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MAY 2019 Pinnacle Georgia Mountains Regional Commission
Cover Photo: Carnes Cascade, Dick’s Creek Gap
In This Issue: From Our Execu ve Director
Pg. 2
Planning
Pg. 3
Economic Development
Pg. 3
GIS Services
Pg. 3
Historical Preserva on
Pg. 4
WorkSource:
Adult/Dislocated Worker
Pg. 5
Youth
Pg. 5
Business Services
Pg. 6
Georgia Mountain Coaster
Pg. 7
Save the Date:
Calendar of Upcoming
Mee ngs and Trainings
Pg. 7
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Executive Director’s Report
Thank you to all who joined us for our Annual Legisla ve Apprecia on dinner on May 30th. It was a great night of fellowship and dialogue with our Region 2 legislators. A huge thank you to Dawson County and the Dawson County Board of Educa on for hos ng the mee ng. I appreciate the hard work each of our federal and state legislators do for the Georgia Mountains Region and for the State of Georgia.
Daniel Mar n, Patrick Larson, Gina Kessler, and I recently a ended the Georgia Associa on of Regional Commissions (GARC) – Economic Development Conference. We had many great speakers and topics including Broadband and related grant opportuni es, Georgia Film Academy, updates from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Agri‐business in Georgia, and we were pleased to have both GMA and ACCG in a endance with us as well. Congratula ons to Daniel who was also selected by his colleagues to serve as the Economic Development Staff Chair for the GARC Economic Development Commi ee!
SAVE THE DATE: The Youth Division of WorkSource Georgia Mountains is holding its third Annual Youth Conference on Friday, June 7th at the Ramsey Conference Center at Lanier Technical College. Please contact Jessica Williams, Youth Pro‐gram Supervisor for more informa on at [email protected]
Faith Bryan has been busy working with our communi es on registering them for the New Construc on Program of the U.S. Census Bureau. Census Day 2020 is rapidly approaching; please contact Faith for more guidance.
Adam Hazell recently assisted the City of Clayton and the City of Cornelia in submi ng PlanFirst applica ons to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
I would like to welcome Mr. Jason Norsworthy (pictured, right) as our newest GMRC employee. Jason will be serving as one of our Mobile Training Unit/Career Coach drivers and instructors. We are excited to have Jason on board!
Save the Date: The next City and County Managers mee ng is scheduled for Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at 10:00am in Stephens County at the Currahee Campus of North Georgia Technical College.
Sincerely,
Heather Feldman Execu ve Director
Heather Feldman, Execu ve Director
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Banks County recently unveiled an Economic Development Blueprint Plan that outlines how growth should be planned for in the County. The vision statement created by the blueprint team includes the following: “Banks County will be the best of both worlds. We will be a place to locate modern commerce and a place to celebrate rural heritage. We will be home to industries that can u lize our strategic loca on, engage our labor force, conserve our natural resources and con‐tribute a high quality of life in Banks County.” This plan was funded in part with a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
The Georgia Associa on of Regional Commissions (GARC) recently held their Economic Development Spring Conference at Lake Lanier Islands. The event included sessions on Agribusiness, Broadband, Disaster Recovery and the Georgia Film Industry. Jeffrey Stepakoff, Execu ve Director of the Georgia Film Academy (pictured, right) gave an overview of the impact of the Film Academy.
Economic Development
Planning
Both Hall County and the City of Gainesville have submi ed the annual updates to their Capital Improvement Elements (CIE). These updates are required annually for communi es using revenues from impact fee to aid with specific public facility and infrastructure projects. The City of Gillsville had their comprehensive plan approved by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The Ci es of Clayton and Cornelia submi ed applica ons for DCA’s PlanFirst designa on. Work has begun on the joint comprehensive plan updates for both Rabun County and Franklin County, each done in conjunc on with their respec ve municipali es.
GIS Services
As of May 10th, the acquisi on for the USGS 3DEP LiDAR project is complete. The pilot les have been chosen in an area located within Coastal Regional Commission and are due to be delivered on July 30th.
Faith Bryan is a member of the Georgia Associa on of Regional Commissions (GARC) Addressing Com‐mi ee. Currently we are discussing NextGEN 911 and the many GIS layers, including addresses, that are need‐ed to fulfill the requirements of the system. GMRC will be surveying our member governments regarding NextGEN 911 and their implementa on efforts.
GMRC staff a ended the first Northeast Georgia URISA Chapter mee ng held in Athens. This chapter is coordi‐nated by Joseph D’Angelo, GIO, Athens‐Clarke County Unified Government. Mee ngs will be held quarterly.
