IDA Moves Into Historic Courthouse For Feb. Meeting
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
The February 17 meeting of the Industrial Development Authority took place in the IDA’s new office space inside the historic courthouse. At the end of the meeting, the authority looked at the intergovernmental lease agreement for the space (which will also serve as the Dade County Economic Development office). At $250 per month and with the lease starting Feb. 1, the IDA will pay $2,750 for 2025.
Tangentially, the board noted that the official address for the courthouse is 12345 Main Street.
Evan Stone (executive director) made note of the upcoming joint meeting between the county commission, city commission, water board, IDA, and school board. A fairly recent addition to Dade’s government calendar, this meeting first took place before COVID-19, and there are two scheduled for 2025: One on March 27, and one in September.
Stone said that at the last meeting, the need for a chamber of commerce was discussed. Now, we have a fully functioning chamber in the form of the Alliance for Dade.
Stone reported that the CHI Memorial building has another leak. The roof was replaced less than two years ago, and it has a 40-year warranty, but this is the second leak since it was replaced. Stone said he called Dunlap Roofing who is working to fix the problem.
Stone reported that under the economic development umbrella, he’s met with a few non-industrial businesses that are interested in Dade. He didn’t provide any further information about the interested businesses.
The board looked at mockups prepared by Seth Houts of temporary signs for the Trenton/Dade Business Park North. They agreed to move forward with these signs and discussed new signage for the existing industrial park. The IDA has $5,000 from a Top of Georgia grant to be used for the new signs.
Noting that the Alliance for Dade is working on wayfinding signage, George Williams (board member) said he would have Sandy White (Alliance for Dade president and CEO) connect with Stone so that new signage coordinates with the Alliance’s project.
The signs would be placed at each of the three entrances to the industrial park. Stone noted that aside from a basic IDA sign that matches the Alliance’s style, each company could pay for a portion of the sign where their logo would go.
James Cantrell (chairman) suggested using digital signs so that the IDA could sell ads, noting that when the school system installed digital signs, it wasn’t too expensive. However, Houts reported that he’s been getting quotes for the Bank of Dade for a digital sign and, “You’re looking at $50,000, and that’s not counting the framing, mounting, and footing.”
Cantrell said the IDA could likely get a grant for the project, but Stone added that the cost would be multiplied by three, so potentially $150,000 for signs. No decision was reached during this meeting.
The board entered executive session to discuss two real estate matters (per Robin Rogers, attorney) and matters Stone had to discuss. No vote was taken after the session.
