James Jan-Feb 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 50
says. And a big way to accomplish
that is by working together with city
officials in Eatonton, the county seat.
“To the credit of the chairman,
we have a better relationship with
Eatonton than we’ve ever had,” said
Paul Van Haute, who has served as
manager of day-to-day operations in
Putnam County since 2010. “I will
join hands and we will work together
to make Eatonton and Putnam County a wonderful place to work, raise a
family and continue with future projects that will help shape and define
this community for generations to
come,” Sharp says. “And I don’t think
that’s ever happened before.”
Van Haute said the county is
growing its biggest influx of new
residents from people moving into
the areas of Lake Oconee and Lake
Sinclair, both of which are owned
and operated by Georgia Power
Company. “We’re getting 200 to 300
permits a year from the lake areas,”
Van Haute says.
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JANUA RY/F E B RUA RY 2024
Sharp likes to refer to the county as “the land of two lakes” and
he says much of the new growth is
around Lake Sinclair, because Lake
Oconee is pretty well built as far as
Putnam County is concerned.
As for other growth, take a drive
up or down Georgia Route 44 or what
also is known as Lake Oconee Parkway. “That Harmony Crossing area
is busting out the seams,” Van Haute
said. “We’re seeing a lot of rooftops
going up which will drive the economic development that we want.”
The county manager emphasizes
that one of the good things is that Putnam County was one of the last ones
in the recession and one of the first
ones out. “We weren’t really tripped
up for a long period of time, where
we couldn’t manage the storm,” Van
Haute recalled. “We see that trend
continuing, Interest rates may stop
a normal or average homebuyer, but
most of those deals on the lake are
cash. Those don’t stop anybody.”
There also have been several
recent expansions, including at
places like Interfor, Cuscowilla and
Bluestem Industries where jobs have
been created. The Rock Eagle Science and Technology Park are also
providing many high-paying jobs.
Working Together
Eatonton Mayor John Reid, in
his second stint as the city’s top
elected official, says “I love the fact
that we are a small town (the population stands at about 6,400 plus),
but I think we need to grow just
enough so that we have a few more
businesses to make it easier for our
people to shop here and put our tax
dollars in our community to continue
to provide even better services for
our people.”
“I have met a number of new
people who told me they moved
to Eatonton because of the Sumter
Street Apartments,” Reid said. “They
didn’t have such affordable housing