Women's Clothing Boutique Near Me Thunderbolt, GA

THUNDERBOLT, Ga. (WSAV) – Dozens came out to Wednesday’s town meeting to share their thoughts on a controversial plan to develop a portion of Thunderbolt.

Some residents say adding new infrastructure could be a positive, while others are concerned about how it will impact the small, quiet community.

The developers, Core Design and Architecture Inc., proposed a site plan that would combine three parking lots on River Drive. The development would house 141 parking spaces to support new residential condos, triplexes, a restaurant and a coffee shop.

Part of the land developers are looking to use houses a CrossFit gym, and the proposal would replace that building as well as others. Owners of River Drive CrossFit, who also live in Thunderbolt, say this is a win-win for the business and for their beloved community.

“It just feels really, really family-oriented, so as residents, we were really excited, and then as business owners, to be a part of such a really cool development that’s here for the community,” said Danielle Williams of River Drive CrossFit. “I mean it’s just — we’re blown away.”

However, some residents aren’t happy about this plan.

A woman, who did not want to be on camera, lives not too far from where the development would happen. She says this would bring a lot of hustle and bustle to this quiet community.

“It’s a sizeable piece of property, but 10 buildings down there is just going to bring a lot of traffic and I don’t think that the infrastructure can handle it,” she said. “You know, the water can’t handle it, the roads need to be redone around here, and to put that much development at the end of the road — I just don’t think is a good idea.”

The Planning and Zoning Board did not vote on the proposed site plan after hearing residents’ concerns. They have agreed this needs to be talked over before making a decision and will vote at next month’s meeting.

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Anna Maria Thomas remembers dancing the night away on River Drive as brass bands played along the Wilmington River. It’s been decades since the Town of Thunderbolt hosted its Blessing of the Fleet festival, a three-day affair that paid homage to the city’s shrimping history.

Shrimping and fishing boats would fill the marsh-lined river, waiting to be blessed by the Catholic bishop before heading out to sea.

“Our help is in the name of the Lord,” were the priest’s first words before wishing the fisherman a bountiful catch. That’s according to the 1998 brochure of the last celebration that took place. Thomas keeps the paper pamphlet in her car.

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According to Thomas, the Blessing of the Fleet, which began in 1949, was "hard work, but a lot of fun." It was the culmination of the sweat and effort of a small group of dedicated Thunderbolt residents.

“It was just fantastic. Both sides of the River Drive block was filled, vendors were everywhere,” Thomas recalled.

For more than 20 years, the town, including Thomas who served as mayor in the early 2000s, had tried to bring some semblance of the ritual back, but it never quite gathered enough momentum. This year, after a two-month sprint of preparation and planning, Thunderbolt is reviving the Blessing of the Fleet.

The event will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along the original stomping grounds, River Drive. Live music, entertainment, a beer garden and vendors of all kinds will be present.

The parade, which will feature local businesses, nonprofits and public service groups, will kick off the celebration. The blessing by Bishop Parkes of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist will take place at 4 p.m.

“We’re paying homage to the people who paved the way for us to have the town that we have today," said Mayor Dana Williams, "And also to preserve and promote our history and our heritage of being tied to the water."

First City Progress:'Village on the Bluff' development to add retail, housing to Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt’s origins hearken back to the height of the local shrimping and fishing industry. The community grew along the Wilmington River’s banks. Traditional fishing cottages are still the dominant architectural style in its neighborhoods.

Williams acknowledged that the small town has lost that sense of community over the years. The population has gradually dwindled to its current 2,500. Once-active neighborhood associations have aged out or were stamped out by the pandemic.

But the decline had begun decades before, with the dissipation of the Blessing of the Fleet being one of its biggest indicators. A combination of an aging community; development along River Drive, where the festival was held; and an overall decline in the local shrimping industry had all contributed to the fading of tradition.

But Williams, as well as other city officials and residents, have been striving to thread the once close-knit community back together again.

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"It falls into what was my biggest platform, and council as well: getting out and meeting your neighbors, knowing them and being there for them when they need you," said Williams.

The other day, Williams said he witnessed several residents picking up scraps of trash off the streets. They were anticipating the return of the Blessing of the Fleet, he said, and wanted to help beautify the town.

Michael Smith, who had grown up in Thunderbolt from the ‘50s to ‘90s, helped organize the Blessing of the Fleet as part of the city's volunteer firefighter crew. He remembers setting up arts and crafts booths and standing in the river to help regulate the boat parade. Every year, they’d host different events such as foot races and dunking booths.

But just like Thomas, he cherished memories of dancing on the street during a summery Friday evening the most, and listening to the bands he helped pick out in the weeks before as an event organizer.

Smith describes the event as being a labor of love.

"It would take months to get everything organized, there was a lot of people involved in making it happened," said Smith.

