Georgia County Government - January 2009 - (Page 15)

Downtown Statesboro is picturesque and teeming with successful commerce. BULLOCH COUNTY continued from page 13 this balance and be good stewards of our community’s natural resources. As big as Bulloch County is geographically, we must make sure that we manage growth and physical development responsibly,” Nevil adds. Incoming President of Association County Commissioners of Georgia and Bulloch County Commissioner Jan Tankersley, entering her third term in office, expresses officials’ belief that a lot depends on the economy, the building industry, and overall economic vitality. “For now we have a truly high quality, rural way of life that presents a contrast to more crowded areas nearer to Savannah. This will remain an advantage for the foreseeable future.” assert. Couch elaborates, “Just as West Chatham and the city of Pooler have expanded into North Bryan, over time, Bulloch too will see the same growth.” This conviction underpins the county’s “future” orientation, and all claim much depends on Bulloch’s multi-tiered strategic planning process. Chairman Nevil, Tankersley, and the entire Bulloch County BOC emphasize the importance of strategic planning, which may account for their having hired a former planning professional as county manager in Couch. With a background Importance of Planning All officials concede, though, that the longer term growth outlook presents a challenging picture. In the next 10 to 20 years, North Bryan and South Effi ngham will get the brunt of the coastal region’s new residential growth which will accelerate into the southeast portion of Bulloch County, Tankersley and Nevil Bulloch County’s expansive land area cements its place as a leader in Georgia agribusiness, even as Statesboro and south Bulloch County evolve into a metropolitan area. as a manager (Coffee County) and as a zoning administrator and planning professional for the former Heart of Georgia Regional Development Center, Couch agrees and supports the commission in their vision of the progress planning can enable. “My planning experience taught me how to frame a good plan, and management experience taught me how to make a plan work,” Couch says. “I would put our local growth management system and emphasis on planning against any other community in the state” states Couch. “Commissioners have worked hard to integrate long-term planning initiatives with innovative planning concepts and development guidelines.” Couch adds that the county’s development review process is more expensive and demanding for developers than in most metro communities. “However, this results in higher quality development, and lower future costs for existing taxpayers.” The county planning staff reviews, in depth, any proposed development applications for fiscal, environmental and traffic impacts, and is now preparing to perform BULLOCH COUNTY continued on page 17 JANUARY 2009 www.accg.org 15 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - January 2009

Georgia County Government - January 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters Forward-Thinking Bulloch County Leaders Put Progress on the Front Burner Robert Farris: Champion for Georgia’s Forests ACCG, BCBS of Georgia Work Together to Improve County Employee Health Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: McIntosh County Extension News: Cooperative Extension Generates ROI Research Corner: How Does Your County Rate? County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - January 2009

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