Gilmer County has virtually everything it needs to be the envy of North Georgia. Who else has our unique combination of elements? Let’s pause for a moment and take stock. First, we have a solid agricultural foundation which has developed and endured through several generations since before the founding of our county in 1832. Agriculture contributes to our community in numerous ways these days. We have had a solid base in poultry, livestock, and apple production for decades, and now those important sectors are being further bolstered by a grassroots agri-tourism movement that includes vineyards, apple houses, and organic farm stores. In addition to agricultural production, we also have a significant facility dedicated to poultry processing (which I understand has been here since the 1960’s). Timber harvesting and processing is also well established here in Gilmer County.
Alongside our agricultural community, we have a large and growing outdoor recreation segment that includes hunting, fishing, water sports, mountain biking and hiking. Gilmer is located at the heart of the Chattahoochee national forest, and is within a short drive of an incredible array of outdoor adventure opportunities that range from mild to wild. The Appalachian Trail, the most recognized footpath on the planet, begins here in our county. We have miles of mountain streams for the trout fisherman and Carters Lake for fishing of a different flavor.
There is also a good foundation of small-scale, environmentally friendly manufacturing in place. Ranging from electronic components and automobile parts to timber products, our manufacturing sector has a good base, and plenty of opportunity for expansion. We have a large inventory of short term rental properties to serve the tourists who frequent our area. As the economy continues its slow recovery, the real estate and construction segments are showing signs of renewal as well. We are on major transportation arteries which provide easy access to our community. The 515 corridor connects us to the largest city in the southeast, complete with the busiest airport in the world. We have a terrific bandwidth infrastructure to supply the needs of any data or communication intensive enterprise. We have good primary and secondary educational facilities as well as medical facilities to deal with most health issues that might arise.
With all these positive elements in place, you would think we would be riding high in the saddle. The reality, however, is that we seem to be stuck in a ditch, spinning our wheels. I feel the one critical element that will help us move forward is leadership that works to unite our community behind a shared vision of who we want to become. There is an element of our community that does not want to grow, that feels new development and investment are not needed or welcome. To those who hold that view, I would suggest three areas that point out the need to stimulate economic investment and development in our community. First, the percentage of our population in Gilmer County that is at or below the poverty level is just over 20% according to US Census data. This has put a tremendous strain on our local medical facility, which dispenses far too much indigent care to make it possible to seriously consider additional investment here in Gilmer. Second, the lions share of our students end up having to leave our community to find employment opportunities that will allow them to get a good start in life. We are spending about 3 out of 4 dollars in taxes collected locally to educate our youth, which in turn must leave our community when it comes time to start their careers. Third, we have over $50 million dollars in long term debt to cover the courthouse, library, fire stations, and other projects. This translates into around $1,900 debt for each man, woman, and child in our community. These three realities make it imperative that we both attract additional business investment and shore up existing businesses to insure they continue to thrive. In short, we must grow our local economy to provide employment and to help spread our debt load out to a more manageable level.
To this end, the Catalyst Group has been at work for the past year exploring ways to move towards a more prosperous future for our community. I have had the privilege of being the leader and spokesperson for this initiative which joined the public and private sectors together to work towards a shared vision for the future. Last spring, representatives from the county, both municipalities, the public utilities sat down with representatives from the major segments of the private sector to seek to better our community. Several themes came out of the initial meetings, but two of the most prominent were the need to work together, and the need to attract business investment to provide employment for our citizens. A team was formed to explore the issues further with the result being the unveiling of the Catalyst Plan for Economic Development on February 28th of this year. The plan is moving forward, with representatives from the county, both municipalities, the DDA, the EDA, the Water Authority, the Gilmer Chamber, and the Greater Gilmer Foundation scheduled to meet for the first time on April 16th.
Details of the plan are available separately, but suffice it to say it is an intentional effort to promote our community to potential business investors through hiring an Economic Development professional to represent the community. The funding and governance for this endeavor would come through a collaborative effort of the public and private sector entities mentioned above. They would jointly plan and fund the effort to present one comprehensive marketing effort to the world.
At the heart of any valid investment strategy is the concept of diversification. The approach calls for funds to be spread around across several varied market segments to provide a more stable investment base. The idea is that as one segment falters, it is likely that other will be prospering. That is exactly the approach I would like to see here in Gilmer. While we do not have an extensive water/sewer infrastructure in terms of geographic coverage, there are many businesses that do not have heavy water/sewer needs. Who is to say that the next Bill Gates is not looking for a quiet community near a major airport to locate his emerging business? Why couldn’t Gilmer host something like that?
I look forward to seeing the Catalyst Group’s plan fully implemented so we can proactively market our community to the upcoming Bill Gates of the world. I believe that intentional, cooperative efforts like this are our best hope to recognize a brighter tomorrow.