Read more:Leigh Ebberwein finds the 'power' of words in first novel, 'Blessing of the Celtic Curse'

After 22 years, the Blessing of the Fleet’s celebrations will look different. The river won’t hold the 50 or so boats as it once had. There’s maybe half a dozen pontoons and other recreational vessels docked along the banks now. Anyone sailing in the river is welcome to receive their blessing, though, said Williams.

What’s important, Williams notes, is that the Thunderbolt is bringing back its most beloved tradition after decades of pleas from residents. The mayor credits city staff and Simply Savannah Marketing for the expedited preparations.

“We’re rekindling that sense of community,” said Williams. "This is just the start, this is the beginning.”

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

THUNDERBOLT, Ga. (WSAV) – Check out the photos from Saturday’s event. Happy Earth Day!

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Looking ahead to next year, Williams said he wants to focus on transparency, preserving Thunderbolt's history and infrastructure.

Decades ago, the Town of Thunderbolt operated one of the busiest shrimping hubs on the east coast. In fact, so many shrimp boats lined the waterfront that one could walk to the middle of the Wilmington River on them, said Dana Williams, the town's new mayor-elect.

“There were piers going out and buildings out that water from one end to the other,” said Williams, “This river was what made Thunderbolt.”

Today, only remnants of that vibrant fishing industry and boastful fleet exist. The town of about 2,500 is home to the Thunderbolt Marina, which services some of the largest boats and yachts on the east coast, and a local shrimp shack, Thunderbolt Fisherman’s Seafood, continues to sell fresh shrimp by the river.

But time has eroded some of the town’s most impressive origins, histories that Williams said he wants to pay homage to in his term as mayor. In order to do so, establishing communication with residents and between residents is central, said Williams.

More:Black gill parasite causes fall harvest declines in Georgia White Shrimp

Communicating with residents

Prior to winning the mayoral seat against two-term incumbent Beth Goette, Williams served a term on council and on the ad hoc water committee. He credits his win to constant communication with the public, frequently posting on social media about council discussions and employing an on-the-ground approach to his campaign.

"I was knocking on doors and gave out my card with my personal cell phone number on it to everybody I talked to because I wanted people to know that I am available," said Williams, "I had so many people tell me that they had never had a Thunderbolt politician knock on their door."

More:Thunderbolt election: New mayor to lead town as Williams defeats Goette soundly

But Williams is breaking the silence, and he said he's bringing that same energy to the top post in the city. In addition to making himself available, Williams and Town Administrator Bob Milie said they're working on modernizing Thunderbolt's approach to communication with the public by using social media.

"We're trying to be more open and more informative (by) establishing social media channels for all the departments for the town, utilizing the press more and giving our website a revamp," said Williams.

Additionally, Williams said he wants to reconvene the Thunderbolt Improvement Association, a neighborhood group formed over 50 years ago that became a major asset especially for the African American community, but had petered off in the age of COVID.

"It was a great way for the public to host their own meetings without any influence from council … and talk about what they want," he said, "and then the president of the association would bring all those concerns, ideas and whatnot to the council."

The neighborhood association along with the other initiatives are all key to one of the many priorities of the incoming mayor— reinvigorating a sense of community and reigniting Thunderbolt’s identity.

Bringing back community and identity

Michaele Yvonne Toomer-Reyes, a lifelong resident of Thunderbolt, said she remembers the town’s most anticipated event, The Blessing of the Fleet, a festival and religious ceremony borne out of the shrimping days.

The annual celebration consisted of “vendors, dancing, arts and crafts, lots of food, live shows, and a beauty pageant. And then the shrimp boats were blessed before the start of the shrimping season,” said Toomer-Reyes.

But the Blessing of the Fleet hasn’t been celebrated in decades as the shrimping industry declined, and, with it, the camaraderie between fishermen. Apartments and condominiums now hinder the views of the river on the bluff, said Toomer-Reyes.

“There used to be community events of all kinds when I was younger,” she said, “Then boat parades were canceled due to COVID (as well).”

Williams said he’s felt the residents’ collective yearning for kinship after years of a pandemic topped off decades of slipping identity.

“It was a big giant to-do and people miss that,” said Williams, “So we would like to bring that back in some form or fashion ... and really celebrate that waterfront heritage that we still have, even if we don’t have a fleet of shrimp boats anymore.”

Thunderbolt may be a small, unassuming town, but its history spans for more than a century and a half, and like its westward neighbor, Savannah, it's full of stories of progress and tension.

“This town is chock-full of history, it's amazing,” he said, “The Yacht Club started here, there was a casino, they used to have road races here, there was a major civil war battle right here on this bluff … and then you have the Native American tribes before all of us.”

It’s also home to Georgia’s first Historically Black College, Savannah State University.

The list goes on, and so do Williams' ideas to commemorate those historical happenings. Historical markers are part of the plan and, possibly, QR codes that visitors can scan on their phones and then watch or listen to oral histories told by Thunderbolt’s oldest residents on the Thunderbolt Museum website.

