By Barbara Augsdorfer, Editor for the Effingham Herald

Leaders and community members from Guyton, Rincon, and Springfield met with representatives of various local groups at the annual “State of the County” breakfast hosted by the Effingham Chamber of Commerce on May 2 at the Guyton Gym. Oglethorpe Power was a presenting sponsor along with the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority.

The event was designed as a panel discussion with questions, answers and dialogue among the leaders. Panelists included representatives from Effingham County Schools, Georgia Transportation Board, Industrial Development Authority (IDA), Effingham County, mayors from the three municipalities, and Effingham Health System.

Among the attendees were representatives from the Effingham County NAACP, Live Oak Public Library, and Rep. Buddy Carter, among others.

The county’s growth and its impact on roads, transportation, schools, and hospitals were the main topics of discussion among the panelists.

Effingham County Commission Chairman Wesley Corbitt spoke first about how the county and the city’s mayors now communicate regularly – unlike just a few of years ago when, “the county and cities were all in the papers fighting with each other and getting attorneys involved.” He added that he’s in regular communication with all the county’s mayors on just about every aspect of growth that is coming.

The panel agreed that Effingham County was going to grow even if the Hyundai and Sewon plants did not agree to build in the county. The reason being Effingham’s proximity to the port of Savannah.

Keeping up with the communication theme, Guyton Mayor Russ Deen said, “The reality of this growth is not whether you like it or not. The reality of being a county next to Savannah, Georgia with one of the biggest ports in the world, is that we were going to see this growth whether Hyundai came on board or not, but it might not have happened as quickly.”

As for people who have become vocal against the growth because it’s impacting traffic or other parts of their lives, Deen urged those people to attend meetings and share their ideas.

“If you're a realtor, if you're a business owner, if you're a citizen, if you're an educator, if you're involved in your community, (attend) one of those meetings once a month, and have your voice heard,” Deen said.

In discussing growth, the panel explained that the growth is not going to happen overnight and will take time. That’s why the cities and counties have been meeting together to create master plans that go out five, ten or more years.

Regarding the county’s healthcare needs, La Meisha Hunter Kelly, executive director for strategic business development with Effingham Health System, described the increase in patient traffic to the emergency room just last year.

“Our hospital saw 22,000 visits in the ER last year. We look at the growth trends and in terms of what internally we call a fast track for our ER, how can we get you through our ER quicker and more efficiently?” Kelly said. “Our plan is to continue to add more (medical) providers to different offices so that we can give you appointments quicker.” She added the hospital will open a new pediatric center on Hwy. 21 on May 8.

Water and sewer service was also discussed. The county and the cities each have their own systems, and the possibility of forming a “Water and Sewer Authority” was mentioned, but the pros and cons of such a system would seem to create more problems than it would solve.

Rincon Mayor Ken Lee recalled that the issue was discussed about 20 years ago.

“How do you allocate and distribute in a fair manner that was going to give everybody an opportunity to be an equal participant in the system,” Lee said, “And so we talked through that and it just really wasn't going to happen. But one thing it did is that you know, sometimes we're forced into action by challenge. And I think after we talked about the water sewer authority, and we all kind of agreed that there really wasn't a reasonable option.”

In describing roads and transportation, several issues were discussed. Among them was recently passed federal legislation that allows truck weights to increase by 10%. Mayor Deen conceded that increased weight puts extra burden on roads, but, “If you can increase the truck weight by 10%, that's going to equate to less trucks on the road. We've got a major driver shortage right now. For an area that relies on logistics and infrastructures, we are moving as much out of the Savannah as into Savannah. So I think that's something that's worth looking into and considering both sides.”

Funding is another issue.

The panel discussed Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds – specifically TSPLOST, which earmarks monies for roads and infrastructure. The local mayors agreed that TSPLOST funding that is used to build roads and also proactively pave roads that haven’t been touched for many years, frees up other city funds to use on parks, sidewalks, and bike trails.

Effingham County Schools Superintendent Yancy Ford added that ESPLOST funding recently built Rincon Elementary School.

“That's a $21 million facility and we paid for it in five years,” Ford said. “And we did that through the one penny sales tax. We did not have to tap into any property tax money.” He added that the inclusive playgrounds being installed at the elementary schools was also paid for with ESPLOST funds.

Ford also asserted that the schools are “not overcrowded” and the district, along with the school board, has been proactive in using ESPLOST funding to construct new classroom wings to several schools in anticipation of the district’s growth; and property on Blue Jay Road is being prepared for construction of a new school.

“We got to make sure we don't build the schools too fast so that they're vacant. You (might) have a school that could have 1,200 students but we only have 500 students in that school. You want to be real careful with that,” Ford cautioned. Another use of ESPLOST funding the district has almost completed are two daycare facilities for children of district employees that will open next January.

The City of Guyton hosted the event and breakfast was catered by Southern Kafe on 17.