The Putnam County Development Authority is moving forward on a marketing plan which will include a new logo, social media campaign and improvements to the county industrial parks. It comes just as neighboring cities and counties are angling to get a piece of the action from the increased interest in the area when the new Rivian Automotive plant is built in Rutledge.
At the Eatonton City Council meeting on April 5, Executive Director of the PDA Matt Poyner briefed councilmembers for the first time since he was hired seven months ago.
The PDA has about 120 acres it has been marketing in the South Industrial Park (SIP) which is located off US Highway 441 near Walmart, within the Eatonton city limits. Poyner said this property and land at Rock Eagle Technology Park have many benefits for companies searching for new locations, but more people need to know about them.
“Before I was hired,” Poyner said, “I had lunch with the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development and their COO. Neither of them has ever been to Putnam County so we’ve got to get our friends from Atlanta down here to realize what’s going on, what we have to offer.”
Poyner said that one of the issues facing the South Industrial Park is the lack of access to the railroad.
“A lot of projects, you have to have rail to be included in the project. We’ve got a company right now that wants to come here tomorrow but we have no rail sites to offer them,” Poyner said.
In an effort to expand the PDA’s portfolio of commercial property, Poyner said they considered buying 114 acres by the SIP because it has rail service but after due diligence on the land, the topography would make it too expensive to develop for industrial sites.
He said that work is being done to make the industrial parks more attractive. He admitted that when he brings companies to see SIP, he brings them in “the back way.”
“If we can’t demonstrate that we’re taking care of our property,” he said, “how can we take care of our companies? We’ve got to beautify this corridor.”
Poyner showed artist renderings of proposed beautification efforts around the park including new signage at the entrances, better landscaping and general efforts to make it more appealing to prospective companies.
As part of a stepped-up effort to be more contemporary, Tytan Pictures CEO Jim Stone has been brought in to develop a new logo for the PDA. Poyner also said that the website will be improved and its new address using the phrase “PutnamForward” will reflect a more aggressive push to promote the county.
Also, at its April 5 meeting, City Council:
• Approved two parade permits. One would slightly change the route for the Dairy Festival Parade sponsored by the Pilot Club on June 4 to let it pass in front of the Plaza Arts Center. The other is a Fun Run for Breast Cancer on May 7.
• Heard that there will soon be a Yard of the Month program started by the local Georgia Initiative for Community Housing committee. Councilmember Janie Reid said no one needs to apply for consideration. An anonymous judge will make the selections in each of the city’s four wards and a yard sign will give the homeowners bragging rights for the month.
• Councilmember Teresa Doster said that efforts are continuing to find a way to change the city’s zoning laws that are now preventing the Dot2Dot Bed and Breakfast from hosting events and in-house catering. “We are looking for some other creative zoning in other parts of the states and the country that we can think about,” Doster said.
• Police Chief Howell Cardwell introduced Hargrove Jones, the city’s newest police officer, to councilmembers. He and his wife moved here from Philadelphia.