06-06-2001
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CITY OF EDGEWATER
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
June 6, 2001
8:00 a.m.
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Thomas Alcorn called to order a regular meeting of the Economic Development Board
at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 6, 2001, in the Community Center.
ROLL CALL:
Members present were Chairman Thomas Alcorn, Adelaide Carter, Christopher Balmer, Nora Aly,
Edward Keenan, Roland Bazin and Douglas McGinnis. Also present were City Manager Ken
Hooper; Planning Director Lynne Plaskett; Southeast Volusia Chamber Executive Director Steven
Dennis; Southeast V olusia Economic Development Task Force Chairman Rick Sterba; Tom
Vittetow, Digital World Com; New Smyrna Beach Business Development/Governmental Affairs
Director Shannon Lewis; Sandy Jones; News Journal staff writer Jean Morgan and Board
Coordinator Liz McBride. Michael Wilson was recorded absent and Richard Morin had resigned
the previous day.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes for May 2, 2001, 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 7-0.
CITY AND OTHER REPORTS:
1. City of Edgewater Planning Director Lynne Plaskett reported:
a. Comprehensive Plan amendments for properties the City annexed into the City over
several years would be going to Council June 18, 2001, for transmittal to the Department of
Community Affairs.
b. Edgewater Lakes Golf Course was moving along with an application for annexation
of an additional 37 acres along US I to be incorporated as a part of the golf course community.
Chairman Alcorn asked Ms. Plaskett to report on the F.I.N.D. project. She said engineers had been
hired for the infrastructure project for Phase I and Phase II design. Tree removal permits had been
obtained and work had begun. Chairman Alcorn referred to New Journal staff writer Jean Morgan's
article about how the area was going to be developed. He asked what the Board could do specifically
to promote this area. City Manager Ken Hooper suggested a Board member be present at a meeting
with the engineers to be held in the next week or two for their input on the design. He said the City
received a letter from F.I.N.D. declaring the property surplus and asking if we wanted to purchase
it. The City Manager said a "letter of intent" stating we would like to buy the property would be on
Council's June 18, 2001 agenda. Chairman Alcorn asked what the time frame was for parcels to be
ready for development. City Manager Hooper indicated the 360 days contract started May 1,2001,
so that by April 2002 it would be opened. He said it was not a platted commercial subdivision it was
coming in as a developed PUD so there would be flexibility with the lots.
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Economic Development Board
June 6, 2001 - Minutes
Page 2
City Manager stated he had spoken to New Smyrna about an entrance onto 10th Street. Chairman
Alcorn asked about a linkage into the college. Ms. Plaskett said DBCC submitted their overall
master plan for all campuses and there was no plan at this point for them to come into or have
roadways into the industrial park. City Manager Hooper felt it would be a smart move to talk to the
college again.
PRESENT A TION:
1. Business Marketing CD - Rick Sterba, Steve Dennis, Tom Vittetow of DigitalW orldCom
Mr. Dennis informed the Board they were at the meeting to bring the Board a proposal on a
marketing piece to promote the areas assets and economic development. Mr. Dennis provided
background information and distributed the proposal. He said the initial cost for Chamber members
would be $2750 which included development costs, printing, "Flash Intro" development and 500
finished discs, with additional discs selling for $1.50 each. Among the information distributed, was
a sheet showing various areas that would be included on the web-site. The idea was to build a body
of information that everyone in Southeast V olusia could draw off of, but the discs would be
indi vidualized (Flash Intro) for one's business or organization, including web links. Mr. Dennis said
the discs were very successful for the Advertising Authority.
Mr. Vittetow demonstrated how the disc worked and possible formats. He also explained how the
disc could be customized. About 20 percent of the disc would be based on the information provided
on the CD Questionnaire and the other 80 percent of the disc is information provided by the
Chamber. Mr. McGinnis felt agriculture and aquiculture should also be added.
Chairman Alcorn asked for a motion to accept proposal to get it on the table for discussion. Mr.
Keenan so moved, second by Ms. Carter.
City Manager Hooper asked how the Chamber went through the process of selecting Digital W orId
Com. He said there were not many in the area that produced this product. Several vendors came in
with proposals and their costs were reviewed. The advantage with Digital W orId Com is that they
are more local and the Chamber was familiar with their product. The contract for the production of
the discs would be with the Chamber.
Mr. Balmer mentioned Chief BarIow shared with him that there were 1125 hits on the City's web-
site in the month of May which was 10 percent over the previous month.
Chairman Alcorn asked who would provide the information to the Chamber. Mr. Dennis said City
staff would be providing the information in a Word format. The Chairman was trying to estimate
how long it would take to compile the information. Business Development/Governmental Affairs
Director Shannon Lewis said if you think its going to take ten hours, you sould double or triple the
time. Chairman Alcorn said money was available in the Board's budget, but needed a commitment
from City staff. The City Manager suggested the EDB recommend to Council that the Board wanted
to enter into a contract with their approval. The City Manager said he would work with Ms. Lewis,
as Edgewater is close to signing a deal with New Smyrna splitting some of her time.
