09/29/2014
The following is a column written by PCED's Executive Director Jamie Gilbert that appeared in the Summer 2014 edition of the Paulding Post a publication of Paulding County Government.
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SEWER IS KEY TO KEEPING AND GROWING PAULDING BUSINESSES
Companies consider many factors when seeking to locate or expand their operations at a particular location. While workforce is often the most important, infrastructure ranks a close second.
Infrastructure includes roads, water, sewer, electric, natural gas, and fiber optics. Paulding County has grown significantly since 2000 and, as a result, a great deal of new infrastructure has been constructed over the last 14 years. Yet we still have some critical needs that must be addressed if Paulding is to realize its full economic potential. Chief among them is the extension of sewer.
Infrastructure projects have been a priority in Paulding County for the past decade. Our roads have improved year to year with projects such as the construction and extension of Bill Carruth Parkway, public water is readily available at most industrial locations throughout the county, and our fiber optics received a major boost with completion of the state-of-the-art Appalachian Valley Fiber Network two years ago; however, the availability of public sewer, particularly for industry, remains an issue.
Paulding’s concentration of industry can be found in the Hiram area with companies such as Metromont, Peachtree Protective Covers, MGI, Dallas Millwork, Interroll, Envelope Superstore, Creative Metalfcraft, and Ronchi; however, only two of these businesses are on public sewer. The others rely on septic systems that become increasingly problematic as these firms seek to grow their operations.
The usefulness of septic systems for industrial operations is limited by both capacity and regulations. They restrict the ability of a company to expand its operations beyond a certain point without the system failing. Environmental regulations prevent additional or larger septic tanks from being installed in many cases. When septic becomes inadequate for businesses’ domestic and/or industrial waste needs they must find a way to connect to public sewer or move to another location. The challenge for many of Hiram’s industrial companies not served by sewer is the distance sewer must be extended, as well as multiple properties the lines must cross before reaching their facilities.
Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) is currently working with several industrial companies in the Hiram area that are seeking to expand and are facing this situation. With sewer, these companies will expand their operations, invest in the facilities, and create new jobs. Combined, the businesses have 167 employees; however, with sewer they will invest millions of dollars in their current location and create an additional 64 jobs, bringing total employment to 234. If sewer cannot be provided, the companies will be forced to relocate to a new location which may or may not be in Hiram or even Paulding County. However, PCED has developed a plan that will provide the sewer service that is essential to them growing at their current locations.
The two-phase plan calls for the construction of two sewer lines. The construction will be paid for through a combination of federal and local grants, as well as those companies needing the sewer. The application, grant-awarding, and construction process will take a year. When construction is complete, sewer will be available to more than 25 businesses in the Sunnyland Industrial Park and Rosedale Drive/Bill Carruth Parkway areas. This is a critical first step in addressing the infrastructure needs of Paulding’s largest industrial area.
