It seems a handful still dont get it. They simply cant believe I would take a stand for the general citizenry with absolutely nothing personal to gain or lose. Folks, I dont have a hidden agenda. Ive made it clear from day one. Im simply interested in economic development for all of Greene County. When I was involved in the community 20-25 years ago, the local economic landscape was much different. Lake Oconee was just emerging from being known as Georgias best kept secret. At that time we still had a large number of manufacturing jobs in other parts of our county. Things werent as great as they could have been but there was much more of a healthy economic balance and diversity then as compared to now. I changed careers in 1996 and my travel schedule then prohibited me from further active local participation. During the following years, I watched from afar as our lake community continued to grow and prosper on a grand scale while much of the rest of county appeared to spiral downward into virtual oblivion. Plants closed and towns declined. Service and hospitality jobs at the lake replaced local community industrial jobs. Considering the fortunes being made, the wealth attracted, and the enormous tax revenues generated by Lake Oconee, it seemed a shame that much of our traditional community would be allowed to slip into such economic depression. A couple of years ago, we had a BOC chairman elected on the platform of focusing economic development energies outside the lake market. I decided it was time to get involved again and I volunteered to help. A new Economic Development Commission was formed to assist the local development authority and I was asked to serve. I contacted some old friends now serving as top leaders in statewide economic development. Recalling how prominent and well represented we once were on that level, I asked them why GC wasnt being considered during site selections. I was told by one, it was because we werent being aggressive enough and didnt appear to be serious about anything outside of lake development. I was told by another, it was because our divided school system was a deterrent. There was much more than an element of truth in both of those statements. Apparently, we werent nearly as hungry for industrial development as our competing non-Lake Oconee counties and those charged with such duties certainly took notice. It was also painfully obvious that any cooperative effort for unified public education had long since gone off the rails. Those of us serving on the then new EDC quickly learned significant employers are looking for a location with a good public school system. We were told outstanding alternatives such as charter and private schools were not even a factor. Unless the core public system is on the winning side, we would continue to be handicapped. That friends, is when some of us realized we needed to refocus our energies. Perhaps I can afford private school...perhaps another lives in an area convenient to the charter school or is chosen by the lottery. Thats great for us...but what about the rest of the county? Here is your hypothetical: If Im a plant owner thinking of expansion and looking at Greene County, Im thinking my senior staff can afford a gated community with a guaranteed spot in the charter school. Im thinking they could alternately purchase a country estate or nice prominent downtown home and utilize private schools if necessary...but what about my rank & file employees? What are their housing and school options? Because I cant run my plant without them, Im going to investigate the other neighborhoods, quality of life, and educational conditions readily available to them elsewhere within the county. Thats when the huge red flag pops up. All is not well in Greene. This was an eye opener for many of us. While small and exclusive charter and private alternatives can have a minimal impact on a handful small business owners, a positively perceived, core public school system is crucial in industrial site selection. So to clarify, I didnt start out picking a fight with LOA. I actually reached out to them to discover how we could all work cooperatively together. Several of us had such individual and joint meetings/conversations whereby it seemed cooperation and concession by all could lead to an end to the longstanding division between them and the BOE. Unfortunately, all of this goodwill crumbled when it was discovered LOA had been secretly working for months on an alternative funding scheme with certain members of the BOC and the GC Development Authority. Their clandestine plan was to completely bypass the voters as well as the BOE. All of this hit the fan when a number of citizens dropped in on a GCDA meeting on December 11, 2013. As they say, the rest is history. Aside from the negative economic impact on our traditional communities, I really dont care what you do...as long as you do it openly, ethically, and legally. The fine citizens of our great county at least deserve that minimal respect.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 22:31:18 +0000
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