Newspaper Page Text
Page 6D
July 6, 2022
^Reporter
Locals debate whether Monroe County s
future ought to include new industry
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
As Monroe County and
its municipalities design
their plans and goals for the
future, some citizens say
they like Forsyth the way it
is. They like the predomi
nance of agricultural land
use and are pleased with
the vibrance of historic
downtown Forsyth. Several
said they work outside of
Monroe County and prefer
to commute to work and
come home to Monroe
County—they don’t advo
cate creating a lot more jobs
in the county.
On Wednesday, June 29 a group
of about 35 citizens answered
questions about how they would
like to see Monroe County
grow over the next two decades.
Their visions didn’t necessarily
align with the answers usually
heard from community leaders
in groups discussing the same
issues.
Those who expressed their
opinions were opposed to
recruiting heavy industry to the
county and particularly opposed
to commericial/retail develop
ment in the form of strip malls.
They encouraged recruiting
“light” industry and locating it
as close to 1-75 as possible. The
citizens felt that housing tracts of
four-plus acres would be a greater
asset to maintaining the quality
of life in the county than subdivi
sions, even with high-end homes
and amenities.
The Middle Georgia Regional
Commission wrapped up the
first half of work on updating
the Monroe County-Forsyth-
Culloden Joint Comprehensive
Plan with a public meeting focus
ing on economic development.
An update every five years is
required by the state to maintain
a “Qualified Local Government”
status, which enables communi
ties to apply for various state
loans, grants and programs. The
comprehensive plan is used at
the state level for planning and is
a reference for zoning and other
decisions that shape the growth
of an area.
Greg Boike of the Regional
Commission explained that its
job in the process of the update is
to get information from citizens
and other stakeholders, write a
preliminary comprehensive plan
for the local governments and
revise it as necessary for approval
by the Georgia Department of
Community Affairs and subse
quent approval by the county and
cities.
From February-June the
Regional Commission team
collected information through
meetings and a survey. Boike said
it will now write a report that will
be available for review and input
at a public hearing before the
local governments approve it. The
deadline to submit it to the state
is Oct. 21.
Joe Black of the Regional Com
mission opened the meeting by
saying that of the 200 people who
completed the online survey,
the majority favored economic
development by redeveloping
and revitalizing existing com
mercial properties. Comments
were that people live in Monroe
County and move to Monroe
County because of how it is now;
most people have jobs and there
is a greater need for workers than
there is for jobs.
Tom Baugh, chair of Monroe
County Development Authority,
said he told his son, who is soon
to retire from the Coast Guard,
not to move to Monroe County
because the type of job he is
seeking (engineering) isn’t here.
When Black asked where people
would come from to fill jobs in
Monroe County, the response
was, “We
live here.
We don’t
n , . work here,
County Development ,
a x S i and we
Authority as citizens ask ... . ,
questions about the local 6 „ ^
land use plan for the
future. Right, members of „ '
Middle Georgia Regional ^ ^
Commission lisfon to oiti-
zen input as they prepare^
Above, Greg Head
introduces himself as
a member of Monroe
to write the proposed
berlands,
update for the Culloden- , . ,
Forsyth-Monroe County W
... owns
comprehensive plan. ,
1,650 acres
of land to the west of 1-75 from
the Georgia Public Safety Train
ing Center to north of Johnston-
ville Road, said a county needs a
mix of industrial/commercial and
residential properties because
houses won’t generate enough
taxes to pay for services. Industry
needs “big infrastructure” but
will pay for what it needs. Hanna
agreed that industry should be
close to 1-75. He said that Re
gional Commission information
shows there is a large labor force
available within a 30-minute
drive of Monroe County. One
citizen said that light industry
would be great for the county.
Black said predictions are that
Forsyth-Monroe County will
have 10,000 more jobs by 2025,
some of them service jobs. Baugh
said there are currently only two
industrial tracts of 1,000 acres
or more, which is what indus
tries require, on 1-75 in Monroe
County.
Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson
said that Monroe County invests
about $200,000 to educate a child
from K-12th grade and that’s it’s
a shame to export them after the
investment. Two different citizens
commented that their children
came back to Monroe County to
live after college but are working
out of the county.
Moving on, Black asked for
comments about the health of
downtown Forsyth. Comments
were all very positive except
about the commercial truck traf
fic in town. Baugh said plans for
a bypass got killed years ago. Dr.
Jim Buff said he recently relo
cated his mailbox because traffic
had made it so hard to get across
the road to get his mail. Another
citizen said the shortage of park
ing makes it impossible to make a
quick stop in town.
One citizen said a recent trip
back from South Georgia driv
ing through a number of small
towns made her aware of what
a “beautiful, vibrant downtown”
Forsyth has.
“We have more businesses
now,” she said. “We’re on the right
track.”
Baugh said that logging trucks
have been coming through
downtown Forsyth for as long as
he can remember and he would
rather be behind a container
truck than a logging truck. He
said the only long term solution
is a by-pass.
Black said that in planning, For
syth and Monroe County have to
take in consideration that Plant
Scherer, which is responsible for
much of the county’s revenue, is
slated to close by 2029. Wilson
said the increase in property tax
es needed to make up for Plant
Scherer is predicted to be 40-50
percent. Hanna said he would
estimate it will take a 100 percent
increase to completely replace
revenue. Baugh said the closure
of Plant Scherer will mean the
loss of400 jobs.
