SCDA To Grade Site For Potential Industry

The Stephens County Development Authority and an incoming industry are working together on an effort designed to make the county more attractive to another prospective company.

At a called meeting on Friday morning, the Development Authority unanimously voted to accept free dirt from Nifco KTW and hire a company for grading work at another site in the Hayestone-Brady Business Park.

Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said that it all started when a potential industry, known only as “Project Ironside,” visited the Hayestone-Brady Business Park to look at a site adjacent to the site where Nifco KTW is building its Stephens County facility.

“Project Ironside visited with us a couple of weeks ago,” said Martin. “The site we proposed was too narrow. We understand that the Nifco KTW, whcih is being graded, had excess dirt and we had the thought, ‘excess dirt here, not wide enough here, right adjacent to each other, maybe we can work something out’.”

Martin said that is when the Development Authority got together with Nifco KTW and “Project Ironside” to see what could be worked out.

“Nifco KTW offered to get that dirt to us,” said Martin. “We would have to hire a company to do the proper grading. That was a good start. We looked at adjusting the slope of the site we proposed to Project Ironside.”

Martin said changing the slope made the site a possibility.

The Development Authority will hire RHB Enterprises to do the grading, along with an independent third-party company that will do the necessary testing.

The grading work will cost the Development Authority $74,000, while the testing will cost an undetermined amount.

Funding will come from SPLOST V money.

Martin said that this work does not guarantee that “Project Ironside” will come to Stephens County.

He said the action required a called meeting because Nifco KTW has begun moving dirt at its site and the Development Authority is working to avoid paying to move the dirt twice.