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03-06-2002 , o (.) 0.. ~ \,-"O"~~ CITY OF EDGEWATER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING March 6, 2002 8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER: Acting Chairman Nora Aly called to order a regular meeting of the Economic Development Board at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 6, 2002, in the Edgewater Public Library conference room. ROLL CALL: Members present were Thomas McKinley, Adelaide Carter, Nora Aly, Edward Keenan (arrived at 8:05 a.m. after approval ofthe minutes), Michael Wilson and Douglas McGinnis. Also present were Chief Planner Darren Lear, Councilman Jim Brown, former member and Chairman Joe Martin, News Journal staff writer Jean Morgan, Observer staff writer Sylvan McElroy and Board Coordinator Liz McBride. Chairman Thomas Alcorn and Roland Bazin were excused and Christopher Balmer was absent. APPROV AL OF MINUTES: The minutes for February 6, 2002, 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. Wilson. Motion CARRIED 5-0. CITY AND OTHER REPORTS: 1. City of Edgewater - This item was skipped over since Chief Planner Darren Lear had not arrived. CONTINUED BUSINESS: 1. EDB/City Council Work Session (Feb. 26, 2002) Follow-up. Since Chairman Aly left the meeting early, she asked Mr. McGinnis to report on the work session. Mr. McGinnis summarized that a task the Council wanted the EDB to look into was what kinds of deed restrictions and covenants should be in place at the ParkTowne Industrial Center. He said we (EDB) needed to figure how to go about doing that. Chairman Aly mentioned suggestions and recommendations for the industrial park that Steve Dennis, Executive Director of the Southeast Chamber of Commerce, presented to the Council. City Manager Ken Hooper said the Council asked that Mr. Dennis put those thoughts in writing and that the City had received a copy. Ms. Aly asked if there were things the EDB could help Council with. City Manager said Planning Director Lynne Plaskett was working on the development order and was getting copies of deed restrictions from other cities to compare what they did. o Q Economic Development Board March 6, 2002 - Minutes Page 2 Mr. McGinnis stated he had a friend who is the Mayor of Longmont, Colorado, who was going to put him in touch with someone who could get him a copy of their deed restrictions. He said this was an area that targeted particular types of industries and that they had done a great job of drawing the kind of people they needed. Mr. McKinley asked if there was any discussion about, or the possibility of, the City putting up a spec building. City Manager Hooper said probably not. Once the City takes ownership, he said there were several people interested in purchasing parcels. Chairman Aly reiterated Mr. Dennis's statement that a fact sheet should be developed to use when marketing the property. Chairman Aly asked what the Board thought of the workshop. Mr. McGinnis felt it wasn't too much of a workshop in that the EDB didn't really have a chance to speak only to listen, but it did inform them. Chairman Aly suggested after receiving the deed restrictions from other areas, that they hold a workshop of their own. B. Business A wardsILuncheon Follow-up - Mr. McGinnis thanked everyone and mentioned that his brother and sister also appreciated the award. He said their award was displayed in their museum and felt it was very well done. Ms. McBride remarked that the EDB received a thank you note from A-I Barber Shop owner Hal Conn. Chairman Aly asked how much the awards and luncheon were. Ms. McBride estimated about $450 and informed her all the budgeted funds for this year had been spent. C. Ad Valorem Tax Exemption - Steve Dennis - Chairman Aly said Mr. Dennis, Executive Director of the Southeast V olusia Chamber of Commerce, was to have reported on this topic. She asked Ms. McBride when this would expire. Ms. McBride responded, November 2002. City Manager Hooper said it could be voted on anytime there was a general election, with the next City election being in 2003. Mr. Keenan stated there were County and State elections this November. Chairman Aly felt this was a good tax and that we shouldn't let it expire. Mr. McGinnis asked what the EDB could do to get the process started. City Manager Hooper said ifthe Board felt it was valid, to send correspondence to City Council stating you (EDB) think it's a worthy cause and a presentation from the Board or Mr. Dennis. The City Council are the ones who could put it on the ballot. Mr. McGinnis felt they have an opportunity of getting someone to take advantage of this with ParkTowne coming online. Joe Martin, former EDB member and Chairman, was instrumental in promoting and educating the public to get this passed. He explained the tremendous amount of work that went into this. He said the Board should plan on a lot of "sidewalk" time. Mr. Wilson asked Mr. Martin if he thought there would be much public resistance. Mr. Martin didn't think so, but felt they would get a lot of questions. Mr. Keenan suggested putting an article in the City's Newsletter. City Manager