Loading...
02-06-2002 C\ '\"'\ "",,)"t ~ .... ...., CITY OF EDGEWATER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING February 6, 2002 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, February 6,2002, in the Edgewater Public Library conference room. ROLL CALL: Members present were Chairman Thomas Alcorn, Thomas McKinley, Adelaide Carter, Christopher Balmer, Nora Aly, Edward Keenan, Michael Wilson, Roland Bazin and Douglas McGinnis. Also present were Planning Technician Pat Drosten; Councilman Jim Brown; New Smyrna Beach Business Development Director Shannon Lewis; Southeast V olusia Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Dennis; News Journal staff writer Jean Morgan and Board Coordinator Liz McBride. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes for January 9, 2002, were presented to the Board for approval. There being no corrections or changes, Mr. Wilson moved to approve the minutes as presented, second by Mr. Keenan. Motion CARRIED 9-0. CITY AND OTHER REPORTS: A. City of Edgewater - Planning Technician Ms. Drosten stated things were basically the same as reported last month. The comp plans were going in three stages with the last one scheduled for March 18th. She said the City was working with the County on a joint agreement for properties that are contiguous by way of the new annexation of US I down to Ariel Road. She felt once that agreement is signed, that there would be several annexations coming in from that area. Councilman Brown asked if Ms. Drosten had toured the ParkTowne Industrial Center. She said no. Councilman Brown said it was moving along very quickly and encouraged everyone to take a tour. In reference to the Edgewater Lakes project, Ms. Drosten said the City was waiting on the final approval from DCA and then they would be submitting their subdivision application which is the preliminary plat. B. Southeast V olusia Economic Development Board - Steve Dennis 1) Business Marketing CD - Mr. Dennis expected the product by the end of the month and hoped to have it in hand for the next meeting. '-' ...., Economic Development Board February 6, 2002 - Minutes Page 2 Chairman Alcorn asked Mr. Dennis what was going on at the Chamber. Mr. Dennis had an item to discuss under New Business, but said the Chamber was working on a project with the City of New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and the County which would provide detailed information for economic development activities in all of Southeast Volusia. He hoped for the four-way partnership to help fund it. Mr. Dennis said Chamber actIvItIes currently underway ranged from educational actIvItIes, membership things, and involving itself in the City's (New Smyrna Beach) CRA project. He said the Chamber's luncheon would be next Thursday, on Valentine's Day (14th) where they would be speaking on business relationships. He invited all to come at noon at Sugar Mill. Business After Hours is held on the third Thursday of the month and can be checked on their Web-site at www.sevchamber.com. Chairman Alcorn said it would be held on the 21 st at the Pioneer Appliance on Ridgewood Avenue in Edgewater. CONTINUED BUSINESS: A. Economic Development/City Council Work Session Agenda (Feb. 26, 2002) - Chairman Alcorn asked the location and time. Ms. McBride said it would be held in the Community Center at 6:00 p.m., but there would be one item before the Board spoke with Council. The Chairman said they discussed this at the last meeting when City Manager Ken Hooper was in attendance. He recalled keeping the Board focused on two items; 1) thoughts on the rules, regulations and restrictions of the development of the industrial park, and 2) what they need to do as an Economic Development Board to bring new business and industry into the area. Chairman Alcorn spoke about Shuttleoverhall coming to the area which would provide approximately 260 jobs. He said hopefully we would get some benefits. Concerning the budget, Chairman Alcorn said that after the awards luncheon, the Board would be out of funds but could al ways go back to Council to ask for specific things. He said this was the first time the EDB had gone through its entire budget. Mr. Keenan asked how the funds were spent and the Chairman answered. B. Business A wards and Luncheon - item was skipped over. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Dennis told the Board that he, Tom Alcorn and Shannon Lewis were meeting with Mr. Holness from the County on March 6th and put on by a community development corporation and the economic development department. He said it will be a seminar on micro loans provided by SDA for minorities and small businesses. Mr. Dennis wanted to speak to the Board about tax exemptions. He distributed information on the subject and a sample ballot. Mr. Dennis said it is called an ad valorem tax exemption and is a legislative tool for economic development. The City of Edgewater passed this tax exemption in November 1992, was good for ten years and will expire November 2002. Mr. Dennis said this tool allows the City Council to grant an ad valorem tax exemption up to 100% for up to ten years. He said it has very specific requirements and is primarily targeted at industrial jobs. He said the tax ..., Economic Development Board February 6, 2002 - Minutes Page 3 exemption is designed to encourage businesses to provide at least ten jobs paying higher wages. It is based on the number of jobs the business would bring, and applies to payroll, equipment and other related items