Georgia County Government - March 2008 - (Page 15)

ty Plans Ahead ation, Progress Chairman Jimmy Burnsed, now beginning his fourth year as chairman (elected at large) is a former city official, native of Pembroke, and served as mayor of Garden City in the 1980s. He is also a principle and CEO of Bryan County Bank and Trust. According to County Administrator Phil Jones, he is a “true facilitator, a consensus builder who has worked hard to make the county the success that it is.” On the six-person Board of Commissioners, the chairman is a non-voting member who does vote, however, to end a tie. Backing up Burnsed are Ed Bacon, 1st District commissioner serving North Bryan County, a retired Department of the Army civilian employee; Blondean Newman, 2nd District commissioner also serving North Bryan, a retired Bryan County tax commissioner; Glen Willard, 3rd District commissioner serving South Bryan, an independent businessman with interests including Savannah Aviation; Toby Roberts, 4th District commissioner, serving South Bryan, a major truck service center proprietor; and Rick Gardner, 5th District commissioner serving South Bryan, a retired military pilot, now an aviation consultant and contractor. Dedicated department heads long in their positions back up the Board of Commissioners, including County Administrator Phil Jones, who has been with Bryan County since May 1991 in various capacities, beginning as a solid waste director. He first served as administrator from 1997 to 1999, and then returned in 2003. Jones is a lifelong resident of Bryan County and former U.S. Army colonel and pilot of 25 years. County Clerk Donna Waters, in her position since 1997, has been with the county since 1979. Waters also holds the clerks’ advanced education management development program certification and other certifications offered by the Association County Clerks of Georgia. Other department heads include Recreation Director Pratt Lockwood; Public Works Director Derrell Newman; 911 Director Kathy Hicks; Engineering and Inspections Director Neil Smiley; Planning and Zoning Director Dale Dudley; EMS Director Jim Anderson; Tax Commissioner Debbie Newman; EMS Coordinator Susan Clark; Chief Appraiser Dan Rollf; and Personnel and Payroll clerk Cynthia Sims. Sheriff is Clyde Smith, and the director of the Development Authority is Jean Bacon. Family Connection Director is Tara Jennings. entire middle third of the county’s square mileage, effectively forming a land barrier between Pembroke to the north and Richmond Hill to the south. “Ours is the only county in the nation whose mid-section is fully occupied by a U.S. Army installation,” Burnsed points out. As in neighboring Liberty County, Fort Stewart benefits the economy of Bryan County by providing jobs for civilians, military families living here, and the county’s collaboration with Fort Stewart on a joint land-use study. Though they are glad to have this major military installation nearby and commanding officers enjoy living in Bryan, Fort Stewart primarily just occupies land. With its polarized community layout, Bryan County is also fairly unique in that the facilities provided by the county and the county school board are routinely “duplicated” on both ends – in Pembroke to the north and in Richmond Hill to the south, there are nearly identical educational facilities (which are known regionally for their excellence). The county is also in a position, similar to that found in Houston County, with two major urban communities, of having to locate county administrative facilities accessible to both. “Plans now call for us to build an administration building in Richmond Hill to serve residents there,” Burnsed asserts. The planned 26,000-squarefoot building will cost some $4.3 million and include space for tax offices, administrative offices, meeting rooms and courts. Officials will break ground on it this summer. Community Character “We’re a bedroom community in many ways for Chatham County and Savannah,” concedes Chairman Burnsed. “But we’re also a community with our own distinct identity, and we’re seeing substantial growth on both ends of the county.” Burnsed emphasizes the unique orientation of the county, having its primary communities on the north and south “ends” while the largest U.S. Army installation east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart, founded in 1938, occupies the Dedicated to Planning Bryan County’s, and the whole coastal region’s, growth continues to step up. According to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the lead agency in development of the state’s Comprehensive Coastal Plan, the region’s population has grown exponentially at a rate of 34 percent from 1980 to 2000. Incoming residents transformed formerly rural counties, which achieved growth rates that were quite astonishing – Bryan County’s population of 10,175 residents in 1980 climbed to 23,417 by 2000, a boost of 130 percent. Because some coastal counties grew even more, and others quite a bit less, the growth here is erratic, by county. Bryan County lies proximal to slowergrowing, but most populous, Chatham County and the city of Savannah. Less than an hour away is Glynn County and the city of Brunswick, second among counties in coastal population. DCA interprets the erratic growth by county to mean that sprawl is afoot in the region, as areas that are less expensive, or that offer more space, attract the most growth – especially residential and commercial growth. This type of development presents serious challenges for the fragile coastal environment BRYAN COUNTY continued on page 16 MARCH MARCH 2008 www.accg.org MARCH 2008 www ccg.org ww.accg.org 15 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - March 2008

Georgia County Government - March 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters Guest Editorial: Our Future Depends On Statesmanship Bryan County in Step With State Coastal Plan Solid Waste Management in Georgia Hazardous Waste Management in Georgia Extension News: Georgians Growing Older, Fatter County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - March 2008

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