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ZEBULON - The Development Authority met on October 7, 2026 at 8 a.m. in a regular scheduled meeting. Present were members Bryan Oglesby, Stewart Esary, David Nix, BOC Chairman Briar Johnson, School Superintendent Shane Williamson, Mayor Joe Walter, Jason Leatherman, Dee McLeRoy, Hunter Strickland, and Director Kyle Fletcher.
Not presenting September financials. Only August. Motion to approve the agenda. Approved.
September minutes. Shout out to Dee McLeRoy. Motion to approve. Approved. August Financials. Table approving August until a correction is made.
Old Business
County Farm Property Master Plan
Application is due on Friday and will be sent out tomorrow. Grant is for up to $250,000. Requesting approximately $200,000 to $210,000. Also working on grad certification grant for $2 million. A lot of moving parts to help provide for testing and engineering. Rural site development grant will pay for site work. Possible $2 million to help with infrastructure that could help pay for a traffic study, etc. It's not a lot, but they are working to bring in funding. Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certified site helps make the sites ready to be occupied. Working on other grants too. Working with Thomas and Hutton on Friday and then go from there. Also reached out to DOT about the Mr. B's intersection to try to pull together old info on this. Praised the City of Zebulon for their work on zoning, etc.
Flat Shoals Energy Center Extension. They have extended the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). They need another year on this, and it will have to go before the County for approval too. The cost of technology has significantly increased so that has impacted the project. The chances on this are small, but the county is following what needs to be done on this. Motion to approve. Approved. This goes to the BOC for approval now.
Timber Harvesting Report. About $111,000 worth of timber on the property. Permitting would be required to cut, but any remaining monies after fees would go back into the project. Guessing about a net of $70,000. Trying to stretch funds as far as possible. Moving forward on the County Farm Road Project. Timber harvesting and a bond will be required from the City of Zebulon with care taken for the existing sewer line. This is going out to bid. Motion to move forward with bids. Approved.
Jennifer Shepherd, Alex Maddox, Stefanie Forsyth, and Michael Powell are invited guests. Build Pike. Work force development for the school system. This is started long before graduation. The goal is to connect students with the workforce. Halathcare, wleding, heavy equipment, agriculture, veterinary science, programming/IT, and business and tech. Starting in Middle School. Georgia is the top state to do business for the 14th year in a row. Career Fair on October 27 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. to expose the students to businesses that are here. [Note from the Editor: Pike County Times attended this event and has photos on the Pike County Times Facebook page.]
Leadership Pike has a core group of 11 students. Jr. Ambassadors with the Chamber of Commerce. Business mentors will work with them. Reverse Career Fair to show their skills to benefit our county work force with the Business After Hours with the Chamber of Commerce. One community. One Workforce Pipeline. Schools, Chamber of Commerce, and Development Authority working together to Build Pike. Students, opportunities, and local workforce is providing partnerships for a stronger Pike County.
Superintendent Shane Williamson. We are trying to help students understand how the real world operates including how they can be a part of our Pike County community. There are a lot of options available to those in middle school to open up work options with many pathways including heavy operator equipment, leadership, healthcare, etc. Letting the community know about our kids and how we can partner our students and our business community. Work based learning is huge because students can work for up to 3 classes a day. This is the future for our community.
Motion to adjourn. 8:59 a.m.
Past Meetings that Pike County Times has attended
November 4, 2026 Development Authority Meeting
March 26, 2026 Development Authority Meeting
January 14, 2026 Development Authority Meeting
September 3, 2025 Development Authority Meeting
March 13, 2024 and April 3, 2024 IDA Meeting
August 21, 2023 New Development Authority Director Named
July 26, 2023 Special Called IDA Meeting
June 7, 2023 IDA Meeting and History and Background of the IDA
February 20, 2023 Joint Commission and IDA Special Called Meeting