Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

68 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 the most sought-after industrial corridors in the state when these projects are finished.” The county is also addressing housing, to keep up with the surging population. “We’ve approved about 2,300 residential units and 1,900 of those are single-family homes,” Graham relays. “We’ve got a variety of housing products available. We need those because, with the business growth, we need to have the workforce growth as well.” She shares that Barrow County has implemented a comprehensive plan that effectively guides land use and development, designating areas for residential and industrial growth while prioritizing infrastructure and transportation networks. “Jobs are located in places where they have good transportation access, availability of water and sewer infrastructure, and a good business climate. We also have worked very hard to keep our tax burden low, because we know business and industry is very sensitive to what they’re paying in taxes, and what they’re paying for utilities,” she conveys. Barrow County’s Approach to Workforce Development and Healthcare Expansion The Barrow County CTAE (Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education) program has received recognition and certification from the Georgia Department of Economic Development for its effective collaboration with local industries and economic development initiatives. “Our school system and our three high schools in Barrow County do well for both work-based learning, internships, and externships, where we send teachers into the workforce over the summer, so they can preach the gospel of some of our local businesses as well. We believe the riches are in the niches and Barrow County does a really good job of everything,” asserts McDaniel. The presence of a workforce development campus adjacent to the industrial park along State Road 316 further enhances the county’s unique attributes. This campus includes an elementary school, Sims Academy for Innovation and Technology, Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy, and Lanier Technical College Barrow campus. “There are several dual enrollment programs where Barrow County high school kids can go directly into Lanier Tech and take classes, and if you time it right and work hard enough you can graduate with an associate degree for $0. Some of their larger programs are Mechatronics which feed right into the area in which we’re looking to play, with the light manufacturing that we’re seeing in the area,” he says. As for healthcare, Graham suggests, “We are fortunate to have the Northeast Georgia Health System that is a major partner in our community. They’ve done a major land purchase, and they are