Another citizen said that there
were also costs from Plant Scher
er, like the need to expand water
Scan the QR code to take the survey and express your opinions on
Monroe County-Forsyth-Culloden s comprehensive plan for the next five
years.
lines to Juliette. One said Monroe
County needs light industry, not
companies seeking 1,000 acres or
more. Baugh said the Develop
ment Authority has to work with
the referrals for industry it gets
and “Bigger is the way things
are going.” He said inquiries
from companies looking for less
than 1,000 acres are “few and far
between.” He said the process of
recruiting industry is complex
and competitive and difficult for
anyone to understand who hasn’t
been directly involved in it.
A young man of about middle
school age suggested that For
syth-Monroe County focus on an
industry like tourism, which can
create jobs and revenue without
as great a demand on infrastruc
ture. He said Tybee Island is an
example of a community that
prospers on tourism. Although
Monroe County doesn’t have a
beach like Tybee Island, it does
have 1-75, which brings travelers.
Thomas of the Regional Com
mission said Monroe County’s
population is predicted to grow
from 28,000 to 38,000 by 2045.
He said according to the survey
the #1 reason to live in Monroe
County is safety. One attendee
said he likes the balance between
the historic and the modern
in Forsyth, compared to the
“sprawl” he sees in Houston
County.
In response to Boike’s question
of whether Forsyth should grow
up or out, all responses favored
growing out instead of taller
buildings. Wilson said Forsyth
currently limits buildings to three
stories, except for a couple of
hotels that were granted variances
for four stories.
Several attending said Forsyth
should make it a priority that the
gateway roads leading to the city
are attractive. Some businesses
on Highway 41 north and south
have deteriorated, and the un
finished Ingram senior complex
just south of town detracts from
the impression one gets coming
into the city. Boike said Highway
83 coming into Forsyth is a good
example of an inviting gateway.
Baugh said these would be zon
ing issues and not pertinent to
developing the comprehensive
plan update.
Current and proposed land
use maps were distributed for
comment. The most dramatic
difference was the change from
agriculture to residential land use
in northern and eastern Monroe
County. Of the most concern to
citizens at the meeting was the
land at Highway 41/Zellner Road
near Lamar County shown as in
dustrial use in the future plan. A
number of them live in the area.
Baugh said it is projected for
industrial use because it has
railroad, a rock quarry and a gas
line. One man countered that the
rock quarry is confined to Lamar
County and the property is two
miles from 1-75 requiring a new
road to serve industry. Hanna
said the H&H property should
be shown for industrial use in the
future but is not shown that way
on the proposed map. It borders
1-75 for five miles. Forsyth city
manager Janice Hall said the
proposed map for Forsyth doesn’t
show the 1,650 acres H&H acres
annexed and needs to be up
dated.
Boike said the objections about
industrial use need to be con
veyed to commissioners. He said
the greatly expanded residential
use of land in the county will
require commissioners to get
infrastructure in place. Those
present said housing develop
ments should be planned so there
is a main entrance rather than
multiple driveways on a major
highway or road.
Several attending commented
they are disappointed that com
missioners haven’t attended to
hear their input. They said Greg
Tapley attended one meeting. At
the meeting on June 29, Forsyth
was represented by Wilson, Hall
and council member Mike Dodd.
The Development Authority
was represented by Baugh, Joyce
White and Greg Head.
Boike said the Regional Com
mission team will spend the next
few weeks writing its proposed
updated comprehensive plan to
present to commissioners and
council members. There will be
another public hearing before it is
adopted. The survey will be open
for input for one more week.
Report: High Falls woman insults deputies in DUI arrest
By Steve Reece
stevereece@gmail.com
A High Falls
woman seen by
deputy Tyler Rodg
ers weaving while
traveling east on
High Falls Road
near the High Falls
State Park went to
jail for DUI and
multiple traffic vio
lations on June 26
SPENCER
ing to the incident report,
Rodgers saw 28-year-old
Autum Marie Spencer in a
black 2019 Nis
san Sentra cross
the right fog line
and nearly hit
the curb on the
bridge and then
run off the road
at the crosswalk
to the trails
before drifting
towards the cen-
around 10:35 p.m. Accord- ter line - 1116 de P ut y made
the stop near the recycling
center.
After getting her driver’s
license Rodgers asked
Spencer why she ran off the
roadway and with slurred
speech she answered she
was just trying to get home.
He repeated the question
and she replied she just
went to the store on a beer
rim and was on the way
home. She said she just
moved to Towaliga Trail
but didn’t know the address
number. She was not wear
ing a seatbelt, was smoking
a freshly lit cigarette, and
smelled strongly of alcohol.
She at first denied drink
ing but then admitted she
had one Bud Light Tall
Boy around 30-45 minutes
earlier but nothing else.
Spencer agreed to per
form a roadside sobriety
test but was unable to
demonstrate smooth eye
pursuit, swaying during the
entirety of the evaluation
and not keeping her hands
by her side. She then told
Rodgers she knew she was
going to jail and didn’t want
to perform any other tests.
She consented to blowing
into a breathalyzer which
indicated a high positive
reading for mouth alcohol.
She told Rodgers there
were no open containers in
her Sentra, but he found an
empty Bud Light can inside
a grocery bag hanging on
the gear shifter and a bottle
of Paul Masson Brandy in
the pocket behind the front
passenger seat with a small
amount of alcohol still
inside.
She was handcuffed and
while being taken to the
Monroe County Jail, she
called Rodgers and deputy
Courtney Morgan “d**ks”
and “lame bi**hes”. Spen
cer was cited for failure to
maintain lane, seat belt vio
lation, obscuring tag frame,
open container, and DUI.