As of this report, the Statesboro city and Bulloch County governments both have events intended to inform and interact with the public scheduled, with a half-hour overlap, for the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 25.
A “Town Hall Meeting” of the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners has recently been announced for 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. that day in the Jones Love Cultural Center at Luetta Moore Park, 585 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Meanwhile, Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar’s 2025 “State of the City” address has long been set for 7 p.m. Feb. 25, and will be held in the Emma Kelly Theater, 35 East Main St.
These events come as city and county leaders have clashed recently, particularly over the issue of replacing a five-year fire service agreement now set to expire June 30, but also as they make common cause for a SPLOST renewal referendum set for a March 18 countywide special election. Early voting in that election is slated to open in less than two weeks, on Feb. 24.
“I’m extremely excited about this year’s State of the City address,” McCollar said in a media release announcing his event. “Statesboro is currently experiencing unprecedented growth. If you take a quick drive around town, you’ll see signs of new development in every corner of the city limits. During this year’s address, I want to take a look at Statesboro’s future and share a blueprint for where the city is headed.”
Topics to be covered during the mayor’s speech will include public safety, economic growth, capital improvement projects, housing, and strategic planning, according to the release provided by city Public Affairs Manager Layne Phillips.
“Our city is at the precipice of historic growth and transition. We’re seeing more people call our city home than at any other time in its history,” McCollar said. “I plan to speak not only to the victories of our past but also to the anticipated victories of our future.”
Will note SPLOST projects
The release from City Hall did not name the SPLOST referendum or the fire service plan as topics for the speech. But the general topics of public safety and capital improvement projects suggest them, and when phoned, the mayor acknowledged that he will touch on the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in terms of the projects and purchases it funds.
“I’m going to touch base on what SPLOST has meant for the city of Statesboro,” McCollar said. “I’m not going speak on it in the affirmative that night, but I will discuss projects that have been supported by SPLOST dollars.”
The Statesboro Fire Department’s plans for a third fire station will also be noted, he said.
In addition to the mayor’s speech, the 7 p.m. program at the Emma Kelly Theater will feature a presentation of flags by the Statesboro High School JROTC Color Guard, a musical performance, and a question-and-answer session, which McCollar said will include fewer questions than last year’s because of time considerations. A reception with light refreshments will be held afterward.
County ‘town hall’
Meanwhile, the county’s 6 p.m. town hall meeting is one requested by Commissioner Nick Newkirk, who had announced the date and time. But the other commissioners and the public are invited, said county commissioners’ Communications Manager Dal Cannady.
The time and date were those Newkirk found available with the Bulloch County Recreation and Parks Department for the building at Luetta Moore Park, Cannady said.
Although city officials had slated the State of the City event for this date nearly a year ago, they perhaps did not get word to the public and county soon enough, McCollar suggested.
“But either way, I would encourage folks to go over there and see them for a little while and then come spend a little bit of time with us,” he said.
After the Herald had asked if the county might reschedule, Cannady replied in an email that the commissioners’ town hall meeting remains set for Feb. 25.
“We would echo the mayor’s suggestion so folks who wish to can attend both,” he said.
With favorable traffic signals, it would be about a five-minute drive, and then there’s finding a parking space in the East Main area.
For people unable to attend one or both in-person, online video may be an option. The mayor’s speech will be livestreamed on the “City of Statesboro Government” Facebook page and uploaded to YouTube the next day, Phillips said. Cannady said the county staff is also looking at livestreaming the town hall meeting on Facebook.
Together on SPLOST?
On a side note, the mayor was asked whether the local governments will be able to show a united front for voter approval of the six-year SPLOST renewal after some contentious recent exchanges.
“Well, the city and the county, as I understand it, we both want SPLOST, and so we’re not changing,” McCollar said. “We recognize what SPLOST means for the city of Statesboro, and what that means is it gives us the ability to go out and buy police cars, to better equip our public safety team to provide a safer community. So we’re not budging as far as our support for SPLOST and what it means for us.”
Three county commissioners newly elected last year campaigned in part on opposition to a previous property tax increase. But all or most have expressed support for sales taxes as an alternative.
“I think we are of one accord when it comes to SPLOST,” Cannady said. “I think the city and county are both in agreement that it needs to pass.”