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07-07-1994 (.) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD CITY OF EDGEWATER (,) a o~~~c.)-, \ '?\'^ c..crV-'l..~' c\ P.O. BOX 100, EDGEWATER, FL 32132 CITY OF EDGEWATER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING JULY 7, 1994 6:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Fong called to order a regular meeting of the Economic Development Board at 6:34 p.m., Thursday, July 7, 1994 in the Conference Room of City Hall. ROLL CALL: Members present were Chairman Fong, Mr. Browning, Mr. Jones, Mr. Porta and Dr. Gebelein. Also present were Mr. Kowalewski and Mr. Churchill (not yet sworn in members); Mark P. Karet, Director of Community Development; City Manager George E. McMahon; Jean Morgan, News-Journal; Roger Harnack, The Observer; Debbie Berner and Sid Frazer, Partners and David Varner, Public Relations Director of Frazer-Hanson-Berner Advertising, Inc.; Sandy Jones and Samantha Bergeron, representing the Southeast Vol usia Chamber of Commerce and Liz McBride, Secretary . APPROVAL OF MINUTES: There being no changes or discrepancies, the minutes of June 2, 1994 were approved as presented by Chairman F ong. CONTINUED BUSINESS: 1. Frazer, Hansen & Berner Advertising Agency (FHB) a) Presentation b) Questions & Answers Debbie Berner of FHB presented background information of the agency's key people: Sid Frazer, CEO; Bev Hansen, Partner; herself and David Varner, Public Relations Director. Ms. Berner exemplified their qualifications and experience, in support of the Board's efforts, by going over their "Public Awareness Plan" prepared for the Volusia County Business Development Corporation (VCBDC). Ms. Berner said the primary intent of the VCBDC's public awareness campaign is to make business, industrial, civic and municipal communities and the general public, aware of Volusia County's ailing economy and its implications for business development. She then summarized the plan and distributed a packet which included a copy of the "Plan" and a copy of the Speaker's Bureau speech. Ms. Berner also distributed "Volusia Views" magazine, an in-house produced marketing tool for VCBDC. Upon completion of the presentation, Ms. Berner asked the Board's immediate needs and how FHB might be able to assist. u u Economic Development Board Minutes - July 7, 1994 Page -2- Continued Business: Chairman Fong expressed that the most urgent need lies in the area of infrastructure and the need to educate the general public as to the impact and importance of having sufficient infrastructure. He also said there is a need to build community spirit,. bind together, and have a unified objective. Mr. Kowalewski, asked how much focus would be placed on recruitment. Ms. Berner answered it would depend on how much the Board would want to spend on recruitment as opposed to a public education program. Mr. Karet, Director of Community Development, asked who the audience is for FHB's public awareness campaign for VCBDC. Ms. Berner replied that the audience is the general population in Volusia County including the PTA, business people, homeowners associations, governmental officials and legislators. Dr. Gebelein inquired how wide a circulation the magazine "Volusia Views" has and where it is distributed. Mr. Berner responded that circulation is about 5,500 and distributed mainly in Volusia County, some in Flagler, Putnum and St. Johns Counties. Chairman Fong thanked Ms. Berner and Sid Frazer for their presentation. 2. "What's Your Beef?" Workshops Report a) Presentation b) Questions & Answers Chairman Fong introduced Sandy Jones and Samantha Bergeron, representing the Chamber, who gave a presentation of the findings of "What's Your Beef?" workshops and distributed a written report. Ms. Jones focused on Section III, the Analysis, for her presentation. She said to keep in mind that the report is from one side, the business community. Ms. Jones felt the ten participants were honest and precise in the comments they made and supported it with documentation. Mr. McMahon, City Manager, asked if specific organizations were involved, individuals or both? Ms. Jones said she would cover that. Ms. Jones observed that since the workshop invitations indicated R.S.v.P., there was a perception of intimidation, or a retaliation factor, because there would be a list of names and phone numbers. Mr. McMahon asked again if specific organizations, like the Home Builder's Association or the Developer's Association as an association, were at the workshops. Ms. Bergeron stated she was given an occupational license list from the City Clerk's office which was used as the mailing list. She also indicated that there may have been members from the Florida Home Builder's Association present at the meeting, but this was not stated. o Q Economic Development Board Minutes - July 7, 1994 Page -3- Continued Business: Ms. Jones then read the Key Points of Section III. Mr. McMahon questioned the meaning of several points. Ms. Jones responded to them, and reiterated that the Chamber was only reporting the facts as they got them, and not to judge or make assessments. Ms. Jones asserted that this was definitely a learning experience. Mr. McMahon asked if the Chamber would provide the Board or the City with some recommendations as to how the Chamber might want to conduct something like this in the future. Ms. Jones said yes. There being no more questions, Ms. Jones announced that Industry