Writer: Gordon Jackson
Published June 22, 2023
The Brunswick News
The Glynn County Commission and county staff learned artwork isn’t their strong suit.
Luckily, they had the opportunity to explain their drawings during a daylong strategic planning session Wednesday to map their vision for the next decade for Glynn County.
David Tanner, associate director of State Services and Decision Support for the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, helped moderate the meeting.
Participants were broken up into small groups at the start of the meeting with a county commissioner and several staff members at each easel where they used markers to draw their vision.
Commissioner Allen Booker’s group drew the sun shining on a community waterfront with boardwalks, green spaces, playgrounds, businesses and a mix of affordable living places.
Commission Chairman Wayne Neal’s group drew a picture of the airports and ports and envisioned an award for the county’s quality of life.
“We are looking for positive growth in Glynn County,” he said.
Commissioner Sammy Tostensen’s group drew a picture depicting reasons people want to come to the Golden Isles, including the airports, beaches, railroads, interstate and golf.
“People want to come to the coast,” he said. “They want to come where we are. We have all the key elements.”
Commissioner Cap Fendig said his group identified the beaches, and Jekyll, St. Simons and Tybee islands as reasons people want to visit and live here.
He said Glynn County is lucky to have the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport with a runway length of “unbelievable size for the size of community we have.”
Fendig said St. Simons Island “got overrun” because of lack of planning. He predicted housing will come to the county and the area near Interstate 95 will continue to grow. Proper zoning is needed to prevent potential problems.
Commissioner Bo Clark’s group focused on Brunswick’s downtown waterfront, which he predicted could be a national model with proper planning.
“We want more people walking the waterfront in Brunswick than in Savannah,” Clark said.
Commissioner David Sweat said his group’s drawing focused on school safety, greater use of the county’s industrial parks and the use of technology to help recognize violent crime.
His group suggested an east/west connector road in the county, more growth at the airport, traffic improvements, additional housing and improvements near all four of the county’s I-95 exits.
Commissioner Walter Rafolski was unable to attend the daylong retreat.
County Manager Bill Fallon said he wanted commissioners and staff to establish goals during their discussions.
“This strategic plan is your strategic plan,” he said.
Malik Watkins, a public service associate with the Carl Vinson Institute, told participants that strategic planning looks at the major issues, and the goal is not trying to deal with every issue that exists.
“If the commission isn’t going to focus on policy, who is going to do it?” he asked. “Policy provides guidance how we make decisions.”
Watkins said commissioners should focus on policy and the daily operations should be Fallon’s job.
He said commissioners should consider the source of their information and consider who their competitors are — other local governments.
“There is competition for employees, resources,” he said. “Every department needs goals and objectives.”
Tanner said the best future is “the one you create.”
“What will Glynn County look like 10 years from now?” he said.
Participants were broken into groups again to come up with key words that could be incorporated into a mission statement. Words including protect, serve, safe, respect, positivity, efficient, fostering, stewardship, sustainable and exceptional were among the suggestions.
Tostensen said integrity and honesty are important and to “do the right thing when no one is watching.”
The vision for the county is it is “a welcoming, vibrant and safe community that fosters a high quality of life for all.”
Tanner told the audience they need to determine priorities since they cannot accomplish everything.
Sweat said the county needs to brand its identity and share what it can offer.
County Finance Manager Tamara Munson said county officials need to think about customer service, as well as ordinances and policies to support development and safety.
Customer service, public safety and community development were identified as key areas to be addressed.
Fallon said there are improvements in customer service with a perspective of “can do.” Public safety and crime reduction are other priorities, he said.
Booker said more has to be done to facilitate affordable housing, as well as using recreational assets more creatively.
Neal said it’s difficult to entice people to move here for jobs if they can’t afford housing. He questioned what role local governments should have in affordable housing.
Booker said there is money available to help. Neal added that it’s difficult to plan for the next decade when the next group of newly elected county commissioners could have a different vision for the county.
Later in the meeting, other stakeholders, including business leaders and officials from Brunswick, Jekyll Island and the school system, attended for a question and answer session. Concerns were expressed about crime in Brunswick, especially in close proximity to schools.
The next step is for Carl Vinson officials to consolidate the information from the meeting and return it to commissioners for consideration.
Fallon said there are plans to hold more meetings to discuss the strategic plan.
