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06-07-2000 C'\--"'-')"Y)<"~ \ \ '-'" ....., CITY OF EDGEWATER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING June 7,2000 8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Thomas Alcorn called to order a regular meeting of the Economic Development Board at 8:12 a.m., Wednesday, June 7, 2000, in the Community Center. ROLL CALL: Members present were Chairman Thomas Alcorn, Adelaide Carter, Nora Aly, Edward Keenan and Roland Bazin. Also present were Board Coordinator Liz McBride, City Manager Kenneth R. Hooper (arrived at 8:40 a.m.) and Councilman Jim Brown (arrived at 9:20 a.m.). Charles Gianino, Christopher Balmer and Donald Gillispe were excused. Michael Wilson was absent. APPRO V AL OF MINUTES: The minutes for May 3, 2000, were presented to the Board for approval. There being no corrections or changes, Ms. Aly moved to approve the minutes as presented, second by Mr. Bazin. Motion CARRIED 5-0. AGENCY AND CITY REPORTS: None at this time. CONTINUED BUSINESS: 1. Outreach Program Reports - Ms. Carter said she received all but 15 survey forms. She said she had another list of occupational licenses and wondered if the Board wanted to divide the list. The Chairman felt new businesses were the ones the Board could probably help more than established ones. Ms. Carter said she would divide the names for distribution at the next meeting. Ms. Carter said she would also compile the answers from the surveys. Chairman Alcorn felt City Council would also want to know this information. The Chairman said as far as the new businesses, he would like to visit them if they are the value added jobs and/or manufacturers. Mr. Keenan said it would be a good idea to periodically to put out a press release welcoming the new businesses to Edgewater no matter how big or small they were. Chairman Alcorn felt this was a good idea. Discussion continued on this topic. ..... """" Economic Development Board Minutes - June 7, 2000 Page -2- NEW BUSINESS: 1. Program of Work for 2000-01 a. Discuss developing a budget Chairman Alcorn followed a budget outline from a previous year. He said Enterprise V olusia and the Chamber of Commerce were usually provided $.50 per capita to represent the City of Edgewater in their budget, making the total for each approximately $9,300. Chairman Alcorn said he attended an Oak Hill economic development meeting, and mentioned to them that they could get funds very inexpensively by setting up a bike trail and a canoe trail. He said the people with the echo-tourism, Chamber of Commerce and the SV AA (Southeast V olusia Advertising Authority) would be happy to promote that type ofthing. He thought it would be a $500 budget item for a 30 mile bike trail and a 15 mile canoe trail. Following the budget outline, the Board discussed Business Recognition and Awards. It was questioned how much last year's Industrial Appreciation Luncheon cost. Ms. McBride said she had the amount on file and could let them know. The Chairman said to budget $900 for this item. The Board discussed having a comprehensive city map which had been considered in the past. Ms. Aly said she would like to develop a fact sheet of properties and buildings available for specific types of businesses for Realtors. Chairman Alcorn referred to Port Orange updating the exact type of information. He said they paid someone who spent a great deal of time compiling the information. The Chairman said the Board needed to talk to City Council about this at the upcoming workshop. The Chairman asked the Board if they felt they wanted an Economic Development person that did nothing but economic development, but said he would discuss this later in the meeting. Chairman Alcorn referred to a "City Profile" Planning Director Lynne Plaskett did on New Smyrna Beach. He said he would like to get Ms. Plaskett or staff to update information for Edgewater and have brochures that would be available for distribution. He said the Chamber could put the information on its web site. The Chairman referred to the City's current brochure and fact sheet, which were about three years old, and said he would like to update those also. He said most of the funds for that project were solicited from local businesses. Chairman Alcorn summarized what the Board had been discussing for the City Manager who had just arrived. He explained they were developing a budget for the coming year based on a previous format. He said while looking at a marketing program for the City, he asked that Ms. Plaskett update the City of Edgewater' s profile. The Chairman said he would like to put all the information on a CD. Chairman Alcorn asked City Manager Hooper his thoughts on how the Board should go about requesting a City Profile be published. The City Manager said the Board could show City Council a copy of what they wanted and that the cost would be included in the EDB budget. It was decided to budget $10,000 for a City Profile and $2,500 for the information brochure and fact sheet update. '-' ., Economic Development Board Minutes - June 7, 2000 Page -3- Trade shows were discussed. Chairman Alcorn said they didn't need to invest in booths, but just have presence at the shows. He referred to his attendance at the Miami Boat show. Mr. Keenan spoke about a group wanting to put on an aero-trade show and he recommended the Daytona Airport. The Chairman allotted $3,000 to cover trade shows. Chairman Alcorn said the EDB should become a member of the Central Florida Innovation Corporation for $150 per year. He said this was the group that put on the Venture Capital Seminar recently. The Chairman said the City contributed $500 towards this seminar, and also $500 for the Economic Development Symposium. He felt the symposium had been very successful. Ms. McBride answered yes when asked by the Chairman if $750 for Resource and Reference Material was an appropriate figure. He asked the Board if there was anything else needing funds to be allocated for. City Manager Hooper suggested listing specific trade shows the Board would be interested