RINCON, Ga. — Ronnie Lewis has seen a lot of change in the city he has called home since moving to Rincon in 2002 after retiring from the Army. At times, he said, it seemed some people in local government might not have taken “the job as seriously as maybe they should have.”

But times may have changed, Lewis said Thursday evening as he attended the kickoff meeting for Rincon’s effort to create the city’s first 25-year master plan.

“That was then, this is now,” he said. “Overall, I think the councils and mayors have done a decent job. I do like the fact that they’ve opened this up for everybody to come in and offer their opinion on what they’d like to see.”

Public input

That input from residents is crucial, Mayor Kevin Exley noted as he opened a presentation to approximately 75 residents and a livestream audience before turning it over to consultants with TSW, an Atlanta-based architectural and planning firm tasked with creating the plan using stakeholder input. A workshop will be held the week of June 22, and another open house is set for the week of Aug. 24.

“The city is in need of visionaries and dreamers,” Exley said. “Some of the most beautiful places in the world started off with people bouncing ideas off each other and then sketching out plans.”

Those sketches, he added, become plans, and plans become something for this and future councils to follow.

“We as a council believe if we put those concepts into a master plan, then we as a community can find a way to make that a reality,” Exley said. “And when we build this master plan, that you are a part of, we may be gone in two years or four years, because it’s easy to get voted out … but at the end of the day, this is an accountability I feel like will continue on after we are gone. These drawings and this plan we work together to build will always be in place.”

Growth, concerns

Exley was followed by several TSW consultants, who shared data on topics ranging from demographics to zoning maps, traffic issues, water availability and the city’s rapid growth. A show of hands indicated only a handful of those at the meeting were originally from Rincon.

They also addressed affordability and housing stock — noting nearly 50% of the homes in Rincon were built in 2000 or later — along with a range of other factors shaping the city’s future.

After the presentations, residents provided input on ideas presented by council members about the types of growth they would like to see.

For Andrew Berry, a three-year resident of Rincon, a member of the city’s planning and zoning board and the master plan’s advisory board, it was important to take part in the process rather than complain.

“I wanted to be a part of the solution,” Berry said. “One of the things I noticed about Rincon was the lack of infrastructure, whether it was traffic or just basic things. A lot of areas need improvement. I wanted to be a part of making sure we are making smart plans.”

Berry referenced the city’s 2024 comprehensive plan as a key part of his understanding of growth-related issues and said the effort to create a 25-year master plan is another step forward, while also giving residents of all backgrounds a chance to weigh in on the city’s direction.

Developer Michael Harrington, who has lived in Rincon for two years, echoed that sentiment, saying the process gives residents the opportunity to “speak their mind and come together collectively,” while also helping him better understand housing preferences.

Some residents were skeptical of the process, including one man who asked whether the effort could lead to the return of city taxes, which have not been collected in more than two decades.

Rita Elliott, representing the Effingham Georgia Green environmental group, questioned whether the master plan would include meaningful input from those seeking to protect the city’s natural areas.

“I’ve been through this process before,” she said. “You can say I’m skeptical about this.”

Looking ahead

Lewis, who hopes for a plan that fosters a more neighborly feel, expects the process will involve compromise and that not everyone will get what they want.

“I think there are going to be challenges … but at least they’re not just kicking the can down the road,” he said. “If you don’t come to these meetings and you don’t participate, you really can’t gripe.”

In the meantime, officials are seeking as much public input as possible and encouraged attendees to spread the word.

“To give you a concept of how fast time goes, 2001 was 25 years ago,” Councilman Tim Milner said. “And 25 years before that, it was 1976. Think about the technology then, the building methods, the transportation and how things were in those two 25-year periods and how they are now, because now we have to look at and envision the next 25 years to try to meet those coming needs in this process.”

Lewis agreed that time moves quickly.

“We’ve been here 25 years now, and it went by so fast,” he said. “Hopefully, what we do with this plan will help make this place better for those who come after us.”