Effingham County leaders met to discuss growth. Here are their three top-of-mind issues.

State legislatures and county officials gathered in Guyton for the State of the County Breakfast to discuss issues within Effingham County.

A panel of seven leaders within the area addressed the public in a Q&A session, with the majority of questions centered around growth and development.

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Here is what they said about three pressing issues in the county.

The county is growing, but people are seeking work outside of Effingham

Although Effingham County has seen significant growth in the past few years, thousands choose to work outside the county. Brandt Herndon, chief executive officer for the Effingham County Development Authority, said that needs to change.

“We have 15,000 people leaving the county every day to go to work, and a lot of them are going to Gulfstream or a major supplier,” said Herndon.

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“What we are trying to do is capture those people that are leaving to work in Chatham County and show them they can find an equivalent job here. If you can work here in warehouse distribution as opposed to driving 20-30 minutes and spending gas to get there, why not work here? We want to cut that 15,000 down to a more manageable number.”

Rincon is home to 10 manufacturers, including Georgia Pacific and Sampco among others. Herndon said when companies want to plant roots in Effingham County, they do not look at county lines. Instead, they focus on proximity to the port among other things that will make the move beneficial for them. He also pointed to the long-term advantages of growth and how business development benefits smaller communities.

“They are looking at the location of the site, proximity to Atlanta and all those different factors,” said Herndon.

“Balanced growth is important to every community because it provides fiscal and economic stability in the long term. As residential growth occurs in Effingham County, it is important to offset that growth with commercial and industrial growth as well. This is because commercial and industrial businesses typically use fewer community resources like schools and emergency services compared to the amount of tax revenue that they generate each year.”

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Must find a way to balance housing growth with sustaining agriculture

Wesley Corbitt, chairman at large for the Board of Directors for Effingham County, said as the county continues to grow, they must protect agriculture, such as land used by farmers.

“When people move into our community, suddenly people want to sell land and you can’t blame them for that because they get a higher dollar for their retirement and families,” said Corbitt. “These subdivisions will be built and then there goes our agriculture.”

Corbitt said the county is going to take a closer look at their growth plan to identify the best areas for subdivisions.

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“The master plan will allow us to design the community we want,” said Corbitt. “We want to stay in collaboration with our cities and our school board because we don’t want to over-stress them. We have lowered our millage rate over the last nine years. It is commercial and industrial, and multifamily helps with that in the sense that you get more value per acre. But where does that need to be located? Now that’s the challenge we are going through. We are looking at ordinances and land use to determine those areas.”

Develop alternative ways of commuting

Some community members want residents to ditch their vehicles when they need to make a short commute. Guyton Mayor Russ Deen said the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail that runs from Athens to Savannah was made possible by TSPLOST and will urge motorists to use that route when they can.

“We have always loved our trails,” said Deen. “Everyone compliments us on it. We need to encourage the things that make it great to live here in town. We want to connect municipalities and the county for an alternative for those who do stay in the county. We will encourage that in the next round of TSPLOST.”

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Although a larger city within the county, Mayor Ken Lee would like to see less motorists on the road in Rincon as well. Though many will need their cars for their day-to-day travels, Lee would like to see residents bike or walk to places a couple miles from their doorstep.

“We are looking for connectivity,” said Lee. “We want you to be able to bike or walk wherever you want to go, whether it be visiting your neighbors in the neighborhood, local businesses or your church. We are looking to become a walking community and make it convenient to do that. We need that for a lot of reasons.”

Traveling from Effingham County to Chatham County can take 50 minutes or longer, depending on your starting point. Herndon touched on the significance of the Effingham Parkway project, a two-lane roadway that will connect Highway 30 to Blue Jay Road.

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“Due to the fact that there is limited access to the other counties, this will have a significant impact and alleviate some of those traffic problems,” said Herndon. “It will run somewhat parallel to Highway 21 and it will take cars off Highway 21.”

It is on pace for its completion date in 2025.

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Effingham County GA leaders talk three important issues on growth