For the first time since 2018, our communities two local governing bodies, Bulloch County Commissioners and Statesboro City Council came together for a joint meeting on Tuesday, November 29, 2022.
Bulloch County hosted the meeting at their temporarily meeting space in the Honey Bowen building. Roy Thompson, Bulloch Commission Chairman ran the meeting and opened with ground rules. Those rules stated that this first joint meeting is designed to be an informational session. There will be no public input at this meeting, nor will there be answers to specific questions.
Mayor applauds great working relationship between City and County
Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar opened with a statement applauding the cities relationship with the county. "I want to thank the County for hosting the joint meeting. It has been great during my tenure over the past five years in working with the county. I know there is a narrative put out as far as the county and the city not getting along. But I want to be clear, I would not want to work with a better group of citizens, many of these commissioners to my right I have known since I was a child in this community. I have nothing but respect for them.
I also want to acknowledge all the work we have been able to do as a collaborative body from the industrial site that is now named after Bruce Yawn, the TAD's impacting the center of the city and the outskirts of the city and two great industries coming in as a reflection of our relationships, Aspen Aerogels and Ajin. These two industries will bring roughly 1,000 new jobs to our county.
Those things could not be possible if it were not for us being able to work together and for us working together for the greater good of the citizens of Statesboro and Bulloch County. I want to say on behalf of the city to the county thank you for everything you have been to us and the great partners you have been to us."
Presentation from Bulloch County
The hour and half meeting then began with a presentation from Tom Couch, Bulloch County Manager. In his presentation he reviewed the water infrastructure in Southeast Bulloch giving a history and background, goals and expectations and the impact on the community. Much of Mr. Couch's presentation was given in prior county meetings.
At the end of his presentation Statesboro City Councilman Phil Boyum, asked Couch why expanding sewer and water had not been discussed with the city. Possibly giving them the opportunity to expand city infrastructure 15 to 17 miles to serve the new Hyundai plant and potential new residential and commercial growth. Boyum cited numbers that he believed would be less expensive by expanding city infrastructure down highway 67 to the project.
In addition, he felt that keeping long term revenue opportunities from the sale of water and sewer services would have been in the best interest of the citizens of Statesboro and Bulloch county. Boyum went on to cite the example of the partnership in extending city services to the new Bruce Yawn Commerce Park nearly a decade. This cooperative effort positioned the Bulloch County Development Authority to be ready for the demand in growth we are now experiencing.
Chairman Thompson reminded Councilman Boyum that this was an informational session. He thanked him for the question and said they would bring answers back to the next meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for February 28. Review the slides from the presentation below.
Presentation from City of Statesboro
The second presentation was given by Charles Penny, Manager of the City of Statesboro. Mr. Penny's presentation included an overview of the cities water and wastewater infrastructure, gas infrastructure, demands on current infrastructure, potential expansion of water, wastewater and gas systems along with priorities for expansion. Review the full slides from the presentation below.
Video of Full Meeting
There will be no growth if people don't sell their land
Chairman Roy Thompson closed the meeting by saying, "We have got a lot of hard work in front of us. We have discussed nearly $80 million in projects and we are just beginning. Obviously we have plenty of things to discuss at our next meeting. We are all here talking about growth. I have said this many times. But growth may not come. Everybody knows it is coming, but it may not come. Here is the reason. If people do not want to sell their land it is not coming. We can talk about what we are going to do all day long. I have even thought about considering consolidation. I know that has been brought up in the past. But it may be a possibility. I don't know, I just threw that word out. I don't know how we are going to work it all out, but we will work it out someway. We always have."
A lot of communities around the nation wish they were in the position we are in
Mayor McCollar addressed the group in closing and said that he had just returned from the National League of Cities conference in Kansas City and the Hyundai project was a topic of discussion at the conference.
"Statesboro and Bulloch County and our region is the envy of the nation at this time. We need to be thankful for the fact that we have this opportunity. There are other communities that are suffering. That is not what we are experiencing in Statesboro and Bulloch County. We should be thankful for that. We are a very blessed community. This is not a city decision or a county decision this is an all of us decision. All of us have to work together. There is a lot of potential here. Planning our future is important."
The next joint meeting is tentatively scheduled for February 28 at a time to be announced later.
