Riverside Manufacturing opened in 1911 and was once among Colquitt County’s largest employers. It made work uniforms and protective apparel long after many U.S. textile companies had transitioned their work overseas, but in 2014 Riverside ceased its production and other assets were sold off.

MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County Board of Commissioners announced in a Facebook post last week that a proposal to house refugees on the former Riverside Manufacturing property will not move forward.

The proposal was put forth at the Sept. 19 commission meeting by the Vereen family, which owns the property, and by Boulder Capital, a real estate marketing group that contracts with different government agencies to help facilitate setting-up of refugee housing sites. The presenters immediately faced questions, some of which they couldn’t answer. Representatives of Boulder Capital made notes of the questions and said they’d return to the commissioners’ Oct. 3 meeting with more information.

As word got out about the proposal, response on social media was harshly negative.

About 4 p.m. Sept. 26, the commission posted a lengthy response to its Facebook page. It listed several obstacles the proposal would have to go through, then added that the proposal had been withdrawn.

“In addition,” the post said, “the county received notification from the Vereen family this afternoon that they will no longer move forward with their proposal to house refugees at the Riverside location. We appreciate the family’s reconsideration.”

Lisa Vereen Zeanah, who has spoken for the Vereen family on this issue, confirmed in a text to The Observer that the proposal was “dead.”

Even if the proposal had not been withdrawn, the county’s Facebook post said, the Board of Commissioners was opposed to the project.

“We do not believe that Colquitt County citizens should come to the rescue of our Federal Government’s broken immigration policy,” the post said. “The Board appreciates any and all innovative ideas to revitalize or improve any of the many resources in Colquitt County – to include the old Riverside manufacturing facilities. The Board would welcome discussion on potential manufacturing, warehousing, rental office space and other possibilities at the Riverside location. However, we also recognize that not all ideas will be a fit for our community. Rezoning property in order to house refugees is one of those ideas that are not a good fit for our County.”

Other points in the post:

• No formal request has been made to the commissioners. The discussion on Sept. 19 was pitching an idea, not an attempt to seek formal approval.

• No vote on the issue will take place Oct. 3, and no vote is scheduled for any other date in the future.

• Zoning regulations do not reference dormitories for refugees, so the ordinance would have to be amended — a process that takes approximately 45 days and includes a public hearing before the Moultrie-Colquitt County Planning Commission and another before the Board of Commissioners.

• Even if the ordinance were amended, the rezoning of this specific property would have to be formally requested and considered — another 45-day process that includes two public hearings.

“Bottom line: There is no vote planned to allow refugee housing at the old Riverside facility. Such a vote would be impossible without a very lengthy process designed with multiple opportunities for public comment and input along the way,” the post said.

The post said the Board of Commissioners will not respond to comments or questions on the post, but it encouraged residents to attend future commission meetings or contact any board member, the county administrator or the county clerk. Commissioners and commission staff can be reached at 229-616-7400.