Local issues discussed at grassroots meeting

The ninth of 10 annual grassroots meetings throughout the state took place at North Augusta's Municipal Center Tuesday morning, eliciting public comments on issues ranging from health care and air quality to education and economic development.

The meeting, organized by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, opened a dialogue with local businesspeople about the issues they said should be a priority in the state Chamber's 2011 Competitiveness Agenda. The agenda outlines priorities for legislation during the upcoming session.

"It's always good for those folks making policy or in the policy-making process to hear directly from constituents and directly from citizens so, No. 1, it's good for them to hear, but No. 2, it's also just as positive for the individual citizens to go out and get engaged," said Brian Tucker, president of the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the meeting.

State Sen. Shane Massey and state Rep. Tom Young were present at the event to listen to the concerns of their constituents.

Economic development

The importance of economic development and attracting businesses large and small to the area was a large focus of the meeting.

Dan Rickabaugh, a businessperson from North Augusta, stressed the importance of having the appropriate infrastructure in place to bring in big businesses but also having the resources - such as good schools, local restaurants and entertainment attractions - to appeal to employees' families, as well.

Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce President David Jameson added that economic development is an issue that he would like to see addressed at the state level.

"I'd like to see the South Carolina Chamber take a much closer look at what could be done for small business whether they set up a blue ribbon panel and talk about it some and bring back some clear recommendations ... or some programs from the South Carolina Chamber," said Jameson.

To Susie Ferrara of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, preserving the welcome center at Exit 1 off of Interstate 20 is a priority.

"Families travel in the summertime, and while these may not be Six Flags, they are education centers of the cultural and historical perspective of South Carolina."

Education

Aiken County Public Schools school board member Ray Fleming spoke to the positive programs in the school system, as well as USC Aiken and Aiken Technical College, but that these programs are largely isolated, he said. He suggested that the state chamber start taking these individual pieces and bringing them together to exchange ideas about what is working and what is not.

Air quality

The possibility that the area's air quality will be classified in "nonattainment" status was an issue raised at the grassroots meeting about which many needed clarification.

Because Environmental Protection Agency guidelines are slated to become more stringent, it will become more difficult for communities such as Aiken County to achieve the air quality standard. This, in turn, could result in increased obstacles for businesses looking to relocate to the area, which Will Williams of the Economic Development Partnership said will result in those businesses opting to relocate elsewhere.

Health care

On the topic of health care and its impact on businesses, Richard Garcia of Right at Home Senior Home Care suggested that state representatives put cutbacks in Medicare reimbursement to physicians and the mandate for employers of a certain size to provide insurance coverage on the list of issues to be addressed during this session.

Garcia also commented on the importance of a specific type of job creation in the area.

"Long-term sustainable jobs is what we really need to focus on," he said. "We have projects that need a beginning date and end date, but, at some point, we need to have long-term sustainable jobs."

The area's reputation was discussed throughout the meeting, calling for a decision to be made about what the state and Aiken-area strengths are and market those strengths.

"If you can showcase these successes that we're having, it is appealing to other businesses, as well as tourism," said Jeremy Mace of New Fire Social Media.

Other topics discussed that will be taken into consideration when putting together the 2011 Competitiveness Agenda were tort reform, keeping South Carolina's waterfront clean, the lack of local immigration enforcement and the importance of better communication between state representatives and projects employees.

Contact Anna Dolianitis at adolianitis@aikenstandard.com.