Hooper said fine as long as it was neutral since they would be using City dollars, but they could promote it individually. When asked how long it took to get all the information to the public, Mr. Martin said they started with requesting funds from Council and that he would have to research his files. He said it took about a month to do their "sidewalk sales" and advertising. o Q Economic Development Board March 6, 2002 - Minutes Page 3 City Manager Hooper suggested the Board get with him, Mr. Martin and Mr. Dennis to discuss what you would get out of the exemption. Discussion continued on the mandated requirements, how it worked and the benefits. Mr. McGinnis said Mr. Dennis and Shannon McBride, New Smyrna Beach Business Development Director, had outlined many of what they had talked about here at the previous EDB meeting and talked about how New Smyrna is developing theirs. He felt it would be good to get their points to review. Mr. McGinnis also felt it would be valuable to see just what incentives would be offered when staff develops a marketing plan for ParkTowne. Chairman Aly liked the idea of holding a workshop to discuss this issue and asked to have it put on the next agenda to set a date. City Manager Hooper said staff could provide the Board copies of deed restrictions and covenants from other cities. Mr. McKinley asked Mr. Martin if he had any information that would be helpful the Board would appreciated. He suggested updating the City's demographics information. CITY AND OTHER REPORTS: A. City of Edgewater Updates - Chief Planner Darren Lear reported on attending a VIP (Volusia Information Partnership) workshop. He said at that meeting, they decided to do a mock-up brochure for the City of Edgewater and the other cities and that the County would be paying for them. Mr. Lear distributed a few examples and asked for the Board's feed back before his next VIP meeting. It was asked who all was involved. Mr. Lear replied, the County's new Economic Development Director Rick Michael heads the V olusia Information Partnership which was designed to get all the cities, Chambers' of Commerce and other groups together to discuss how best to get businesses and economic development into the County/City. Mr. McGinnis asked where the brochures would be distributed. Mr. Lear said the brochures would be available at the airport because that is where the economic development office is, the Chambers and City Halls. The Board discussed the information on the draft brochure. Chairman Aly asked if the VIP was a new group. City Manager Hooper said the County appointed various representatives throughout the County and started an economic development plan. When Mr. Michael was hired, he wanted to have a separate group/user group who talk of how to sell that plan. City Manager Hooper felt the County was backing up what they said, that they were trying to do economic development not only with cities but public/private sector. Chairman Aly asked if the Board could get a list of the names on the committee and the amount to print the brochures. Mr. Lear said it was estimated to cost between $5,000-$7,000 for each City. Mr. McKinley felt the brochure looked great and appreciated Mr. Lear representing Edgewater regarding economic development. Mr. Lear said he would make copies of the brochure for the Board for them to markup and make comments. Mr. Lear said the VIP group would be discussing this at their next meeting but it would probably be six months before the brochure would be printed. He said the VIP group meets the last Wednesday of the month. o (,) Economic Development Board March 6, 2002 - Minutes Page 4 Mr. Keenan wanted to express his desire for the City to work out a deal with the YMCA so that it could complete the pool. City Manager Hooper explained what was discussed at the City Council meeting on March 4, 2002, regarding the YMCA. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Martin spoke about kit planes and a publication that was distributed worldwide. He said he would like to lease space to someone interested in kit plane manufacturing. Chairman Aly was interested in knowing what type of businesses were out at the Massey airport. When Mr. Martin suggested the Board take a tour of the airport, Mr. McKinley felt it would be a good idea. Chairman Aly would like to do this one Wednesday morning. Mr. Martin suggested calling to make arrangements if the Board was going to stop at one of the businesses. Mr. McGinnis felt it would be nice to talk with some of the business owners to see what there concerns were. Chairman Aly said they could discuss the date and time at the next meeting. She asked Mr. Martin if he could contact a few businesses to see if they were available. Councilman Brown interjected that we were the only FAA approved area for stunt flying. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS: None at this time. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made and approved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 a.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth J. McBride, Board Coordinator Economic Development Board F:\edb-minutes\030602