Metro status, Carter visit to shine spotlight

In the next seven months, two events will make the rest of Georgia and possibly even the world stand up and take notice of the Valdosta area.

Early next year, the city expects to become the state’s newest metropolitan area, as designated by the federal government. Next June, former President Jimmy Carter will come to the Azalea City along with more than 1,000 other volunteers from around the country to build 30 houses for Habitat for Humanity.

In June, former President Jimmy Carter will come to the Azalea City along with more than 1,000 other volunteers from around the country to build 30 houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Valdosta already has achieved status as an urbanized area, which means it meets the criteria for a metro area, City Manager Larry Hanson said. “We’ve been led to believe the official announcement will come early next year,” Hanson said in October. “They just need to define the size (of the area) based on commuting patterns.”

The metro area is likely to include parts of unincorporated Lowndes County, but it could include parts of adjacent counties, he said.

The city is a bright spot in the economic picture of South Georgia. Although Lowndes fell short of the 100,000 people in the 2000 Census that would have automatically given it metro status, population grew 21 percent between 1990 and 2000 for a total of 92,115. Population in Albany and Dougherty County, the only existing metro area in South Georgia, declined.

The greater Valdosta area is growing because of its diverse economy, Hanson said. “Too many others put too many eggs in one basket, and when there is a downturn in economy, they have a problem,” he said.

Valdosta is fortunate to have stable employers such as Valdosta State University and Valdosta Technical College, Hanson added. Moody Air Force Base, Interstate 75 and smaller companies round out the diversity.

Another factor is Wild Adventures Theme Park in south Lowndes County, he said.With a decline in tourism to farther destinations because of costs or fears
since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Wild Adventures has attracted more visitors. “People are staying close to home,” he said.

While other counties have seen a decline in sales tax collection this year, Lowndes had not, and Hanson believes Wild Adventures is the main reason, he said.

Metro status will bring more economic development, including retail and industrial, the city manager said. Investors and companies will see the designation as a reflection of a dense population with growth, and an available quantity of trained labor.

Officials will have greater latitude in determining their own transportation future, which means the Department of Transportation will have less influence, Hanson said.

Being chosen as a site for a Jimmy Carter Work Project is, in some ways, even more of an honor for Valdosta than becoming a metro area. Only 25 of the 3,500
Habitat work sites worldwide have been Carter projects, which brings together volunteers from throughout the world to join President Carter and his wife to work on the houses.

For 2003, three work sites were chosen: Valdosta, LaGrange, Ga., and Anniston, Ala.

At least 2,000 volunteers will come here June 8-13, joining hundreds of local volunteers, to build 30 houses on a site off Pineview Drive. Five houses will be built at the site in the spring by college students from around the country. After next June, another 15 houses will be built for a total of 50.

Valdosta joins cities around the world in such places as South Africa and Korea in becoming Carter work sites. The involvement of the former president, especially now since he has become a Nobel Prize winner, is expected to bring international media attention to next year’s projects.

The economic impact also is large because the volunteers stay in local motels and eat some meals in restaurants, and might even have time for shopping. It’s estimated at $2 million.

Carter has said he’s become more recognized for building Habitat houses than for such achievements as the Camp David Accord. In a Habitat publication,
Carter said he likes the Habitat principle of involving the people who benefit from the project.

“The people who will live in the homes work side by side with the
volunteers, so they feel very much that they are on an equal level,” Carter said.

To contact Editor Ron Wayne, please call 244-3400, ext. 229.