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Economic Development Board
June 6, 2001 - Minutes
Page 3
Chairman Alcorn concluded that the EDB recommend City Council approval for the Board to enter
into an agreement with Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce to provide them with $2750 for
development of 500 finished CD discs to market the City of Edgewater' s economic development.
Mr. Bazin so moved, second by Ms. Aly. Motion CARRIED 7-0.
The City Manager said this could go before the Council on July 2,2001.
Mr. Dennis briefly spoke about the Chamber's new Visitors Guide and Membership Directory and
left some for the City to distribute.
CONTINUED BUSINESS:
1. Advertising City of Edgewater & Water Craft Industry in Magazines - Mr. Bazin said
while visiting the New York Boat Show, he brought back two of the best magazines for advertising
in. He said Enterprise V olusia had recommended using Professional Boatbuilders magazine which
is distributed worldwide. He said the black and white ad would be on a sixth of a page, four times
at $970 for a total of $3,880. Chairman Alcorn stated that Enterprise V olusia would be contributing
$1,000 toward the ad. Ms. Aly said it would be interesting to see if the number of "hits" on the
City's web page increases after production of the ad. Mr. Balmer suggested establishing a link to
the ad.
2. Update on Consolidated Dispatch Services - City Manager Hooper informed the Board at
the last joint meeting which Shannon Lewis did the presentation and Steve Dennis chaired, it was
unanimous that the four cities continue forward and the price tag was just under $2 million. Ms.
Lewis interjected that it was approximately $2.7 million over a thee-year period. City Manager
Hooper said the four cities would meet again on June 28, 2001, to agree on an Interlocal Agreement.
The projected start-up date would be October 2002 in Port Orange and eventually moved to New
Smyrna.
3. Edgewater & Southeast Volusia Chamber - Small Business Program (Sept.) - Ms. Aly
felt the end of September would be a good time to hold the program and a small committee should
be formed for planning the event. Ms. McBride reminded the members that any meetings they held
with each other must be posted. Ms. Aly asked if anyone was willing to work with her on this
project. Mr. McGinnis, Ms. Carter and Chairman Alcorn agreed to assist. Chairman Alcorn
suggested using the YMCA as the location, and perhaps modeling it after the Chamber's "After
Business Hour" activity. Mailing a flyer to the businesses that had an occupational license to ask
if they were interested in participating was suggested. City Manager Hooper asked if the Board
thought they would have enough interest if they just included Edgewater or if they should expand
it to Southeast V olusia. Ms. Aly said they needed to market the program and start soon. Mr.
McGinnis felt they had to get the message out to the small businesses what an excellent, inexpensive
opportunity for them to receive a lot more contact. City Manager Hooper didn't think the Board
could make the September date and do it right. Chairman Alcorn suggested deciding when to hold
the event after the committee's first meeting. Obtaining labels and when to mail out flyers were
discussed. Ms. Plaskett said she would help Ms. Aly with the flyer.
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Economic Development Board
June 6, 2001 - Minutes
Page 4
NEW BUSINESS:
1. EDB Budget Review for FY2001/02 - Chairman Alcorn said last year $36,750.00 was
allocated to the EDB and there would be a $9,300.00 reduction this year because they would not be
funding Enterprise V olusia. Approximately $27,000 would be allocated for FY2001/02. The
Chairman said there was $14,364 available in the current budget, which would pay for the business
marketing discs ($2,700) and the advertisement ($2,700) leaving around $9,000. Other expenses
may include a few trade shows and food and beverages for the business expo.
Chairman Alcorn mentioned another budget item was the request from Councilman Brown to
publish an Edgewater business directory. The cost of putting this together was discussed and it was
determined that the Chamber's Official Visitors Guide and Membership Director already covered
many of the businesses. City Manager Hooper suggested the businesses that were not Chamber
members could advertise in the guide. Mr. McGinnis stated that many business directories were
marketed so they didn't need to be an expense but could actually be a profit. The Chamber's
directory was mentioned as a way to let people know there was a vehicle to get your business name
out. Using the City's web site was suggested as a better way to list Edgewater businesses making
it easier to update the information. The Board decided to put the printing of an Edgewater only
directory on "the back burner." When Chairman Alcorn asked who needed to follow up on finding
out about uploading the occupational license information to the web site, City Manager Hooper
answered Ms. McBride.
CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS:
Adelaide Carter reported the Beautification Committee has resumed giving their awards again.
Chairman Alcorn said the distribution center was still in the works. He said that they wanted to be
more in the center of the County but people there didn't want them. Costs were being looked at.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made and approved to
adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by:
Elizabeth J. McBride, Board Coordinator
Economic Development Board
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