Appreciation Week is -September 19-24. In conjunction with ~dgewater Area Council and Job Services of Florida, the Chamber will be putting on a "Job Fair" for the local businesses on September 17. Ms. Jones said they would like to put a banner across US 1 saying "Business Appreciation Week". Mr. McMahon offered the City's bucket truck as assistance in putting up the banner. Ms. Jones asked if the Board is willing to support their efforts financially, possibly with some mailings or with a "mini-expo" to be held in the Community Center of City Hall. Mr. McMahon relayed to Chairman Fong that he would work with the Board on this, budget permitting. Ms. Jones referred back to "What's Your ~eef?". She stated that a sum of $497 was originally ------- asked for from the Board, but because of p~rticipation, the Chamber elected to absorb the cost. /\ Ms. Jones thanked the Board for allowing her to present the report, and offered assistant in a presentation to the Council. Chairman Fong then extended his appreciation to the Chamber and all parties involved. Mr. McMahon, referring back to the "What's Your Beef?" report regarding Police intimidation, said it had no correlation to the issuance of building permits. He restated that he does not accept any form of intimidation, and if any department head uses intimidation, he would down-rate them at evaluation time. Mr. McMahon said he accepts the report the way it is and would not draw any conclusions. Mr. Karet commented he had hoped for more feed back about the general business climate, how most of the businesses feel within the City of Edgewater as opposed to those businesses that deal strictly with the Building Trades. He felt the results were unfortunate. Mr. McMahon told the EDB he would welcome constructive criticism or comments on the report. Mr. McMahon relayed that as a follow-up on the development concerns, at the Mayor's request and the Council's concurrence, a meeting will be held August 4, 1994. Invited to this meeting will be all the key associations that deal with the development process, including State Representatives from the Department of Community Affairs, who can best explain what the state requirements are and how they impact us. Mr. McMahon encouraged the EDB's attendance at this meeting. Q o Economic Development Board Minutes - July 7, 1994 Page -4- Continued Business: 3. Community Redevelopment - Joint Meeting with Staff a) Outline of Objectives and Goals Chairman Fong stated the Board wanted to accomplish through this joint meeting: to discuss the overall economic plan, key strategic areas within the City, and short term goals. He then stated the Board is coming to a point where it takes more then planning, and perhaps it's time to bring in a consultant. Mr. McMahon commented on the resources that the City already has, and to expand from a 17,000 to 35,000 population, the City cannot operate the same; the planning process needs to consider that on a factual basis. He stated industries locating and expanding south of Edgewater will want urban services. Mr. McMahon continued to discuss the City's growth. He said we need to be looking to the future, as to how we can produce jobs to new commercial businesses and industry. Chairman Fong thanked Mr. McMahon for his encouraging words and stated he believed that Edgewater has a lot of potential. b) Determine Work-scope for Consultant Chairman Fong referred to discussions of a previous meeting about looking at the feasibility of a "downtown region" in the City of Edgewater, and asked if anyone had any thoughts or comments. Mr. McMahon, referring to a question from the Community Survey, asked the Board's feelings on the City having a marina between the two City parks. Mr. McMahon explained economic benefits to the City if such a facility was built. He said it would perhaps encourage and develop some businesses around this theme in a local downtown area which would invite the new vision of commercialism in the area. Mr. Porta said he was all for a marina, that transient yachts and boats do not really have a place to stop here. Mr. Porta stated he is betting his whole future on the marina business. Mr. Jones asked Mr. McMahon how we would pay for the marina. Mr. McMahon answered one way would be with the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) money, the grants, if they are willing to participate with us. Mr. Karet interjected that the idea originated in discussions with FIND. Mr. McMahon said the City will work with the EDB and he hoped the Board would brainstorm and come up with an idea as to what they considered a scope of services. Mr. Karet recalled that in discussions at the last meeting, the Board was to make the decision of what the needs are, and that staff would be provided to help. Q o Economic Development Board Minutes - July 7, 1994 Page -5- Continued Business: Chairman Fong felt that the outline of objectives had been established with the Overall Economic Development Plan (OEDP), and that the marinas and downtown areas are secondary in evaluation. Mr. Karet pointed out that one item mentioned in the OEDP is the issue of a CRA and the whole concept of a marina and downtown area could be tied into one scope. Mr. McMahon suggested starting the scope of services by first having an environmental scan. Mr. Karet explained that this essentially is a self assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the area. Chairman Fong called a break at 8:07 p.m. and