Travis Miller, Paulding Rotary president, began our meeting with the status of scheduled events upcoming. After which Art Ragsdale, of Ragsdale Heating Air, introduced our guests. Laurie Ashmore, from the Paulding County Water System, Ann Lippmann, the Paulding County Community Development Director and returning speaker Scott Greene from the Department of Transportation.
Scott Greene began the meeting by addressing the members of the Rotary club and thanking them for the return invite. Mr. Greene spoke last April with regard to the Department of Transportation's plans and efforts in growing the infrastructure for Paulding County. At that time Mr. Greene gave a detailed and thorough status report of our roads and highways for the county. Mr. Greene introduced his fellow speakers Ms. Ashmore and Ms. Lippmann and outlined the presentation for a more thorough explanation of the infrastructure planning going on in Paulding County.
Ms. Lippmann, the Community Development Director for Paulding County began her part of the meeting by explaining some charts and been set up. The three charts were maps of Paulding County each displaying different aspects of the land usage and qualities. She explained the highlighting of the natural regions and how they lend themselves to conservation and/or further development. Another chart represented development as it stands now in the county. And finally the planning chart characterized our County in potential character areas. These areas were designated for varying degrees of conservation and residential use and target areas, corridors and crossroads communities are also identified. This characterization area map is part of a greater plan, the County Comprehensive Plan that will be presented in June of 2017. This plan is requirement to receive state funding which is essential for further development in Paulding County.
Ms. Ashmore of the Paulding County Water System, updated the guests with regards to the reservoir project as well as the success of conservation efforts at offsetting the increasing demand for water as the county grows. She also stressed the need for planning an appropriate direction in the growth of the county. Providing water and sewer service requires infrastructure planning. Making sure that assets and resources are dedicated in the appropriate areas.

Paulding County Comprehensive Plan
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Paulding County Comprehensive Plan
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Travis Miller, Art Ragsdale, Scott Greene, Ann Lippmann, Laurie Ashmore

Each County in Georgia must have a comprehensive plan in place to be eligible for funding from the state. The comprehensive plans outline how each county intends to grow and distribute infrastructure and resources to support that growth. Having a plan is not only a requirement by the state, but as essential in avoiding a disastrous waste of resources. Infrastructure such as highway access and water service are extremely expensive. Our county must use its resources wisely in order to preserve the integrity of the county as well as enticing new businesses in, to create jobs and revenue for the county. Providing infrastructure that would invite jobs and industrial growth are necessary for securing the revenue to pay for maintenance and expansion within our County as it continues to grow.