Dawsonville DDA backs letter of support for proposed cannery project; many details remain unresolved

The Downtown Development Authority approved a letter of support for a grant application that would fund design and planning work for a proposed cannery and commercial kitchen in the Dawsonville town center.

Director Amanda Edmonson told board members the grant application was due the following day and that the DDA’s endorsement is intended to strengthen the request. “We have a feasibility study underway now,” Edmonson said, summarizing the project as an initiative to support farmers, food entrepreneurs and community resilience through shared commercial kitchen space, household canning services and possible rental frozen storage.

Tasha Howell moved to approve the DDA letter of support and Jonathan Campbell seconded; the motion passed unanimously. Board members and staff stressed the proposal is at an early stage: the feasibility study will examine possible locations, governance and business models, potential partners (for example, extension services and the Georgia Grown program were discussed as potential collaborators), and whether the city or another entity would oversee the facility. No site, total cost, operating model or implementation timeline was decided at the meeting.

Staff framed the cannery as a multi‑purpose facility that could include commercial licensing support for small food businesses, training and a warming center with generator backup. The DDA instructed staff to provide any requested documentation for the grant and to keep the board apprised of feasibility‑study findings and next steps.