IDA Website Approved To Go Live, Citizens Ask About Transparency

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

At the May 20th meeting of the Industrial Development Authority, website updates were approved to go live and citizens posed questions about land purchases and transparency.

Evan Stone (executive director) reported that he wrote and submitted a letter of support at the request of McLemore Golf Club to help with the application for a federal grant. The grant will go toward establishing an emergency service center in the McLemore and Cloudland area.

Stone and Seth Houts gave an update on the IDA’s website, with Houts showing the updates that are ready to go live. The authority approved the updates. Information added to the site includes links to current industries in the industrial park; IDA bylaws, agendas, and minutes; information for the public; and information for companies interested in coming to Dade County.

Stone noted that the ribbon cutting for Trenton Pressing’s expansion is tentatively set for June 21.

Stone noted that the IDA previously approved funds to hire Alex McAlpin to capture drone footage and photos of the industrial park. They held off on this project until they had a place (i.e. the website) to publish the media.

Monda Wooten (City of Trenton street commissioner) attended the meeting, and Stone mentioned that she is helping the industrial park with crosswalks on South Industrial Boulevard because employees must cross the road that has heavy semi-truck traffic.

Regarding requests for information that he receives, Stone noted again that many require more land than the IDA has available. He added, “Some of them are just not a good fit for this community.”

Spencer Hogg (recently promoted to president of the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority) added, “We see a lot [of RFIs] that come in for all four of the counties…We want growth. We want targeted growth, controlled growth, quality jobs, and industry and job types that really uplift the community.”

During Hogg’s JDA report, he said, “The thing that we can be the most proud of is the expansion of existing industry. I think that’s our job, first and foremost, to take care of the industrial partners that are already located here.”

He noted that Georgia is a hot spot for EV [electric vehicle]-related production, and he anticipates more requests related to EV production.

During the Public Comment section, Melissa Faircloth presented a list of questions. Stone said that most of the questions could be answered by Robin Rogers (IDA attorney).

First, she asked what the practices and procedures are for IDA land purchases. Rogers said he guides purchases on a case-by-case basis.

Next, Faircloth asked if land must be surveyed prior to being purchased by the IDA. Stone said they have land surveyed except in special circumstances. He cited the recent purchase of a strip of land (see the May 8th issues of the Sentinel), saying that the land was secondary to the acquisition of the sewer beneath the land.

Faircloth asked if IDA land purchases must be closed with a title attorney who specializes in real estate. Rogers said this is not required.

She asked if thorough title searches prior to land purchases are required. Rogers said he always does a title search.

She asked if the IDA has an insurance policy on all land purchases. Rogers said they do for large purchases.

Faircloth asked if the IDA writes a plan of action prior to land purchases. She added, “Do you know that these things are achievable?” Specifically regarding the sewer acquisition, James Cantrell (chairman) said they do have a plan to expand the sewer.

Lastly, Faircloth asked who will maintain the sewer line in question. Stone said the IDA owns the sewer now and nearby landowners will have an option to pay to tap into the sewer.

Following up on that question, Susie Talbott asked who will pay for any needed sewer line repairs. Stone said he did not know what would happen in the future, but “right now, it would fall under the IDA.”

Talbott asked where the money to purchase this strip of land came from. Stone said it came from the general accounting fund, with Cantrell adding that they sold some property and therefore have funds.

Talbott asked what the process is for submitting an Open Records Request to the IDA, and Rogers said these can be emailed to Stone, using the same form that the county government uses. (The Sentinel was unable to find such a form on the county website, but Carey Anderson (public information officer) said that she plans to add it to the site).

However, a portion of the IDA bylaws under Article IV (C) reads: “The Secretary shall act as custodian of IDA records. The Secretary shall serve as the IDA’s Open Records Officer.” Therefore, it is unclear why requests must be sent to Stone instead of directly to William Back (recording secretary).

Summarizing her interest in these topics, Talbott said, “At the end of the executive meeting, based on the motion and there being no public dialogue in the meeting, it was unclear to me…what we were actually purchasing. It resulted in a lot of questions…in the essence of transparency, I just wanted to bring that to your attention.”

Talbott then asked again about the issue of IDA spokespeople. (See the April 24th issue of the Sentinel). Cantrell explained at last month’s meeting that the IDA agreed for Stone and Rogers to be the spokespeople for the IDA, and Talbott wanted to know if this decision was voted on. It has not, and she asked the board to consider either formalizing this decision or allowing individual members to be approached by the public.

She explained, “When we have a board of people, there are different ideas, different opinions, and different perspectives…I like to hear what our membership has to submit for their own perspective on any given subject.”

Cantrell said the IDA needs a united voice and in one particular situation, a citizen approached numerous board members, received a variety of answers, and “didn’t matter what you said, they published what they wanted to.”

Cantrell turned to Wooten, saying, “You know what I’m saying.” Wooten, however, said, “I probably agree with her.” She said citizens have come to her with IDA-related questions after being told that they could only speak with the IDA attorney.

She said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, you know? This is just a part of being public servants. I should, she should, anybody should be able to come to you, you, you. That’s just the way that I feel.”

Wooten maintained a pleasant, calm tone while making it clear that she is not afraid to disagree with others or have others disagree with her. “When you put up a wall like that…perception is reality, and you’re perceived as maybe trying to hide something. I don’t agree with Susie on a lot of things, but this I do agree with.”

Wooten agreed that Alex Case (mayor) serves as the City of Trenton spokesperson, but “any citizen can come to me anytime, and I don’t have a gag order put on me.” Stone said the IDA members are not under a gag order, but they agreed that they wanted specified spokespeople.

None of the members responded to Faircloth, Talbott, or Wooten aside from Stone, Cantrell, Rogers, with a few minor agreements from Back.

No vote was taken after executive session.