RINCON — Phil Kieffer is the incumbent in the Effingham County Board of Commissioners District 5 race. He is in his 12th year of service.

The Republican said he feels like he can never get ahead of all the things he wants to accomplish. He said what he enjoys most about the role is working with people to resolve issues.

Kieffer said that the county’s growth rate is the primary challenge the board is facing. Ironically, the county was in the throes of the Great Recession when he joined the board and it was clamoring for economic activity. Now the priority is managing new growth.

He acknowledged that the number of new warehouse operations is causing additional traffic on our roads but said, “Otherwise they’re not bad neighbors. They’re really not.”

Kieffer went on to say that there have been instances where he has not been in favor of some warehouse developments and there have been some variance requests that he couldn’t support because of reduced buffers and other concerns. 

He said, "I have been very keen on trying to protect the residents, particularly the ones that are adjacent and out from there. We’ve just got to be good neighbors to everyone and it’s our job as commissioners to try to blend the two.”

Kieffer said that, although it’s the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority’s job to bring growth into the county, a lot of the recent development has come by private individuals seeing an opportunity to sell land. He said much of the development the board sees is on property bought and developed at market value and new owners are paying taxes. He also said their impact on local services are lower than a residential home.

Kieffer acknowledged that the warehouse developments are more taxing for roads but that, “We’re looking at possibly special tax districts for those industries, to pay to help fund the transportation needs for that area.” 

He said commissioners are looking to see how much revenue that will produce. The money could be used to give taxpayers a break and possibly creating new greenspace.

Kieffer believes the Effingham Parkway will be a great transportation asset when it opens in 2024. He added that many traffic challenges lie outside the board’s jurisdiction but he said it work wells with the Georgia Department of Transportation and Chatham County. 

There are also renewed talks with the City of Rincon on moving ahead with an East-West Corridor to try to take more traffic off Ga. Hwy 21.

With additional warehouses slated for Rincon’s north side, the development of a new corridor could help drive some of that traffic to the parkway, Kieffer said.

Kieffer also said that with the passage of the TSPLOST bill many of the county’s other roads have been improved. 

“That’s been given right back to the residents,” he said.

Kieffer chalked up a dispute about Abercorn Creek between the board and City of Savannah as a matter of miscommunication. He said the plans call for the building to be 25 feet from the property line, which is 700 feet from the a water intake that serves 400,000 area residents. He said it was unfair to the property owner for Savannah to deny the rezoning based on a misunderstanding of the correct distance from the water source. He went on to say that they are in a better place now with Savannah and that, “We’re actually looking further down the road, which is what we should have been doing all along. I think the county and the City of Savannah were both at fault with communication.”

Kieffer proudly stands on his record over the last 12 years on property taxes, helping the citizens and on managing growth.

He said, “Had we fought (growth) and not managed it, we would not be in the position we’re in today. I think things would be much worse.” 

He said he feels that transportation will continue to be the county’s biggest issue in the near future. He said when the community sees the things being planned by the board come to fruition in the next couple, years it’s going to be great for the community.