“The one thing we don’t ever want to lose is our sense of community and who we are,” said Williams, “If you don’t continue to tell the story, you lose it.”

Small town, big needs

On the other side of that effort, though, is the physical upkeep of Thunderbolt — the continuous need to preserve the city’s infrastructure and economy so that residents may keep living in it.

Unlike Chatham County’s westside municipalities, Thunderbolt isn’t facing issues of industrial and commercial growth that threaten residential life — at least not at the acute level of its neighbors. With Savannah on the east and the Wilmington River and unincorporated island communities on the west, the one-time fishing village is focused on existing physically.

Thunderbolt is the only city in the county to lose population over the course of a decade, according to 2020 census data. But there are plans to grow that with residential developments and businesses.

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A mixed-use residential development, Village on the Bluff, is slated for completion next fall. Council is also starting to draft regulations on short-term vacation rentals (STVRs), which bring tourism and business, but also decrease the number of permanent residents living in the city — that, in turn, affects population-based funding avenues like SPLOST.

More:First City Progress: 'Village on the Bluff' development to add retail, housing to Thunderbolt

Town administrator, Milie, said Thunderbolt is also working on local policies that will streamline the process for businesses setting up in Thunderbolt. The main commercial corridors for the town are along River Drive and Victory Drive.

"We want to attract people that say, 'that's a hip upcoming community where I can see raising a family and get my cup of coffee here and walk my dog at the park...'" said Milie.

Meanwhile, Williams said the council will continue to focus on the infrastructure issues they’ve been working on this past term, which include updating the city’s water pipes and roads.

“Some of these pipes have been down there since World War II,” said Williams, “We have worked feverishly the last 12 years to locate all these valves and pipes.”

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According to Williams, the city just finished an approximately $1.6 million pipe replacement project. Additionally, the city submitted an application for a $5.5 million state grant to address a sewage force main, as well as a smaller grant of about $50,000 for road repairs.

To maximize the town’s revenue sources, Milie said they are applying for federal and state grants when they can.

“This is a very small town with a very small tax base and you have to pick and choose. Is it going to be some parks this year or are we able to try and give raises to our dedicated employees, or is it going to be streets?,” said Milie, “We're trying to streamline through the budget process a way to identify and prioritize everything, and not be as reliant on certain other funding sources like SPLOST…”

With a full plate before the start of his new term, Williams said he's looking forward to working with the new set of council members.

"I'm really looking forward to four years of positivity and cohesiveness," said Williams, "We'll continue to build our relationships with one another and the town and just try to remove all the red tape and things that slow government down. I want to try to make it easier and smoother for not only citizens but for us as well."

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

Thunderbolt Town Council approved a resolution for the city’s first hotel/motel tax Tuesday in a special called meeting.

The bed tax would allow the town to collect revenue off short term vacation rentals. Town Clerk Deatre Denion estimates that there are about 30 homes, apartment and boats available as vacation rentals.

Thunderbolt is not home to hotels currently, although two bed-and-breakfasts operate in the town. B&Bs are regulated under separate rules.

The excise tax, which was previously marked for up to 8%, was changed to 6% after Chatham County's state legislative delegation showed weak support to a proposal to bump Savannah's hotel/motel tax from 6% to 8%. The delegation asked Thunderbolt Town Council to approve a revised resolution that would match the existing hotel/motel tax of Savannah and other Chatham County's municipalities.

All council members voted to pass the resolution.

Thunderbolt Mayor Beth E. Goette says the revised resolution is expected to pass the Georgia General Assembly.

“We’ve had a tremendous increase in people buying up homes and renovating them and renting them out,” says Goette. “A lot of people come here to visit the view, so we have a lot to offer.”

Thunderbolt’s River Drive borders the Wilmington River, once the shrimping capital of the East Coast, and is now home to several marinas plus Thunderbolt Marine, one of the country's busiest seagoing ship maintenance facilities. North of the city is Bonaventure Cemetery, a popular picnic spot listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A resolution for a hotel/motel tax has been in the works since last year and has been in discussion for even longer. It has not been met with any vocal opposition according to several councilmembers.

However, Drohan acknowledges that, in addition to the extra cost, “it makes what traditionally was a really easy process a bit more complicated.”

“Now you're doing sales tax and hotel/motel tax and you’ve got to do all the filings and all the costs that are associated with doing that,” says Drohan.

Although the extra revenue that will be generated has not been specifically earmarked, the resolution states that “such tax would benefit the Town of Thunderbolt by providing additional revenues for the promotion of tourism, conventions, tradeshows, and tourism product development.”

Typically, bed tax revenues are used for marketing to visitors.

“This was talked about in terms of having funds that would be utilized in terms of helping Thunderbolt to be a more desirable point of visitation,” says Drohan.

Bringing in more tourism would, in turn, benefit the short term rental owners as well.

An ordinance further detailing how the revenue will be used will be drafted after state approval of the resolution.