The Liberty County Development Authority’s efforts to recruit new industries will go beyond how much investment and how many jobs are promised, its CEO told county commissioners.

Brynn Grant, who took over the reins of the LCDA earlier this year, said the kinds of jobs and the wages they can pay are paramount in the LCDA’s recruiting practice. “We are not just about creating jobs and attracting investment for the sake of creating jobs and attracting investment,” she said. “We do that to increase the standard of living for the people who live and work here and that is our focus.”

Grant, a Liberty County native, spent nearly 20 years with the Savannah Economic Development Authority, becoming a vice president before leaving to become the CEO for the United Way of the Coastal Empire. It was her tenure there that helped shape her vision for being the Liberty County Development Authority, calling it “enlightening and inspiring.”

“It makes me approach development a little differently,” she said.

At the United Way, Grant was involved in bridging the economic gap faced by those families in the ALICE, or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, category. Grant said those in the ALICE category are working hard, and sometimes work more than one job, but still don’t make enough to meet a basic household budget.

For Liberty County, Grant pointed out, the population that can be classified as ALICE is at 45%. Across Georgia, that number is 48%, leaving the state ahead of only Mississippi and Louisiana in those measurements.

“That’s not good enough,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do. Economic development has a role to play.”

The LCDA members have passed on certain prospects they did not believe were a good fit for the community, Grant said.

“They will have to meet a standard,” she said. “There have been one or two we just said, ‘no thanks for calling but that is not a fit.’” Coastal Georgia in particular is becoming an attractive spot for industries — Grant noted the biggest economic development project in the state, the Hyundai metaplant, which is almost completed in northern Bryan County right off Interstate 16.

“Our phone is ringing,” she said. “I know there were years, not just in Liberty but in the region, there were some very lean years as far as business attraction. The recession (of 2008) slowed down some projects. The activity level and the calls have increased.

“With the biggest economic development project in our state, the calls are increasing and the number of projects is meaningful,” Grant added. “I hope to increase that. With a higher number of leads and opportunities, we can be more selective. It is a complicated and highly competitive process. We’re hungry for the right things.”

One of the criteria the LCDA will be using when courting prospects is how much water the prospect intends to use. Liberty County is restricted on the amount of water it can withdraw from groundwater sources, such as the Floridan aquifer, and its cap is expected to be even less in years to come.

“One of the first questions we ask is what are your water capacity needs,” Grant said. “Low water users will be a target. But we have to understand that will be a target for all of coastal Georgia.”

During her years with SEDA, water and sewer capacities weren’t an issue for Grant, but she said she is glad LCDA chief operating officer Carmen Cole now has years of experience working on those matters.

Riceboro has partnered with McIntosh County, deemed by the state Environmental Protection Division to be in a “green zone,” meaning there are no caps to its groundwater withdrawal. Hinesville is working to put in a well in Long County, which is also a green zone county.

“We are working with entities in Liberty County and our neighbors to think through comprehensive water and sewer solution to allow us to meet the demands for the future in an effective, efficient way,” Grant said.

County Commission Chairman Donald Lovette, an LCDA board member by virtue of being commission chairman, added finding water and sewer capacity remains a challenge.

“So we’ve got to figure that out,” he said.

“I think we’re on the path to that,” Grant said.

Grant sees the LCDA working regionally with other neighboring development authorities, noting those regional efforts — such as the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority, which helped to land the $5.5 billion Hyundai metaplant. That organization includes the development authorities of Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham, and Grant said she was disappointed when it did not include Liberty.

“I have advocated for my home in all of the places in which I served,” she said.

Those kinds of regional authorities, Grant added, attract greater investment.

The LCDA also has undertaken a strategic review, headed up by Boyett Advisors, to see how it stacks up against the region and the state. It also will have a target industry analysis to show what prospects the LCDA should pursue and will have an incentives guidelines. There also will be a communitywide survey.

Most of the Tradeport East development has been built out, and there are only a couple of smaller parcels left among its more than 1,800 acres, Grant said. Its location, right off I-95, has been key for its success.

Tradeport West, several miles away off Highway 17, needs to have infrastructure in place. The nearly 2,000-acre tract has 596 acres available for building.

“That will be vital,” Grant said, adding it is “an important piece of property for development.”