Jones County PLAN held its 12th annual retreat this weekend, and the group as well as its scope continues to grow.

The theme of this year’s retreat was ‘big ideas’, which not only encompassed the topics tackled in group sessions but also a look at the structure and future of the grassroots organization itself.

Billy Parrish, director of the office of Downtown Development of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, led the team of professional facilitators who assisted with the program.

Parrish was accompanied by David Shellhorse, DCA economic development finance representative; Candice Scott, Georgia Department of Economic Development; Phil Clark, senior planner with the Middle Georgia Regional Development Center; Malisa Thompson, DCA community initiatives coordinator; and Cherie Bennett with DCA’s office of Planning and Quality Growth.

Sixty Jones Countians made the trip to Little Ocmulgee State Park at McRae, many during the torrential rains of April 2, to attend the retreat. The attendees included more than a dozen first-timers, including members of Jones County’s 2009 Leadership Class, Jones County’s newest commissioner, Tommy Robinson, and the City of Gray’s mayor pro tem, Lorretta Lipsey.

Jones County Commission Chairman Preston Hawkins was the only elected official to attend the full event from Thursday evening through Saturday morning.

After reports from PLAN’s four standing committees Saturday, the group agreed to make a presentation to the full boards of the Jones County commissioners, Gray City Council, Jones County Board of Education, the Development Authority of Jones County, and the Gray Downtown Development Authority.

A date for the presentation is April 28 at the Tri-County EMC community center at 5 p.m.

The first meeting for the retreat was that of PLAN’s steering committee Thursday afternoon. Committee members worked on a draft of bylaws, which is a first for the organization. The purpose of the bylaws is to add some necessary structure to the group without taking away from its all-inclusive makeup.

Sheriff Butch Reece and his colleagues once again prepared a mouth-watering meal for PLAN members Thursday night of ribs, chicken, potato salad, and strawberry shortcake.

Reece’s secret sauce is a sought-after commodity and a patent is rumored.

Meetings begin

Bruce Green of the Georgia Department of Economic Development was Friday’s kickoff speaker. He began by talking about vision and how to make a difference.

“We have to sit down and decide who we are and who we want to be,” he said. “Sometimes we are so busy in our day-to-day lives, we don’t take the time to work together.”

Green said city and county codes need to include the vision of their future, and without that clear direction, the goals will not be met. He spoke about the changes that have occurred in the world economy the past four months and how it is necessary to adjust for those changes.

“Towns must have an economic reason to exist. Gray sits in the economic waves coming out of Macon and Milledgeville,” he said.

Green also pointed out that no one ever builds in isolation, and everything constructed affects all the parcels connected to it. He said to take charge of the future, communities must have the political will, a plan and implementation strategy, communications, regulations and tools, financial resources, and development partners.

“The effective use of a historic-built environment is a significant component of any strategy that sustains economic development,” he said.

Green said many zoning regulations classify and separate different zoning types, but communities are accepting a new way of doing things. New zoning regulations place the daily needs of people within walking distance of neighborhoods.

He said Gray has a lot of empty lots and suggested PLAN members get out of their cars to walk the downtown area.

“Towns need to be somewhere people want to walk and live in. You can build new stuff, just respect the architecture already there,” he said.

Green also recommended looking at a new state ordinance called the Cultural and Heritage Tourism District ordinance and ended with a quote about historic preservation.

“When you are finished, have you created more than you destroyed, and can you still hear the song birds sing?”

Group sessions

Attendees were divided into five random groups for a brainstorming session for big ideas for Gray and Jones County. Each group was asked to come up with ideas that can be completed in one year and others that could take up to five years. When it came time to report, they returned with several new ideas.

Greg Mullis spoke for the first group, and their one-year idea was the beautification and revitalization of Gray. He said a cleanup of the area could be the first step toward attracting new businesses and more customers to existing businesses.

For the five-year initiative, he talked about acquiring a property in Clinton to be developed into a Civil War museum.

Hoyt Brown said his group’s one-year plan is to hire the right person for the executive director of the Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce to take both agencies to the next level. He said he would also like to see an improvement in recreation and more facilities with paid staff to manage it.

His group’s five-year idea is to make Gray a wireless city and develop a more commercial sense of involvement in the community.

Josh Lurie was the spokesman for the third group and talked about a five-year plan for a downtown center and a walkable community. Their one-year ideas were an inventory of community assets and then the marketing of those assets, and revisiting all the planning and zoning ordinances in the county.

