In Demorest, growth is inevitable and the time to determine the future is now.
That was the prevailing theme when Demorest city officials convened for an all-day planning retreat at Piedmont University’s Swanson Center on Saturday, March 8.
The retreat comes after two town hall forums earlier this year at Demorest City Hall – where dozens of residents provided input to city officials. That input, intended to provide Demorest City Council a foundation for the future of the city, could now be used to update ordinances and other aspects of long-term planning.
“This is a lot of planning and devoting the time to mayor and council to have some goals, some objectives and for their agenda,” City Manager Mark Musselwhite said. “We’re working on our strategic plan. You have to have a plan. We haven’t had a plan. This is just another step in that.”
During the retreat, led by consultant Jesse Owensby with Civic Enhancement Strategies, officials were first asked to close their eyes, imagine they’re in the year 2035 and envision what they see – specifically demographics and downtown configuration – as compared to the Demorest of today.
As of 2022, according to the U.S. Census, Demorest has a population of just over 2,200, a poverty rate of 11.1 and a median household income of $59,500.
Officials were then asked to “paint a verbal picture” of their foresight of that vision – more or less a prediction – of what they see.
“What kind of retail? What kind of restaurants? What kind of buildings?,” Owensby said. “Tell me what you see. Do you see housing? Do you see coffee shops…who does it cater to?”
Musselwhite said he imagined a city that’s “vibrant” and “alive,” while Mayor Jerry Harkness said he’d “like to see a range of restaurants that serve all budgets of food from morning until night.”
“When I think about downtown, I think about folks walking and not full of so many cars – just all of these businesses being full of people that are walking there – walking through beautiful sidewalks, landscaping,” Harkness said. “I think a lot of that is overlooked.”
Musselwhite noted $8-$10 million in new grant money, expected to come down the road, that could bring those needed improvements to the city.
“Demorest has never had so much grant money before,” he said. “It is going to be huge.”
City officials unanimously agreed an increased population will likely come to Demorest over the next 10 years.
Visions and thoughts on the direction of Demorest took the forefront of dialogue for the first 50 minutes of the discussion, with officials agreeing the city could increase its footprint by up to 17 square-miles through expanded water/sewer lines and annexation.
Community input results
Results of the town hall input taken from dozens of community members earlier this year indicated a strong majority – 80% – are opposed to growth in Demorest, according to Owensby.
With a drastic need for additional revenue sources to support population growth, as well as a greater demand for services, this could place the city in a difficult predicament.
Touching on the notion of growth, Owensby described a proposed tax allocation district (TAD) that, if approved, could bring a large-scale mixed-use commercial and residential development on 28.8 acres near the intersections of GA 365, GA 17 and U.S. 441 as more of an opportunity for residents to keep growth outside of city limits – but only through effective communication.
“If what you are going to do is have this growth – because it’s coming – and you want to control it, what you need to do is be a little more proactive and put it out there that, ‘Yes, (the city could be) doing this, but…in an industrial area. We’re not doing it in your neighborhood. We’re doing it out here on the highway where it needs to be.’”
The feedback from residents also showed an inclination for enhanced city parks as well as a preserved downtown area.
“I think this is a working process to help benefit our community,” Harkness said. “I think it’s time to take the information we heard from our citizens and apply that for how we’re moving forward.”
