EDC takes no immediate action at called meeting

ALBANY — The board of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission held a special called meeting Monday morning that was adjourned with no public disclosure of the meeting’s topic.

Board Chairman Jay Smith called the meeting to order and immediately asked for a vote to go into executive session to discuss personnel. The board approved and met in private for roughly 23 minutes before reconvening. Once the public was allowed back into the meeting room at the Riverfront Resource Center, Smith called for adjournment with no comment.

While no board member would confirm, speculation surrounding the meeting focused on EDC Vice President Barbara Rivera Holmes, who is expected to be asked to serve as interim president of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, at least on a part-time basis. Former Chamber President Chris Hardy caught Chamber officials off-guard when he turned in a letter of resignation last Monday.

Hardy said only that he wanted to “pursue other opportunities” outside the state, but his resignation was effective immediately and came almost three years to the day after he started his tenure as head of the chamber.

Albany and Dougherty County officials used Hardy’s resignation as a jumping-off point to privately question the effectiveness of the Chamber and EDC. District 2 County Commissioner John Hayes took the opportunity Monday at the commission’s combined work/business meeting to lament the return on investment the county has received “over the last 10 years” from its annual investments to both organizations.

“I don’t know that I’d be able to hang onto a customer at the bank I represent if I didn’t have a better return on investment,” Hayes said.

Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas and District 1 Commissioner Lamar Hudgins, who serves on the EDC board, defended the Chamber and EDC.

“I’m encouraged by the positive movement under the new (EDC) leadership,” Cohilas said. “The concerns that have been raised are from a historical impact, but I see new priorities coming out under this new leadership.”

Hudgins also expressed optimism over the “positive news” coming from recent EDC efforts and said, “A lot of places would kill for what’s going on in our community.”