The next group proposed addressing adult literacy and the county’s dropout rate, public transit, and inventorying of space in Gray for the one-year plan, and for the five-year idea, addressing the lack of space in the courthouse, and promoting Jones County.

The last group suggested the expansion of downtown, revision of zoning codes, and an entertainment and cultural alliance in the community. The five-year plan was about infrastructure connectivity, green space planning, and the development of a growth model.

After lunch, retreat participants were invited to join one of PLAN’s standing committees and begin work on some of the big ideas that came out of the previous sessions. The four committees are Community Development, Infrastructure Improvement and Planning, Housing, and Economic Development.

End presentations

Saturday morning, spokespersons for each committee presented the results of their labors. Lurie presented for the Infrastructure and Planning and began by talking about the need for an inventory of commercial property for sale and lease in Gray and the posting of that inventory on a website. That inventory would also include a rating system for the vacant property.

Their long-range plan was the development of a master plan for downtown Gray and outlaying areas. The first step of that plan is defining study areas and finding a funding source.

Parrish said the price of the master plan would depend on its scope and amount of detail.

Steering Committee Chairman Dr. Bob Moon said one of the big challenges for community growth is the defining of downtown Gray.

“If we accomplish anything, we need to start the debate about what we want downtown Gray to be. A master plan will very inexpensively solidify these questions,” he said.

Parrish said a great master plan brings the people of the community together with a common vision, and County Administrator Mike Underwood suggested the need to have community stakeholders involved.

Lurie said the second priority for his group was to create a resolution to allow the city to use its powers under the redevelopment act. He said PLAN could submit the resolution to the city with the hope of its adoption.

“This is one way to show that we are ready for the next big development,” he said.

Donald Black is the committee chairman for the Housing Committee. He said one of his group’s initiatives is to work together with other committees. Their first priority is to research ordinances for housing development and to coordinate home buying education courses at the high school.

“We need to develop a list of realtors that would be willing to talk to students as part of the finance course,” he said.

Black said new developments should be walkable communities, and the committee is setting up a meeting with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to discuss the Georgia initiative for Community Housing.

Underwood mentioned the Georgia Dream and Neighborhood Stabilization programs that are being funded by federal stimulus money, and Black said he feels one of the challenges is making sure people are aware of the resources out there and how to access them.

Earline Hamilton spoke for the Community Development Committee and talked about their idea of connecting neighborhoods and schools with sidewalks, bicycle and golf cart paths.

She said the first task toward the paths is to identify target areas and she had two different maps to start the process. One of the maps began with the schools around Gray, and the other focused on Dulles Park and making stores more accessible for seniors.

Committee member Deloras Moon pointed out that sidewalks already exist in several neighborhoods and only need to be connected. During the committee work session, Commissioner Larry Childs said the Board of Commissioners are working on a grant for sidewalks to the schools and Moon said the committee needs to find out the extent of their plan.

Underwood said the plan for crosswalks and street lights needs to start with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Hamilton said the short-term goal for the committee is to review zoning codes, beginning with comparing local codes with those of other cities and counties. She said form-based codes are needed to deal with the composition and form of construction.

Mullis is the chairman of the Economic Development committee and reported that the group’s short-term goal is to hire an executive director for the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority of Jones County.

He said the committee members would also like to see an inventory of marketable assets and the drafting of a redevelopment plan to explore potential opportunity zones. Another idea is to form an industry program to foster and nourish local businesses.

The long-term plan is the installation of a wastewater treatment plant at Jones County’s industrial park, and the creation of a history museum in or around Gray. Mullis suggested the forming of a special subcommittee to handle the museum project.

Wrap up

PLAN member Brick Nelson suggested taking a presentation to the elected officials.

“This is not a couple of dreamy-eyed people with some random ideas. This is a group of community leaders passionate about the future of Jones County and Gray,” Nelson said.

Lurie presented a draft of PLAN bylaws to the members and said the document will be reviewed by an attorney. He broached the idea of reducing the length of the next retreat to perhaps encourage more participants to stay for the entire event, and suggested moving the location to a similar community to study its successes.

Bob Moon commended the steering committee for its work toward the bylaws and the retreat. He said structure and some organization is needed for PLAN but it is important to maintain its principles.

“I’m impressed with the agendas we have heard. This is an exciting time for all of us,” he said.