Region 4 Advisory Council Meeting
Legislative Briefing
December 5, 2001
Warm Springs Community Building

Members present
Danita Crawford, , Donna Armstrong Lackey, Martha McDaniel, Mike McLendon, Harvey Norris, Kip Purvis, Pam Sharp, Barbara Tyson, Mellody Reaves, Hayes Arnold, Gene Dunn, Harvey Norris, David Luckie, David Patton, and Dr. Beheruz Sethna.

Guests present
Slater Barr, Carroll Tomorrow; Hon. Robert Barr, Carroll County Commission; Sen. Bill Hamrick; Hon. Arthur Pearson, Meriwether County Commission; Hon. Larry Pike, Heard County Commission; David Huckaby, USDA Rural Development; W.C. Blackmon, USDA Rural Development; Joiner Smith, USDA Rural Development; Mayor Hazel Ramsey, City of Warm Springs; Rep. Lynn Westmoreland; Paul Penn, Butts County IDA.

Staff present
Corinne Blencoe, Department of Community Affairs; Cynthia Easley, Department of Community Affairs; Kathy Oxford, Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism; Becky Basset, Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism.

Welcome and Introduction
Donna Armstrong Lackey welcomed all members and asked everyone to introduce him or herself.

Presentation of the RAC Work Program to the Legislators and Special Guests
Brian Dill gave an overview of the regional and briefly outlined the key issues identified at the October 19, 2001 RAC Retreat in Newnan:

  • Transportation
  • Technology & Telecom
  • Regional Wastewater/ Waste Water Partnerships
  • Workforce Development
  • Regional Growth Management

Transportation
Haynes Arnold discussed the need for transportation connectivity between I-85 and I-75 and for four-lane access to the interstates from all of the communities within the region. Several of the counties in the region have already formed a Transportation Task Force in order to look at ways to expedite existing projects and get other projects in the works. The RAC that the legislators support any additional funding and act as advocates for transportation projects in our region.

Telecom
Barbara Tyson spoke about progress that the RAC Telecom committee has made in the past year: encouraged several counties to participate in Georgia Tech's Readiness Assessment program and one county (Upson) became a pilot for Georgia Tech's Technology Training for Leaders/Leadership Training for Technologists.

Barbara also spoke about the need for improved high-speed internet access throughout the region, using her employer, Quad Graphics, as a case study. Quad Graphics prints national weekly news and entertainment magazines and name-brand catalogs. All of the content is received digitally, and currently there is no redundancy in the area. If their provider is down for any reason, Quad cannot print magazines. Were this to happen during certain key timeframes, Quad's customers could lose money, Quad could lose contracts, and a region already affected by major job losses could lose more jobs.

The RAC asked the legislators to support funding initiatives or tax incentives that would enable rural communities in Georgia to gain access to improved broadband communications.

Water Issues
Harvey Norris spoke about the importance of water quality to the region and the importance for different jurisdictions to work together to solve water issues.

Workforce Development Issues
Danita Crawford gave an overview of the RAC's recognition of the importance of workforce development issues in the region and gave an overview of the efforts of the Workforce Investment Board to address some of these issues. The RAC recognized the leadership role of the WIB, and, rather than duplicate efforts, the RAC has chosen to support the efforts of the WIB. Several RAC members serve on the WIB will increase communication between the two groups.

The two major barriers to workforce development continue to be training/education and transportation. The technical colleges, colleges, and universities play an ever-increasing, ever-changing role in economic development, and hopefully theywill continue to respond to the changing needs of our workforce.

Transportation continues to be an issue, with many in our region still without reliable transportation to get them to and from work. Several counties in the region have developed public transportation programs, but these programs need to be expanded within their existing counties and throughout the region.

The RAC asked the legislators to keep these issues in mind and to try to make a positive impact when items come up that would affect these issues.

Growth Management/Greenspace Issues
Corinne Blencoe and Donna Armstrong Lackey talked about the importance of sustainable growth to sustainable economic development and discussed two regional initiatives that will promote sustainable growth issues:

  • The ongoing RAC Greespace Plan, which is currently being prepared with the assistance of McIntosh Trail and Chatt-Flint RDCs


  • The Regional Growth Management Program, a joint effort of regions 1, 2, 4, and 5, made possible by a RAP grant for the Department of Community Affairs


    • The RAC asked the legislators to be mindful of the importance of greenspace protection and growth initiatives and to continue to support funding for these types of programs.

    Georgia Academy for Economic Development Leadership
    Corinne Blencoe discussed the RAC's desire to support and promote strong regional leadership programs, including the new Georgia Academy for Economic Development Leadership, a newly-expanded program made possible through the efforts of the Governor's Rural Development Council and the General Assembly. The RAC hopes that the legislators will continue to support regional leadership efforts.

    Donna Armstrong Lackey provided closing remarks and fielded comments and questions from the legislators and others in attendance.

    Minutes
    The minutes of the July 20, 2001 meeting were unanimously approved.

    Nominating Committee Report
    The nominating committee presented the following slate of officers for the 2002 calendar year: Donna Armstrong Lackey, Chair Brian Dill, Vice Chair.

    Next meeting
    The next meeting will be held Friday, January 18 ,2002 at the Warm Springs Community Building.

    There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.



    ©2001 Georgia Department of Community Affairs
    All rights reserved.