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09-27-2000 , -.'>".(.........11,......', ..... .."., CITY OF EDGEWATER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD JOINT MEETING September 27, 2000 8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Thomas Alcorn called to order a joint meeting of the Economic Development Board and the Southeast V olusia Economic Development Task Force at 8:05 a.m., Wednesday, September 27, 2000, in the Community Center. ROLL CALL: Members present were Chairman Thomas Alcorn, Adelaide Carter, Christopher Balmer (was excused but arrived at 8:45 a.m.), Nora Aly, Michael Wilson and Roland Bazin. Also present were Planning Director Lynne Plaskett; DBCC Provost Frank Wedda and Board Coordinator Liz McBride. Donald Gillispe was excused and Edward Keenan was absent. Task Force Committee Members present: Chairman Jim Russell, Co-Chairman Rick Sterba, Steve Dennis, Jerry Fox, Arne Stream, Tom Harowski, John Massey, Jordan Stuart, Arvin Lewis and Sandra Pettit. Chairman Alcorn thanked Mr. Sterba for bringing his group to the meeting with the EDB. He said the reason for having the meeting together was obviously because both Cities border and wants to look at where they are going, what they are doing and how they are going to achieve the goals they want. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chairman Alcorn said since this was a joint meeting, copies of the minutes were not provided in the packets and said they would be approved at the next meeting if the members were in agreement. There were no objections. AGENCY AND CITY REPORTS: 1. Daytona Beach Community College (DBCC) South Campus - Provost Frank Wedda said part of the college's mission was to be part of economic development. He said they were trying to get a focus for every campus, and looking at the South Campus for a place to bring science and technology. .The laying of fiber optics at the campus was mentioned by Chairman Alcorn and he asked if there were any plans for local businesses to be able to communicate and tie into the lines. Dr. Wedda said he would check and report back. Chairman Alcorn said the City of Edgewater was very involved with the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) project and asked if there were any plans the college might have with FIND regarding expansion of the campus or doing some projects. Dr. Wedda said the college had established a "marine institute" and he would follow up on its progress. ~ ...,., EconomIc Development Board September 27, 2000 - Minutes Page 2- Chairman Alcorn mentioned a new center at the LPGA Boulevard where juniors and seniors would learn technical skills. Dr. Wedda said the Advanced Technical Center would open in August 2001 to high school sophomores through seniors and community college students. He said the state-of- the-art facility would emphasize auto mechanics, computer engineering, digital imaging and others. Dr. Wedda said high school students would be able to dual-enroll while in high school and receive college credits. He said in addition to new programs, the college would be moving some of their programs from the Daytona Campus to the Advanced Technical Center. Chairman Alcorn said he would like to discuss the marketing program the Southeast V olusia Chamber and college had been working on. Steve Dennis, Executive Director of the SE V olusia Chamber, said one of the focal points for the Chamber next year would be the development of an overall marketing piece for Southeast V olusia. He said the information would be housed on the Chamber's web site. Mr. Dennis said the Chamber had met with Dr. Wedda and members of his staff to help the Chamber develop a small business card size CD that could be used for a promotional piece and be available to a variety of agencies. He said the CD would contain information about all of Southeast V olusia County and have links to the web site for additional information. He said after the first of the year, the Chamber would be in a position to revamp their web site and make it the core for surrounding cities. Dr. Wedda said this project was a great opportunity for the students. Sandra Pettit, Economic Development Assistant for Enterprise Volusia said her organization was interested in doing the same thing. Funding for project development, distribution and cost of the CD were discussed. 2. City of Edgewater - Concerning the FIND project, Planning Director Lynne Plaskett reported the City received an interlocal agreement between FDOT and Florida East Coast Railroad for the railroad crossing but is still waiting for the St. Johns permit; Dougherty Marine was ready for a certificate of occupancy on their Air Park Road and Park A venue building; Dale Street was almost complete with three buildings and infrastructure; Planning and Zoning Board was recommending Council approve the annexation of approximately 126 acres (Phase II, Massey Airpark Ranch), part to be rezoned I-I and the remainder a fly-in community; the YMCA is tentatively scheduled for a November 2000 opening; and the planning consultants working on the comprehensive plan amendments are looking at mostly mixed-use categories for the 1,400:t acres west of Florida Shores along SR 442. Chairman Alcorn asked John Massey ifhe had any comments. Although he felt everything had been covered, he mentioned A viat Aviation had not made a final decision as to their relocation site and hoped Southeast V olusia County would still be in the running. Mr. Massey said