Advances made on economic front

There is good news – for a change – looming on the economic horizon for Toccoa-Stephens County.

The Stephens County Industrial Development Authority has been instrumental in securing commitments for two new industries to locate in our community.

The first is a Michigan-based wood components manufacturing company, as yet unidentified, that will locate in Meadowbrook Industrial Park in the Eastanollee area.

The company is expected to create 12 new jobs when it begins operations by November.

Also announced this week was the news that Crown Resources, a maker of drainage, filtration, asphalt overlay and erosion sedimentation control applications, will move its Greer, S.C., operations to the Rooker spec building in the Hayestone Brady Park.

The building is located adjacent to Highway 17 and bulldozers and other equipment could be seen working at the site the last two weeks.

Crown will bring with it 20 jobs.

That's a total of 32 new jobs for Toccoa-Stephens County, not a lot by high economic development standards – the 32 won't even replace the 100 or so jobs lost earlier this year when an industrial plant closed its Toccoa operations – but it is a start.

In these difficult economic times, when competition for new industry is beyond fierce, it should make the community feel better that some headway is being made in the creation of jobs for Toccoa-Stephens County.

To put it bluntly, 32 jobs is better than zero jobs created.

Also on a positive note on the economic development front, was the news last week that the development authority, because of less than expected contractual costs, will expand its work plan in the Hayestone-Brady industrial park.

The authority is utilizing proceeds from a special purpose local options sales tax (SPLOST) to build the park. That means infrastructure improvements such as roads, water, sewer, gas and electricity.

A recent visit to the park construction site showed considerable activity as roads are being cut and some sites leveled and prepared for potential new industrial prospects.

When completed, Hayestone-Brady will certainly be the centerpiece of Toccoa-Stephens County's industrial recruitment program.

With the completion of the park – and the much-awaited construction of a four-lane Highway 17 – Toccoa-Stephens County will take a back seat to no other community when it comes to showcasing building sites for potential industrial residents.

Our economy will not turn around from 10 percent unemployment to full employment overnight because of these two new industries and the ongoing construction of the new industrial park.

However, there is cause for optimism that with the advances of recent days we are headed to a much brighter future filled with jobs, an increased tax base and heftier payrolls supporting local consumer spending.

Bids awarded for Hayestone Brady Road and Sewer Projects!

Progress is being made on Hayestone Brady Business Park development. The bids were awarded at the end of April for the Hammerstone Road project and the sewer and water project. The water and sewer project was awarded to Cedar Farms & Construction; the road project was awarded to Simpson Trucking & Grading.

The Stephens County Development Authority hopes to announce a groundbreaking ceremony soon to celebrate Toccoa's newest industrial park!

Toccoa group lobbies in D.C

Local leaders say they are hopeful about receiving support for two major initiatives to help spur economic growth in the community.

Toccoa Mayor Bob Troup, Stephens County Commission chairman Dean Scarborough, Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce chairman Lee Hicks, development authority chairman Cam Parker and development authority executive director Tim Martin recently returned from a series of meetings with Georgia’s Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.

While in the nation’s capitol, the local contingent sought support for the widening of Highway 17 to I-85 and the Toccoa-Stephens County Infrastructure Improvement Plan, which would provide sewer access to unserved areas and create growth opportunities to help us achieve economic viability.

The improvement plan has been previously reviewed and authorized, but not yet appropriated.

"Our trip to Washington, D.C. proved that two things are evident in the way our government works,” Scarborough said.

“The first is that we have representation, but if we don’t let our representatives know what our needs and objectives are, then our issues will not stand out,” he said.

“The second thing I came away with is that it is much more effective for our leaders in Washington to see a face instead of just a voice or a name when we make contact with them,” Scarborough said.

“I thought this was a very productive trip and well worth the time and effort. The meetings with our senators and Congressman Deal and Congressman Broun went well,” Hicks said.

“It was good for us to be focused on our core issues of the sewer project, the widening of Highway 17, and the water level in Lake Hartwell,” Hicks said.

“I was impressed with our representatives because they seemed to be up to speed on these issues and were ready and willing to discuss them. We received some encouraging comments,” he said.

“Our trip was both rewarding and discouraging,” Troup said.

“We learned that DOT is definitely going to complete the acquisition of rights of way for both the first section and the second section of Highway 17,” he said.

“On the first seven miles, 80 percent of the property needed has already been purchased. That’s the good news. The bad news is that our sewer expansion project will take longer than we had anticipated,” Troup said.

“This trip gave us the opportunity to tell our story and to provide compelling reasons as to why we are good partners,” Parker said.

“We have a 100-year track record of industrial and business success. We have workers who are among the most productive in the world and we have a united community that supports our economic development efforts - we have put our money where our mouths are,” Parker said.

“Our legislators need to understand that given the chance, our community and its citizens will produce good returns on their investment. This visit was designed to help them help us, and I believe we accomplished that goal,” he said.

Pictured: Cam Parker, Bob Troup, Dean Scarborough, Senator Johnny Isakson, Lee Hicks, Tim Martin.

Toccoa-Stephens County leadership team meets new GDOT Commissioner

Above: Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Vance Smith and Toccoa Mayor Ron Seib

In a meeting with the new GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith, new Planning Director Todd Long, and Board Chairman Bill Kuhlke, a delegation from Toccoa-Stephens County, joined by Senator Jim Butterworth and Representative Michael Harden, learned that the acquisition of the rights-of-way for the widening of GA-17 from Scott Road south to the county line is progressing well past the 50% mark. Read the full article here...


See what the participants had to say about the meeting:

Cam Parker, Stephens County Development Authority: “It was a very productive meeting, and my resulting feeling is that it’s as important to the Department of Transportation as it is to us to make the state’s investment a payoff, and the way to accomplish that is to get the road built. GDOT will invest a lot in rights-of-way acquisition, and it doesn’t make too much sense to have that sit on the shelf for too long.”

Don Foster, Mayor of Martin: “The meeting went very well with the new Commissioner and the other representatives. I think Stephens County was well received, and we know that they are continually working on the Highway 17 four lane acquisitions.”

Billy Morse, Toccoa City Commission: “I felt the meeting was very productive, and it was nice to meet the new Commissioner Vance Smith. It appears that he’ll work very closely with our community to accomplish our transportation goals, the most important of which is to widen Highway 17 to the Franklin County line.”

Senator Jim Butterworth: "It speaks well of Stephens County Leadership, past and present, that this project continues to move forward during this time of limited transportation funding. Today we received assurance that this project is, and will remain, on the short list of projects that GDOT is committed to completing. Because of the positive economic impact this project will bring to Stephens County and Northeast Georgia, I am committed to seeing this project to completion."

SCDA and other local leadership to meet with new DOT Commissioner

As reported by WNEG News, local leaders will travel to Atlanta to meet with the new Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, Vance Smith.

SCDA Executive Director Tim Martin stated that the plan for the widening of Highway 17 to four lanes continues, and that keeping the project a priority will be one of the topics of discussion with the new Commissioner.

“To express appreciation on the work that has been done is very, very important as well, but also to keep those challenges and those opportunities that we see out there moving forward is also important.”
- Tim Martin

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