The newly reformed Union County Development Authority Board of Directors took care of some additional housekeeping in their second ever meeting on Monday, Sept. 8.
Board members voted unanimously to hire Boyd Pettit as the attorney for the authority. He is a familiar face, being a part-time resident and having formerly served as the attorney for Union County Government.
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Pettit has decades of experience in this arena. He helped to re-establish the authority this year, and Board Chair Rick Davenport described him as one of the most highly respected legal minds in Georgia concerning development authorities and local government.
Pettit offered an update on the proposed Industrial Revenue Bond Issuance to expand local manufacturing company Panel Built, which is owned by Mike Kiernan, who served on the old Development Authority that Sole Commissioner Harold Collins disbanded in February.
When the old authority dissolved, Kiernan made it known that he had been working with the authority to obtain the above-mentioned bonds to grow his business, and now that a new Development Authority has been created, the board is resuming that process.
Davenport detailed his knowledge of the expansion, such as a new 70,000-75,000 square foot building and about 75 additional local jobs; where the authority comes in is making available more favorable financing terms through third-party lenders for just such development projects.
A couple of resolutions need to be prepared and adopted to get the bonds issued, so it is still a work in progress, but Pettit made clear that any bonds issued would be the sole responsibility of the company, and not backed by payment obligations of the city, county, state or authority.
In other business, the board voted to extend by a year the protective covenants and restrictions that are currently in place to guide the development of land lots inside the Blairsville Airport Regional Industrial Park, which has historically been owned by the Development Authority.
The covenants were to expire next month after 20 years, and the board will be reviewing the documents over the next year to see if they still make sense from a development standpoint before renewing another long-term arrangement, as several BARIP lots have long sat empty.
Board members also adopted a public comment policy that can be adjusted over time if need be.
Davenport explained that they wanted to strike a balance between giving the public a say in meetings and being mindful of everyone’s time, including the volunteer board members, so they settled on a time limit of three minutes per person for a total comment period of 20 minutes.
County Clerk Jennifer Mahan, who is assisting Board Secretary/Treasurer Courtney Waller in her duties, shared an update on the big strategic plan that is in the works for Union County. The plan will serve multiple purposes, like economic development, governmental budgeting and more.
Last year, the Appalachian Regional Commission agreed to provide a 50/50 matching grant to pay for the planning, with the remaining funds to come from the Development Authority. The planning was put on hold after the previous authority dissolved, but the process has now resumed.
Also in the meeting, Vice Chair Ivan Walker prepared a couple of economic indicators showcasing a relatively steady local economy, and Chamber of Commerce President Steve Rowe talked about how vital both tourism and industry are to ongoing success here.
Union County High School Principal Josh Davis and Union County College & Career Academy CEO Charley Cattanach attended on invitation from Board Chair Davenport to talk about how the schools are developing the local employment base.
The School System has been working hand in hand with local employers to train the workforce of tomorrow through initiatives like the College & Career Academy with its 16 different Career, Technical & Agricultural Education programs providing a total of 29 occupational pathways.
Cattanach said the options for professional skills development range from engineering to agriculture to plant science to construction to health care and beyond, “and all of these programs are intentionally designed to support our local industry.”
Davis and Cattanach painted a picture of a vibrant school culture centered on employability for local youth, with educational efforts aimed at both meeting the needs of already existing local businesses and filling the gap where services may be lacking.
The heavy focus on employability is to ensure that students are set up for success when they graduate; in the past, many young people had to leave the community to find decent work, and educators here are working with every stakeholder they can to enable students to thrive locally.
As Davenport said in the meeting, not every kid needs to go to college, and that’s especially true in Union County. In the future, the Development Authority and College & Career Academy will be looking at ways to jointly advance the economic best interests of the community.
Cattanach also promoted the PEACH Education Tax Credit, which is a dollar-for-dollar credit toward state income taxes owed. Essentially, it’s money people will be paying anyway, and utilizing the tax credit will keep tax dollars local instead of going to Atlanta.
Proceeds from the tax credit will go directly to supporting the Union County College & Career Academy and its many student programs, and individuals and businesses can apply for the credit now at gfpe.org/tax_credit.
One member of the public brought before the board a potential issue with the decades-old deed for the Byron Herbert Reece Farm property. The issue largely revolves around leasing language pertaining to the Development Authority, and the board will be investigating the matter.
The next Development Authority meeting will take place after board training on Friday, Oct. 24, as the regular meeting date of Oct. 13 falls on a holiday. These meetings begin at 4 p.m. in the Union County Community Center and are open to the public.