the annexation of his property and the surrounding area was moving along, and that the County and City (Edgewater) had reached an agreement on the widening of Park A venue, to be three lanes from Dale Street to Old Mission Road. Mr. Massey said, while attending a VCARD workshop with County Council he spoke to Matt Greeson. He relayed to him that he felt Ann McFall (District 5) didn't know Southeast V olusia existed or if she had ever been here. He mentioned no member of County Council resided in Southeast Volusia County, therefore felt we would be last on the list to be paid attention to. Mr. Massey felt one of the major priorities as far as a transportation element in Southeast V olusia County would be the completion of the east coast belt line (in the works for over 20 years). Mr. Massey said he asked Councilwoman McFall for a meeting in Southeast V olusia and she agreed. Mr. Dennis was to arrange the meeting. ~ ~ EconomIc Development Board September 27,2000 - Minutes Page -3- Mr. Fox interjected that when they meet with the new county manager, John Massey be present to express his views and concerns. Mr. Dennis said this would be a good opportunity to organize some type of project where everyone could work together to plan a reception or some type of activity for all elected officials and the economic development people. Chairman Alcorn felt the Edgewater Community Center was a great facility and would like to see more joint meetings held in the City of Edgewater. Mr. Dennis agreed and felt the need to keep the elected bodies talking to each other on a regular basis. 3. Bert Fish Medical Center - Arvin Lewis, Director of Integration, reported the Heartburn Relief Center started seeing patients Monday (9/25/00) at Bert Fish, and the Edgewater building would be ready to occupy by mid-December (2000). He said the last public hearing for the milage rate would be held Friday (9/29/00). He said the hospital was looking to generate $1.4 million to acquire additional assets. Mr. Lewis said part of the $1.4 million would go to demolish the 1962 brick building and to create additional parking in that area, to cover the first year of the CT lease cost, to acquire additional office space and to acquire property in Edgewater for future Bert Fish expansion. 4. Enterprise V olusia - Sandra Pettit, Economic Development Assistant, mentioned Industrial Appreciation Week and displayed an ad they had in the Sunday News Journal. The ad listed companies EV helped financially with either the Opportunity Fund or general assistance. On behalf of EV, Ms. Pettit thanked Chairman Alcorn, the City of Edgewater and City Manager Hooper for including in their budget, funding to continue supporting EV. Ms. Pettit reported environmental aspects were still being worked on with regard to the boat racing project and talks were continuing with Monarch Studios. She said Mr. Million of McKenna Yachts did not seem to be concerned with manatee issues, and that he would be meeting the first part of October with the Army Corp of Engineers. Ms. Pettit said there would be a conference call September 28,2000, with A viat Aviation owner Stewart Horn and Enterprise Florida. She said EV had heard the biggest competition was going to be Homestead because Mrs. Horn decided to purchase a condo in Coconut Grove. Ms. Pettit reported the truck distribution facility had decided not to relocate here and the reservation center eliminated Southeast V olusia but their consultant said Southeast V olusia had been placed in the top five on another list for a customer service center with salaries in the same range of $9-$1 0.00 per hour. Ms. Pettit had been working with a Home Health Care Agency and was waiting to hear back from them. She said they would be adding about 20 employees within the next year and the average salaries were approximately $50,000 per year. Ms. Pettit said she was meeting with a gentlemen in New Smyrna who was looking to purchase a 2,500 square foot building to expand his small business. Chairman Alcorn mentioned City Manager Hooper sent a letter to A viat Aviation saying the City would help in anyway possible. 5. Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) - Chairman Alcorn said the ACA received funding for their Show Boat which would be here within the next sixty (60) days. It was noted that the date would be October 28, 2000. '-" .",." Economic Development Board September 27, 2000 - Minutes Page -4- CITY REPORTS: 1. New Smyrna Beach - Tom Harowski reported the City was continuing its aggressive capital construction program. He said 20th A venue paving was contracted and ready to go, 3rd A venue landscaping would begin soon, Magnolia A venue drainage was out for bid which will include some work on Riverside Drive, the Parks Maintenance Complex at the new airport fields was contracted with construction to begin soon and the side walk on N. Peninsula was out for bid. He said they were working on Babe James Center but the bidding came in $6-$700,000 over budget. South Atlantic improvements were still on track with bidding going out towards the end of 2000 and bids would be going out for Buena Vista Park. Mr. Harowski said they were putting in a maned control tower at the airport site but was not sure of the construction schedule. He said the CRA had recommended expansion of a CRA district for an area west of US 1 south of Mary A venue to the new SR 44, and utilizing Myrtle A venue as the west boundary. He said they would be going through administrative hoops to get it approved. Mr. Harowski said they met with FDOT concerning possible funding for West Canal Street and should know something by January or February 2001. Mr. Harowski reminded those present, the City had a 10,000 square foot industrial building at the Industrial Park complex which was designed and permitted, and the City would like to "break even" on it. Mr. Harowski said the City was working on two beautification projects on SR 44. He said the Commission already approved one at Myrtle and SR 44 and the other would be by 1-95, which the City would be applying for a highway beautification grant. He said they were also looking at design projects for 3rd Avenue and S. Peninsula. Mr. Harowski said they were updating their web site and adding to their community profile. