The Liberty County Development Authority board voted Monday to approve a strategic economic development plan that has been in the works for months. The 5-year plan, developed by Boyette Strategic Advisors, gives the LCDA a carefully-tailored blueprint for strengthening the local workforce, drawing new industries to Liberty County, and diversifying the local economy.
LCDA Chairman Rep. Al Williams noted that the county is “at a crossroads,” and that the “LINK Liberty” report is a roadmap for building a more prosperous community.
Liberty County can expect a 15 percent population increase — nearly 10,000 people — over the next 5 years, according to the plan, which touts the county’s diverse population and “low cost of living.” and under-30 median age, “highly valued by industry.”
“With regard to the logistics industry in particular, we are interested in e-commerce and cold storage because they often employ more people and pay higher wages than other types of distribution operations,” CEO Brynn Grant wrote in an e-mail to The Current.
Challenges the LCDA and partners must take on, the report continues, include lower education levels and higher poverty, crime, and the county’s water and sewer infrastructure. As a result, higher-income earners tend to live in neighboring counties like Long and McIntosh.
Addressing those challenges, the report says, will require collaboration between various entities: elected and appointed boards, the school system, and other partners. It also calls for beautification and more workforce housing while “addressing challenges with local property taxes” that may discourage new businesses and residents.
That countywide call for collaboration targets 5 sectors that Boyette’s analysts say are best suited for Liberty County: automotive and electric vehicle suppliers, aerospace and aviation, Department of Defense suppliers to support Fort Stewart, cold storage and e-commerce, and foreign direct investment. It also calls for more retail and entertainment, as well as leveraging the county’s tourism, film and hospitality advantages.
A big piece of the plan involves collaboration between business, the public school system, and Savannah Technical College to ensure that students develop skills like precision machining, programming, and welding. Williams said that Grant and Liberty County School Board Chair Verdell Jones have been working together, and “there’s been nothing but cooperation between the two. I think we’re all going to move forward.”
Paper mill impact
The board also voted Monday for Grant to work closely with and “communicate the authority’s support for the mills” in Riceboro that International Paper bought when it acquired DS Smith PLC in January.
About 220 work at the paper mill itself, while another 80 people work in related lumber and timber operations. Grant shared an analysis from Georgia Power Economic Development that found the paper mill alone had a combined economic impact of $289,839,639 in 2023.
Whether under DS Smith or previous corporations, the mill, which has been online since 1968, and the LCDA have partnered for years on economic development projects. Key among those has been the mill’s “transfer to the Authority of one million gallons per day in water capacity needed for the successful development of Tradeport East and other parts of the interchange area.” Such partnerships, Grant said, “are essential to our county’s future prosperity.”
Grant told The Current the LCDA is looking at ways to help International Paper grow “as competitive as possible, as we expect the company to be evaluating the cost effectiveness of every site in its newly acquired portfolio.” Given the complex factors that go into any company’s decisions about location, she explained, “our ideal outcome would be for the company to decide to invest here and grow the operation. We want to help make that easy for them.”
Williams said the two most important things to happen in Liberty County were “Fort Stewart in 1941 and Interstate Paper in 1968. Those two things changed the life of Liberty Countians.” Before then, he said, the entire county was “completely rural,” as were parts of neighboring Long and McIntosh counties. Riceboro had a sawmill and turpentine operations, but the paper mill brought manufacturing for the first time. What’s more, he said, the mill serves the global market, not just Georgia or the United States.
“It was one of the few places you could draw a decent salary,” Williams recalled. “You know, minimum wage was like one dollar an hour, and they were paying twice that plus — $2.50, something like that. And for the times and everything, it was life-changing. Many people built homes and educated children, went on vacations, gave to their churches, because of Interstate Paper and the wages they paid and the benefits they had.”
Because the county’s water supply is limited, Grant and LCDA’s board members have zeroed in on attracting industries that are less water-intensive, and that’s why aerospace and cold storage are high on their wish list. “Like most economic development agencies, we are interested in attracting manufacturing with lower environmental impacts and lower water capacity demands in general,” Grant explained. While the LCDA will consider other sectors, given Liberty County’s prime location between the ports of Savannah and Brunswick, “Boyette’s research and experience and the advantages of our region indicate that aerospace/aviation and automotive suppliers have a great potential for success here.”
McKay tasked with new partnerships
The LCDA also has appointed logistics expert Malissa MacKay as its new vice president of business development. MacKay, who starts June 9, comes to Liberty County from the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Georgia Center of Innovation and serves on several major boards, including the World Trade Center Savannah, Startup Savannah, and the Association of Supply Chain Management’s Savannah Chapter. She will be responsible for finding business leads that align with the 5-year strategic plan.
On the Georgia Center for Innovation’s logistics team, McKay served as senior industry engagement manager. She has analyzed and managed both projects and data about freight rates and various industries. She also has built relationships between Georgia companies and the larger logistics community through the annual Georgia Logistics Summit. Research presented at the summit last month shows Georgia has outpaced the nation by 16% in new transportation and logistics jobs between 2010 and 2013.
MacKay said she is “honored” to join the LCDA.
“Liberty County has a compelling story and incredible potential,” she said in a press release. “I’m excited to help shape its future by attracting investment, supporting our existing industries, and building on the region’s strong logistics advantage.”
MacKay holds a Master of Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, is APICS certified in Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM), and earned her undergraduate degree in film at Georgia State University.
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