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11-03-1999 V - 1 2).(10.-% e\ CITY OF EDGEWATER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING November 3, 1999 8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER: Due to the lack of a quorum, Chairman Thomas Alcorn said the Board would hold a brief workshop unless additional members showed up. He asked Liz McBride, Board Coordinator, if anyone had applied for membership to the Economic Development Board. Ms. McBride said there were no new applications, only three the Board previously reviewed. Chairman Thomas Alcorn called to order a regular meeting of the Economic Development Board at 8:07 a.m., Wednesday, November 3, 1999, in the Community Center. ROLL CALL: Members present were Chairman Thomas Alcorn, Adelaide Carter, Edward Keenan (arrived at 8:09), Michael Wilson, Donald Gillispe (arrived at 8:07), and Roland Bazin. Also present were Matt Greeson, Operations Manager for Economic Resources in Volusia County; Planning Director Lynne Plaskett and Board Coordinator Liz McBride. Nora Aly was excused. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes for October 6, 1999, were presented to the Board for approval. There being no corrections or changes, Ms. Carter moved to approve the minutes as presented, second by Mr. Bazin. Motion CARRIED 6 -0. AGENCY AND CITY REPORTS: 1. Volusia County Business Development Corporation (VCBDC) - Chairman Alcorn reported that Vice President Jerry Fox would be leaving VCBDC. He said VCBDC was changing and would become Enterprise Volusia. He said they would be separating themselves from County Council in that the opportunity funds would no longer be administered by them, releasing them from any obligation they have under the sunshine laws. The Chairman said Mr. Fox had always provided leadership and didn't know what was going to happen when he was no longer there. He said he read that the City of Oak Hill decided they were no longer going to contribute funds supporting VCBDC, and felt it would be a mistake. 2. Port Authority - Matt Greeson, Operations Manager for Economic Resources in Volusia County, was present to brief the Board on the SE Volusia Marine Commerce Park. He distributed an aerial photograph and a written update of the Park site. Mr. Greeson said his primary responsibility was the Port Authority, and that he had "been on board" since July. He welcomed the opportunity to update the Board on some of the things they were doing in the community. Mr. Greeson said the biggest, and only, project in the area was the 60 acre Marine Commerce Park, 'rr/ ..r Economic Development Board November 3, 1999 - Minutes Page -2- located at the old Consolidated Prestress Concrete facility. He said the Port Authority purchased the park in June 1998, for $2.3 million. Mr. Greeson proceeded to explain the on -going activities since the purchase. He said the project could be broken down into three categories; planning, leasing and improvements. Mr. Greeson said two conceptional site plans had been developed. Mr. Greeson said they currently had one lease client, and would be entertaining bids for short-term (2 -3 years) leases for facilities on site. Mr. Bazin asked if someone offered the County $2.5 million for the property, would they sell. Mr. Greeson said for long term, the County was still debating lease verses sell. He said they needed to be flexible when they begin marketing the site, and be prepared to entertain all types of proposals. He said if they were to sell, they could either issue a request for proposal (RFP) or to declare the property surplus and auction it off. Mr. Greeson said the third phase of improvements relates to the permitting of the seawall. He said a RFP was issued for a 300 foot seawall extension and a basin excavation, and the contract was awarded to American Bridge Corporation for $606,000. Mr. Greeson said a notice to proceed was issued, and believed work would begin mid - November and be completed in about six months. He said this was a key project, and when completed would make the site more marketable and attractive to boat builders and other marine interests. Mr. Greeson felt there were questions about the long term management of this property the County Council was still debating. He said the Council was discussing not only how they manage this property, but other industrial properties as well, and would be holding a workshop the first of the year. 3. Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) - Chairman Alcorn mentioned he attended the ceremony for Doris Leeper where she was inducted into the Florida Artist Hall of Fame. He said it was a tremendous tribute to a lady who had contributed a lot to the area. 4. Bert Fish Medical Center - Arvin Lewis, Director of Integration, said construction should begin on the Florida Health Care facility in the near future. He said there was space for six physicians and also diagnostic space. 5. Daytona Beach Community College (DBCC) South Campus - Chairman Alcorn said while at a South Campus meeting, he was informed DBCC was still working toward finalizing something with the F.I.N.D. project. He said the college tries to offer programs to fill the job needs of the business community. 6. City of Edgewater - Planning Director Lynne Plaskett said the final draft of the Land Development Code went before the Planning and Zoning Board last Wednesday. She said the Board wanted a few additions to be incorporated into the codes. Economic Development Board November 3, 1999 - Minutes Page -3- Ms. Plaskett said the F.I.N.D. project was moving along. She spoke to Mark Veenstra, McKim & Creed, about getting a permit to cross Dale Street from FEC. She said the environmental studies for Dale Street (Phase III) had been completed. Ms. Plaskett said McKim & Creed was designing construction drawings for the infrastructure for Phase I (the spoil site). Chairman Alcorn ascertained McKim & Creed was hired by the City of Edgewater but are being compensated by F.I.N.D. Ms. Plaskett said she was concerned because the secondary means of ingress and egress to the site were still not tying into DBCC's additional 35 acres or their existing campus. She said the college is in Edgewater but has a New Smyrna address and is accessed by 10 Street in New Smyrna. She said the City of Edgewater