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Economic Development Coordinator - Mr. Harowski said the Economic Development Coordinator position had been advertised but did not know if it was at the interview stage. 2. Airport Industrial Park Signage - Co-chair Rick Sterba said he had been working with City Manager Frank Roberts and Ron Willsbach for a new signage package for the Air Park Complex. He said Mr. Willsbach was having trouble finding a sign company to commit to the project. He said there was $20,000 in the budget and Mr. Willsbach was working on new signs for US 1 and Industrial Park, Industrial Drive and Airway Circle. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Edgewater Economic Development - Chairman Alcorn said there was not enough time to cover this topic. He reminded the Edgewater members of a joint meeting with City Council to be held on October 4, 2000, at 6:00 p.m. and conclude at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Alcorn asked the Edgewater members to look at the approved budget and be thinking about how they would most effectively spend the dollars. ....,.. Economit'Development Board September 27, 2000 - Minutes Page -5- MEMBER COMMENTS: Ms. Aly asked if the Edgewater Board was going to honor businesses as they had done in the past, or if it was a dead issue. Chairman Alcorn said they normally recognize businesses during Industry Appreciation Week but may do at anytime if the Board so wishes. He felt it was still a good idea and would bring the subject up at the City Council joint meeting. Ms. Carter reported the medians at the south end were finished and hoped it would give a better impression when entering the City from that direction. She said the YMCA Recreation Complex was about to open and the skateboard park at Whistle Stop had been well received. Ms. Carter said the Recreation & Cultural Services Board would be working on getting a historical area designated. Jordan Stuart felt the joint meeting with the two Boards was informative, a little more directed and better structured because of the attendance on both sides. She asked if anyone had given thought to a regular reporting or meeting process between the two groups. Chairman Alcorn said he had no opposition and asked how often to meet jointly. In agreeing with Ms. Stuart's impression of the meeting, Co-chair Sterba said that was why he wanted a joint meeting. Ms. Stuart asked about the minutes being received by each Board and having them included on each Board's agenda as a regular report, then to hold two joint meetings a year. Chairman Alcorn felt it was an excellent idea. Board coordinator Liz McBride said a copy of the EDB' s minutes was sent to the Chamber and if anyone wished to be put on the mailing list, she would be happy to take their names. Ms. Stuart said she didn't know how the agenda was progressing for the Retreat, but asked Mr. Dennis if it would be possible to bring up the issue of the interaction between the two groups. Mr. Dennis said that it would be up to the President elect. Co-chair Sterba said he had planned to do that in the economic group. Chairman Jim Russell announced, as Board Chairman of Marine Discovery Center, they had been awarded a grant from Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) of $160,000. He said this was a major achievement for the Marine Discovery Center which also represented a significant advantage for economic development in Southeast V olusia. Chairman Russell said they would be looking to the Chamber for more assistance and support in the next year or two to help get the project further underway. He said the City (NSB) did an excellent job putting the grant application together and the Center was grateful to City Manager Roberts and his staff and Mayor Vandergrifft. He said the City Commission would officially announce the grant in mid-October. Ms. Stuart asked if the grant was subject to a match. Chairman Russell said the match would be $41,000 of the $160,000, and would come from the Marine Discovery Center itself. So $119,000 would actually come from FIND. Ms. Stuart said, subject to approval by the City, Wood & Stuart would make a $1,000 donation subject to a matching donation. Chairman Russell thanked Ms. Stuart. Chairman Alcorn reminded the Board of the meeting on September 27th and invited the group from Southeast V olusia. ....... ...., Economic Development Board September 27,2000 - Minutes Page -6- ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made and approved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:07 a.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth J. McBride, Board Coordinator Economic Development Board F:\edb-minutes\min092700.jnt