In

less than two weeks, the Fayette County

Development Authority's new executive director

expects to hit the ground running.

Chris

Clark, 30, was hired by the authority's board

after a year-long search. Clark's most recent job

was as the president and CEO of the

Hawkinsville-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm

very excited. I really love that part of

Atlanta," Clark said in an interview earlier

this week.

Clark

served three years at the chamber position.

During his tenure, the county's work force grew

by 700 jobs and lowered unemployment by 2

percent.

During

his first few weeks, Clark wants to meet as many

of the local folks, including elected officials,

as he can to get a feel for the pulse of the

community. Later in may, he plans a strategic

planning session with the development authority

to formulate a plan to deal with the county's

inevitable growth.

"I'm

for smart and controlled growth. With the

position of being the number one county in the

state, there's no reason for us to choose smoke

stacks," he said.

His

first priorities will be helping existing

businesses and also looking to help new upstart

businesses, such as high tech firms that may need

a boost, Clark said.

Once

those two issues are addressed, Clark plans to

focus on the need for more industries in the

county and what type they should be.

That

issue has been a matter of contention between the

Development Authority and the County Commission

in recent years. Commission Chairman Harold Bost

last year called on the Development Authority to

cut back on its efforts to recruit new industry,

saying Fayette doesn't need new jobs because its

unemployment rate is so low. Some new industries

add to Fayette's residential growth problems,

Bost said, by importing workers from other areas.

Clark

said he hopes to work closely with county leaders

to make sure industrial growth is what the county

needs.

"We

need to look at how we can lower property taxes

and still maintain the quality of life that's

already there. I want to work with the county

commissioners on this issue," he said.

Clark

is a Fitzgerald, Ga. native and has a bachelor of

science degree from Georgia Southern University

and a master's degree from Georgia College in

Milledgeville.

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