Columbia County Economic Development Authority Chair Rick Evans updated members on the Authority’s search for an executive director at its Oct. 26 meeting.
The authority has begun conferring with Tim Chason of Cartersville, Ga.-based executive recruitment firm The Chason Group, to find a replacement for former director Robbie Bennett, who left the Authority in April to accept a role as CEO of SRS Community Reuse Organization in Aiken.
The consultation with Chason will cost the Authority some $24,000 overall, and Evans encouraged board members to provide names of viable, interested candidates.
The Economic Development Authority has more than $5 million of its $15 million in total assets going toward Phase II of the construction of White Oak Business Park, Evans noted at the in Wednesday morning.
The board also acknowledged Club Car’s Oct. 14 announcement of its 105,000-square foot expansion to White Oak. Office manager Anita Patel even observed that news of the expansion received considerable response in Atlanta, where she attended a meeting the following Monday.
“A local contractor doing the work, we have a local business that’s expanding, and they decided to expand in their home county…which is all good,” said Evans. “And there again, we’re being selective in who we want to come into the park, and we want to be good neighbors with everyone in that community.”
Patel also noted that Augusta Technical College invited members of the board to two events: a soft launch event for its automotive training center, and the unveiling of the college’s small business incubation center in downtown Augusta.
The Market, an open air gathering and event venue that has been in the works since at least fall of 2021, is further underway. Patel and the board noted that construction of the SPLOST-funded space in Evans Plaza is estimated to be complete by next spring.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
