City finally hones in on zoning for store

Patrick Donahue

Updated: Aug 17, 2012, 12:58 AM

Published: Aug 17, 2012, 1:01 AM

After nearly two hours of discussion — and juggling the city’s zoning ordinances — Rincon City Council members may have found a way to accommodate a proposed Dollar General store.

Council members voted unanimously to approve an office/commercial zoning for nearly an acre at Highway 21 and 10th Street, with a primary use of selling books and magazines and a secondary use of retail trade and personal services.

The original rezoning request for the tracts was for general commercial, and the property also had an office/commercial zoning. But some council members worried not what the Dollar General would bring but what might come to that spot in the years to follow.

Steve Hufstetler of Teramore Development, which will build the new Dollar General, said his company will lease the building to Dollar General for 15 years. Renewal options on the lease could keep Dollar General on that location for 35 years or more.

Council member Paul Wendelken voiced concern over the possibility of a package store, pool hall or gas station occupying the spot, should Dollar General ever leave.

“It’s not so much you,” he said. “We’re trying to prevent the next one.”

Wendelken said those businesses in office/commercial zoning typically close for the day around 5 or 6 p.m. His fear of having a general commercial zoning applied would be opening the door for other businesses to take that spot if Dollar General ended its stay there.

“Some of the things we are trying to prevent are right smack dab in the middle of this zoning,” he said. “I’m trying to keep the next thing from coming in. I don’t have a problem with Dollar General. It’s not Teramore I’m worried about. I have a problem with all the other things that can come in under limited commercial.

“You’re backed up to three residences. We don’t run into that with our commercial zoning. That’s what’s different here. I think Dollar General is one of the best things to put in there.”

Wendelken pushed to see if the store could be brought in under the office/commercial zoning with a conditional use.

“It would give us a little bit of control there, because that’s still highly residential, especially on that block,” he said. “That keeps a package shop from coming in after you’ve sold it.”

Hufstetler said he was cautious about a zoning that was narrowly defined.

“It’s a substantial investment to do this, and I appreciate the creativity,” he said. “But I’m fearful of the limitations.”

Hufstetler said the lot and building were a $1.2 million investment and he worried about zoning restrictions that limited the land use in the future. City officials explored the possibility of rezoning the parcels as limited commercial.

“I’d agree to limited commercial, as long as city council saw fit to approve it,” Hufstetler said. “I think it’s an excellent definition of what we’re looking for.”

Yet with restaurants as an approved use under the limited commercial zoning, council members balked at using that particular zoning. The light commercial zoning classification is relatively new, and city planner LaMeisha Kelly said the city hasn’t taken advantage of it yet.

“It is in between office/commercial and general commercial,” she said. “It allows for retail, but not for heavy user. It allows for uses more conducive to neighborhoods.”

City attorney Raymond Dickey pointed out that asking for a variance would mean starting the process over. Had council members rejected the rezoning request, it would have meant another six months before the topic could be brought back for their consideration.

Hufstetler said they wanted to move quickly in order to have the building finished by late January or early February of next year.

Mayor Ken Lee issued his worry over garbage pickup and delivery times for trucks at the store, asking if no pickups or deliveries were done between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Hufstetler said delivery trucks would be coming in about once a week after the first week and usually in the morning. Aside from the first two weeks of the store’s opening, a truck to unload the dumpster would come in about once a week, he added.

The new Dollar General will have 28 parking spaces and an entrance and exit on Highway 21. It will have an exit only on to 10th Street. Hufstetler said they will build a shadowbox privacy fence.

“It would separate the residential from the commercial,” he said. “It would help contain any kind of noise. We would also put in as many trees as reasonable.”

The store would employ 10 people and possibly 12, Hufstetler acknowledged.

“It would create a fair amount of sales taxes,” he said.

Hufstetler said he did not know what this planned store meant for the future of the existing Dollar General, adjacent to the Rincon Post Office.

