Liberty County Development Authority members approved a pair of resolutions that are needed to obtain grants for two Tradeport East industries.
In a called meeting Thursday, members unanimously approved an EDGE Grant resolution for Seohan Auto Georgia. The grant, from the state Department of Community Affairs, will provide $400,000 toward site work for the facility.
In a letter from state Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson to the DCA, Wilson recommended awarding the EDGE Grant to Seohan, which will create 188 new full-time jobs and make a capital investment of $72 million. Liberty County is one of 35 counties considered to be conditionally eligible for funds from the DCA’s OneGeorgia Authority, which administers EDGE Grant funds.
Authority members also unanimously approved an application for a REBA (Regional Economic Business Assistance) grant of $250,000 for Creative Home Ideas. That grant also will go toward site development.
In his letter to the DCA recommending the grant’s awarding, Commissioner Wilson outlined that without the grant, the company may have chosen to relocate to South Carolina. Instead, it will bring 75 new jobs and a capital investment of $15.8 million to Liberty County.
“These are competitive projects,” LCDA Chief Operating Officer Carmen Cole said. “We go after any funding that we think is eligible in support of the project.”
The EDGE grant, Cole said, comes into play when Liberty County is in competition with other states for a project.
The LCDA has received grants in the past, and all of the companies in the LCDA’s parks can qualify for job tax credits because they are in a military zone. Those industries have to create at least two jobs paying a certain wage and offer benefits, Cole said.
“It’s a great incentive,” she said.
Those incentives are beneficial for Liberty County, which is called a Tier 2 county. Chatham and Effingham, by comparison, are Tier 4 counties and are not as eligible for grants and incentives from the state. Seventy- one counties are Tier 1 counties, Cole said, meaning they get the most help from the state in recruiting industries.
“You want to be a Tier 1 in recruiting,” Cole said, “but you want to be a higher tier because that means your community is doing better in other demographics. With a military zone, our companies can qualify for a Tier 1 value. They get the maximum benefit they can from a job tax credit, even though we are a Tier 2. We’re very fortunate in that.”
The LCDA was one of the biggest proponents of pushing for having counties placed in tiers, Cole said. The Fort Stewart cantonment area lies wholly within Liberty County, and military zones are used when there are at least 5,000 people related to the military in the area.
“It is paying off for us,” she added.