but does not apply to land. He said it is designed to give the Council some leverage helping incoming businesses or as an incentive for an incoming business. Considering that Edgewater has ParkTowne ready for development, Mr. Dennis said this would be a nice tool to have. He said whomever is grant this exemption must reapply each year and prove they still meet the criteria for the exemption. Mr. Dennis stated this can only be passed by referendum to get it on the ballot (for November), so it would need to go to Council sixty days prior to the election. Mr. Dennis explained what was involved in getting this exemption passed. He said the Chamber wanted to work with Edgewater to get the exemption reinstated. Discussion continued defining an ad valorem tax exemption and the process. '-' Chairman Alcorn asked if New Smyrna Beach had received any applications for this tax. Ms. Lewis said they never used it but were currently talking to a client who is asking for it. She said their (New Smyrna Beach) criteria provides for three different scenarios; one is for a 50% abatement, one for a 75% and one for a 100% and do not specify the number of years as part of the negotiations. She said those are depended on jobs, on salary and on benefits. Ms. Lewis further explained their criteria. A few issues Chairman Alcorn considered was that the City of Edgewater has had the exemption and Coronado Paint was the only company that applied, the amount of time and effort it would take to campaign for its renewal and the cost. The Chairman felt it was something they needed to look at. Mr. Dennis said there was not a lot of incentive to use it at first because there were not that many large companies that fit the criteria inside the City of Edgewater. Also there wasn't as much focus on economic development until Ken Hooper became the City Manager. Mr. Dennis said the exemption does not apply to the land, but could be used for expansion of an existing business (adding new jobs) not necessarily new businesses. Chairman Alcorn asked if Mr. Dennis could have something for the EDB' s upcoming workshop with City Council. Mr. Dennis said City Manager suggested bringing this information to City Council. Mr. McGinnis asked if a company could a make an application and get approved before November 2002. Mr. Dennis said yes. Mr. Dennis said the advantage to having the exemption already in place is that there would be no "reselling" the program. Mr. Dennis informed the Board that Rick Michael, County Economic Development Director, indicated he would like to have a regular monthly luncheon meeting setup with the Chamber to discuss particular issues with various invited guests. Ms. Aly asked, when speaking of manufacturing businesses, was "10" the magic number because you can manufacture with less people. Mr. Dennis said the State Statute dictates the requirements. When Ms. Aly asked if they could be changed, Mr. Dennis answered no, but the City could craft something on its own. Ms. Aly wanted to focus on helping the small businesses expand. Chairman Alcorn understands the mainstay of Edgewater is businesses that employ less then ten, but the EDB' s efforts are to get companies who are going to employ more people with higher wages. """'" Economic Development Board February 6, 2002 - Minutes Page 4 Mr. McKinley also felt the City needed to go after the larger employers to bring about changes, and that smaller businesses would follow them. He didn't want the tax exemption to go away now that the City might have an opportunity to use it. ..... New Smyrna Beach Business Development Director Shannon Lewis reported they (NSB) were close to negotiating a lease for the Marina at the Swoop Plant. She hoped it would be back before their Commission next month. She spoke about their marketing efforts and that their "flash intro" for the Business CD was almost complete. Their new Web-site, cityofnsb.com, was not yet completed, but would have, among other things, Commission meetings dates, board minutes, staff reports, an area where citizens could make comments, information on emergency management, economic development business incentiveslbusiness climate, with links to other sites. Ms. Lewis said the City had a graphic design intern who is working on information brochures which will be put on the Web- site. She said they were looking at their industrial park for further expansion. The City has very little space available and Ms. Lewis said they were looking at possibilities of spec buildings at the industrial park and other areas. Business A wards and Luncheon - Ms. Aly distributed a draft invitation. The luncheon will be February 21,2002, at 12:00, at Mama's Deli, and honoring Loveland Groves, Tropical Blossom Honey and A-I Barbershop. Ms. Aly was working on the plaques. Jo Anne Sikes will make a presentation at the luncheon. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS: Mr. McGinnis shared that he taught a class on tasting honey at the Disney Institute in November and since everyone loved it, they were going to bring all the head chefs over from the Disney restaurants in the spring. They will visit the bee yards dressed up in bee suits and actually find out what goes on in the hives. Mr. McGinnis said it should be a fun program and would let Mr. Dennis know when they were in town. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made and approved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth J. McBride, Board Coordinator Economic Development Board F:\edb-minutes\020602.reg