the meeting resumed at 8:19 p.m. Chairman Fong repeated that the first step in the plan would be to have an environmental scan and then asked the Board what would be the second step. Mr. Karet indicated that out of the environmental scan, the Board would be able to develop the specifics of the project. Mr. Karet added, if the Board wants to follow through with a CRA, they need to develop a proposal to present to the Council. Discussion followed as to the results of an environmental scan. Mr. McMahon recommended that the Board start with deciding a rational time-frame to do some of the things they want to do and then put together recommendations for scope of services. Presentation to the Council can then be made to; 1) get their interest in it, backing in it, and 2) get their financial support to do it. Mr. McMahon said if the Board agrees, then this is a starting point. 4. Community Survey Update As discussed earlier in the meeting, Dr. Gebelein asked Mr. McMahon when the results would be available. Mr. McMahon replied that a firm was selected to compile the information and the results should be in by the end of July. NEW BUSINESS: 1. EDB 1995 Fiscal Budget Chairman Fong distributed and summarized a draft of the 1995 budget request. Mr. Karet recommended that the Board be specific in what the activities are, and what the money is for. Mr. McMahon gave an overview of the City budget. Mr. Karet asked Mr. McMahon if the figure of $30,000 for the redevelopment study and planning would be budgeted for now or supplemental funding. Mr. McMahon answered that sooner or later we have to pay, it should be setup as a line item. Q o Economic Development Board Minutes - July 7, 1994 Page -6- New Business: Mr. McMahon recommended, with some urgency, the Board put together their thoughts on someone like Dick Clark of The Clark Development Group, Inc., get a commitment out of the Council, and go to work on it. Chairman Fong entertained a motion for the Board to officially submit the Fiscal Year 1995 Budget Request (Draft) to the City Manager for comments, additions, revisions and changes. Mr. Browning so moved. Seconded by Mr. Jones. Motion CARRIED 4-0. Dr. Gebelein did not vote, he left the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Mr. McMahon stated he intends to recommend to the Council that the $7,000 allocated to Volusia County Business Development Corporation (VCBDC) in the past be given to the EDB and wanted to know the Board's feelings. A discussion followed. Mr. McMahon felt VCBDC did nothing for the City of Edgewater to justify receiving the $7,000. 2. The Clark Development Group, Inc. Proposal a) Review of Proposal A letter from Dick Clark was referred to by Chairman Fong, and he asked for Mr. McMahon's comments. Mr. McMahon said he was very impressed with Dick Clark and would recommend him to do the initial study for the EDB. As a firm and as a person, Mr. McMahon felt that Mr. Clark should be a very serious consideration by the EDB and the City. Chairman Fong described a previous presentation by Dick Clark that he had attended. Mr. McMahon said that the scope of services need to be developed before putting someone under contract. He recommended the scope of services target the "Proposed Initiative #1 (A Business Climate Analysis and Natural Linkage Study for the City of Edgewater) and make #2 (A Tourism/Industrial Development Cooperative Opportunity Analysis and Recommendations Study) a condition of the results of #1. Chairman Fong asked for thoughts or comments from the Board. The Board responded positively. b) Recommendation to Council Mr. McMahon indicated cutoff dates for submission to the Council agenda. Chairman Fong said he would iike to get together with Mr. McMahon, the Mayor and Dick to work out the work- - scope/~ount and then get it on the agenda. Chairman Fong stated he would like the Board to read through the Clark Proposal within the next two weeks, fax suggestions and comments to the Board secretary, and that a special meeting will be scheduled. o o Economic Development Board Minutes - July 7, 1994 Page -7- CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBER REPORTS: Chairman: Chairman Fong shared information obtained from the 15th Annual Florida Economic Development Workshop. He stated the Board was welcomed to obtain the information from the office. Board Members: Mr. Browning relinquished the floor to Mr. Karet. Mr. Karet stated in regards to rumors, Maglev is not a University of Georgia Technology, Parks Square Consulting Firm are the ones who organized it and control it. Mr. Karet also stated that the Maglev technology is totally untested, and putting the funding together to test it is only the first step. He said the only thing that has been committed to by the County is to provide the funding to help them secure the development of that test track. Once the technology is developed and proven successful, then that technology has to compete against other Maglev technology and other existing technologies. Mr. Browning referred to an information packet received at a meeting with Britt Bochiardy. It gave specific information, an outline of where the project has been and where it is going. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Board a motion was made and approved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. ' Minutes respectfully submitted by: Elizabeth J. McBride, Secretary Economic Development Board :eJm c: \edb\minutes\ 70794