The Jones County Development Authority is going forward with development of an industrial park for the county with state interest in the property confirmation of its importance to the community and beyond. The intention to purchase 962 acres off Highway 57 for the purpose of creating an industrial park was announced December 1, and the land purchase was approved by Jones County commissioners at their December 5 meeting.
The property was purchased from the Plum Creek Timber Company and is currently zoned agricultural.
The land was in the process of being rezoned industrial when it was discovered that a Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) study needed to be completed by the Middle Georgia Regional Development Center.
The study is expected to delay the rezoning for approximately 60 days, but the property is still being shown to prospects in the interim.
“We are not going to stop. The study had to be done anyway,” Development Authority Chairman Greg Mullis said. “The Georgia Department of Economic Development is excited about the site. We haven’t turned a blade of dirt and have already talked to a number of prospects.”
The county financed the land purchase with the issuance of $3,250,000 in bonds, and the closing of the property was held January 25.
State interest
Mullis and Executive Director Pam Christopher attended the Central Georgia Economic Development Summit last week sponsored by the Macon Chamber of Commerce. Mullis said Jones County’s industrial park was a hot topic of discussion at the summit.
“It was reviewed as part of a regional industrial park inventory analysis by a national consultant,” the chairman said. “He flew the site and toured it on the ground a few weeks ago, as well as a number of other parks in the region. The consultant was quite complimentary of the site and placed it at the top of a list of new sites available in the region.”
Mullis said representatives from both Bibb and Twiggs counties were also interested in the site and the opportunities to market it as a regional park.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development flew an interested prospect to Jones County to view the site March 28, which was a first for the county.
Mullis said the Development Authority is going forward with Phase One of the environmental study and has advertised for bids. He estimated that the study on a tract the size of the industrial park will cost upward of $10,000.
“The study will reveal any issues we don’t know about. I really don’t think we could have spent that kind of money before we purchased the property,” he explained.
Mullis said the property has been clear-cut and replanted with large stands of pines.
“It’s a very pretty piece of land, and there are no foundations on the property. Phase One should determine if there is a problem, and if there is a problem, Phase Two will fix it.”
The authority is going ahead with the design of the tract to determine which part will be developed first. A good size area adjacent to the railroad is level, and the property has a railroad switch on both sides, according to the chairman.
“The site engineer will be preparing a plan based on using the terrain and how we want to lay out the individual sites to come up with a rail plan,” Mullis said. “Because of the extreme cost, of course, we will not proceed with a rail spur until we have a prospect in hand needing it. We certainly could not afford to do it speculatively. However, this is an excellent application for One Georgia funds.”
Site history
Mullis said planning for the industrial park has been ongoing since 1999. He said one of the big problems with finding a site was the problem of encroachment.
“We didn’t want to put an industrial park in a heavily populated area, and there are not many open areas left with the available utilities and transportation requirements,” he said.
The industrial site was originally identified as a prospective site in the 1980s by Georgia EMC, which is now known as Oglethorpe Power.
It’s disappointing that we missed something and had to stop, but it’s that important to us that we are doing this the right way,” Mullis said. “The zoning is the only thing we put on hold.”
He said water is a priority,ß as is keeping the water safe. Any work that is done on the site will be done under the oversight of an engineering agency.
The property was purchased because of the accessibility of water. Wells are to the south, near the wetlands that will not be developed. Mullis said developing the wetlands would not be cost effective. The flat part of the property with rail access is located toward the northern part of the track.
“It is our intent to increase the county’s economy by bringing jobs into the county,” Christopher said. “In addition to that, the park will bring infrastructure improvements to the area that will help the residents, including increased fire protection. We look at this as a win-win situation that will help take the tax burden off citizens and provide increased services.”
Mullis said he does not know if people along Highway 57 who have septic tanks will want to hook up to sewer service, but they will have the option.
In-county jobs
One of the goals of the Development Authority is to create career choices in Jones County.
“We don’t have vast career choices now, and that is one thing that motivates us to succeed. We want to give our children and grandchildren the opportunity to work here,” Mullis commented. “Our property taxes continue to go up and this is the path to help stop that.”
He said economic development studies show that this development will pay for itself and make a positive impact on the future of the county.
“If my children have the opportunity to work in Jones County after college, we will have succeeded,” he added.
Mullis said he has lived in Jones County for 16 years and is the newcomer on the Development Authority.
“If we don’t succeed, things are going to get worse,” he pointed out. “All the members feel the pressure to get something done, and we are six years in the process. We took the long way to get here, but we are thrilled that we did it the right way.
“It’s healthy for people to be skeptical, but I’m confident in the end it will be clear we have done this the right way. We live here.”
