Business Investing Millions In County

By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor

The Dade County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) spoke about multiple ongoing and possible projects during the March 15 meeting.

Executive Director William Back reported that there was a meeting with the owners of Trenton Pressing. County Executive Ted Rumley and Trenton Mayor Alex Case were also at the meeting.

“The key takeaway is that they are making a multimillion dollar investment in Trenton in the acquisition of two buildings. We are waiting on more good news from them,” Back said.

IDA Chair Peter Cervelli reported that the son of the international manager will relocate to Dade County for Trenton Pressing.

Back noted that there are four companies expressing interest in Dade County, both in the Industrial Park and on Highway 299.

There was a site visit in the beginning of the month regarding “Project Helios.” There will be another site visit on March 31 regarding “Project Flavor.”

“The first site visit went quite well. There was a lot of enthusiasm,” Back said.

According to Back, when the group was leaving the north end of the Industrial Park, a train came to a stop by a train crossing. Back said that he hopes that will not become a problem, and that would have to be addressed.

Back reported that he recently met with Dade County Water and Sewer because he had some questions about the capacity in the northern end of Dade County.

“We have a 470,000 gallon per day capacity for anything that might happen along Highway 299,” Back reported. “They had a positive response that they are ready for just about anything that we do here.”

Back also noted that the Industrial Park is expanding, so in the future they should think about naming the streets and getting some signage.

The authority voted to authorize Back to find a surveyor for the three acres for sale at the corner of Vanguard Guard and E. Industrial Blvd.

Back also reported that at this point, the IDA has not extended any incentives to Beltline Energy regarding a proposal to construct a solar array.

George Williams, chair for Alliance for Dade, spoke to the IDA members.

Williams said that there are about 60 investors right now. An investor is a member.

“We are going to do a program of highlighting our members. We will begin to interview some of our investors and put them out on social media,” Williams said.

The Alliance for Dade has added an insurance program for investors by participating with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. They are also working on offering a 401k plan for investors.

“We are trying to build a lot of things that an investor would be interested in,” Williams said.

Williams noted that the end of COVID-19 is hopefully near, and the Alliance can move to more face-to-face activities and networking.

“It’s a volunteer organization, and we hope to hear more good news from the Alliance,” Back said.

The authority also welcomed new member Dr. James Cantrell.

Dr. Cantrell was recently Director of Operations for Dade County Schools, and he is also a homebuilder. He has a doctorate in Educational Leadership.

“We appreciate you being here and you’ll make a great addition,” Cervelli said.

The board went into executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss real estate and a matter of attorney-client privilege. No action was taken afterward.

The next IDA meeting will be April 19.