in attending. Chairman Alcorn said they would be looking at the Miami Boat Show, Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, Simulators Show and the New York City Boat Show. Ms. Aly said the Board should direct their attention toward one or two industries, and felt other associated industries would follow. She said if they concentrated on being a Marine ParklIndustrial City, the City could hold shows. Ms. Aly thought this would be better than covering a broad spectrum. Ms. Aly said small aircraft industry could also be focused on since we had the Massey Airport. Ms. Aly felt an agreement should be made between the City and real estate agents for incentive purposes. She said there should be a committee formed to focus on the Marine Industry, and to work with the Edgewater Economic Development Board. Ms. Aly felt they could put together the fact sheets on available property and buildings. Chairman Alcorn felt the Realtors would not cooperate because the City of Edgewater doesn't have any land for sale. He said the City of New Smyrna and the County would not pay commission if a real estate agent found a buyer for any parcel of land. Chairman Alcorn said the Cities of Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Ormond had a person who does nothing but Economic Development and that New Smyrna Beach would be hiring an economic development director. He praised City Manager Hooper for his availability and working rapport and felt the City of Edgewater didn't necessarily need an economic development person. The Chairman asked for the City Manager's thoughts. City Manager Hooper said the City was not ready for that person yet, but would be in a year or two. Chairman Alcorn reiterated that there were no existing buildings for new businesses to locate in the City of Edgewater. City Manager Hooper said FIND had a huge amount of surplus space that they would be selling off. He felt there would be some big players interested in the area around 1-95 and SR 442. The City Manager said the south side, which was mostly residential, was changing because water was now available. ~ .." Economic Development Board Minutes - June 7, 2000 Page -4- Ms. Aly asked to look at hiring a person part-time. She said it was important to see projects started and to follow them through, an example being the brochure. The City Manager suggested the Board describe to City Council at their workshop the need for a person either for this year or next year. He said the Board needed to present a business plan and felt the current Council was very interested in economic development. City Manager Hooper felt it would be hard to find a person for part-time because you would be looking for a sales oriented person and if that someone did the job well, they would be employed. Ms. Aly felt the EDB were the sales people, that the Board didn't want to put together the information but wanted to pass along the information. Ms. Aly felt the part-time person should be hired as a coordinator. Discussion continued on the hiring of a person. Chairman Alcorn asked Ms. McBride to formalize what was discussed about the budget and forward it to him before the scheduled workshop. He asked her to inform the members not in attendance of the meeting date and time. City Manager Hooper informed the Board the City hired a consulting firm/person to do grant writing, which will be a way to obtain economic development money. There was discussion on what should be presented to Council at the upcoming workshop. Ms Aly asked if they would be discussing spec buildings at the workshop. City Manager Hooper felt the subject would come up since the Mayor was interested in the idea. Chairman Alcorn spoke about fiber optic lines which were available to Daytona Beach Community College. The City Manager said the lines would be going through the FIND project area. Ms. Aly said Cameron's Marina was purchased by the owners of Smart Technologies. She asked if it was possible to put together a small boat show with Boston Whaler to help bring in prospective people. Chairman Alcorn said the Chamber had previously discussed the idea but there was not a good response. 2. A wards Program/Ceremony a. Discuss industrial appreciation - was not discussed. 3. Joint Meeting/Workshop with City Council b. Discuss agenda for June 13, 2000 meeting - agenda was not formalized CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS: Ms. Carter said she had continued attending the Recreation/Cultural Services Board meetings and reported they would be starting on the south medians within the next few weeks. '-" .""", Economic Development Board Minutes - June 7, 2000 Page -5- Chairman Alcorn asked if they could coordinate with staff to develop a canoe trail along Mosquito Lagoon and a safe 25 mile scenic bike route, both as an attraction for tourism. Councilman Brown said, at one time the City had been asked about permitting the renting of canoes at one of the City's parks and wanted to know what happened. The City Manager said no one brought the subject back. Ms. Carter recalled it was greatly defeated at the time, and felt it was something the people did not want to pursue. Mr. Keenan said Dick Jones (former EDB member) wanted to put in a marina between Kennedy Park and Menard-May Park. Councilman Brown thought the Council indicated they wanted to pursue the idea. Ms. Aly suggested contacting Cameron's Marina to see if they could put in canoe rentals or sponsor something like that. Mr. Keenan spoke about kayak rentals. Councilman Brown said he knew of a kayak business in New Smyrna Beach and said he would contact them to see if they would be interested. Chairman Alcorn asked who would authorize permission to setup a marked trail in the waterway. City Manager Hooper said he would need a Federal permit to do such. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made and approved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 a.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth J. McBride, Board Coordinator Economic Development Board F:\edb-minutes\min060700.reg