting at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 5 in the Chamber of Commerce boardroom at Blackshear’s historic train depot.