The deadline to register for the Census Bureau’s New Construc on Program in June 14th. GMRC can provide assistance, no charge, to our local governments upon re‐quest. Please contact Faith Bryan or Brandon Carlock for addi onal informa on or to register.
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Historical Preservation
Historic Preserva on Commi ee of White County
The newly formed Historic Preserva on Commi ee of White County, led by Com‐
mi ee Chair Will Wagner of Hardman Farm, would like to invite you to an open
house mee ng to be held at the Hardman Farm Visitor Center on Thursday, June
13th at 6PM. The Visitor Center, also known as the Brick Store, is located at 143
Highway 17, Sautee Nacoochee. The gates at the lower gravel lot, directly adja‐
cent to the building, will be open for this mee ng.
We would like to take this opportunity to hear from the ci zens of White County
and more specifically those who have businesses, proper es or a vested interest in the Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys. We
are hoping to have a strong local representa on with the desire to protect our unique region and be involved in the prelimi‐
nary stages of the new commi ee’s mission.
Please bring any significant photos you would like to share and any concepts that you may have regarding the historical
resources of the district. Our goal is to find a way to protect the natural and cultural resources while encouraging business
growth and real estate value.
Contact Will Wagner: [email protected]. for ques ons related to the event and commi ee’s mission.
...through
Georgia Academy of
Economic Development
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WorkSource Adult/Dislocated Worker
HIGHLIGHTS: The Career Coach assisted with the overview session while in Lumpkin County.
Resume Workshops were conducted for ten students of Habersham County and six students of Rabun County Mountain Educa on Charter High School.
Five individuals were assisted with various requests while the unit was located at The Place of Forsyth.
Eight people took advantage of the resources on the board the Career Coach while located at the Stephens County Library.
Nine people received informa on about WIOA while the Career Coach was parked at the Good Samaritan Food Bank in Hall County.
Three people registered for VOS while on board the Career Coach.
NOTE: The unit was originally scheduled to assist with a resume workshop for students at Banks County High School, but was unable to make the event because of mechanical issues. The event was moved indoors to a computer lab at the high school, where 70 students received resume assistance and informa on about WIOA services. (The 70 students are NOT reflected in the monthly numbers)
Youth
The Summer Youth Conference is coming up on June 7th at Lanier Technical College.
Youth Services Staff par cipated in five College and Career Fairs.
Youth Services Staff presented three work skills related workshops in Hall, Lumpkin, and White Coun es.
There were fi een par cipants that completed their GED.
Seven par cipants received their High School Diploma and completed the Project Search Program. Three of those par cipants were hired by Northeast Georgia Medical Ins tute.
Ten par cipants completed their college programs.
Career Coach Monthly Totals for April
Category of Responses Month Total
Year Total
Total Job Searches 35 212
Total Job App 4 32
Total Resumes 33 263
Total Interviews 0 0
Total Interest Survey 1 10
Total Training Sessions 1 4
Total Testing 0 0
Total Typing Assessments 0 0
WIOA Info 42 309
Public Relations 3 17
Responses Per County
Banks— 1
Dawson— 0
Forsyth— 13
Franklin— 3
Habersham— 20
Hall— 27
Hart— 6 Lumpkin— 2 Rabun— 0
Stephens— 21 Towns— 4 Union— 13
White— 6
Other— 3
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WorkSource Business Services
Georgia Mountains Workforce Development (GMWD) recently a ended Rapid Response mee ngs at Tenneco. Tenneco is located in Hart County. There were two long sessions that lasted most of the business day. There were approximately 64 employees in a endance. GMWD is now working on conduc ng an Employ Georgia registra on and resume wri ng workshop for the soon to be dislocated workers at Tenneco as well as a WIOA Overview and registra on workshop.
WorkSource: Helping Local Businesses
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UPCOMING GMRC COUNCIL MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS
Jun. 27, 2019 City of Cumming ‐ Michelle Daniels, Cumming‐Forsyth CoC
July 25, 2019* Rabun County ‐ Ma Arthur, TCSG Commissioner
Aug. 29, 2019 City of Gainesville ‐ Tyler Reinagel, DCA
Sept. 26, 2019 White County
Oct. 24, 2019* Lumpkin Co./City of Dahlonega
Nov. 14, 2019 City of Dawsonville ‐ GMRC Audit / Rushton & Co.
Dec. 6, 2019 GMRC Annual Mee ng / Awards Dinner ‐ Dillard House
GMRC Council Mee ngs begin at 6:00 PM; Execu ve Commi ee meets prior at 5:30 PM. *WD Board Mee ng at 4:00 PM
Georgia’s Only Mountain Coaster is Now Open!
8409 S Main Street • Helen, GA 30545 www.georgiamountaincoaster.com