As the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project moves closer to becoming a reality, economic development authorities in Bulloch, Bryan, Chatham and Effingham counties have come together to work on potential projects the deepening could bring.
The Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Joint Development Authority will focus on combining resources to attract and facilitate regionally significant projects, said Trip Tollison, president of the Savannah Economic Development Authority.
“What we have found, and what the state likes to see, is counties coming together to attract these larger projects,” Tollison said. “A classic example of this kind of collaboration is the huge Baxter Life Sciences project outside of Atlanta. The four counties in that case created a unified joint development authority in 1999 — long before Baxter — for the purpose of acquiring large tracts of land and putting an industrial park in place.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that was a key factor in Baxter’s decision to locate its project there,” he said.
“Like the four Atlanta counties, we don’t have a specific project in mind. Instead, we want to set ourselves up for the state to see that we are totally capable of handling a major project anywhere within these four counties that stretch from the port to Statesboro,” Tollison said.
Anna Chafin, CEO of the Development Authority of Bryan County, said the JDA formalizes the relationship the four counties have been cultivating for several years.
“We believe a deepened Savannah Harbor will lead to economic growth in our region, including the likelihood of economic development activities along the Interstate 16 corridor from Savannah to Statesboro,” Chafin said.
“By working with our sister counties along that corridor to prepare for the expected increase in activity, we’ll be ready to respond quickly and definitively to opportunities with special consideration to working in partnership among the counties,” she said.
John Henry, CEO of the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority, agreed.
“We are excited to see the formation of this new JDA,” Henry said. “We have discussed joint efforts for at least a decade now, both formally and informally. We all realize that we are tied by common bonds in this area and by working together regionally, where practical, it allows us to demonstrate a much broader and deeper pool of resources.”
Benjy Thompson, CEO of the Development Authority of Bulloch County, said deepening the port has brought even more attention to the Coastal Georgia Region and the new authority will allow the four counties to capitalize on the increased exposure.
“We’re very pleased and excited to join with our neighboring counties to leverage the Port of Savannah and the I-16 corridor for new business. Our combined efforts through this authority will allow our counties to bring all of our resources to bear on large projects that will bring opportunities to all of our citizens,” Thompson said.
The Chatham Commission gave its approval to the authority in a resolution passed late last month. Bryan, Bulloch and Effingham approved identical resolutions earlier.
“We wanted to get this first step done before the end of the year,” Tollison said. “And this really is just the first step.”
The next is to name the eight-member authority board — two from each county, appointed by that county’s commissioners — who will in turn elect officers and set up a meeting schedule.
Tollison, Chafin, Thompson and Henry will staff the effort to get the authority operational.
That won’t take much initially, Tollison said. The group will be required to meet quarterly and submit minutes, but no money will be at stake until there is activity.
“Should we be fortunate to attract the interest of a big project, we’ll have this framework in place and will be better equipped to establish whatever intergovernmental agreements are needed,” he said. “And those agreements can take on a variety of shapes and descriptions.”
If, for example, a project required resources from Bryan and Bulloch countries, the agreement would only involve those two. All intergovernmental agreements would have to be OK’d by the respective county they affect, he said.
“The intergovernmental agreements will be where the rubber meets the road,” Tollison said.
Nor is the authority membership set in stone.
“It would be relatively simple to add the I-95 corridor into Liberty County if they wanted to do that.”