would like college access from Park Avenue, which was not in F.I.N.D.'s design. Ms. Plaskett felt the residents of Edgewater shouldn't have to go through New Smyrna to get to the college. She invited the Chairman to stop by to look at the plan and maybe bring back to the Board suggestions. Ms. Plaskett said some potential annexations were in the works with three developer annexation agreements. She said the area was predominately zoned industrial. CONTINUED BUSINESS: 1. Economic Development Retreat - Chairman Alcorn said the City of Edgewater contributes funds to the Southeast Chamber of Commerce to provide economic resources toward economic development. Some of the items discussed at the retreat were: the Southeast Marine Commerce Park and how the Chamber could assist in making things happen, looking to help the entrepreneur, how they were going to promote the New Smyrna Beach Business and Professional Park, and the F.I.N.D. project. Ms. Plaskett said she was looking forward to the next retreat. She said one of the things that came out at the retreat was that Edgewater had not been included in some of the activities that the subcommittees had created at the Chamber regarding beautification. Ms. Plaskett and Councilwoman Lichter attended the adopt -a- street program, which Ms. Plaskett felt was important. 2. Discuss "Outreach Program" to Assist New and Existing Businesses - Ms. Carter said she received a list of manufacturers, but was a little confused on the printout. She and Ms. Aly felt the visits shouldn't be limited to only manufacturers but should also include banks, drugs stores and those types of businesses. As a handout to businesses, Ms. Carter said Ms. Aly wanted to include phone numbers of City Hall, City Manager, Finance Department, City Clerk, Environmental Services, utility billing, SCORE, social security office, Votran, Daytona Beach airport and sales tax information. Ms. Carter asked the Board if they had particular businesses they wished to visit. Chairman Alcorn suggested to just divide the list up among the members. He said this gives the Board an opportunity to see what the businesses need to make the City better. The Chairman said the Board then informs Council, which there were four new Council members. Ms. Plaskett explained the printout sheet Ms. Carter had. Chairman Alcorn said they needed to target the businesses which were already here and help them expand. He also said they needed to increase the level of education of the citizens so they could get better paying jobs. • ti.► w Economic Development Board November 3, 1999 - Minutes Page -4- NEW BUSINESS: Chairman Alcorn said he needed someone to help him make a motion. He stated New Smyrna Beach and the Chamber put up a radio station for tourism and in the event of an emergency. He said NSB was putting up signs telling people the station number. He said there was no money in the EDB budget to put up signs in Edgewater, which would probably cost between three to five thousand dollars. He asked if the Board wanted to ask the City Council for the funds to put up signage. Ms. Plaskett asked how many signs he was talking about. Chairman Alcorn wasn't sure. Ms. Plaskett said they didn't need a motion, and informed the Board that the City of Edgewater could make their own signs, but she wanted to see what the signs were going to look like first. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS: Chairman Alcorn reiterated his desire to hold a workshop with the new Council members, but stated the Board no longer had a budget. He said the Chamber was going to hold a workshop in February on a weekend. He said the workshop would be for all the Council members of New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and Oak Hill to bring them up to speed on economic development. He said although the cities had their own interests, there were still many common interests. The Chairman said this meeting would be open to the public, and would be held at DBCC South Campus. The exact date and time had not been set. Ms. Plaskett said the County Council should also be invited to attend the workshop and the Chairman said that was his intention. Chairman Alcorn hoped to arrange flights from Edgewater to the Daytona Beach airport, or to go up the shoreline by boat. Ms. Carter reported attending the Council meeting where the Florida Atlantic Learning Center spoke of their Charter School. She said it was an interesting presentation. Ms. Carter said she spoke to the manager of Riverside Bank who relayed to her that the bank was looking for property in Edgewater to build their own building but couldn't find anything. Ms. Plaskett told Ms. Carter to have the manager call her. Chairman Alcorn said to have the manager call her local realtor. Ms. Carter read an article from the Halifax magazine, and mentioned an insert from a local newspaper. Ms. Carter asked if the members had any questions to be included on the form which will be used when visiting businesses. She said to let her or Ms. Aly know so they could bring it back as a completed project at the next meeting. Mr. Bazin felt the questions would be different depending on the type of business. As far as assigning business visits to members, Mr. Bazin said the Board would go along with how Ms. Carter and Ms. Aly wanted to handle it. Mr. Bazin pointed out that while interviewing the businesses, they needed to be prepared to rebut that the EDB was not a complaint department. • • N r/ Economic Development Board • November 3, 1999 - Minutes Page -5- Chairman Alcorn reported that Mr. Wilson, single- handed, brought a company to the US from Slovenia. He said the company, Sava, would be locating a distribution plant in Southeast Volusia. The Chairman said this would be a great international tie, and hopefully some growing employment for our area. Ms. Plaskett said she was going to be a guest speaker at the next VCARD meeting, to speak about the growth of Edgewater. She said the fee was $20, which included lunch, and would be held on November 19`", at Sugar Mill. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made and approved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:10 a.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth J. McBride, Board Coordinator Economic Development Board c: \edb\minutes\ 110399. reg