“Dollar General has done a good job of rebranding itself,” he said. “I’ve been building them for 12 years. It doesn’t resemble the old Dollar Generals you’re accustomed to.”

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Effingham ECCA Students Build Electric Car with Hyundai

From wiring to problem-solving, Effingham juniors Rowand Smart, left, and Dexter Bohlman tackle the challenges of building an electric car alongside engineering director Aaron Parker. (Mya Taylor / Effingham Herald)

ECCA electric car — From wiring to problem-solving, Effingham juniors Rowand Smart, left, and Dexter Bohlman tackle the challenges of building an electric car alongside engineering director Aaron Parker. (Mya Taylor / Effingham Herald)

Mya Taylor

Updated: Sep 23, 2025, 1:44 PM

Published: Sep 23, 2025, 1:47 PM

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — For five months, 10 engineering students at Effingham College and Career Academy spent afternoons with wrenches, wires and instruction manuals, turning boxes of parts into something extraordinary — a working electric car.

The build was part of a partnership between ECCA’s engineering lab and the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in nearby Ellabell. Funded through $150,000 in state grants and supported by Hyundai’s donation of tools, the project gave students hands-on experience in electric vehicle technology while tying classroom learning to one of the region’s most significant new industries.

Finding their place in the project

Junior Dexter Bohlman hadn’t expected to be part of the build. A scheduling error placed him in a higher-level engineering class, and before long he was wiring railings, connecting a key fob and shaping the steering panel.

Much of the work he did alone. The wiring — 250 to 450 terminals in all — was especially tricky.

“You have to figure out how to manage the wires to make it so that they’re less complicated,” Bohlman said. “On the top rail it’s a little bit of a mess, but down there we managed to get it a little more concise.”

For Bohlman, the project became more than an assignment. It gave him experience to add to his aerospace résumé and a sense of ownership in something bigger than himself.

Classmate Rowand Smart also joined by accident, after his schedule shifted. At first, he said, his enthusiasm for engineering was fading. The project changed that.

“It turned into something that I was actually interested in because it’s kind of a hobby working on my truck and seeing the less mechanical and more electrical part of it,” Smart said. “The wiring, the programming, all of that was really interesting.”

Smart’s father and grandfather were both mechanics, and he said their influence helped guide him through the toughest parts of the build.

Learning by doing

Students worked four days a week on the car, often troubleshooting unexpected problems.

“We had to figure out what we were going to do, find the parts, read the instructions before we put it together, and make sure we had the right equipment,” Smart said.

Together they learned not only how to wire circuits and measure voltage but also how to rely on one another.

Engineering Director Aaron Parker said the students’ persistence reflected what he calls the “four C’s” — creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

A proud moment

By May, the car was ready for its first test run. Getting it out of the lab was almost as hard as building it — four adults and 10 students had to tilt and lift the vehicle through a doorway.

Once outside, the students each took turns driving. For Bohlman and Smart, it was the highlight of months of effort.

“It was probably one of my proudest moments of students, especially upon completion,” Parker said.

The car later went on display at Stemposium, a community event where STEM students showcase their work. Families and staff stopped to admire what the team had built.

Looking forward

Bohlman said he dreams of an affordable electric rally car, while Smart imagines a Mustang with electric power. Both said the project changed how they see engineering.

HMGMA Chief Administrative Officer Brent Stubbs shared his gratitude for the partnership with ECCA.

“HMGMA is thrilled to sponsor the EV lab at Effingham College and Career Academy. ECCA is teaching young students about electric vehicles and giving them an opportunity to get hands-on experience, so when we learned about their need, we jumped at the opportunity to help. We are proud to be a long-term partner in educating future generations of EV and automobile enthusiasts. We hope one day some of them will become Meta Pros at HMGMA,” Stubbs said.

As for the car itself, Parker said it will soon get finishing touches — a light and dash cover — before being used to promote the program. Another frame, bright red and untouched, waits for the next group of students to take on.

“At the end of the day we want to set these kids up to be successful adults so that they can be independent when they get out in the real world,” Parker said.